
But to Hannah he would give a double portion, because he loved Hannah, but the Lord had given her no children. Hannah’s rival provoked her bitterly, to irritate and embarrass her, because the Lord had left her childless…. 1 Samuel 1:5,6 (The Amplified Bible)
Elkanah’s Portion… Am I not better to you than ten sons? When will you stop worrying about sons you do not yet have? You may never even have them…. See, I love you so much, that’s what really matters. Why get worked up over having children? Do not be so discontent and ungrateful. Am I not more than enough for you? I make sure you do not lack anything; I take good care of you…. Hannah… If God wanted to give you children you would have had them a long time ago. Please ignore Peninnah’s banter – she is only jealous because she knows I really love you…. Here, have some meat – a double portion as usual. Double what Peninnah with all her sons and daughters have received. Take it my love, eat and cheer up…. Good girl. That’s my Hannah. Smile now….
Year after year after year after year… Hannah would wipe her tears, force a smile, choke on Elkanah’s pity-portion, and return again to Ephraim, unchanged.…
Peninnah’s Potion… Barren woman! Is he going into your room again tonight? What for? All his trips to your bed have never produced any fruit. Not even a daughter. Ha! He will soon return to my chamber anyway, for I have given him sons and will yet give him more… Oh! Once again you have been given more meat than me and my children. A worthy portion indeed! Tell me, who shall you share it with? (Lets out a long guffaw.) Go on deceiving yourself Hannah; you will die without a son to call you mother….
That last sentence stung…..
It stung at a place too deep for words… a place already too sore; pummeled yearly by the same brutal tongue… at Shiloh – the place of worship, the place of sacrifice, the place of supplication, the temple of God.
Year after year…. Elkanah’s family would make a pilgrimage to offer sacrifices at the house of God in Shiloh, where the Ark of the Covenant dwelt… Peninnah would remind Hannah of her pain… and Hannah would weep in deep anguish and self-pity… then their husband would turn her eyes away from her need… and she would eat his double portion – albeit unhappily, brush aside Peninnah’s bitter potion, yet sink deeper into depression… at Shiloh – the house of God, where the Ark of the Covenant was… Year after year…
But that year was going to be different. She was not going to return unchanged. She was going to interrupt the cycle of pain. Peninnah was right after all. And even though Elkanah meant well, he was not better than ten sons to her. He was not even worth more than a son. He was her husband and she depended on his love. But she too, wanted a son – her own son – to nestle in her bosom and call her ‘mother’… even just one son would do….
So Hannah did what she had never done before in all the years past that they had travelled to Shiloh. She took advantage of that space. She put her Shiloh moment to work. That cycle was about to set off on a new tangent… that was going to be her last pilgrimage of tears. She got up (1 Samuel 1:9). Hannah, for once, rose up and without waiting for her husband’s cue, went in for herself into the presence of the Lord. She channeled her tears aright. She turned Peninnah’s virulent blows into effectual fervent prayer. She poured her sore heart out. She released her bitter spirit. She set her distressed soul free. She let it all out that day to her heavenly father and cut a deal with the Lord of Hosts whom she had come all the way from Ephraim’s hills to worship… This was no longer a family time. It was a strictly private moment. One on one with her God….
When she arose from that place… she was no longer the same woman who had been coming and going…. She got up, holding in her heart a signed pact with God. She had become God’s business partner. Her prophet sealed it (1 Samuel 1:17). Her countenance was no longer sad. Hallelujah!
Beloved child of God, what does a ‘son’ represent to you right now? What is your deepest need in God? After you have savoured Elkanah’s pity-portion, may our God send you Peninnah’s potent-potion to aggravate you into your miracle. May you never be content with the place where you are in, no matter what your friends feed you. May you be so sorely pricked until like Hannah you rise in the place of prayer to aggressively take hold of what God has promised you in His Word.
Having an alternative that claims to be better than ten ‘sons’ is great… bearing your ‘one son’ is simply incomparable…
Selah!
- Sista Mercie
#Purpose #Medispirations
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