My Heart Exults in the LORD
1 Samuel 1:9-11, 19-20; 2:1-10

Have you ever had, or perhaps you currently have, a deep wound to your soul? There are many things that can cause such wounding. The loss of a child or the inability to have a child you long for, the loss of your beloved, a humiliating personal or public failure, or perhaps the arrival of sudden, unexpected, and terrible news that strikes your psyche like a sledge hammer, or a terminal diagnosis that shakes you to the core of your being, any such event can wound the soul deeply and lastingly.

Antagonistic interpersonal relationships can be another common source of pain and anguish. This was Hannah’s experience. Hannah was married to Elkanah. Elkanah had another wife too. Her name was Peninnah. "Hannah" in Hebrew means “favored.” "Peninnah" means “fertile.” (Can you imagine naming your daughter “fertile”?)

Hannah was favored. She was her husband’s favorite. “On the day when Elkanah sacrificed, he would give portions to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters; but to Hannah he gave a double portion, because he loved her” (1 Sam. 1:4-5a).

But Hannah was not favored when it came to having children. Her rival Peninnah lived up to her name! The text tells us that the LORD had closed Hannah’s womb. Bearing children in the ancient world was a sign of God’s favor. Barrenness indicated an absence of God’s blessing. Hannah’s barrenness was a source of deep emotional pain that was intentionally and gleefully exacerbated by Peninnah. “Her rival used to provoke her severely, to irritate her, because the Lord had closed her womb. So, it went on year by year; as often as she went up to the house of the Lord, she used to provoke her. Therefore, Hannah wept and would not eat” (1 Sam. 1:6-7).

Elkanah was not oblivious to the poisonous dynamics between his two wives. He tried to comfort Hannah by giving her a double portion of food at the Lord’s feasts and by speaking kindly to her. “Her husband Elkanah said to her, 'Hannah, why do you weep? Why do you not eat? Why is your heart sad? Am I not more to you than ten sons?'” (1 Sam. 1:8). These were probably not the most sensitive words to use, but he meant well.

Unfortunately, Elkanah could not give Hannah what she desperately wanted and needed, a child. The anguish of Hannah’s soul drove her to seek help from the only source from whence it could come, from God. “After they had eaten and drunk at Shiloh, Hannah rose and presented herself before the Lord. She was deeply distressed and prayed to the Lord, and wept bitterly. She made this vow: '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. He shall drink neither wine nor intoxicants, and no razor shall touch his head'” (1 Sam. 1:9a, 10-11).

"Nazarite" means “separated” or “consecrated.” The vow of the nazirite is described in Numbers 6. “The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to the Israelites and say to them: When either men or women make a special vow, the vow of a nazirite, to separate themselves to the Lord, they shall separate themselves from wine and strong drink; they shall drink no wine vinegar or other vinegar, and shall not drink any grape juice or eat grapes, fresh or dried. All their days as nazirites they shall eat nothing that is produced by the grapevine, not even the seeds or the skins. All the days of their nazirite vow no razor shall come upon the head; until the time is completed for which they separate themselves to the Lord, they shall be holy; they shall let the locks of the head grow long” (Num. 6:1-5).

God answered Hannah’s fervent prayer. In due time, Hannah conceived and bore a son, and she named him Samuel. Hannah in turn dedicated the boy to God’s service. Samuel grew to become one of the greatest judges and prophets of ancient Israel. God used Hannah’s barrenness and anguish, and even Peninnah’s merciless vexation, to accomplish a larger purpose for the LORD’s chosen people. Samuel became a leader and a deliverer for Israel.

God’s answer to Hannah’s anguished prayer made Hannah pray again, but this time her prayer was filled with exultant joy. It is a prayer of praise.

Hannah begins with her own experience of deliverance. The personal pronouns “my” and “I” are repeated over and over again. “Hannah prayed and said, 'My heart exults in the Lord; my strength is exalted in my God. My mouth derides my enemies (Peninnah?) because I rejoice in my victory. There is no Holy One like the Lord, no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God. Talk no more so very proudly, let not arrogance come from your mouth (Peninnah); for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed'” (1 Sam. 2:1-3). These first three verses give praise to the Lord for the salvation granted in her personal crisis. It is what one commentator characterized as a “micro-salvation.”

