Bible Character Studies: Hannah. Pt. 2 Sorrow turns to joy after prayer to Jehovah.
Good morning,
It's a bitter cold morning this morning after having a blustery evening last night.
As this story about Hannah continues we will see that the priest accuses Hannah of being drunk. May this be a valuable lesson for each one of us to never make an accusation against a fellow believer.
1 Samuel 1:12-14 12 And it came to pass, as she continued praying before the LORD, that Eli marked her mouth. 13 Now Hannah, she spake in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard: therefore Eli thought she had been drunken. 14 And Eli said unto her, How long wilt thou be drunken? put away thy wine from thee.
In our last lesson we saw how Hannah listened to her husband Elkanah and took some nourishment and went to the tabernacle and poured out her heart to Jehovah. She prayed like James said to pray: earnestly, fervently and like Peter said, she cast all her burden on the everlasting arms of God.
What happened next is quite shocking. Eli was the priest and both of his sons were ungodly men who abused the priesthood. God would later strike them down. Eli had a problem. You see, he was watching Hannah closely as she prayed and he was about to make a big mistake by judging by externals rather than finding out what was in the heart of Hannah.
The text says that Hannah prayed passionately and vigorously about her situation but she prayed in her heart. Her lips moved but she did not speak with an audible voice to the LORD. Eli thought that Hannah was drunk with wine and rebuked her for it.
For those who are pastors, elders, deacons or lay leaders in a local church may I make a suggestion? We must be very careful with what we say and not jump to conclusions about people in our church families. Eli said something very hurtful that assailed the reputation of Hannah as a Godly woman, and he was wrong. We must not rush to judgment and we must avoid judging by appearances.
1 Samuel 1:15-16 And Hannah answered and said, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the LORD. 16 Count not thine handmaid for a daughter of Belial: for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief have I spoken hitherto.
Hannah quickly answered truthfully and said she was not drunken with wine. Rather, she had a sorrowful spirit and poured out her soul to the only hope that she had, Jehovah. She said she was not one of the drunken idolaters of Belial.
I am sure that Eli must have felt the convicting work of God's Spirit in his own heart for jumping to a conclusion and falsely accusing this wonderful woman. I am sure he felt ashamed for what he did.
1 Samuel 1:17-18 Then Eli answered and said, Go in peace: and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of him. 18 And she said, Let thine handmaid find grace in thy sight. So the woman went her way, and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad.
Eli then pronounced a blessing on Hannah and instructed her to go in peace and that God would grant her hearts desire to Hannah. Again, I am sure Eli was probably feeling pretty rotten for his wrong assessment of Hannah's prayer.
There is a lesson for all of us in this text as well. Hannah did the best thing possible in going to the place where Jehovah would meet with mankind and after offering a sacrifice she prayed her heart out. Our tendency is to try and fix things first instead of running to the Lord of Glory with our problems. Hannah showed us the right response to suffering, trials and troubles. Run to Christ and plead your case with our faithful high priest.
I see a tremendous blessing in all of this. Notice that the text says Hannah returned to Elkanah and had a meal and her countenance was no longer saddened by the weight of her burdens.
John 7:24 Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.
Our Lord Jesus took the religious hypocrites to task because they judged by externals rather than by what was honoring to God. Jesus explicitly said to not judge by outward appearances. Eli did judge by what he saw and he came to a very wrong conclusion.
Had he waited to speak with Hannah afterward to see if he could be of help since he was a priest, Eli might have heard the real reason Hannah's lips moved and he might have been able to assure her that he would also pray for her petitions to be granted.
James 5:13-16 Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. 14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: 15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. 16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
I want to leave us with the text on prayer from the apostle James because it gets at the heart of Hannah and the manner that she prayed.
Who is to pray? Those who are afflicted and Hannah certainly was. Hannah confessed her sins to Jehovah with the offering that she provided for herself prior to praying.
Hannah prayed with the fervent effectual prayer of a righteous woman and we will see later in our study that she did indeed prevail at the throne of God. Hannah did not cease from prayer until she laid her all at the feet of Jehovah. She prayed with power, passion and a focus on her need.
Something else that Hannah shows us regarding praying is that she was content to leave all of her burden with Jehovah. She was content to have expressed her concerns to the LORD and was willing to accept whatever His answer might be.
Points to Ponder...
It's a bitter cold morning this morning after having a blustery evening last night.
As this story about Hannah continues we will see that the priest accuses Hannah of being drunk. May this be a valuable lesson for each one of us to never make an accusation against a fellow believer.
