In short
Hannah praises the LORD because He gave her a son. She was barren and taunted by “her rival” (v. 6) but she prayed desperately for a son.
Why it is important
The LORD cares for those who are afflicted and cry out to Him.
Hannah’s story (1 Samuel 1 and 2:18-21)
- Hannah’s husband had another wife who had children (1Sa 1:2)
- The other woman was cruel to Hannah for her barrenness (1Sa 1:6)
- Hannah was faithful to the LORD (1Sa 1:7)
- At the temple, “She was deeply distressed and prayed to the LORD and wept bitterly” (1Sa 1:10)
- She prayed for a son* and promised to dedicate him to the LORD (1Sa 1:11) that he would serve God all his life (vs. 22, 28)
- And she was blessed, and the son was named Samuel (1Sa 1:20)
- Hannah went on to have five more children (1Sa 2:21)
And I love this little story at the end: “Samuel was ministering before the LORD, a boy clothed with a linen ephod. And his mother used to make for him a little robe and take it to him each year,” 1Sa 2:18-19.
What is in this poem
The basic idea is “The LORD will do what he pleases to do.” Especially to exalt the lowly and humble the great.
The poem follows standard Hebrew structure of coupled lines that either contrast each other or emphasize the same point.
There is not really anything about Hannah specifically; verse 5 certainly does hit the nail on the head, though. Instead, it is a poem praising the greatness of God. Hannah’s faith was certainly firm now.
This also seems to be about the time that Hannah was done weaning Samuel and would give him up as she had vowed. I say that to say that I don’t have any reason to think she regretted it at all, but after bonding with him for months or years, she probably had to talk herself into being ready for that day. And perhaps that influenced this prayer.
Theology and doctrine
It dawned on me only today as I write this that this, too, is in the time of the judges – as was the books of Judges and Ruth. And out of that time, the only heroes of all of the stories are all women. Hannah, Ruth and Deborah.
Totally subjective thought here, but it does seem that women will keep faith even when mighty men fall away. We would be lost without them.
Footnote
* Given her abundant faith and her distress, I think it likely that Hannah was praying for a son for many, many years. Her prayer for a son that she would only give up probably came in desperation: having a child for any reason was better than none at all. And Samuel may have turned out the way he did because he wasn’t raised in such a broken home.
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