But Hannah does not stop with her personal experience of salvation. In verses 4-8, she expands her praise to affirm that the way Yahweh delivered her is characteristic of the way the LORD rules his world. “The bows of the mighty are broken, but the feeble gird on strength. Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, but those who were hungry are fat with spoil. The barren has borne seven, but she who has many children is forlorn. The Lord kills and brings to life; he brings down to Sheol and raises up. The Lord makes poor and makes rich; he brings low; he also exalts. He raises up the poor from the dust; he lifts the needy from the ash heap, to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor. For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, and on them he has set the world” (vs 4-8).

What God did for Hannah simply reflects the tendency of God’s way with the world in general and with human beings in particular. I liked how one commentator paraphrased Hannah’s prayer. “I was ready to fall and Yahweh gave me strength; I was barren, and he made me fruitful; I was poor, and he made me rich. But that is not really surprising for that is just the way Yahweh is.”

Believers in the LORD have experienced this kind of grace through the centuries. John Calvin’s wife, Idellete, died after a lengthy illness. Calvin was devastated. He wrote his close friend William Farel to express his grief and gratitude. He wrote, “May the Lord Jesus support me under this heavy affliction, which would certainly have overcome me, had not He, who raises up the prostrate, strengthens the weak, and refreshes the weary, stretched forth His hand from heaven to me.” Calvin’s words echo with the words of Hannah’s prayer. And friend, in your time of deep need, God will uphold you too. You can count on it. That is the way God rules our lives and our world.

But Hannah’s prayer goes even farther. In verses 9 and 10, Hannah foresees God’s final victory through his messiah. Hannah moved from her own personal micro-salvation to God’s macro-salvation of the world in Jesus Christ. “He will guard the feet of his faithful ones, but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness; for not by might does one prevail. The Lord! His adversaries shall be shattered; the Most High will thunder in heaven. The Lord will judge the ends of the earth; he will give strength to his king, and exalt the power of his anointed” (vs. 9-10). The grand finale is the deliverance of God’s chosen people, the shattering of God’s opponents, and the judging of the ends of the earth through Yahweh’s anointed king, Jesus Christ.

It might seem that Hannah’s personal deliverance is a trivial event in the larger scheme of things. A barren woman becomes pregnant and gives birth to a child. It happens all the time. It is not that big a deal. But that is to miss the connections between the three parts of Hannah’s prayer and God’s larger purpose. Her micro-salvation is typical of the way God runs his world, and it foreshadows God’s great salvation that is yet to come.

I like this insight from a commentator. “The saving help Yahweh gave Hannah is a foretaste, a scale-model demonstration of how Yahweh will do it when he does it in grand style.”

When you think of the terrible sorrows in your life, also be careful to look for the micro-salvations you have experienced. Do not forget them or diminish them because they are tokens of God love and care for you.

I love how one commentator spoke of this. “Every time God lifts you out of the miry bog and sets your feet upon a rock is a sample of the coming of the kingdom of God, a down payment of the full deliverance, the macro-salvation that will be yours at last. These little deliverances are small but clear evidences God leaves that he is king and that he has a strange way of raising up the poor from the dust and lifting the needy from the ash heap to make them sit in heavenly places with Jesus Christ.”

We need to ponder every episode of God’s saving help in our lives. Jesus’ words from Luke 12:32 come to mind. “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”

These revealed truths about who God is and how God deals with us are a balm to our souls when we are deeply distressed. So always call to remembrance Hannah’s prayer when you are undergoing hard trials. “The Lord makes poor and makes rich; he brings low; he also exalts. He raises up the poor from the dust; he lifts the needy from the ash heap, to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor” (vs. 7-8a).

Thanks be to God who does all things well. Alleluia! Amen!