What do Steven Harper, Billy Graham and Ted Bundy all have in common? They all have or had a mother. That just might be a bit of an obvious statement, to be sure. But the fact is, each one of us here has, or had, a mother who helped us develop into who we are today.
Some of us were shaped positively, some negatively. We grew up either under loving care, or under uncertain neglect. Some of us can look back at happy memories of our moms, while others look back and maybe mourn a loss. I was blessed enough to have a very loving and caring upbringing with both a Mother as well as a Father that cared, loved and helped shape me into a child of God. Not only that, but I was surrounded by friends, family, and many other positive “motherly” influences. Even now, I look at my wife and our friends and I see so many positive mothers influencing the next generation. But I’m not so naive to think that everyone has had the same experiences. And as such, I do understand that celebrating Mother’s day can be a bittersweet day for many. But the fact remains that regardless of whether a mother wants to or not, she is shaping the next generation one child at a time.
Mothers have the power to shape the world. And a Christian mother has the ability to shape the world in a way beyond our imagination by her devotion to God.
This morning I want to talk about a mother that is an example for us all, not just an example for mothers. The bible is full of great examples of mothers. From Eve to Mary and many others, we see many examples of strong, loving, and caring mothers. So why Hannah, you many ask? Here’s an example of a mother that really spent very little time actually being a mom, right? And yet she is an example for us to follow?
Let’s dig a little deeper into who this woman of the Old Testament was, and what examples she lived out for us.
When we first meet Hannah in I Samuel we meet a woman that is actually in pain. We find Hannah in tears, because she was barren. In those times, not being able to have children was a major deal, even considered a failure of a wife’s duties. To add to the situation Hannah was in, her husband had a second wife who was able to conceive and taunted Hannah about it.
1 Samuel 1:1-8
1 There was a certain man from Ramathaim, a Zuphite[a] from the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Elkanah son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. 2 He had two wives; one was called Hannah and the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none.
3 Year after year this man went up from his town to worship and sacrifice to the LORD Almighty at Shiloh, where Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, were priests of the LORD. 4 Whenever the day came for Elkanah to sacrifice, he would give portions of the meat to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters. 5 But to Hannah he gave a double portion because he loved her, and the LORD had closed her womb. 6 Because the LORD had closed Hannah’s womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her. 7 This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the LORD, her rival provoked her till she wept and would not eat. 8 Her husband Elkanah would say to her, “Hannah, why are you weeping? Why don’t you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don’t I mean more to you than ten sons?”
Hannah’s troubles, however, produced in her a level of desperation that caused her to seek God’s help. As Christians, it is often during our struggles, during our hardest times that we are the most devoted to God. We find ourselves praying more frequently, reading the Word more faithfully and following God more fervently. Hannah was no different. As her troubles drove her to tears, they also drove her to God.
1 Samuel 1:9-18
9 Once when they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah stood up. Now Eli the priest was sitting on his chair by the doorpost of the LORD’s house. 10 In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the LORD, weeping bitterly. 11 And she made a vow, saying, “LORD Almighty, if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the LORD for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head.”
12 As she kept on praying to the LORD, Eli observed her mouth. 13 Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk 14 and said to her, “How long are you going to stay drunk? Put away your wine.”
15 “Not so, my lord,” Hannah replied, “I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the LORD. 16 Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief.”
17 Eli answered, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him.”
18 She said, “May your servant find favor in your eyes.” Then she went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast.
Let’s look at Hannah’s prayer. She’s praying as she is weeping, and she pleads with God to “...look on your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son...” At this point, we are seeing a desperate and maybe even angry Hannah as she put her request before God.
She had good reason to be discouraged and upset. She could not have children, she had to share her husband with another woman, a woman who laughed in her face and mocked her, her husband was unable to help her and even the high priest did not understand her motives. Yet instead of being bitter and resentful, she brought her problem before God hopeful that He would help her. Her prayer opened up the way for God to work.
