Sermon Notes for May 11, 2008

Mother’s Day

“The Intention of a Godly Mother”

Selected Scripture

From I Samuel

Introduction

A. The IMPORTANCE Of Mothers In Our Lives.

1. Quotes about mothers:

a. John Quincy Adams – “All that I am, my mother made me.”

b. Abraham Lincoln – “All that I am or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother.”

c. Dwight Moody – “All that I have accomplished in life, I owe to my mother.”

d. Napoleon – “The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.”

2. It is my personal belief that while the father is to be the “head” of the home, the mother is usually the “heart” of the home.

B. The IMPACT Of Mothers In Scripture.

1. Eve was the mother of all people on this earth.

2. Sarah, the wife of Abraham and mother of Isaac, became the mother of the Jews.

3. The mother of Moses saved her son’s life and thus the Jewish people from whom the Messiah would eventually come.

4. Elizabeth, the wife of Zechariah, gave birth to John the Baptist, who would be the first to publicly announce the coming of Jesus Christ.

5. Mary, wife of Joseph, was called to give birth to the Savior of the world.

C. The INFLUENCE Of A Particular Mother in Scripture.

1. In today’s text we will meet still another influential mother in Scripture, a woman named Hannah.

2. Not only will Hannah reveal to us a woman of great faith; she will also teach us what SHOULD be at the heart, at the center of every believing mother.

I. The CRIES Of A Godly Mother.

A. Hannah Is BARREN.

1. The history of Hannah.

Vs. 1-2a – “There was a certain man from Ramathaim, a Zuphite from the hill
country of Ephraim, whose name was Elkanah son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu,
the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. He had two wives; one was
called Hannah.”

a. Hannah was a woman who lived during the time in Scripture called the time of the Judges; around 1100 B.C.

1. the time of the Judges was a low spiritual period in the history
of Israel

2. the Israelites had fallen away from Jehovah God and as

I Samuel 3:1 said – “In those days, the Word of the Lord was
rare; there were not many visions.”

a. the spiritual leaders, the Priests, had wandered away
from their spiritual calling

b. it was obvious that Israel needed a new spiritual leader

3. the time of the Judges was a time of selfishness, not Godliness

a. Judges 21:25 (ESV) – “In those days there was no king
in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own
eyes.”

b. Pastor Ben Thomas – “The day was a time when
people had slipped into an immoral, lawless, abusive,
violent, compromising, and permissive lifestyle. The
depth of their moral decay was seen in cases such as
homosexuality, wife abuse, child abuse, murder,
kidnapping, widespread polygamy, greed, injustice,
idolatry, and civil war.”

b. but, despite the terrible spiritual climate in Israel, Hannah was a woman of faith

2. The hurt of Hannah.

a. Hannah was one of the wives of a man by the name of Elkanah

Vs. 2a – “He had two wives, one was called Hannah and the other
Peninnah.” (Pee-nín-a)

1. the having of two wives by Elkanah was one indication of the
true spiritual condition of Israel

2. especially since Elkahah was a descendent of the Priestly tribe
of the Levites – those who were called to lead the Israelites in
worship

3. God’s law given in The Ten Commandments not to commit
adultery was being overlooked by those who were supposed to
be their spiritual leaders

b. and . . . Hannah was barren – unable to have a child

Vs. 2b – “Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none.”

1. the goal of every Jewish woman was to be a mother

2. for the Jews, barrenness was seen as a curse from God.

3. Jewish belief was that the overall purpose of a man’s wife was
to bear him children

B. Hannah Is BERATED.

1. The ATTACK OF PENINNAH OF HANNAH.

a. since Hannah could not bear a child, Elkanah married another woman, Peninnah, WHO BORE HIM BOTH SONS AND DAUGHTERS

b. and to make matters worse on Hannah, the entire family made a yearly trip to make sacrifices at the Jewish Temple in Shiloh: look at what happened at the Temple:

1. first, as Elkanah gave portions of meat from the sacrifices to his
family, he would give his wife Hannah a “double portion” (a
“supersized meal”)

Vs. 3-5 - Year after year this man went up from his town to
worship and sacrifice to the LORD Almighty at Shiloh, where
Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, were priests of the
LORD. Whenever the day came for Elkanah to sacrifice, he
would give portions of the meat to his wife Peninnah and to
all her sons and daughters. But to Hannah he gave a double
portion because he loved her, and the LORD had closed her
womb.”

a. the text clearly says WHY Elkanah gave his wife
Hannah a “double portion;” it was because he loved her
b. so, Elkahah made a “physical” illustration of his special
love for Hannah

c. you can imagine how Elkahan’s special affection for
Hannah affected Elkanah’s other wife Peninnah

1. Are women competitive?

2. just watch “The Bachelor” on TV

2. second, because of Elkanah’s preference for Hannah, Peninnah
responded to Hannah with jealousy and rage:

Vs. 6 – “And because the LORD had closed her womb, her
rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her.”

a. “kept provoking her” (kaac)

1. to smash

2. to vex

3. the Hebrew tense (Piel)

a. usually expresses an “intentional
action”

b. the Piel also expresses a “repeated
action”

4. obviously Peninnah kept on and kept on
provoking Hannah

b. “in order to irritate her” (raam)

1. “to cause thunder”

2. “to cause to tremble”

3. the Hebrew tense (Hiphil) indicates that the
subject is the “cause” of the action

4. PENINNAH’S GOAL WAS TO “CAUSE”
HANNAH TO “BLOW HER TOP” AND
SEND HER INTO A DEPRESSION

2. The ATTACK BY PENINNAH OF HANNAH WORKED.

a. the relentless attack upon Hannah

Vs. 7a – “This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to
the house of the Lord, her rival provoked her.”

