Author and playwright, Oscar Wilde, had this to say about marriage. “Bigamy is having one wife too many. Monogamy is the same.” In other words, Wilde thought having even one wife was too many. This is probably due to the fact that though he was married, he spent most of his life as a gay man. I will never hold Oscar Wilde up as any kind of authority, but he happens to be right about one thing: bigamy is having one wife to many. This was Elkanah’s problem as well. The first person on the scene in the book of 1 Samuel is a man named Elkanah, who was a bigamist. He had one wife too many. He was married to two women—Hannah and Penninah. We are familiar with Hannah because she becomes the father of the prophet Samuel, who in turn anoints David as the second king of Israel. This is the reason we are looking at her story this morning. Hannah is a woman of faith and trust. We know Hannah’s story, but we forget about Penninah, who was not just the other woman, but the other wife. We don’t learn too much about Penninah, other than that she was able to bear children and Hannah was not. Verse six reveals the character of Penninah. “And because the Lord had closed [Hannah’s] womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her.”

Just imagine how difficult this would have been for Hannah. Today, some women who suffer through infertility find it difficult to be around little children and babies because they are a living reminder of their inability to conceive their own children. But Hannah’s problem was so much more severe than the average woman of today. First, she was barren. Second, she lived in a culture where barrenness was a great tragedy. Third, her husband’s second wife was able to bear children, who all lived together in the same house with Hannah. Fourth, in a battle of feminine competition at its worst, the other wife mercilessly provoked Hannah. Interestingly, in verse six, Penninah is not even named, she is simply referred to as Hannah’s rival. One can only imagine the names and taunts that were leveled against Hannah. “You may think that Elkanah loves you more, but I have given him children and you have not.” “You’re not a real woman!” Penninah may have even taught her own children to despise Hannah. Therefore we can say that one of Hannah’s biggest problems arose from Elkanah’s decision to marry two women.

This raises an important question that Christians rarely talk about: Why did God allow polygamy in the Old Testament period? Most of the major figures in the O.T. had more than one wife but we usually gloss over this important detail as if it is no big deal. We do need to have an answer to this question, especially if we are to defend the traditional marriage between one man and one woman. Every proponent of traditional marriage that I have ever read, always uses the fear of polygamy as one of the reasons for outlawing gay marriage or civil unions. Here is a quote from the Focus on the Family website. “If…the right to marry whomever you want is a fundamental civil right, how do we say “no” to a woman who wants to become the third wife of a polygamist…?”[1] The argument against civil unions goes like this. If we allow civil unions, soon we will have a nation full of polygamists. That may be true, but an easy comeback to this argument is the question I just asked: Why did God allow polygamy in the Old Testament period? God does not outright condone polygamy in the OT, but he certainly does not explicitly outlaw it either. If we cannot answer this question then we will not be able to defend the true Biblical ideal of marriage as being between one man and one woman.

I don’t want to get stuck on this question because it is not the most important topic in this passage. As we study the life of David, who himself had eight wives, we will definitely answer this question, but until then, I encourage you to try to find your own answer. It’s not the key to this passage, but as we have already found, polygamy does impact this story in a significant way. The first thing I can say about Hannah is that she is the most righteous of all of the women in the O.T. who lived in polygamous marriages. Take Sarah for example. Even though it was her idea for Abraham to conceive a child with Hagar, Sarah and Hagar had continual jealousies and infighting between them. Finally Sarah said to Abraham, “Get rid of that slave woman and her son.” The same was true with Rachel and Leah. They were not engaged in an arms  race like that which existed between the U.S. and the Soviet Union during the cold war. Rather, they were engaged in an arms and legs race—that is, a race to see who had the most arms and legs attached to newborn babies! Theirs’ was a four-way battle among two wives and two concubines that reads like an announcer at the racetrack.