1 Samuel 1:12-14 12 And it came to pass, as she continued praying before the LORD, that Eli marked her mouth. 13 Now Hannah, she spake in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard: therefore Eli thought she had been drunken. 14 And Eli said unto her, How long wilt thou be drunken? put away thy wine from thee.
In our last lesson we saw how Hannah listened to her husband Elkanah and took some nourishment and went to the tabernacle and poured out her heart to Jehovah. She prayed like James said to pray: earnestly, fervently and like Peter said, she cast all her burden on the everlasting arms of God.
What happened next is quite shocking. Eli was the priest and both of his sons were ungodly men who abused the priesthood. God would later strike them down. Eli had a problem. You see, he was watching Hannah closely as she prayed and he was about to make a big mistake by judging by externals rather than finding out what was in the heart of Hannah.
The text says that Hannah prayed passionately and vigorously about her situation but she prayed in her heart. Her lips moved but she did not speak with an audible voice to the LORD. Eli thought that Hannah was drunk with wine and rebuked her for it.
For those who are pastors, elders, deacons or lay leaders in a local church may I make a suggestion? We must be very careful with what we say and not jump to conclusions about people in our church families. Eli said something very hurtful that assailed the reputation of Hannah as a Godly woman, and he was wrong. We must not rush to judgment and we must avoid judging by appearances.
1 Samuel 1:15-16 And Hannah answered and said, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the LORD. 16 Count not thine handmaid for a daughter of Belial: for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief have I spoken hitherto.
Hannah quickly answered truthfully and said she was not drunken with wine. Rather, she had a sorrowful spirit and poured out her soul to the only hope that she had, Jehovah. She said she was not one of the drunken idolaters of Belial.
I am sure that Eli must have felt the convicting work of God's Spirit in his own heart for jumping to a conclusion and falsely accusing this wonderful woman. I am sure he felt ashamed for what he did.
1 Samuel 1:17-18 Then Eli answered and said, Go in peace: and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of him. 18 And she said, Let thine handmaid find grace in thy sight. So the woman went her way, and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad.
Eli then pronounced a blessing on Hannah and instructed her to go in peace and that God would grant her hearts desire to Hannah. Again, I am sure Eli was probably feeling pretty rotten for his wrong assessment of Hannah's prayer.
There is a lesson for all of us in this text as well. Hannah did the best thing possible in going to the place where Jehovah would meet with mankind and after offering a sacrifice she prayed her heart out. Our tendency is to try and fix things first instead of running to the Lord of Glory with our problems. Hannah showed us the right response to suffering, trials and troubles. Run to Christ and plead your case with our faithful high priest.
I see a tremendous blessing in all of this. Notice that the text says Hannah returned to Elkanah and had a meal and her countenance was no longer saddened by the weight of her burdens.
John 7:24 Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.
Our Lord Jesus took the religious hypocrites to task because they judged by externals rather than by what was honoring to God. Jesus explicitly said to not judge by outward appearances. Eli did judge by what he saw and he came to a very wrong conclusion.
Had he waited to speak with Hannah afterward to see if he could be of help since he was a priest, Eli might have heard the real reason Hannah's lips moved and he might have been able to assure her that he would also pray for her petitions to be granted.
James 5:13-16 Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. 14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: 15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. 16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
I want to leave us with the text on prayer from the apostle James because it gets at the heart of Hannah and the manner that she prayed.
Who is to pray? Those who are afflicted and Hannah certainly was. Hannah confessed her sins to Jehovah with the offering that she provided for herself prior to praying.
Hannah prayed with the fervent effectual prayer of a righteous woman and we will see later in our study that she did indeed prevail at the throne of God. Hannah did not cease from prayer until she laid her all at the feet of Jehovah. She prayed with power, passion and a focus on her need.
Something else that Hannah shows us regarding praying is that she was content to leave all of her burden with Jehovah. She was content to have expressed her concerns to the LORD and was willing to accept whatever His answer might be.
Points to Ponder...
- Hannah prayed earnestly before the Lord as we ought to do.
- Eli watched Hannah and wrongly assumed that she was drunk.
- Eli actually accused Hannah of being drunk with wine even though she was not.
- After Hannah explained herself Eli sought to pronounce a blessing but it seems hypocritcal and callous.
- Hannah had a happy heart after praying to Jehovah. She was content to leave it all in His hands.
Hannah shows us that we must persist in prayer and that Jehovah will hear us as we pour out our hearts to Him.
Hannah also shows us the impact of fervent effectual prayer. Her immense burden was lifted and her countenance was dramatically changed. She trusted the Lord with her problems and realized that they were too big for her to carry alone.
May the Lord help us have discerning spirits not judgmental ones. May He help us to be quick to hear but slow to speak.
Bob
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