Hannah’s Thanksgiving Vow
And Hannah prayed, and said, My heart rejoiceth in the LORD, mine horn is exalted in the LORD: my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; because I rejoice in thy salvation.There is none holy as the LORD: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God. (1 Samuel 2:1-2)
If you remember, I took our Call to Worship last week from 1 Samuel chapter 2. I thought it might be good to make a few comments about the reading since I do not usually make comments about our first reading of the day. Think back to it if you will. The first ten verses of the chapter are the prayer of Hannah as she praised God for the gift of a child. This child was Samuel who was a unique man in Israel’s history. We hope that most Christians would aspire that God use them in at least one special way, while Samuel held multiple offices of service for God’s people. He was a priest, a prophet, a judge, a military commander, and God’s choice to anoint both Saul and David as kings of Israel.
I could spend much time with Samuel and there are two books of the Bible named for him. Rather, I choose to speak of his mother Hannah, who in the time of the Judges, was a godly believer. This was unusual when so many refused to listen to God and chose their own way rather than obey and worship the Lord. Even the High Priest of Israel, Eli, was unreliable as a good example, moral influence, or faithful leader for Israel. When he saw Hannah praying silently at the tabernacle, he assumed she was drunk. Such were the expectations because drunken women in those days must not have been that unusual.
Hannah’s prayer after Samuel’s birth is a model of faith, thanksgiving, and devotion. She knew her God and she knew what God designed for her. She was a woman who wanted nothing greater than to be a mother. For years she tried but was unable, for God did not see fit to open her womb. Hannah’s desperation caused her to vow a special promise that she would give up her son for God’s service if God would allow her to have a child. God’s pause for so many years to grant her desire was to bring her to make this vow. She kept Samuel only until she weaned him from her breast and then took him to Eli at the tabernacle. As long as he lived, he belonged to God. She only came to visit him at the time of the yearly sacrifice. Otherwise, he stayed in Eli’s care to become God’s servant. Thankfully, he listened more to God than to Eli. Because Hannah kept her vow, God did not leave her sorrowful without her child. He blessed her five times over by giving her three more sons and two daughters.
As you would expect, I come to this story with purpose of a contemporary nature. It was on the day I wrote this article that I read in the news about the renewed efforts of this government administration to push for more access to abortion. They claim that women should have power over their own bodies to choose which children should live or die. This administration says it is not the purview of males or the government to make laws prohibiting this. We do not need to make laws about childbirth because God declared His law long ago. Hannah said, “My horn is exalted in the Lord.” This is strange language for us but common in the scriptures. A horn is a sign of strength. Hannah referred to the strength God gave her to bear children. Her choice was not her choice but God’s.
Despite Supreme Court justices unable to define a woman, we need not despair for God supplies the definition. Though this is not the only characteristic, a woman has in her body strength a man does not have. He may have brute strength as amazingly and surprisingly noted by the dominance of transgender (?) athletes, but he has no power over his body for this. God made the womb for the implantation of a miraculous zygote that attaches and begins the growth of a little human who bears the image of God. Heaven forbids anyone to destroy God’s image because a baby is an inconvenience.
The actions of this administration are a Romans 1 problem in so many ways we lose count. Who is better? I do not necessarily have a name, but it cannot be anyone with determination to kill the innocent by government fiat. It would never work for Israel, and it cannot work for us. Choose this day whom you will serve. Is it your politics, or is it God?
Pastor V. Mark Smith