Monday Devo
Scripture:
1 Samuel 1:1-8
Elkanah and His Family
1 There was a man named Elkanah who lived in Ramah in the region of Zuph in the hill country of Ephraim. He was the son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, of Ephraim. 2 Elkanah had two wives, Hannah and Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah did not.
3 Each year Elkanah would travel to Shiloh to worship and sacrifice to the Lord of Heaven’s Armies at the Tabernacle. The priests of the Lord at that time were the two sons of Eli—Hophni and Phinehas. 4 On the days Elkanah presented his sacrifice, he would give portions of the meat to Peninnah and each of her children. 5 And though he loved Hannah, he would give her only one choice portion because the Lord had given her no children. 6 So Peninnah would taunt Hannah and make fun of her because the Lord had kept her from having children. 7 Year after year it was the same—Peninnah would taunt Hannah as they went to the Tabernacle. Each time, Hannah would be reduced to tears and would not even eat.
8 “Why are you crying, Hannah?” Elkanah would ask. “Why aren’t you eating? Why be downhearted just because you have no children? You have me—isn’t that better than having ten sons?”
Elkanah and His Family
1 There was a man named Elkanah who lived in Ramah in the region of Zuph in the hill country of Ephraim. He was the son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, of Ephraim. 2 Elkanah had two wives, Hannah and Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah did not.
3 Each year Elkanah would travel to Shiloh to worship and sacrifice to the Lord of Heaven’s Armies at the Tabernacle. The priests of the Lord at that time were the two sons of Eli—Hophni and Phinehas. 4 On the days Elkanah presented his sacrifice, he would give portions of the meat to Peninnah and each of her children. 5 And though he loved Hannah, he would give her only one choice portion because the Lord had given her no children. 6 So Peninnah would taunt Hannah and make fun of her because the Lord had kept her from having children. 7 Year after year it was the same—Peninnah would taunt Hannah as they went to the Tabernacle. Each time, Hannah would be reduced to tears and would not even eat.
8 “Why are you crying, Hannah?” Elkanah would ask. “Why aren’t you eating? Why be downhearted just because you have no children? You have me—isn’t that better than having ten sons?”
Commentary:
Probably Hannah was Elkanah’s first wife, since she is named first. Presumably he married Peninnah because Hannah was barren; lack of an heir was a major problem in the ancient Near East, as in many other societies. Taking a second wife was one way to try to solve the problem (Gen. 16:2), as was levirate marriage (see note on Matt. 22:24; also Gen. 38:8; Deut. 25:6). Elkanah’s pedigree suggests that it would be important to him to have an heir to continue the family and also that he was prosperous enough to afford a second marriage.
1:3 year by year. This may have been an annual family or clan gathering, celebrated by all its members, including women and children, such as the one later held by David’s family (20:6). the LORD of hosts. This is the first appearance in the Bible of the title “the LORD of hosts,” to whom Elkanah sacrifices and Hannah prays (1:11) at Shiloh. The title is used in Samuel several times and very frequently in the Psalms and the Prophets. “Hosts” (Hb. tseba’ot) is probably the plural of an abstract noun meaning something like “plentifulness” or “numberlessness.” Hence, it refers to numerous entities such as heavenly bodies (Isa. 40:26), angelic beings (Josh. 5:14, “army of the LORD”), the armies of Israel (1 Sam. 17:45), or all creatures (Gen. 2:1). The title may originally have been particularly connected with worship at the Shiloh sanctuary (see 1 Sam. 4:4), in which case “hosts” would probably have referred to angelic beings, portrayed as God’s “armies.” Shiloh, the modern Khirbet Seilun, is 20 miles (32 km) north of Jerusalem, toward the eastern border of Ephraim. The tent of meeting was set up there in Josh. 18:1. The city also appears in Judg. 21:19–24 as the place from which the Benjaminites took their brides. Its destruction, presumably at the time of the events of 1 Samuel 4, is mentioned in Ps. 78:60 and Jer. 7:12–14.
1:4 portions. Elkanah’s sacrifice is a “peace offering,” in which parts of the sacrificial animal are burned, parts are given to the priest, and parts are eaten by the people who brought the sacrifice (Lev. 7:11–36; see also 1 Sam. 2:12–17).
1:5 a double portion. The Hebrew is difficult here, literally “two noses as one portion,” perhaps referring to two heads of sacrificed sheep. In ritual texts from the city of Emar, the head of a sacrificial animal is treated as a favored part. This probably means that Hannah was given a “double portion,” possibly also of the most favored part.
Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 491.
