| We remember Hannah for many reasons. Her faith in God’s promises stands as an inspiration for us. When she could not have a child, she cried out to God. She even confronted a priest who mistakenly called her out for being drunk in worship. Psalm 145:19 says, “He fulfills the desire of all who fear him; he also hears their cry, and saves them.” For Hannah, God hearing her meant she would have a son. You can imagine her great joy when Samuel was born. While she was crying out to God, she made a commitment to the Lord. She would dedicate the son she asked for to God. That wasn’t a trivial promise, as if she would dedicate him and they would move on with their life. Every time we baptize children, the family commits to raising the child in church. Trust me, it frustrates us pastors when we never see the family again. That wasn’t Hannah’s intent. The Hebrew text says she “gave as a loan” her son, for all his life, to God. How altogether bold, faithful and even silly! Nothing is ours. All belongs to God, right? Tell that to a mother. There’s a rabbinical story surrounding Samuel’s first trip to the house of the Lord. Although it’s extrabiblical, it reinforces Hannah’s faith and commitment. After she bore her son, her husband brought his household to offer the yearly sacrifice. But Hannah stayed behind. When Samuel was weaned, then she would take him. I take that to mean since she knew he would “remain there forever,” she was going to spend as much time with him as possible. And it could be her time spent with Samuel wasn’t only to be with him. The rabbinical story finds its place between verses twenty-five and twenty-six of 1 Samuel 1. In verse twenty-five, the family performed their sacrifice of a bull. Isn’t that a priest’s job? When Eli the priest discovered what they did, he had questions. Come to find out it was young Samuel who convinced the adults it was appropriate for them to make the sacrifice. The boy quoted scripture to back up his claim. Eli found Samuel’s knowledge and reason impressive. But he recalled to the family that anyone who teaches the law in his teacher’s presence is liable to death. That’s when Hannah speaks up in verse twenty-six. She reminded Eli who she was. That she was the one he thought was drunk, but was praying to God for a son. The priest had blessed her and asked God to hear her prayer. Well, Eli, look who’s here! What I love about those stories is the assumption of Hannah’s spiritual care of Samuel. She prepared him for his ministry. If she was going to loan him to God, she was going to ensure he was ready. I’ve longed believed the church could learn much from Hannah. That’s part of the reason I’ve always associated with youth ministry. As a church, we have a responsibility to God and to our young people to prepare them for their walk with God. They should get the most attention and have the most resources available to them. By the way, you and I should be their most present resource. Don’t just send them to Sunday School. Have faith talks with them. Don’t ask them if they’ve said their prayers. Pray with them. Don’t drop them off at youth group. Don’t merely pay someone to spiritually babysit. Be a part of the group, praying, laughing and growing with them. Church is bound to look so much different in the coming years. Have we prepared our young saints for that? Or do we expect them to merely pick up where we left off doing the same things we thought were important? Frankly, our young people don’t need more programs. They don’t need our tired ministries. They, and the church, need Hannahs to prepare them to follow God’s lead. Stay blessed…john |
John Fletcher
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