A Study of the Kings

1st Samuel 1 – A Tale of Two Wives: Part Two “When God Holds Me Back”
We often hear of people who fight through tremendous odds and all of a sudden they break through and gain great wealth, fame and notoriety. Sometimes that break through leads to another break down that is worse than their first state of affairs. Sometimes they never break through and die in relative obscurity and discouragement. Of course, we rarely hear about these cases, so most of the press goes to either the ultimate tragedy or the ultimate victory (from an earthly perspective).

In the story of Hannah and Peninnah we see two ladies with similar responsiblities, different initial results and finally (when the results are evened out) two different outcomes. It may very well be possible that Peninnah was unloved and viewed as a simple concubine..there to bear children. That would not be an uncommon estate for women of that age. She obviously felt some need to bolster her achievement that was noteworthy because she felt the need to provoke Hannah to fret, because of her barrenness. In the middle of this dilemna was Elkanah. Peninnah had to have at least some confirmation that she was appreciated because she bore children, yet also had the deficit that Hannah was the woman Elkanah loved. Two wives, one husband, multiple problems compounding upon each other.

“Now there was a certain man of Ramathaim- zophim, of the hill- country of Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite: and he had two wives; the name of the one was Hannah, and the name of other Peninnah:and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children. And this man went up out of his city from year to year to worship and to sacrifice unto Jehovah of hosts in Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, priests unto Jehovah, were there.
And when the day came that Elkanah sacrificed, he gave to Peninnah his wife, and to all her sons and her daughters, portions: but unto Hannah he gave a double portion; for he loved Hannah, but Jehovah had shut up her womb. And her rival provoked her sore, to make her fret, because Jehovah had shut up her womb. And as he did so year by year, when she went up to the house of Jehovah, so she provoked her; therefore she wept, and did not eat. And Elkanah her husband said unto her, Hannah, why weepest thou? and why eatest thou not? and why is thy heart grieved? am not I better to thee than ten sons” 1 Samuel 1:1-8

Hannah had the love of her husband, but not the status of a true Mate. Mate’s provide children. Not only this, we see that Jehovah was the one responsible for shutting up her womb. This is a serious setback to the status of Hannah, in her eyes. Also, Peninnah obviously was taking advantage of the status that she did have and was consistently reminding Hannah that she was childless, and hence, more of a concubine than a true wife. That is because Peninnah obviously knew she was not number one in Elkanah’s heart. Now I may be reading a little too much into all of this exchange, but suffice it to say that neither Hannah or Peninnah have what they want.

We see Penninah’s response up in the previous passage, she chose to tear down her rival. She had provoked Hannah, apparently mercilessly, trying to get an edge on her in the war for Elkanah’s affections. Back on the farm we call this “taking matters into your own hands”. Obviously Elkanah was not going to give Peninnah what she wanted without a little help. Therefore, the obvious remedy is to make Hannah a miserable person to be around. Then her husband will come to appreciate his child bearing wife, because she just does her job while the other one cries and gets depressed over things that are out of her control.

I find it interesting that the Scripture does not record any exchange verbatim with the exception of Elkanah’s attempt to cheer up Hannah. Elkanah’s attempt tries to focus Hannah on the fact that she is wanted (needed?) by her husband and that she has his love, children or not. However, he mistakenly thinks that her real needs would be met by him alone. Elkanah is a good man, but he is not necessarily a perceptive man. One would wonder just how much it would have cost him to treat Peninnah with enough respect and love to not make her feel the need to retaliate. Not only that but giving one wife a double portion just speaks highly of the lack of respect that Peninnah is given. “Good, you’ve born all these kids…take your portion just like they do.”

The reason that most of these exchanges are not recorded (in my opinion) is due to the fact that they would probably be typical human expressions that we see and hear every day. People jockeying for position, manuevering themselves to get the object of their desire. Deep down in our hearts we really know what we want and we very often use our interaction with others to try and achieve it on our own.