1:3 year by year. This may have been an annual family or clan gathering, celebrated by all its members, including women and children, such as the one later held by David’s family (20:6). the LORD of hosts. This is the first appearance in the Bible of the title “the LORD of hosts,” to whom Elkanah sacrifices and Hannah prays (1:11) at Shiloh. The title is used in Samuel several times and very frequently in the Psalms and the Prophets. “Hosts” (Hb. tseba’ot) is probably the plural of an abstract noun meaning something like “plentifulness” or “numberlessness.” Hence, it refers to numerous entities such as heavenly bodies (Isa. 40:26), angelic beings (Josh. 5:14, “army of the LORD”), the armies of Israel (1 Sam. 17:45), or all creatures (Gen. 2:1). The title may originally have been particularly connected with worship at the Shiloh sanctuary (see 1 Sam. 4:4), in which case “hosts” would probably have referred to angelic beings, portrayed as God’s “armies.” Shiloh, the modern Khirbet Seilun, is 20 miles (32 km) north of Jerusalem, toward the eastern border of Ephraim. The tent of meeting was set up there in Josh. 18:1. The city also appears in Judg. 21:19–24 as the place from which the Benjaminites took their brides. Its destruction, presumably at the time of the events of 1 Samuel 4, is mentioned in Ps. 78:60 and Jer. 7:12–14.
1:4 portions. Elkanah’s sacrifice is a “peace offering,” in which parts of the sacrificial animal are burned, parts are given to the priest, and parts are eaten by the people who brought the sacrifice (Lev. 7:11–36; see also 1 Sam. 2:12–17).
1:5 a double portion. The Hebrew is difficult here, literally “two noses as one portion,” perhaps referring to two heads of sacrificed sheep. In ritual texts from the city of Emar, the head of a sacrificial animal is treated as a favored part. This probably means that Hannah was given a “double portion,” possibly also of the most favored part.
Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 491.
Questions:
Life doesn't always make sense.
Hannah loved God, yet she carried a deep pain that never seemed to go away. Year after year she longed for a child, but her womb remained closed. To make matters worse, Peninnah constantly mocked her, turning one of the hardest parts of Hannah's life into a source of public shame.
The Bible doesn't hide the reason for Hannah's suffering. It tells us plainly that the Lord had closed her womb. That can be a difficult truth to wrestle with, but it reminds us that even our deepest disappointments are never outside of God's control. Nothing in Hannah's life was random, and nothing in ours is either. Even the people who loved Hannah couldn't take away her pain. Elkanah tried to comfort her, but his words couldn't heal the ache in her heart. Some burdens are simply too heavy for other people to carry.
But what people couldn't do, God could.
Instead of allowing her pain to harden her heart, Hannah brought it to the Lord. She didn't understand what God was doing, but she chose to trust Him anyway. We often want God to remove the valley as quickly as possible. Sometimes He does. Other times, He uses the valley to draw us closer to Himself. Looking back, we know God was preparing Hannah to become the mother of Samuel, the prophet who would help lead Israel back to the Lord. Hannah couldn't see that yet, but God was already at work. The same is true for us. We may not understand what God is doing today, but we can trust that He is never wasting our pain.
Hannah loved God, yet she carried a deep pain that never seemed to go away. Year after year she longed for a child, but her womb remained closed. To make matters worse, Peninnah constantly mocked her, turning one of the hardest parts of Hannah's life into a source of public shame.
The Bible doesn't hide the reason for Hannah's suffering. It tells us plainly that the Lord had closed her womb. That can be a difficult truth to wrestle with, but it reminds us that even our deepest disappointments are never outside of God's control. Nothing in Hannah's life was random, and nothing in ours is either. Even the people who loved Hannah couldn't take away her pain. Elkanah tried to comfort her, but his words couldn't heal the ache in her heart. Some burdens are simply too heavy for other people to carry.
But what people couldn't do, God could.
Instead of allowing her pain to harden her heart, Hannah brought it to the Lord. She didn't understand what God was doing, but she chose to trust Him anyway. We often want God to remove the valley as quickly as possible. Sometimes He does. Other times, He uses the valley to draw us closer to Himself. Looking back, we know God was preparing Hannah to become the mother of Samuel, the prophet who would help lead Israel back to the Lord. Hannah couldn't see that yet, but God was already at work. The same is true for us. We may not understand what God is doing today, but we can trust that He is never wasting our pain.
- What disappointment or unanswered prayer has been the hardest for you to trust God with? Has that season revealed what you've been depending on most for your hope and security?
- Why does God's sovereignty sometimes bring comfort and other times create difficult questions? How does the life of Jesus show that God's greatest purposes are often accomplished through suffering rather than the absence of it?
- Is there an area of your life where you've stopped praying because you've lost hope that God is listening? What would it look like to bring that request honestly before Him again; not demanding an answer, but expressing your trust in His wisdom?
Prayer Topics:
- Confess any bitterness, impatience, or discouragement you've allowed to grow during seasons of waiting.
- Thank God that His plans are good, even when you cannot yet understand them.
- Ask the Lord to help your disappointments draw you closer to Him rather than farther away.
This Week's City 7:
Try to commit to memory!
2. Are there sources outside the Bible that confirm the Biblical account of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead? Many Roman and Jewish historians have confirmed that the apostles died as martyrs for preaching that they saw Jesus risen from the grave. No one dies for something they know to be a lie.
(Luke 1:1-4; Acts 26:26; 1 John 1:1-4, Josephus, Clement, Hegesippus, Tertullian, Origen, Polycarp)
(Luke 1:1-4; Acts 26:26; 1 John 1:1-4, Josephus, Clement, Hegesippus, Tertullian, Origen, Polycarp)
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