Hannah’s Prayer is Answered
First Samuel 1: 1-28
During the period of the Judges, the Israelites were in a state of extreme distress because they lacked godly leadership. The priesthood had defiled, there was no sustained prophetic message from the LORD (3:1), and the Torah was being ignored throughout the Land. As He often did in Isra’el’s history, God solved the problem by sending a baby. Babies are Ha’Shem’s announcement that He knows the need, cares about His people, and is at work on their behalf. The arrival of a baby ushers in a new life and a new beginning; babies are signposts for the future, and their conceptions and births are miracles that only God can do (Gen 30:1-2). To make the even seem even greater, YHVH sometimes selects barren women to be their mothers, as when He sent Isaac to Sarah, Jacob to Rebekah, and Joseph to Rachel.10
Without a break in the action from Judges, the book opens with an introduction of one particular family. At first, the husband is mentioned, but the main character in the chapter is to be the first-named wife, who was bold enough to believe that ADONAI would hear and answer her prayer for a son. The chapter records the answer to her prayer and ends with the fulfillment of her vow. Her motives may have been mixed, but her request was in line with the overall will of YHVH, who was preparing to bring into the world a man who would be His faithful representative and mouthpiece.11
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