But we see that Hannah takes a different course. At first we see the typical set up but here in verses 9-11 we begin to see motions that set this human episode apart. Hannah is willing to give up the very thing she wants in order to achieve it.

“So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest was sitting upon his seat by the door- post of the temple of Jehovah. And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto Jehovah, and wept sore. And she vowed a vow, and said, O Jehovah of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thy handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thy handmaid, but wilt give unto thy handmaid a man- child, then I will give him unto Jehovah all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.” 1st Samuel 1:9-11

I remember, years ago, hearing the late Keith Green at a concert in Boise, Idaho. During his speaking he mentioned that people were coming up to him all the time and asking what they could do to minister with their music, like he was doing. His answer was always, “be willing to give it up and never sing again in front of people”. That has stuck with me throughout the years as I take jobs that risk my hands and voice. As a bi-vocational pastor I have often born the results of dual responsibility by being less than what I could have been at both jobs. In Hannah’s circumstance she was asking God to allow her to bear the man-child that she wanted and then she would gladly give him up…that is, the joy of motherhood for this very child. Oh, she would see him, but the Priest Eli would be the person that raised him. There is no indication that she consulted with Elkanah about this, but there is also no indication that he disagreed with her decision.

One other thing to notice, as the story progresses, is that Peninnah’s role is completed. We never ever see a mention of her again. She has taken her displeasure into her own hands and out of God’s. Once that happens we are simply a tool that God uses or discards to help achieve His purpose. Not a willing tool, like Hannah, but a tool more along the lines of Pharoah.

If God is holding you back from something, either through a physical condition, such as Hannah’s, or perhaps a financial straitjacket or another logistical hurdle, consider giving the true results to Him, even if you are given your request. Have you ever received a gift of money, only to give it all away to another person or cause? Have you ever been a part of building a great organization or ministry only to give it over to someone else to run and enjoy the fruits? The point of the matter is not in the achievement but in the posture. Whose is it? If it is yours, then you still have some sanctifying and consecrating of your motives to take care of.

One other story about a woman wanting children is found in Genesis 30.

“And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and she said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die.” Genesis 30:1

Those were very prophetic words to use. She died in child birth with only her second child. Literally, getting what she wanted was the death of her. Rachel went to Jacob, Hannah went to God.

God is not angry with our requests, in fact He encourages us to seek Him out for the things that we want. However, in conjunction with seeking Him out we must be also willing to do things in His way, following His timetable and honoring His plan. Of course, we have know real way of discerning any of these things so we learn to seek Him out in faith, trusting that He will provide the answer and reveal things as we need to know them.

Hannah’s statement to God is quite simple and very eloquent in it’s solution. Give me what I want and I will give it all back to You. Now my desire is at the whim of the Almighty. When God holds me back, I know it is for my benefit, because it is also for His purpose. I’m often reminded of my children. Kayla used to always come and say “Daddy, I love you” when I would give her what she wanted. However, there was a time when she was younger when I didn’t receive that same reaction when I said “no” to whatever the request was. Then, one day, I said, “Kayla, it will be easier to believe you when you tell me that you love me when you don’t like my answer.” Guess what? From that point on while she lived at home, Kayla always said “I love you, Dad” even when the conversations weren’t all about her getting her way or what she wanted. As her father, I found myself sometimes taking her side just because she had learned to express her love for me in spite of the outcome for her.

So is God holding you back? Is God making you wait for something that you needed yesterday? Has God slammed the door shut? Remember all these wonderful examples in the Bible of God’s timing and patience with us. Also remember the episodes where God’s people failed to wait on Him, abide by His decisions and went ahead without Him. Hannah didn’t give Elkanah her handmaiden, she didn’t complain to Elkanah, she did not connive to somehow usurp her rival, she went to Jehovah.

Next visit we’ll see the results of Hannah’s prayer and also take a look at the judgements of a divided heart.