Even though this is generally a “first
take” I still think we need to do some basic contextual work as we begin. The
Prophet/Judge/King Maker Samuel is generally considered to be the author of the
book with the time frame being that of the end of the period of the Judges. The
nation of Israel had severely stubbed Its toe after a generally good start in
the book of Joshua. In the “good start” they were following God and conquering
the land that God had given them but, as is human nature, when life started to
get a little easier and as time passed, they lost their focus and began preoccupying
themselves with other things. This led to a continuous cycle in the book of
Judges where the People of God would do their own thing (not follow God), be
oppressed by other nations, call out to God in their distress, God send a Judge
to help lead them back to Him (God) and out of oppression, things would get
better, they would stop following God, and so the cycle goes. Unfortunately
this was, in general, an downward cycle so that by the end of the book of
Judges things are just about as bad as they can get (As bad as Sodom and Gomorrah)
and most people don’t even know how to serve God appropriately even if they
wanted to. This is the very brief historical context at which we find the beginning
of 1st Samuel. Whew!
As with any good story we find main
characters introduced, protagonists, antagonists etc. right off the bat. We
have a man with his basic lineage described, his two wives listed, and a
problem. The problem is that one wife is able to produce children and the other
one cannot. Now to us the fact that this guy has two wives probably seems
pretty weird and while the Bible never outright condemns polygamy, each and
every case of polygamy in the Bible is wrought with problems. Even though the
idea of polygamy is offensive in our current culture, it might make a little
bit more sense in this case if we consider the historical context a bit
further.
Remember that we are in a time period
where Israel has lost a lot of battles and have been oppressed by the surrounding
nations. When you lose a lot of battles, you have a lot of men, married or of marginable
age die, leaving a lot of women widowed or without many prospects to every get
married. So there was likely a huge imbalance in the male to female ratio here.
Now, if you wanted to grow a nation and have a large family (large families
were good for a lot of reasons back then), it might just make practical sense
to have more than one wife. As we’ll see, however, this isn’t exactly a recipe
for marital bliss.
It is worth noting that this
Elkanah guy seems to actually serving the Lord and trying to live right (not a
lot of people doing this at the time!). However, he’s got problems between his
two wives. One is having kids and the other one isn’t. This is a huge, huge
deal. Kids are a symbol of God’s covenantal blessing to the people of Israel,
they are extra hands around the house and in the field that you don’t have to
pay for, they are extra body guards to protect your land or to help you “ensure”
that no one take advantage of you or your family. They are what carries on your
linage and protects your stake in the land that God has promised you. If you
are not having children, you don’t have any of these things and culturally, you
are not seen as being blessed or as having as much value.
This is exactly where Hannah finds
herself, disgraced, and distraught. This story , however, is purposely placed
here to debunk what would have otherwise been the cultural norm. Hannah’s barrenness
was not a curse from God but was purposely used by God so that His glory might be
shown in her life and the life of her family. This is going to be a major theme
of the book of First Samuel. God will help the helpless, those who realize they
must rely on God and God alone for help. This is where Hannah finds herself,
helpless, a place where God can get the credit for doing a great work.
Application:
We need to realize, no matter where
we are in life, good or bad, that we can do nothing without God’s help and
power. God is ready and willing to use those who fully rely on Him for their
strength. We need to acknowledge our helplessness, ask God for His strength, and
give Him the credit for all this is good in our lives. God has created us for
His glory and we operate best when we give it to Him.
This may sound obvious but too
often, especially when life is easy, we forget to give God the glory for all He
has done in our lives. Seek God when life is good and seek God when life is
bad. Give Him the glory either way. 
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