An they’re off…Leah moves out to an early lead giving birth to Reuben, and immediately after that she gives birth to Simeon…and coming around the first bend she takes a commanding lead and gives birth to Levi…then she buries all competitors and gives birth to Simeon…but wait, Leah begins to stumble and slow down as Rachel gives her maidservant Billah to Jacob and she gives birth to Dan…Rachel is gaining strong as Billah gives birth to Naphtali…Rachel is making an amazing comeback…but hold on race fans, it’s not over yet…Leah is back in action as she puts her maidservant Zilpah into the race who gives birth to Gad…Leah surges again as Zilpah bears Asher… she seems unstoppable now as she gives birth Issachar, now Zebulun…it’s all over, Rachel will never catch her now…it’s all over…no…no, I can’t believe what I am seeing…Leah is down…ladies and gentleman, Leah is down, she can’t go any further…Rachel is turning the final bend and has gained her second wind…she is flying now…she is going to pass Leah any moment…there she goes, Rachel leaves Leah in the dust and gives birth to Joseph…Joseph is the pride and joy of his father…Rachel crosses the finish line…ladies and gentleman, it’s the upset of the century…Rachel is the winner!

If you thought your family Thanksgiving dinner was dysfunctional, you got nothin’ on these O.T. characters. Every time there was polygamy, there were problems. (By the way, that is part of the answer to the question of polygamy.) Sarah fought with Hagar. Rachel fought with Leah. Penninah ruthlessly provoked Hannah, but there is no evidence that Hannah ever fought back. Penninah had children but lacked good character, and Hannah possessed good character but lacked children. She cried and prayed and asked the Lord for a son, but the Lord was silent. Remember, this was a time in Israel’s history when God was relatively silent. 1 Samuel 3:1 says, “In those days, the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions.” Hannah prayed yet God was silent. Then, as the story goes, God did finally answer Hannah’s prayer. Hannah’s story can be summarized in four verses.

1. The LORD had closed her womb. (v. 5)

2. The God of Israel grant your petition. (v. 17)

3. The LORD remembered her. (v. 19)

4. The LORD has granted me my petition. (v. 27)

Her answered prayer brought forth a prayer of praise, which reads much like a Psalm and has parallels to Mary’s song of praise when she found out she was carrying the Messiah in her womb.

Then Hannah prayed and said:

“My heart rejoices in the Lord; in the Lord my horn 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 hunger 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; upon them he has set the world.

^9 He will guard the feet of his saints, but the wicked will be silenced in darkness.

“It is not by strength that one prevails;

^10 those who oppose the Lord will be shattered. He will thunder against them 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.”

^11 Then Elkanah went home to Ramah, but the boy ministered before the Lord under Eli the priest.

So is this just another one of those Bible stories that start out with tension and difficulty, but by the end of the story everything works out perfect? An extremely oversimplified application of this story would go like this: God answered Hannah’s prayer in her time of trouble and he will answer you in your time of need as well. But as I said, this is terribly oversimplified and poor application of the story. Let me offer a few more appropriate applications.

1. Just because God seems “silent” does not mean that he is not active. God’s plan was for Hannah to give birth to Samuel. Samuel was a huge figure in O.T. history. Samuel was the last and arguably the greatest of Israel’s judges. He was the transition between the ruling of the judges and the ruling of the kings. He anointed Saul as the first king of Israel. Then he announced to Saul that God had left him and Samuel anointed a young shepherd boy named David as heir to the throne. In many ways, Samuel was to David what John the Baptist was to Jesus. In my opinion, the primary role in Samuel’s life was preparing the way for David to be king.

Interestingly, Samuel would have been born very close to the time that Ruth’s son Obed was born. By my estimates, Obed, the grandfather of David, was born ten to twenty years before Samuel and then Jesse, David’s father would have been born ten to twenty years after Samuel. We have no evidence that Ruth and Hannah ever knew one another, but their lives were sewn together by the birth of their respective sons. God may have seemed to be silent, but he was still very active and in sovereign control over all things and all people.

The same may be true of your life this morning. It may feel as if God has been silent in your life. Maybe it feels like you prayers are hitting the ceiling and don’t seem to reach the ears of God. There are many reasons why your prayers may not be heard. Our unrepentant sin can hinder our prayers. Our selfish motives can hinder our prayers. But even if you are praying as humbly and contritely as you possibly can, if God still seems silent to you, you must take hope that he is still active. Hannah would have asked the question that everyone asks during difficult times—why. Why is this happening to me. You may not have the answer you seek, but it does not mean that God is not active in your life to bring about his purposes.