This prayer also shows us an example of a God who cares about us. Our purpose on this earth is to worship and glorify God. Not to have nice cars or a big house. Not to work. Not even to have children. And yet, God still sees us and cares about our desires and wishes. Hannah’s prayer doesn’t show any worship, praise or even adoration. At this point, she is simply beyond herself, and instead cries out for God’s mercy. In fact, she even bargains with God. She promises God that if He gives her a son, she would give that son right back to Him. But God still cares, and God listens.
One key thing we can pick up here from Hannah’s prayer is that God wants to hear the desires of our hearts. He wants to hear our pain. Hannah expressed her true feelings with honesty, laying it all out before God. We should do the same. Yes, it is critical that we glorify and praise God. But, as imperfect humans living in a broken world, God knows that we will go through times that cause us to fall on our knees, pouring our hearts out to Him.
But, let’s notice here not just Hannah’s desperate prayer. Notice also what she does afterwards. Hannah went away, ate something, and was in better spirits (her face was no longer downcast). She left her problems with God! She poured out her heart before her Saviour, and then left her problems with Him. She believed that God would take care of her, and she left upbeat and positive. So often, we find ourselves pouring our hearts out to God, laying our problems down before Him, only to gather them all up again and bring those same problems back out with us rather than leaving them in God’s capable hands.
I Samuel 1:19-23
19 Early the next morning they arose and worshiped before the LORD and then went back to their home at Ramah. Elkanah made love to his wife Hannah, and the LORD remembered her. 20 So in the course of time Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel,[b] saying, “Because I asked the LORD for him.”
21 When her husband Elkanah went up with all his family to offer the annual sacrifice to the LORD and to fulfill his vow, 22 Hannah did not go. She said to her husband, “After the boy is weaned, I will take him and present him before the LORD, and he will live there always.”[c]23 “Do what seems best to you,” her husband Elkanah told her. “Stay here until you have weaned him; only may the LORD make good his[d] word.” So the woman stayed at home and nursed her son until she had weaned him.
God gave Hannah the desire of her heart! Hannah gave birth to a boy! One thing I would like to point out here is the dedication of this family to God. First of all, they made a yearly trip to Shiloh to worship God and offer sacrifices. Secondly, we find Hannah in desperation praying and pouring her heart out to God. And now, the next morning before they leave, they once again get up early and the first thing they do is they go and worship the Lord again before returning home. God does honour Hannah’s plea, but let’s not overlook the fact that Hannah and her family were dedicated in their worship and praise of the Lord as well. Hannah displayed full trust and devotion to her God throughout these hard times. Hannah understood that while she was in misery, in the end worship of the Lord was still of utmost importance.
And God rewards her devotion by giving her a son.
Let’s continue reading.
I Samuel 1:24-28
24 After he was weaned, she took the boy with her, young as he was, along with a three-year-old bull,[e] an ephah[f] of flour and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the LORD at Shiloh. 25 When the bull had been sacrificed, they brought the boy to Eli, 26 and she said to him, “Pardon me, my lord. As surely as you live, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the LORD. 27 I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him. 28 So now I give him to the LORD. For his whole life he will be given over to the LORD.” And he worshiped the LORD there.
This is the section of this story that is truly amazing. Many of us can relate to Hannah in her sorrow and desperation. Some of us can even relate to maybe even attempting to bargain with God. But very few of us can stand there beside Hannah and proudly say that we held up our end of the “bargain” that we made with God. Hannah does.
Hannah raises Samuel until he was weaned. How old Samuel was, it doesn’t say here exactly in these chapters. The New Living Translation says that Hannah tells Eli the priest that she had stood before him several years before praying for a son. Regardless, whether he was 2 years old or 6 years old, the fact remains that he was a very small, young boy. And Hannah gave him to God.
