Hannah, A Woman Without Bitterness

     By today’s standards, and in keeping with attitudes that prevail today, Hannah had ample reason to be bitter. She was barren, a condition, through no fault of her own, that not only demeaned her in the eyes of her peers, but also devalued her in her own sight. Having children was, perhaps, the ultimate goal of women in ancient Israel. Children brought a sense of fulfillment and completeness to the mother, and honor to the father.  Most family and friends of the barren wife, no doubt, felt deep sympathy for her.

     But Hannah found little sympathy at home. Her husband, Elkanah, had a second wife, Peninnah, who had sons and daughters. Peninnah, according to 1 Samuel 1, had no sympathy for Hannah. The Bible says that she would provoke Hannah grievously just to irritate her, timing those occasions whenever Hannah would go up to the house of the Lord. And this went on repeatedly, year after year.

     Nor did Hannah find much understanding from her husband. Annually he gave portions to both of his wives. Peninnah, of course, received considerably more because of her sons and daughters. Elkanah gave Hannah a double portion because he loved her, but this in no way made Hannah feel fulfilled as a wife and mother. And so, she wept and would not eat. Her life must have been miserable. “And Elkanah, her husband, said to her, ‘Hannah, why do you weep? And why do you not eat? And why is your heart sad? Am I not more to you than ten sons?’” (1 Sam 1:8) Elkanah, no doubt, tried his best, but he simply did not understand the depth of Hannah’s hurt and thus could not help.

     Finally, she turned to the Lord.  ^“She was deeply distressed and prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly.” (1 Sam 1:10). But her bitterness was not the kind that would be directed against those who provoked her and made her life so unhappy. The King James Version shows us that the bitterness she experienced was her own inner pain and misery. “And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the Lord, and wept sore.”  “And she vowed a vow and said, ‘O Lord of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head.’” (1 Sam 1:11) Following her encounter with Eli, the priest, “she went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.” (1 Sam 1:18)

     Subsequently, Hannah bore a son and followed through with her promise to give him back to God. After Samuel was weaned, Hannah delivered him to Eli and Samuel became a remarkable man of God. But Hannah is equally remarkable in that she did not allow bitterness to define how she interacted with those around her.

     Throughout all of the time Peninnah was provoking her Hannah did not become bitter. She did not retaliate or seek revenge. When she became pregnant, she did not put Peninnah in her place. She did not invoke the proverb that states, “He who laughs last, laughs best.” It would have been so easy for her to have kept a tally of Peninnah provocations, storing them up, dwelling upon them, scheming how she might punish the one who was making her life so unhappy, but she did not. She might have tried to undermine the relationship between Elkanah and Peninnah, but she did not. She might have picked on Elkanah, blaming him for the lack of children, or berating him for any attention he gave to his other wife, but she did not. She might have gone back on her promise to God. After all, her desire for children had been the ruling thought in her mind for quite a long time. She might have decided to keep the child, but she did not. Hannah was a remarkable Godly woman without bitterness.

     Ephesians 4:31 “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.”  Hebrews 12:15 says, “See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled.”