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Hannah
B.C.
1116?
Mother
of Samuel
the
Prophet
Throughout
all the
ancient
world,
motherhood
was the
aim and
ambition
of all
married
women. The
worth of a
woman was
determined
by the
number of
her
offspring
- mainly
male
offspring.
If a wife
was
childless,
her lot in
life was
hard. If
she bore
no
children,
she alone
was
blamed. A
childless
woman was
often
divorced
or, even
worse,
another
wife was
added to
the
household
and the
childless
one’s life
became a
bitter
existence.
Hannah’s
life was
embittered
by the
taunts of
Peninnah,
the woman
who shared
her
husband’s
name with
her. Even
though the
Bible
tells us
that she
was the
best loved
wife of
Elkanah,
Peninnah,
would make
fun of
Hannah
because
she had no
children,
making
life
almost
unbearable.
It
is
recorded
in 1
Samuel
that at
the great
religious
festival
at Shiloh,
Hannah
prayed
earnestly
to God for
a child.
And she
promised
God that
if He gave
her a son,
she would
consecrate
him to the
Lord’s
service
all his
life. It
was in
answer to
her prayer
that
Samuel,
the
prophet-priest
of Israel
was born
to her.
It
is certain
that most
mothers
would
surely
regret
making a
promise to
give their
young
child to
someone
else to
raise. I’m
almost
convinced
that
Hannah
must have
been
tempted to
renege on
her
promise
once
Samuel was
born. To
give birth
to a child
and raise
him for
3-5 years
and then
give him
up to be
raised by
another
must have
been
agonizing.
But Hannah
was a
woman of
her word.
When
Samuel was
weaned -
which was
probably
between
three and
five years
of age
-she
delivered
him to the
House of
the Lord
at Shiloh
to begin
his
service to
God. He
was now to
be raised
by Eli,
the priest
of God in
that
place.
From the
time that
Hannah
gave
Samuel to
be raised
by Eli,
she made a
yearly
visit,
bringing
with her a
coat that
she made
for him
with her
own hands.
She loved
her dear
boy, but
she gave
him over
to the God
who gave
him to
her.
We
can learn
a lesson
from the
life of
Hannah.
The vows
or
commitments
that we
make to
God must
be taken
seriously.
There’s no
doubt that
Hannah
wept when
she left
her first
born at
the House
of God.
But since
she had
made that
vow to
God, she
kept her
promise.
As a
result,
God
rewarded
her with
more
children
and a
first-born
son that
faithfully
served God
his entire
life,
becoming
one of the
most
beloved
rulers in
Israel.
~*~
This
article
may be
re-published
as long as
the
following
resource
box is
included:
Patti
Chadwick
is a
freelance
writer and
creator of
History's
Women, an
online
magazine
and Free
weekly
ezine
highlighting
the
extraordinary
achievements
of women
throughout
history.
You can
visit her
site at
www.historyswomen.com
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