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T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
July, 1933
saying that God cannot answer prayer be cause of set laws. With the multiplicity of prayer promises in the Bible, it is astound ing that they are so little used, and that prayer is so little practiced. II. H annah ’ s P romise F ulfilled (1:24-28). Her prayer having been heard, in due time Hannah had the joy o f holding her first-born son in her arms. Knowing the history o f his coming to her, we can be assured that the early days of Samuel were days in which every protection would be thrown about him, and his mind and heart prepared for the great work in which he was to engage. With such a mother and such a history, Samuel could not help being what he was in after years. Without doubt there were days in which he looked back and remembered the lessons learned at his mother’s knee. When the child was weaned, Hannah took him up to Shiloh to present him form ally to the Lord. Here was a gift beside which all others fade into insignificance. Any mother may well be happy when she can present to the Lord bone o f her bone and flesh of her flesh. So Hannah brought the child to Eli, the high priest, and form ally presented him to the Lord in fulfill ment of the vow she had made when she offered her prayer. She reminded Eli that she was the woman who he thought was drunken, and she told him that Samuel was the son for whom she had prayed. What a testimony this must have been to Eli, and what a reminder of his own shortcomings in the training of his sons 1 III. H annah ’ s P raise (2:1, 2). Her praise covers verses 1 to 10, which should be carefully considered. They con tain one of the highest peaks of spiritual understanding and insight found in the Bible. She. began with her heart rejoicing in the Lord and in exaltation in Him. She felt herself to be vindicated in the eyes of her rival, and this because she rejoiced in God’s salvation. She continued by bringing to mind the holiness of God; this is the true beginning of all genuine praise. There may be, and there certainly should be, strivings after holiness on the part o f the Christian, but only God can be said to be holy. Holiness indicates that perfect faultlessness which pertains only to the perfection found in God. Hannah recognized this and lifted her voice in true praise. She then declared, “There is none beside thee.” No other could approach to her God, none was so high and lifted up (cf. Isa. 6). There is a great need for Christian people in these modern days to catch some glimpse o f the greatness of their God. It would put us on our guard against a flippant and fa miliar manner in our approach to Him. W e are to remember always that He is GOD, and beside Him there is none else. Thus we will come before Him with some understanding of the tremendously awe some place we occupy when in His presence. Hannah rose even higher in her praise and spoke of God’s stability as the Rock. That Rock shall never be moved, it stands the same, yesterday, today, and forever. She did not stop with this, but proceeded on and on, bringing to remembrance God’s knowledge, justice, power, providence, and final victory over all His foes and over all adverse circumstances. It is our high privilege to bear witness to this God today, and we might well adopt Hannah’s hymn of praise as our own when speaking of Him to the world and in the world. Thus we shall glorify Him, because “whoso offereth praise glorifieth” the Lord.
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that it was believed she would gladly have sold herself into slavery, if need required, in order to provide money for the p oor. . . Known or unknown, there is nothing greater in this world than to be a great mother.—S elected . Memory Verse: “ Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well-pleas ing unto the Lord” (Col. 3:20). Approach: Last week our story was about a wonderful woman named Ruth. This week the story is about a wonderful mother. Her name was Hannah. Lesson Story: Hannah was a very sad God’s Gift of Mothers 1 S amuel 1 :26 to 2 :20
Lesson Questions 1 :9-ll. What does the name “Hannah” mean? Where was Shiloh? What other events are associated with it (cf. Josh. 18:1; Jer. 7:12, 14) ? Can you show that Hannah’s prayer was not a selfish petition? How much in earnest was Hannah when she prayed? Who else prayed with sithilar intensity (cf. Ex. 32:31, 32) ? What is in dicated by the fact that Eli, the high priest, mistook Hannah’s soul anguish for drunk enness ? What religious leaders in the New Testament were in like manner blind to true spiritual values (cf. Matt. 23:13-33) ? Who were the Nazarites (Num. 6:1-8) ? 1 :24-28. Why did Hannah bring a sac rifice when she returned to the temple with her son (cf. Num. IS :l-5) ? What reproof for Eli was there in Hannah’s words: “ For this child I prayed : . . therefore . . . as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the Lord” (cf. 1 Sam. 2:12) ? 2:1, 2. What do these verses teach re garding the place of praise in prayer? What attribute of God does Hannah espe cially emphasize? In true prayer, is there always a sense o f the holiness o f God (cf. Ex. 3:5, 11; Isa. 6:1-5)? Golden Text Illustration Behind a great Christian teacher of the fourth century, Gregory o f Nazianzus, was a great mother, Nonna. Her husband, though apparently a man o f high character, was a pagan, and Nonna’s prayer for him was that he should become a Christian. He evidently knew some of the psalms, and one night he dreamed that he was sing ing the words, “I was glad when they said unto me, We will go into the house of the Lord.” She persuaded him to go with her, and in time he became a Christian and was baptized. About five years after the father’s bap tism, a son was born. Nonna had wanted a boy and had vowed that if a son came, he should be devoted to God. Her desire granted, she took the child in her arms to the church and consecrated his little hands by laying them on the Bible. Gregory all through life regarded her memory with deepest affection, looking up on her as the guardian angel of his life and of their common vows. She was not only pious,-but intensely practical and so kindly
woman. She had a home and a kind husband, b u t s h e had no c h i l d r e n . How she wished for a little boy! One day she went up to the temple to pray. She prayed to God to send her a son. And as she prayed, she made a p rom ise. If God
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would send her a son, she promised that she would give him back to God to be a priest in God’s temple. God heard Hannah’s prayer, and a son was born to her. How happy she was I No child, she thought, was as sweet as her little boy, Samuel. But as he grew big enough to walk and talk, Hannah remem bered her prayer and her promise. It was not an easy thing for her to give up her little boy. It meant sending him far away to live in the temple. Only once a year could she travel up to Jerusalem to see Samuel. But Hannah had made the prom ise, and she would keep it. The child was no longer hers. He belonged to God to do His work in the temple. So she brought the child to Eli the priest and said: (Read 1 Sam. 1 :26-28.) But Hannah was no longer sad. It was hard to give up her child, but she was glad that he was to do God’s work. So in stead of weeping, she prayed a prayer o f praise and rejoicing and thanksgiving to God.
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