A few days ago, I posted about how in the historical account of 1 Samuel, Hannah cried out for a baby in the bitterness of her soul, and she told God that if He gave her a baby, she’d give the baby back to Him.
And God gave Hannah a baby. And Hannah named the baby Samuel which means “the Lord provides.” And Hannah kept her promise and gave Samuel back to the Lord.
If you haven’t read the post, you can read it here.
When we hear the account of Hannah and God and Samuel, that’s where the story usually ends. But there’s more, and it gets so much richer. When I read the rest of the account, I felt like some pastor somewhere was keeping this big secret from me. *I’M LOOKING AT YOU, PASTOR HUSBAND* He says he doesn’t know what I’m talking about. I’ll let you know if/when the pastor confesses.
Anyway, here’s the verse that I should have seen before but never did:
1 Samuel 2:19 Each year his mother made him a little robe and took it to him when she went up with her husband to offer the annual sacrifice.
I guess the hang up for me was why would the Bible include the detail like she made him a little robe. That seems like such an unimportant detail. The reality is that the Bible is full of these details and we rarely read close enough to see them. But if this really is the Word of God, every sentence has significance. So what is it?
Hannah only saw Samuel once a year. The journey from Ramah to Shiloh was short by our standards. 14 miles. But taking the trip put your life in danger every time because the neighboring societies were hostile to foreigners, were into human sacrifice and they had a love of war. Charming. Kudos to her for going even once per year. Clearly this chick comes from tough stock.
Though she gave her son to God, Hannah is still his mom. She loves her son and she’s going to take care of him even after she had dedicated him to someone else to raise. When a woman’s heart becomes a mother’s heart, a mother’s heart it will always be.
And here is the crux of the issue for me with the robe. How big did she know how to make it? Samuel was not there in Ramah with her to be measured. What size did she have to make it when he was four, five, six? Did she have to ask her neighbors to borrow their seven year old to measure how big he was? Did she have to explain, “God gave me a son and so I gave him to the priest so can I borrow your kid so I can see how big a seven year old is? I’d like to make my kid a priestly robe.” And then did they just stand there staring at each other?
And did her neighbors give each other a sideways look and then look at her like she was just a little too… extreme? A little too radical in her love for God that she’d give away her son?
Guys this may be ACTUAL FOOTAGE OF HANNAH’S NEIGHBOR. I checked and I’m pretty sure it is.
Here’s a secret about yours truly, and reader I feel like I can trust you, so keep this between us: When I read the Bible, I always and very erroniously associate myself with the saintly character. Who would I be in the scenario? Oh, Hannah FOR SURE. Not the neighbor who is weirded out by Hannah’s radical love and adoration of God, no sir. Who would I be if I were one of the disciples? DEFINITELY NOT JUDAS. I’d probably be Peter because I asked the pastor who Jesus’s favorite was and he said it was most likely Peter.
When the seed falls into the ground, guys, I PROMISE you I’m the good soil. No rocky soil to see here! Yep, I’m the super organic stuff. I’d also definitely be Mary at the feet of Jesus and I’d save Martha a seat (“I tried to tell her to sit with me, Jesus! She just didn’t listen!”). And if you need me, I’ll just be over here reading my Bible because I’m super holy these days.
But here is the truth. Friends, we can go through the Bible and assume we are always the (at least mostly) holy and good person because we don’t drink, smoke, or chew or go with boys or girls who do. But that doesn’t lead to any life change. The ugliness in me now will still be around thirty years from now if I constantly assume I’m living the way I should. I‘m not going to lose 15 pounds because the pastor bought me a treadmill ten months ago and I’m not living out God’s call on my life simply because I go to church.
I know I’m the neighbor who could have been very weirded out by Hannah’s faith because I’ve been weirded out by radical and beautiful faith. Yes, I want that faith, but do I want it more than I want to live in my comfortable bubble? Do you want it more than you want your comfortable bubble?
We’ve looked at the family who picked up and moved to Haiti or the backroads of Brazil with all their kids and thought, “that’s nice for them, but I could just never do it.”
This is my friend Brandon from high school. He went to Swaziland and taught women how to make wallets and purses out of colorful African fabrics and recycled materials (like billboards from Ti Juana). All the women are from the same church, so the project helps to support unity and growth of a local church and empowers women from a rural community to be able to earn a wage. Each woman makes $5 per product, and they are paid up front for their work. Brandon bought two of the sewing machines himself and five were donated. He taught himself to sew so that he could teach others. If you’re interested in purchasing a wallet, you can find them here . (Seriously check them out. Their tagline is “made by hand-crankin’ mamas in Swaziland.”)
Maybe we’ve looked at the parents who just adopted a teenager and thought they’re just a little too extreme and frankly it makes us a little uncomfortable.
Hannah’s obedience is so far out of our comfort zone.
We prefer the bubble. The neighbor could have taken Hannah in and loved her for all I know. But in my reality, it’s so much easier and comfortable to send the check to the poor than go to the poor. We much rather drop the cake off on the doorstep when the grieving family isn’t home than knock on the door when we know they are home. We’d rather say, “Jesus, I didn’t know.”
This is Kathy, a good friend from church. Kathy once befriended every child in her neighborhood and hosted a neighborhood church camp at her house and so many kids heard the gospel and came to Christ. She became the adopted grandmother to a family who had no other family in the United States, and she is a mentor mom for young mothers. One thing that strikes me about Kathy is that she doesn’t pass the buck. Caring for others is never someone else’s responsibility, and there is never an excuse as to why she can’t serve.
But we do know. May we never look for the metaphorical path of least resistance.
May we be like Hannah. Let’s be all in and obedient and faithful in loving those around us. May our faith be beautiful and memorable and inspiring to others so that they may seek to honor and thank God. May we be obedient out of our love for God. May we be like Hannah.
Lord, break our hearts for what breaks Yours. May we see the hurt in our context and not look away. Give us eyes to see what You see. May we live with a sense of urgency to bring Your Kingdom here. May we go to the poor, the lonely, the heartbroken. May we enter into the brokenness and be Your hands and feet to restore your children to you. Lord, we know that you won’t magically turn us into Hannahs, but You will put needs in front of us and give us the choice to be Hannahs or not. May we choose to be Hannahs.
In the comments, I’d love to hear about how the Hannahs in your life have impacted you.
If you think one of your friends could benefit from this post, please pass it on to them!