In my post The Value of Children, I shared how it’s important for us to remember the value of children… but it is also important for us to keep our children in the proper place of priority.
As I looked into the historical context of 1 Samuel and pondered the depth of Hannah’s desire to be able to have a child I also noticed something amazing about her… and her husband. I noticed their character.
When Hannah enter’s the temple to pray what I see here in the Scriptures is that her prayer was the classic “if-then” prayer. You know, the one that goes, God if you will a-b-c… Then I will d-e-f.
The “if-then” prayer usually comes in our moments of desperation… however the thing about many “if-then” prayers is that when God takes care of the “if” many times we often forget about the “then”.
Many times we decide to ignore the fact that this “if-then” prayer is a vow we have made to God.
Now Hannah could have justified her prayer of desperation. I mean, really, she never actually said this out loud… (1 Samuel 1:13) right? I mean, come on, she was upset and distressed and hurting and she was just saying all this in her head. Surely she would not be held to this “if-then” prayer…
Ladies here is the thing with our God. He is very much aware that we are emotional beings. What we find in His Word is that He provides a safety net of sorts for us women. In Numbers 30 God devotes an entire chapter to the importance of keeping a vow and most of this chapter is focused on the vow of a woman.
In Numbers 30 God gives our husband and our father the right to null and void any vow we have made if they do not approve of it. Now some females might find this offensive, but this woman right here finds it comforting. I find it comforting because I know how hard it is for me to say no and easy it is for me to say, that’s okay I will do it, and I also know the outlandish promises and comments I can make when I am… well in the way of woman… and life feels like it’s crashing down all around me or out from under me. So knowing that my moments of irrational frustration are protected and guarded by men who love me brings me security. Trust me, I can make some rash statements with these lips that I had rather not be held to when the dust settles and the smoke clears.
However, what we see in 1 Samuel with Hannah… is that her husband did not null and void her vow. Here was his wife, that he loved. The wife he had watched for years in racking sobs and depression over her infertility. He heard of the vow she made and he was there when the Lord opened her womb and she discovered she was with child… and it was a son.
Elkanah could have stepped in and said, “Honey you don’t have to keep that vow you made to the Lord. This is the son you have hoped for, that “if-then” prayer… God will understand. Really let’s keep him here and raise him and he will be my heir”
But Elkanah did not do that. He was in agreement with his wife, that they would honor the Lord, by honoring their vow to Him. Hannah kept Samuel at home until he was able to be weaned and then she and Elkanah brought him to the temple and dedicated him to the Lord, just as she promised she would.
She said, “Oh, my lord! As your soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you, praying to the Lord. For this boy I prayed, and theLord has given me my petition which I asked of Him. So I have also dedicated him to the Lord; as long as he lives he is dedicated to the Lord.” And he worshiped the Lord there.
1 Samuel 1:26-28
Can you imagine how hard this was for her. To release her son to Eli the priest. She would only see him once a year… yet she kept her vow. Hannah was a woman of integrity and a woman of her word. She honored God.
Now in contrast, let’s take a look at Eli’s sons.
Now the sons of Eli were worthless men; they did not know the Lord
1 Samuel 2:12
Eli’s sons were worthless. They did not honor God and they did not know God… even though they were raised in the priesthood… yes, they were the PK’s, the preacher’s kids.
What we discover next is that God is pretty upset with Eli about his sons… but what I want you to see is why.
Why do you kick at My sacrifice and at My offering which I have commanded in My dwelling, and honor your sons above Me, by making yourselves fat with the choicest of every offering of My people Israel?’
1 Samuel 2:29
God was not holding Eli responsible for the actions of his grown sons… He was, however, holding him responsible for not dealing with them. Eli chose to honor his sons over honoring the Lord and did nothing more than “have a talk” with them about how they were blaspheming God within His temple and openly ignoring the commands of God before the people of Israel.
So we have a contrast of two sets of parents.
One honored God over honoring their son.
The other honored their sons over honoring God.
If you are a parent… which one best defines you?