1 Samuel Overview + 1: Hannah Cancels Persecution with Prayer

In 1 Samuel 1, Hannah prays in desperation asking God for a child. The chapter has four pivotal scenes, taking Hannah from being barren to receiving Samuel as an answer to her prayers.

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At this point in Hannah’s life, her husband is not enough to bring her joy. She is overwhelmed by her barrenness and prays to God in her distress. She prays asking for a child and if given one, she would give him back to God. We see God provide Hannah with a blessing in the form of a son, whom she names Samuel.

Hannah’s story shows that she had a faith that defied her breaking heart. She gave her son, her only son, the one she had prayed for….up. She gave him up to God. And God used the child in a mighty way to save Israel. God would do the same one day with his own son. And we can only imagine the tenderness God felt for Hannah’s sacrifice, a shadow of the one God would make himself, with his own son.

Hannah may have appeared pitiful to her community, but in fact, she was incredibly powerful. Robert Bergen, in his commentary about Hannah said this,
“Hannah teaches that true power is to be found not in one’s position in society but in one’s posture before God…the spiritual powerhouse in this narrative was a socially impotent woman from a rural region.” Hannah was the barren, despised, and demeaned servant of God and through her humble position in a posture of humility, she contributed more to Israel’s future than the high priest Eli, who was in the privileged position of the highest power.