2. Just because God seems “silent” does not mean that he is not speaking. That sounds like a contradiction, but let me explain what I mean. God was not speaking new revelation into Hannah’s life, but God was speaking through Hannah’s barrenness. His message to Hannah was this: “This is my plan for you, my daughter. Will you still follow me even though you can’t bear children?” Other than a blessing from Eli the priest, God did not speak new revelation to Hannah about Samuel’s birth, but he was still speaking through Samuel’s birth. Do you think Hannah, Elkanah, Eli or Samuel could have possibly predicted the outcome of Samuel’s life? No one knew what was coming, yet Hannah knew that God was in control. In her prayer she praised God as her deliverer. She said, “There is no one holy like you, Lord.” In verse six she proclaimed, “The Lord brings death and makes alive; he brings down to the grave and raises up. The Lord sends poverty and wealth; he humbles and he exalts.” Wait a minute Hannah. Are you telling me you got all of that out of the birth of your son? Yes, she did. She knew that God was a resurrection God. She knew that God was a deliverer. She knew that God was able to take the most insignificant woman in all of Israel, a woman who could not even bear children for the Lord, and exalt her as one of the greatest women in all of Scripture and use her future son to turn the tide of Israel’s history.

No one here this morning is going to figure prominently into a future version of the Bible, but know this: God is the one who turns things upside down. If you are proud, he will humble you. If you are humble, he will exalt you. God spoke through Hannah’s barrenness. God spoke through Samuel’s birth and now, most importantly, God is continually speaking through his word. We cannot say that “the word of the Lord is rare.” One of the applications from Hannah’s story is that God is never silent. God is never silent because he is always speaking through his word. The God who delivers the poor and needy is never silent. The God who exalts the humble and humbles the proud is never silent. The God who breaks the bows of the warrior and strengthens the powerless is never silent. He is always speaking, we need only to pick up his word and listen.

A remarkable thing about Hannah’s prayer for a son is that I don’t think she was actually praying for a son. Her request in chapter one is summarized this way. If you give me a son, “I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life.” Notice, she did not say, if you give me a son, I will give him to the Lord, but then you have to give me more children in return for the first son I gave to you. This was no cheap bargain with God. This was no prayer that says, “Lord, if you give me a million dollars I promise to give half of it to the building fund.” Hannah said, if you give me a son I will give him to you. She wasn’t going to raise her son. She wasn’t going to keep her son. She was promising to give him back to the Lord. Even though we model our baby dedications after this story, this was no simple prayer of dedication. When we dedicate our children to the Lord, we are making a promise to raise them in the fear and admonition of the Lord, but Hannah made no such promise. She said, if you give me a son, he is yours. I relinquish all claim over his life. He is no longer mine. He is yours alone.

You see, she wasn’t so much asking for a son as she was asking for more of God. Her son was a sign that God was present and powerful and still speaking to his children. What did she name her son? She named him Samuel, which means, “the Lord hears.” I think Hannah knew that though a son would be a good gift, the greatest gift was God himself. Can I suggest to you that we model our prayers after Hannah’s? When we ask for something, instead of merely receiving the gift as coming from the good hand of God, may we see the gift as God himself? In this time of thanksgiving, may we never stop with thanking the Lord for his gifts, but to see each and every gift as the gift of God himself. Do you see the difference? A gift of comfort is not is not comfort from God but rather the God who comforts. He is giving himself, as if he says to us, “I am the God who comforts.” A gift of salvation is not salvation from God but the God who saves. A gift of deliverance is not deliverance from God but rather the God who delivers. Even his best and greatest gifts cannot be more valuable than the one who gave them. The message of Hannah and he prayer is that God is not silent and God’s greatest gift is not the things he gives us, but the gift of his presence.

Rich Maurer

November 25, 2007