A Meditation
Note: I wrote this mediation during Holy Week of 2006. I was not blogging at the time. I thought I would go ahead and put it up now. I benefitted greatly from reflecting on this passage and Hannah's situation. I hope someone else may find it helpful.
I had the pleasure and privilege recently of reading the story of Hannah and her baby son Samuel with my wife. The story is found in 1 Samuel chapters 1 and 2. As we read the story and discussed it, we focused on the contemporary issues and lessons, that is what God was teaching Hannah and those involved about Himself while this story was unfolding. But as I began to reflect on the story my thoughts turned to what this display of the power and glory of God could teach us as we live in God’s kingdom on this side of the cross of Christ. As I thought about the story this week while reading in the Gospels about Holy Week and what our Lord went through, one thing was impressed upon me: I am in the same situation Hannah was in and I want to have her attitude.
I will not take the time to recount the entire story of Hannah. It is enough to say here she was without children and her physical condition was such that she would continue to be without children (1:6). To make matters even more horrific for Hannah she was not the only wife of her husband and his other wife, Peninnah, had borne children. Peninnah was not content to simply enjoy the children. She would go as far as to openly mock Hannah for her childlessness. So here is Hannah with no children and, in the hard world she lived in, seemingly nothing of value to offer her husband.
Hannah was in a position that she could not remedy. No matter what she might do, she could not, in a million years, convince her body to bring forth life in the form of a newborn baby. It was beyond her power. Now Hannah was human. She was weak and broken. She spoke of her condition using words like anxiety and vexation. She said she was deeply distressed. She wept. She mourned. She went without sleep.
But Hannah also did something else. She poured out her soul to her Almighty God (1:15). The priest Eli saw that she prayed but without the usual forms. He thought she was drunk. But she was pleading with God. She was petitioning the One True Giver of Life. She was begging His mercy on her life. She promised the Lord that if He should give her a son that she would dedicate his life wholly to God. God, in His abounding grace, answered her prayer and gave her a son, Samuel. Hannah made good on her promise and brought Samuel to the temple to live with Eli and minister and worship God in the temple. This miracle baby that Hannah had longed for and likely dreamed about was to live out his entire life away from Hannah. And Hannah rejoiced. Not because she did not love her son. Not because she hoped to, in some way, pay God back for the gift. No. She rejoiced at the power and glory of the God of Israel. She poured out her worship to God and delighted in His greatness. Read her words from chapter 2 verses 1 to 10:
She is not melodramatic. She means it when she says that the Lord raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from ashes to sit with princes. She knows how it feels to be that needy. She also knows that salvation belongs to the Lord and she praises Him for it. Hannah makes it plain that she knows that God is in control when times are bad and when they are good (2:6, 7). The author makes it equally plain in chapter 1 verse 6. God was firmly in control of this heart wrenching saga and Hannah worships Him and exults in His sovereignty, His power, and His mercy.
And so we are as we come to Holy Week, the most wonderful of all Christian celebrations. As we come before God and meditate on Calvary and the great and terrible events of Good Friday, we can look to the story of Hannah as a model. As we celebrate the resurrection of our Christ on Easter, we can look to the prayer of Hannah as a fitting way to worship our Savior. For we come to cross just as Hannah came to Shiloh, if not worse. We, in our flesh, are the needy in the ash heap. We are the poor, the broken, and the useless. We come as people who, apart from Christ, are dead in our sin with absolutely no hope of bringing the slightest hint of life to our flawed bodies. It is a hopeless situation and we cannot remedy it.
But the remedy is there at Calvary. The Almighty God who gives life and takes it away decreed that He would make a way to give life to dead sinners who hate Him. He sent His own son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin in order that we may be able to worship and enjoy Him forever. When we realize this truth, that the man Jesus Christ and what He did at Calvary is our only hope, we will worship Him. When we realize that this is the grace of God poured out onto dead people to give them life, we will turn and exult in the Lord and His might as Hannah did. We will glory in the fact that we are alive in Christ in communion with God. We will rejoice with wide-eyed wonder at our weakness made perfect in the strength of Jesus. We will be awestruck by the fact that we, the dead bodies from the ash heap, are now princes—heirs of God the King and joint heirs with His firstborn, Jesus.
Like Hannah, we will not stop there. When we realize that we are not our own because we were bought at a terrible, terrible price we will turn to God and offer Him the life that He has given us through His Son Jesus and say, “this body, this life, these talents that You have given me are Yours all the days of my life!”. It will not be a duty to God or some sort of trade with God. It will be the only response that makes sense. It will be the most joyful and worshipful response possible.
Heavenly Father, as we stand now in the bring light of Christ and pray Hannah’s prayer that she prayed only in His shadow, we rejoice in Him. We are more thankful the means of grace and the hope of glory offered in Him than any of your gifts. Father, change our hearts and our minds to be like Hannah’s. Take our focus off all things besides our Lord Jesus. Let us seek Him beyond all the things of this world. Let us exult in His strength and seek His face all the days of our lives. In His name, Amen.
A Mediation for Holy Week
May We Approach the Cross with Hannah’s Attitude
May We Approach the Cross with Hannah’s Attitude
I had the pleasure and privilege recently of reading the story of Hannah and her baby son Samuel with my wife. The story is found in 1 Samuel chapters 1 and 2. As we read the story and discussed it, we focused on the contemporary issues and lessons, that is what God was teaching Hannah and those involved about Himself while this story was unfolding. But as I began to reflect on the story my thoughts turned to what this display of the power and glory of God could teach us as we live in God’s kingdom on this side of the cross of Christ. As I thought about the story this week while reading in the Gospels about Holy Week and what our Lord went through, one thing was impressed upon me: I am in the same situation Hannah was in and I want to have her attitude.
