Hannah~The Committed

1 Samuel 1

We have all been barren at one time or another in our lives, either physically or spiritually, and at our own doing or because God was using it for His glory. When God told Adam and Eve, and their descendants, to go forth and multiply He was telling them to plant seed. For us today that seed is spiritual…but it has to be planted nonetheless. Who God is looking for is someone worthy to pass on that seed. Hannah is the perfect example of worthiness.

On the positive side of life, Hannah was the preferred wife of a prominent man. Even though she had no children, he loved her more that his other wife, who had several children. (1:1, 4-5) On the negative side, the other wife teased and tortured her because she had no children, which caused Hannah a lot of grief. (1:6) In her time, not being able to bear children was considered the ultimate failure. But Hannah did not turn away from God and become bitter because of her plight; instead she used it to seek God’s face in earnest prayer. (1:11)



Is this something we are able to do-to seek God’s face when the adversary is flaunting our barrenness all around? Are we able to make a promise to the Lord that we will keep, because He has kept His promise to us?



Another negative going against Hannah was the man of God passing judgment on her based on his perception of what she should have been doing. She had to defend herself to someone who should have been helping her. (1:12-18)

When we make our petitions to God out in the open, there are those that watch us, ready to pass judgment based on what they see on the outside, not by what we’re saying to God on the inside. This is where we must speak up for ourselves. Having a burden is hard enough without the added burden of the judgment of someone else. We should not be judged for being honest with God, but reassured of the fact of knowing who we serve.







Hannah had her baby, Samuel-or ‘asked of God’, but told her husband she would not return to Shiloh until he was weaned. (1:22-23). Hannah had asked for a man-child~someone whom she could dedicate back to God when the time came. (Some debate over the age Samuel was when she brought him back to Eli. My personal research finds him to be approximately 12 years old, at which time the culture considered a child 'weaned' of its mother.) Plenty of time for Hannah to instill in him the meaning of his name and the story behind it, her commitment to God, and therefore, his commitment to God.

The character of Hannah has gone through a great transformation. She presents Samuel as the result of her prayer some years before, and turns him over to Eli to be taught the ways of the temple. In her request, she never abandoned her goals, nor demeaned anyone else to achieve them.



We should all strive to be like Hannah: to commit ourselves to the Lord, honoring the vow we make with Him, because when we honor Him, He honors us.