1. Peninnah attacked Hannah . . . year after year after year after
year

2. and as the two wives went with their husband “as a family,”
Hannah was CONSTANTLY reminded of her barrenness as
Peninnah traveled with her sons and daughters

b. the repressive angst of Hannah

Vs. 7 – “This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the LORD, her rival provoked her till she wept and would not eat.”

1. Hannah wept

a. to wail

b. to shed many tears

c. the tears would not stop

d. she was inconsolable

2. Hannah would not eat

a. Hannah was so upset that she lost her appetite

1. have you ever lost your appetite?

2. my recent sickness – lost weight

b. BASICALLY, HANNAH WAS DEPRESSED!

1. becoming a mother was the most important thing
in her life

2. and not only was she convinced that she was
cursed of God, SHE WAS REMINDED OF
THIS FACT EVERY YEAR!

C. Hannah Is BEGGING.

1. Hannah pined painfully.

Vs. 9-10a - Once when they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah
stood up. Now Eli the priest was sitting on a chair by the doorpost of the Lord's
Temple. In bitterness of soul , Hannah wept much.”

a. Hannah went to the Temple and was still weeping

b. BUT SHE WAS ANGRY AS WELL!

1. HANNAH DID NOT RUN AWAY FROM HER ANGER!

a. heavy

b. vexed

c. grieved

2. now, we don’t know exactly WHO Hannah was angry with, but
she was ANGRY!

a. was she angry at Peninnah?

b. was she angry at herself for not being able to conceive?

c. was she angry at God who was clearly able to make her
conceive?

3. BUT, HANNAH “OWNED HER ANGER!”

a. how many Christians do I see who do not “realize” that
they are angry and bitter because they “should not be
angry and bitter”

b. my response to my mother’s death – I WAS MAD AT
GOD!

2. Hannah prayed persistently.

Vs. 10 – “In bitterness of soul Hannah wept much and prayed to the LORD.”

a. the Hebrew tense of the verb prayed shows that Hannah did not merely pray one time

b. no, this was a commitment to a life of prayer: over and over and over

c. now, in our lives as believers, sometimes God answers our prayers in a short matter of time; however at other times, we may pray for years before God answers our prayers

1. the story of the prayers of George Mueller who prayed for 5 of
his unsaved friends

a. Mueller was a Christian evangelist during the 1800’s
who built orphanages in England, caring for some
10,000 orphans in his lifetime

b. Mueller, before he came to Christ, was known as an
English playboy, a man who led a life of sin

c. however, after he became a Christian he began to pray
for some of his unsaved friends. After many months,
one of them came to the Lord. Ten years later, two
others were converted. It took 25 years before the
fourth man was saved. Mueller persevered in prayer
until his death for the fifth friend, and throughout those
52 years he never gave up hoping that he would accept
Christ! His faith was rewarded, for soon after
Mueller’s funeral the last one was saved.

2. my view of prayer (rubber band)

3. Hannah prayed powerfully.

Vs. 11a- And she made a vow, saying, "O LORD Almighty, if you will only look upon your servant's misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the LORD for all the days of his life.”

a. one commentator said that Hannah was the first person in all of Scripture to call out to “the Lord Almighty”

1. as if she knew that she was “doing business” with God

2. for here, Hannah is calling upon the great God of the Universe
to set in motion all of His sovereign power to move the ends of
the earth to answer her prayer and give her a child

b. John 16:24 – “Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.”

4. Hannah prayed particularly.

Vs. 11 - And she made a vow, saying, "O LORD Almighty, if you will only look upon your servant's misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the LORD for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head."

a. did you notice “how” Hannah prayed?

1. she did not just pray for “a child”

2. no, she prayed PARTICULARLY AND SPECIFICALLY
FOR A SON!

3. Hannah was not only bold enough to pray to Almighty God, she
was bold enough to ask Almighty God specifically for what she
wanted; a son

b. Philippians 4:6 – “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

1. the word petition in the Greek

a. the thing asked for

b. to make supplication

2. HOW IN THE WORLD ARE YOU GOING TO KNOW IF
GOD HAS ANSWERED YOUR PRAYER IF YOU DON’T
ASK SPECIFICALLY FOR WHAT YOU NEED?

5. Hannah prayed purposefully.

a. but notice this; THE REASON THAT HANNAH ASKED SPECIFICALLY FOR A BOY WAS THAT THIS BOY, HER SON, WOULD BE RAISED, FROM BIRTH, TO SERVE GOD!

b. Hannah was making a vow to God that her son would become a Nazirite

1. a Nazirite was a person who totally dedicated their life to the
service of God

2. the parents of Samson, also childless, were told by an angel that
they too would be given a son who would become a Nazirite:

Judges 13:4-5 – “Now see to it that you drink no wine or other
fermented drink and that you do not eat anything unclean,
because you will conceive and give birth to a son. No razor
may be used on his head, because the boy is to be a Nazirite,
set apart to God from birth, and he will begin the deliverance
of Israel from the hands of the Philistines."

3. BUT NOTICE THIS: HANNAH DECIDED TO
DEDICATE HER CHILD TO THE LORD BEFORE HE
WAS EVER CONCEIVED!

a. how’s that for DEDICATION!

b. and to DEDICATE HER ONLY SON TO A LIFE OF
MINISTRY!

II. The COMMITMENT Of A Godly Mother.

A. Hannah Is BLESSED.

1. Hannah was PREJUDGED before her pregnancy.

a. as Hannah was caught up in her prayer time, the Priest Eli saw her mumbling by herself and thought that she was drunk.

Vs. 12-15a - As she kept on praying to the LORD, Eli observed her mouth. Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk and said to her, "How long will you keep on getting drunk? Get rid of your wine." "Not so, my lord," Hannah replied, "I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer."