09.03.05 Hannah and Elkanah's Expectations

Hannah and Elkanah’s Expectations

A Biblical Revelation

In ancient Israel, the weight of motherhood rested heavily on women's shoulders. Barrenness was a stigma, a whispered shame that brought subtle and hidden judgements. While some circles could have been saying that it could be ‘God's punishment’, others could have easily alleged that barrenness flowed in her veins. Had it been in Africa, traditionists would have attributed it to a curse or some form of deep witchcraft. ‘The woman will not get the fruit of the womb, however much she prays’, they could have echoed each time they saw her going to Shiloh. It was against such a backdrop that Hannah and Elkanah found themselves navigating a complex web of expectations and emotions.

Hannah had come face to face with ridicule, right in her very household: the taunts, the sideways glances, the pitying whispers from Peninah, Elkanah's other wife, who had children. It was almost expected that Peninah would rub salt in the wound, reminding Hannah of her "failure" at every turn. And Hannah, with her empty arms and tear-stained eyes, would retreat, hiding her pain behind a mask of quiet dignity. But there was one thing Peninah could not uproot: Hannah’s firm expectation that one day, God will give her a child.

The tension between Hannah and Peninah did not go unnoticed by their husband, Elkanah. That could have been the reason Elkanah went an extra mile to empathetically care for Hannah. Truth be told, he expected that Peninah’s provocations would hurt the love of his life; choosing to manage that expectation by showering Hannah with affection and care. He loved Hannah deeply, perhaps more than Peninah but his efforts to comfort his teary wife often fell flat. "Am I not more to you than ten sons?" (1 Samuel 1:8) he would ask, genuinely puzzled by her tears. In his heart, the man expected that his love would provide the solace that Hannah craved for but it did not seem to work. Elkanah had not grasped the depth of her longing; and the weight of societal expectations crushing her spirit.

Hannah must have felt the pressure from all sides: Peninah's verbal abuse, the community's whispers and subtle discrimination and the silent expectations of her in-laws. In the sea of all that noise, Hannah found solace in one place: prayer. Pouring out her heart to God in tears, anger and desperation and she uttered in a whisper. "O Lord Almighty, if you will only look on 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" (1 Samuel 1:11).

In this honest cry, Hannah surrendered her expectations, her shame and her pain to God, acknowledging His sovereignty.

As she prayed, the turmoil in her soul frothed to the surface. Eli, watching Hannah's prayer, thought she was drunk but later understood where she was coming from. He discerned the depth of her pain, the weight of her unmet desires and the resolve in her spirit, to the extent that he blessed her, saying, "Go in peace and may the God of Israel grant the petition you have made to him" (1 Samuel 1:17). So, when God answered Hannah's prayer, granting her a son, Hannah's story became one of hope, resilience and the power of pouring out one's heart to God.

In a culture that tended to define women by their fertility, Hannah's journey redefined the narrative. She showed that worth isn't tied to motherhood or societal expectations but to being heard and loved by God.