History of the King-Maker: Part Two—the Prayer of Hannah (1 Samuel 1)

The Law of Moses required that all males appear before the Lord for three major festivals at the tabernacle (Ex. 23:14-17). During this period (1076 b.c.), the tabernacle was located at Shiloh, about 15 miles north of Ramah, Samuel’s hometown. (To add a little perspective, Jephthah was judging from 1078 to 1072 b.c., Samson died in 1055 b.c., and Saul was anointed king in 1050 b.c.) Elkanah was a Levite (1 Chron. 6:22-28, 33-38) of the priestly Kohathite family originally dwelling in Ephraim; although Ramah, his home, was actually in Benjamin.

Elkanah regularly traveled to Shiloh to worship as prescribed. His bigamy, however, trends to accepted custom and clearly against Yahweh’s revealed definition of marriage (Gen. 2:24), which prohibited all other deviations. It is customary with imperfect humans to accept tradition against biblical standards because they work in situations where strict obedience is difficult. Thus, while the law did not explicitly prohibit polygamy, it did strictly regulate it. As already noted in a previous lesson, taking a second wife in cases of barrenness was a practical remedy to provide sons as heirs, but it produced difficulties in the home between wives. This trend of pragmatic solutions to tough situations is to be resisted by true saints at all costs. The appearance of godliness without its true power is the curse of modern Christianity for this reason.

Hannah’s grief over her barrenness was aggravated by Peninnah’s provocations. This was not eased by her well-intentioned and loving husband who sought to counter her distress by giving her a “worthy portion.” It only increased her distress. At issue was her very identity as a daughter of Abraham, which demanded that she bear a son and thus lend her part to fulfill the promised innumerable multitude of Abraham’s seed (Gen. 15:5). Her trials were designed to drive her to seek her God for a miracle solution. God is the God of the impossible and the manifestation of His great power glorifies His name (Psa. 50:15).

Thus, Hannah prayed before the tabernacle (vv. 9-13). But how long was her prayer? Notice that she rose up from the table to go to prayer and when finished, she returned to the table to eat (vv. 9, 18). Yet, she poured out her heart in overwhelming emotion to God. She was not ashamed to vent her shame to the One who could grant her a remedy. Psalm 42 is a great reference for this kind of praying. Notice her prayer itself. She is humble, referring to herself three times as a slave of Yahweh (v. 11). She did not demand but requested and beseeched Yahweh, pressing the need and at the same time yielding to His sovereign will—“if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son.” Lastly, her prayer was accompanied by a vow, common to OT times and regulated by the law (Num. 30:6-16). She promised to put her son in Yahweh’s service to prove her motive selfless. Hannah’s prayer provided the means the Lord sought to prepare Israel for her king.