Can you imagine? How many of you here today are mothers? Even fathers? Can you imagine giving up your only child to the church? Can you imagine walking away from your son? I can’t. I have a hard enough time parting with my tithe sometimes... Do you remember the story of the rich man who asked Jesus what he needed to do to get to heaven? Jesus responded that he must give up everything he owned, which made the rich man sad because he knew he couldn’t do it. Yet Hanna gave up her son! Don’t you think if given the option, she would’ve gladly chosen her belongings over her son? Instead, Hannah entrusts her son to the Lord, not begrudgingly, but with joy.
The key here is that she gave him to the Lord. She didn’t entrust him with Eli, the priest. In fact, if you are familiar with the story surrounding Eli and his sons at this time, you can be sure that Eli was not very good at raising children. Chapter 2 says that Eli’s two sons were “scoundrels” with “no regard for the Lord.” They manipulated the people, they stole food that the people of Israel would offer as sacrifices to the Lord. They treated God with contempt and disrespect, and yet they held a position of power over the people. If they did this in front of everyone, I can only imagine what life might have been like in the temple behind closed doors. This was no place for a child to be raised and taught about the Lord!
Yet, this is not what Hannah saw. Hannah saw her God, and trusted in her God, not the priests. She rested in who she knew she served, not in the humans that were displaying such a poor example of what following God really was. These priests could’ve learned a lot just from Hannah!
Hannah not only gives up her son, the child that she so desperately wanted, but she does so willingly and joyfully. They sacrificed to God, and worshipped him. Not once does it mention anything about Hannah feeling regret or remorse. This feeling of confidence can only come from one place, and that’s from God.
How often have you entered into a situation that was out of your control? How often did life seem uncertain and by all logic, you had nothing to rely on? Take a lesson out of the life of Hannah. Don’t put your trust in what is untrustworthy. Put your trust in God. And you can face the uncertainties with joy.
Let’s continue reading into the next chapter, the prayer of Hannah.
I Samuel 2:1-10
1 Then Hannah prayed and said:
“My heart rejoices in the LORD;
in the LORD my horn[a] is lifted high.
My mouth boasts over my enemies,
for I delight in your deliverance.
2 “There is no one holy like the LORD;
there is no one besides you;
there is no Rock like our God.
3 “Do not keep talking so proudly
or let your mouth speak such arrogance,
for the LORD is a God who knows,
and by him deeds are weighed.
4 “The bows of the warriors are broken,
but those who stumbled are armed with strength.
5 Those who were full hire themselves out for food,
but those who were hungry are hungry no more.
She who was barren has borne seven children,
but she who has had many sons pines away.
6 “The LORD brings death and makes alive;
he brings down to the grave and raises up.
7 The LORD sends poverty and wealth;
he humbles and he exalts.
8 He raises the poor from the dust
and lifts the needy from the ash heap;
he seats them with princes
and has them inherit a throne of honor.
“For the foundations of the earth are the LORD’s;
on them he has set the world.
9 He will guard the feet of his faithful servants,
but the wicked will be silenced in the place of darkness.
“It is not by strength that one prevails;
10 those who oppose the LORD will be broken.
The Most High will thunder from heaven;
the LORD will judge the ends of the earth.
“He will give strength to his king
and exalt the horn of his anointed.”
For those of you out there who are moms, if you had just given up your only child at such a young age, would these be the words coming out of your mouth? How about the fathers in the room? This should’ve been a heart wrenching ordeal. And yet, Hannah’s confidence and satisfaction in God is simply amazing.
So how does this story relate to Mother’s Day? Here’s a woman that didn’t have any children at first. Then, she has a son for a few years at the most, and yet gives him to the Lord. So how is Hannah a good example of a good mother? Hannah, through her devotion to God, influenced the direction of a nation. Had Hannah turned bitter towards God about being barren, had she resented Him, and not prayed her prayer of desperation, then who knows, but maybe God wouldn’t have used her! And yet, Samuel was born to Hannah, Samuel who became one of Israel’s greatest prophets. A leader who ushered in a great era. Samuel’s devotion to God was unequalled, and we can now see that he had an amazing example to follow in his own mother.