I will not take the time to recount the entire story of Hannah. It is enough to say here she was without children and her physical condition was such that she would continue to be without children (1:6). To make matters even more horrific for Hannah she was not the only wife of her husband and his other wife, Peninnah, had borne children. Peninnah was not content to simply enjoy the children. She would go as far as to openly mock Hannah for her childlessness. So here is Hannah with no children and, in the hard world she lived in, seemingly nothing of value to offer her husband.
Hannah was in a position that she could not remedy. No matter what she might do, she could not, in a million years, convince her body to bring forth life in the form of a newborn baby. It was beyond her power. Now Hannah was human. She was weak and broken. She spoke of her condition using words like anxiety and vexation. She said she was deeply distressed. She wept. She mourned. She went without sleep.
But Hannah also did something else. She poured out her soul to her Almighty God (1:15). The priest Eli saw that she prayed but without the usual forms. He thought she was drunk. But she was pleading with God. She was petitioning the One True Giver of Life. She was begging His mercy on her life. She promised the Lord that if He should give her a son that she would dedicate his life wholly to God. God, in His abounding grace, answered her prayer and gave her a son, Samuel. Hannah made good on her promise and brought Samuel to the temple to live with Eli and minister and worship God in the temple. This miracle baby that Hannah had longed for and likely dreamed about was to live out his entire life away from Hannah. And Hannah rejoiced. Not because she did not love her son. Not because she hoped to, in some way, pay God back for the gift. No. She rejoiced at the power and glory of the God of Israel. She poured out her worship to God and delighted in His greatness. Read her words from chapter 2 verses 1 to 10:
“My heart exults in the Lord;my strength is exalted in the Lord.My mouth derides
my enemies,because I rejoice in your salvation.
“There is none holy like the
Lord;there is none besides you;there is no rock like our God.Talk no more so
very proudly,let not arrogance come from your mouth;for the Lord is a God of
knowledge,and by him actions are weighed.The bows of the mighty are broken,but
the feeble bind on strength.Those who were full have hired themselves out for
bread,but those who were hungry have ceased to hunger.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 and he exalts.He raises up the poor from the dust;he lifts the needy
from the ash heapto make them sit with princesand inherit a seat of honor.For
the pillars of the earth are the Lord's,and on them he has set the world.
“He
will guard the feet of his faithful ones,but the wicked shall be cut off in
darkness,for not by might shall a man prevail.The adversaries of the Lord shall
be broken to pieces;against them he will thunder in heaven.The Lord will judge
the ends of the earth;he will give strength to his kingand exalt the power of
his anointed.”
She is not melodramatic. She means it when she says that the Lord raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from ashes to sit with princes. She knows how it feels to be that needy. She also knows that salvation belongs to the Lord and she praises Him for it. Hannah makes it plain that she knows that God is in control when times are bad and when they are good (2:6, 7). The author makes it equally plain in chapter 1 verse 6. God was firmly in control of this heart wrenching saga and Hannah worships Him and exults in His sovereignty, His power, and His mercy.
And so we are as we come to Holy Week, the most wonderful of all Christian celebrations. As we come before God and meditate on Calvary and the great and terrible events of Good Friday, we can look to the story of Hannah as a model. As we celebrate the resurrection of our Christ on Easter, we can look to the prayer of Hannah as a fitting way to worship our Savior. For we come to cross just as Hannah came to Shiloh, if not worse. We, in our flesh, are the needy in the ash heap. We are the poor, the broken, and the useless. We come as people who, apart from Christ, are dead in our sin with absolutely no hope of bringing the slightest hint of life to our flawed bodies. It is a hopeless situation and we cannot remedy it.
But the remedy is there at Calvary. The Almighty God who gives life and takes it away decreed that He would make a way to give life to dead sinners who hate Him. He sent His own son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin in order that we may be able to worship and enjoy Him forever. When we realize this truth, that the man Jesus Christ and what He did at Calvary is our only hope, we will worship Him. When we realize that this is the grace of God poured out onto dead people to give them life, we will turn and exult in the Lord and His might as Hannah did. We will glory in the fact that we are alive in Christ in communion with God. We will rejoice with wide-eyed wonder at our weakness made perfect in the strength of Jesus. We will be awestruck by the fact that we, the dead bodies from the ash heap, are now princes—heirs of God the King and joint heirs with His firstborn, Jesus.
Like Hannah, we will not stop there. When we realize that we are not our own because we were bought at a terrible, terrible price we will turn to God and offer Him the life that He has given us through His Son Jesus and say, “this body, this life, these talents that You have given me are Yours all the days of my life!”. It will not be a duty to God or some sort of trade with God. It will be the only response that makes sense. It will be the most joyful and worshipful response possible.
Heavenly Father, as we stand now in the bring light of Christ and pray Hannah’s prayer that she prayed only in His shadow, we rejoice in Him. We are more thankful the means of grace and the hope of glory offered in Him than any of your gifts. Father, change our hearts and our minds to be like Hannah’s. Take our focus off all things besides our Lord Jesus. Let us seek Him beyond all the things of this world. Let us exult in His strength and seek His face all the days of our lives. In His name, Amen.
posted by BKC | 11:46 AM
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