If you read the first chapter of 1 Samuel you will find Hannah weeping near the door posts of the Temple. She's crying out to God and making a vow to God saying, "O Lord of hosts, if only you will look on the misery of your servant, and remember me, and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a male child, then I will set him before you as a nazirite until the day of his death." 1 Samuel 1:11 NRSV. In these words we hear the heart of a humble servant pleading with he Lord. Some however might say she was making a bargain with the Lord. If you do this one thing for me. I will do this for you. Perhaps you've made such bargains with the Lord as well. Some say things like, "Oh Lord if you save me from this crisis I will give my life to you as a servant of the Lord perhaps as a pastor." Or people say, "Oh Lord if you do this, I promise to never do that------ (fill in the blank) sin ever again.
Frankly some of these prayers are selfish by nature. In addition if everyone upheld there end of the bargain our seminaries would be overflowing. The Bible discourages us from making such vows or promises however Hannah's prayer was honored by God and she received a son just as she had prayed. His name was Samuel who was one of the greatest of the prophets and perhaps the last judge to serve in Israel.
I think God listened to her cry because there was something special in her heart. This is not to say that God, out of his amazing grace, doesn't give us things full well knowing that we can't or will not choose to fulfill our end of the bargain. However for a moment lets consider her prayer and her faithful response to the blessing.
Hannah was obviously a Godly woman and she loved her husband and her God so much that she wanted to give birth to a child as a gift to the Lord. In addition I'm sure she wanted the joy of bringing a child into the world and thus end her shame. However, her request wasn't purely selfish by any means. How do I know this? Because she freely gave her child, her gift, to the Lord just as she said. After she had weaned the boy she brought him to Eli in the temple and after that moment she would only visit with him once a year. This was indeed a great sacrifice to her.
But what we might find interesting is the timing of Hannah's song. In the end of the first chapter and start of the second we are made aware that she is lifting up these wonderful joyous words of praise to God not at the birth of her child but at the moment that she was giving him up to the Lord.
I'm sure that she had a prayer and a song at the birth of the child as every mother has but it's amazing that it was at the moment she was giving away her son that she exclaimed. "My heart rejoices in the Lord; in the Lord my horn is lifted high." 1 Samuel 2:1a The horn was the symbol of strength.
Most women would have wept bitterly to leave their child. Perhaps some would offer another bargain to the Lord like.. "If you allow me to keep him I will be sure to raise him in a God fearing home and teach him every day." This was not the response of Hannah. She knew that from beginning to end that the gift she held in her hands was a gift of God and now she was offering the gift with gladness of heart.
To ponder: What gifts has God given you? Has God called you to share that gift? Do you sacrificially offer that gift back to the Lord with Joy? What about your financial resources is it your joy and pleasure to offer your gift to the Lord and the Lord's work?
Hannah showed great faith. She made a vow and kept that vow long before she knew that the Lord would be faithful to give her other children as well. God is faithful to us especially when we put the Lord first and offer our best with Joy!
May we offer our best offering with joy as we walk through the Word together.
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