Hannah’s joy-filled prayer of praise for her son Samuel is the wonderful response of a woman who had been denied the (cultural) gift children…and then was gifted Samuel. In her case, it was the rival wife (Peninnah) who continually taunted her. Hannah’s (and Peninnah’s) husband, Elkanah, loved her despite her childlessness, and during the special festivals, gave her a double portion, giving her honor above Peninnah. Elkanah did his best to make Hannah feel worthy and loved, but her heart wasn’t on the same page. She went to the Lord in prayer, and the Lord answered her.
Samuel was born, and Hannah’s shame was done away with. This prayer is amazing. There is joy, praise, thanksgiving…and bittersweetness.
In faith and faithfulness, Hannah gave her son to the Lord. There is an echo here of the firstborn belonging to God. Hannah did not perform an animal sacrifice. She gave her son. While her heart was full of finally being a mother, her heart was hurting.
However, just as she was faithful to God, God was gracious to her. She had more children and was now the mother she longed to be. She had been freed to be who she wanted to be.
One of the greatest promises of Jesus is to be free of the chains that bind us. We can be like Hannah, bound by both societal/cultural chains, by the chains we set upon ourselves, or by the chains that our mistakes become.
The Jews, for example, had chains of blood. They believed their salvation was tied to their bloodline. By that understanding, they had chained themselves to rigors that God had not intended. Instead of being children of God, they had become “slaves” of the rules in the house of God.
Jesus wanted to break them free of their chains. The sad truth is that we often become so comfortable in our chains that we do not want them to go away. The weight, while still weighing us down, is comfortable.
Transformation of our relationship with God is the fulfillment of the Christian life. When we follow our understanding of God’s desires for us, it is not about rules. It is about a loving response to God the Father who loved us before we knew him.
When we cannot step beyond the rules to relationship, we do not get the true power of living free in Jesus Christ. When we don’t invest in our relationship with God, we are just statues in the house of God that cannot sing the praise and glory of God.
- 1) What thoughts and habits are still keeping your walk with Christ empty or shallow?
- 2) Can you relate to Hannah’s freedom? How is it different than we often think of freedom?
- 3) We often tie our self-worth to others’ perceptions and values of us. How does looking at the freedom that Jesus offers challenge that?
- FD) How do rules create and limit relationships?