Day 7 

# 7 Lady in Waiting:

Hannah   

HER NAME MEANS  "Favor or Grace"

  Her Story: 1 Samuel 1:1 - 2:19 

Hannah was the name of one of the wives of Elkanah the Levite, and the mother of Samuel. Her home was at Ramathaim-zophim, from where she went every year to go to Shiloh, where the tabernacle had been pitched by Joshua, to attend the offering of sacrifices there according to the law, probably at the feast of the Passover. On occasion of one of these yearly visits, being grieved by reason of Peninnah's 

(the other wife) conduct toward her, she went forth alone, and kneeling before the Lord at the sanctuary she prayed inaudibly. Eli the hight priest, who sat at the entrance to the holy place, observed her, and misunderstanding her character he harshly condemned her conduct.  After hearing her explanation he retracted his injurious charge and said to her, "Go in peace: and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition." 

Thereafter Elkanah and his family retired to their quiet home, and there, before another Passover, Hannah gave birth to a son, whom, in grateful memory of the Lord's goodness, she called Samuel, meaning "heard of God". After the child as weaned she brought him to Shiloh into the house of the Lord, and said to Eli the aged priest, "Oh my lord, I am the woman that stood by thee here, praying unto the Lord. For this child I prayed; and the Lord hath given me my petition which I asked of him: therefore I also have granted him to the Lord; as long as he liveth he is granted to the Lord." 

Her gladness of heart then found vent in that remarkable prophetic song which contains the first designation of the Messiah under that name. ("Annointed.") And so Samuel and his parents parted. He was left at Shiloh to minister "before the Lord." And each year, when they came up to Shiloh, Hannah brought to her absent child a little coat, a priestly robe, a long upper tunic, in which to minister in the tabernacle. "And the child Samuel grew before the Lord" After Samuel, Hannah had three sons and two daughters.                                                                                                                                

                                                               

Her Character:

Great faith and trust in God to do His will in her life. She did not return malice talk to her advisory- the other wife. She poured her heart out to God. ( 1 Samuel 2:1 "My heart rejoices in the LORD; my horn is exalted in the LORD; I smile at my enemies, Because I rejoice in Your salvation.") 

What she waited for:

 For God to vindicate her. She waited on God to see how He would use her son.                     

John MacArthur's book Twelve Extraordinary Women brings light to Hannah's life. 

Hannah's name means "grace." It's a fitting designation for a woman whose life was crowned with grace and who became a living emblem of the grace of motherhood. A study of her life reveals the classic profile of a godly mother. 

Yet Hannah almost despaired of ever becoming a mother. Her experience strongly echoes Sarah's. Like Sarah, she was childless and distraught over it. Both women's marriages were plagued with stress because of their husbands' bigamy. Both of them ultimately received the blessing they sought from God, and in both cases, the answers to their prayers turn out to be exceedingly and abundantly more significant than they had ever dared to ask or think. Hannah's son, Samuel, was the last of the judges. He was also a priest- the one who formally inaugurated the true royal line of Israel by anointing David as king. Samuel became a towering figure in Israel's history. Thus Hannah's life often mirrored that of the original matriarch, Sarah. Most of all, she mirrored Sarah's amazing faith and perseverance. 

In a similar way; Hannah also foreshadowed Mary, the mother of Jesus. Hannah's prayer of dedication in 1 Samuel 2:1-10 was the model for Mary's magnificat in Luke 1:46-55. Both Hannah and Mary formally dedicated their first sons to the Lord (1 Samuel 1:24-28; Luke 2:22-24). Surrender to God's will cost each of them dearly in terms of emotional suffering. (In Hannah's case, this meant the painful sorrow of separation from her own child. Samuel left home to begin his full-time training in the tabernacle when he was still a young toddler, at a time when most children still enjoy the comfort of their mothers' arms). 

We rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. 
And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.  
Romans 5: 2-5

I waited patiently for the LORD; and He inclined to me and heard my cry. 
Psalm 40:1 

 TO PONDER IN YOUR HEART: Have you surrendered to God's will? Are you willing to pay the cost knowing that it will produce character and hope? We have these precious examples from the women of the Old Testament to give us hope. What is God asking you to do?