Consider the impact Samuel had on Israel. The state of Israel at the time was fading. The priests were leading Israel along a dangerous path, and once Samuel took over, he began putting the country back on the right track and he led Israel in the way they should be, as nation of God. Samuel was also responsible for leading in the era of the Kings. First with King Saul, but then more importantly with King David.
All of this wasn’t possible if it weren’t for Hannah’s dedication to God. Hannah’s willingness to serve God, no matter what, resulted in one of Israel’s most successful eras.
And Hannah’s influence didn’t end once she walked away from her son. She made Samuel a new cloak every year that she and her husband came to Shiloh. She wasn’t heavily involved in his upbringing, but she still had input in his life. And you can rest assured that Hannah’s prayers turned from pleading with God for a child, to placing that child in God’s hands daily. As a mother, she would think of Samuel I’m sure on a daily basis, praying for him and placing him in God’s hands.
To contrast this, I mentioned Ted Bundy earlier. I don’t want to even begin to discuss his life here this morning. But what I will mention is his upbringing. He was born to a single mother, and his father is an unknown. He was raised by his grandparents, of whom his grandfather was known to be abusive, and his grandmother was timid and depressed. Is it any surprise that Ted took such a negative and dark path in his life?
Of course, your upbringing is no excuse for your actions today. Good people can come from bad upbringings, and bad people can come from good upbringings. But the vast majority of us end up positively or negatively largely based on the positive or negative influences of our lives. Our mothers are a huge part of those influences.
Let’s consider more examples of a mother’s influence. First of all, Mary, the mother of Jesus. Mary became pregnant with Jesus before she was married. Likely, the majority of those around her didn’t buy the whole “virgin birth” story. As such, Mary and Joseph most likely raised Jesus under a tainted reputation. People probably saw Mary as a “scandalous” woman. They most likely looked down upon her, probably even mocking her or avoiding her when they would see Mary on the streets.
Later on, as Jesus begins his ministry, we also see that at some point Joseph is out of the picture, leaving Mary as a widow.
And, during Jesus’ ministry, who were the two types of women that he showed most compassion to? Prostitutes and Widows. He knew what it was like to live life as a “scandal”, and he knew what it was like to live life as a child of a widow. Yet, Mary’s dedication and devotion to God is evident also in her ability to let Jesus go. She trusted in God, regardless of the circumstances of her own life.
How about a more recent example of a mother’s influence? We all know President Obama. What maybe we all don’t know is his upbringing. His father left when he was 2 years old. His mother was a strong woman, and raised him on her own. Here are some quotes about Obama’s mother:
· “...people who knew [his mother] well say they see her influence unmistakably in Mr. Obama.”
· “He would not be where he is today, he has said, had it not been for her.”
· “I think sometimes that had I known she would not survive her illness, I might have written a different book — less a meditation on the absent parent, more a celebration of the one who was the single constant in my life.” (Obama, in reference to his book he wrote about his Father)
Whether positively or negatively, mothers influence and shape the world. People like Ted Bundy have shaped the world in a negative way, creating fear, sadness and hopelessness. People like Obama, regardless of your political views of him, have the power to shape the world in a way that will impact all for years to come. And people like Samuel did shape the nation of Israel, bringing them closer to God and demonstrating what it meant to be a follower of the Lord, dedicated and devoted.
A mother’s influence is not something to take lightly. For those of us that can look back on our lives and recognize the positive influence our mother’s had, and how they shaped our lives, lets thank them. For those of us who are helping our wives be mothers to our children, let’s give them the support, love and encouragement that they need to be the positive influence in our children’s life. For those of us maybe on the sidelines, friends and family of a mother, let’s dedicate ourselves to helping these mothers continue to be a positive influence. Hannah had the support of a loving and caring husband to help her through. Let’s all work together to encourage those mothers around us.
No comments:
Post a Comment