When I read about Peninnah in 1 Samuel Chapter 1, I noticed her arrogance even though she was prosperous, and I noticed her husband’s rude insensitivity. She mocked Hannah’s infertility and flaunted the many children she gave their shared husband Elkanah. This reminded me of Proverbs 30:8b-9, “Give me neither riches nor poverty. Give me enough to satisfy my needs. For if I grow rich I may deny you and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ And if I am poor I may steal and thus insult God’s holy name.” Many people have become ungodly during times of prosperity like Peninnah and Elhanah. We must guard against falling into the same sins, so please join me as I examine this danger of becoming ungodly in good times.
Peninnah appears to be Elkanah’s second wife whom he chose when his first wife could not give him children. Peninnah gave Elkanah many sons, (the most valued child in Israel). Consider 1 Samuel 1:6, “So Peninnah would taunt Hannah and make fun of her, because the Lord had kept her from having children.” Peninnah knew that if Elkanah died while Hannah had no children, she would be driven off the family property. Hannah would become a homeless, penniless widow, because women did not inherit property if they had no children with their spouse. This means that Elkanah had done nothing to provide for Hannah, if she became a widow.
Yet instead of setting aside any money for Hannah, he rudely lived in the moment as we see in 1Samuel 1:8, “Why are you crying, Hannah?’ Elkanah would ask. ‘Why aren’t you eating? Why be downhearted just because you have no children? You have me—isn’t that better than ten sons?” Not only was Elkanah not better than ten sons, he was not even as good as one son, because, with just one son, Hannah would have qualified to inherit some of Elkanah’s property. This sinful man had married a second wife, even though Scripture said men should only have one wife. He did not trust God to enable his wife to give him children even though both Sarah and Rebekah, the two matriarchs of the Hebrews, had been barren until God miraculously opened their wombs.
He had rushed off to find a fertile wife who could easily give him children, and he had neglected to rebuke Peninnah for mocking Hannah. He did nothing to provide for Hannah’s future, nor did he offer her comfort due to her infertility, let alone pray for her and entreat the priest to pray for them too. He had taken the easy way out to get children and then left his infertile wife to suffer the consequences of his sloth and neglect while the other wife mocked her.
Peninnah, like Elkanah, only saw the present. She was successful, and she and Elkanah achieved their dream of having sons. We never see either of these two people praying to God and seeking his will. Instead, as long as they achieved physical success, they felt content. They were ungodly in good times.
But Hannah suffered, and she turned to God, and she thought about her eternal future. She was godly in bad times. Let’s look at her, in contrast to her husband and rival wife. Despite her sorrow, she made a vow to God: “O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, if you will look upon my sorrow and answer my prayer and give me a son, then I will give him back to you,” (1 Sam. 1:10-11). Having the son would take away her shame of being a barren woman in a culture that shamed women who could not have children. Yet giving up that son would mean she would give up her rights to any inheritance if she had no more children. In verse 19, the Priest promised her God would honor her prayer, and she chose to be happy immediately, even though she was still not pregnant. Her faith was that strong.
God did give her a son, and she kept her promise; when he was weaned, she brought him to the Temple to be raised by the priests. She did all of this without having any other children yet. And the Scriptures say she worshiped the Lord during this time (verse 28). Hannah’s prayer of thanks, after she gave up her only son comes in chapter two. I love that prayer so much that I memorized two verses from it in 1Sam.2:1-2 “My heart rejoices in the Lord! The Lord has made me strong. Now I have an answer for my enemies; I rejoice because you rescued me. No one is holy like the Lord! There is no one besides you; there is no rock like our God.” Hannah thought about God and the future and did not live in the moment chasing temporary dreams.
Eli the priest recognized Hannah’s sacrifice, and he blessed her in verses 20b-21a, “May the Lord give you other children to take the place of this one she gave to the Lord.’ And the Lord blessed Hannah, and she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters.” God enabled Hannah to have children, so she would not be penniless when her husband died. Now her sons would inherit some of their father’s wealth, and they could care for Hannah when she grew old.
While this is a sorrow to joy story, we must also realize some people remained godly, even when they died penniless and childless. Some people in the Bible lived for God, even though this gave them no profit in their earthly life. For example, in Luke 16:19-31, we read of Lazarus, a poor beggar who died poor. Yet he went to heaven, in contrast to the rich man who went to Hell. Being poor did not qualify Lazarus for heaven, since Abraham and Job both died as godly, rich men. And being rich did not mean the rich man in that story had to go to Hell. But that rich man did not live a godly life, and Lazarus, even in his poverty, did remain godly in hard times. Abraham and Job both died as successful men, who also remained godly.
But it is Hannah’s story versus Peninnah’s story that I wanted to emphasize today. With her success, Peninnah mocked someone who lacked that success. In her sorrow, Hannah sought the Lord, and she found her joy in Him, even before she experienced success. And once Hannah had the son she yearned for, she remained faithful. She gave up her beloved son, not knowing if she would have any more children. She was godly, even when she was successful (in having the son). She was also sacrificial, in her success, and in a sense, she allowed herself to “lose” her success, in that she gave up that son, thus making herself childless again.
And even when she did have more children, she continued to worship and serve the Lord, and to serve Samuel, her first born, surrendered son. Hannah shows us how to cry out to the Lord in our pain and sorrow. She shows us how to consider our future eternity with God. She also shows us how to stay faithful to the Lord when we are successful (remaining godly in good times.) Peninnah warns us of what we do not want to do and of who we do not want to become: a mocker, and a braggart who only lives for the moment.
Oh, that we may stay faithful to the Lord, when we are hurting, and when we are successful. We can follow Hannah’s lead seeing how she used her sorrow to cry out to God for help. While she may have grumbled at one time, we never see that. We only know she did not grumble when we meet her in Scripture. She prayed and made a daring promise, offering her only hope for an inheritance (her only son). Even when she had no other children, she kept her promise. This was a promise that cost her so much, and hurt her so much. And she continued to worship God, even after making this sacrifice.
In some ways, Hannah reflects God’s love. He gave us his only son, and it cost God so much and caused him so much pain. But we gained eternity thanks to the gift of Jesus’ life. Hannah gave us an example we can follow, though it will hurt. If we follow Hannah’s example, we will worship God, even while we are hurting. Then, it will be easier to stay faithful and godly when we experience good times. Our response to our pain paves the way for either ungodly behavior (like Peninnah’s and Elkanah’s) or godly behavior when we do finally experience good times.
May we all stay godly in good times. I pray I’ve challenged and blessed you with this week’s post. I do not make light of suffering. I had three miscarriages, and the last loss was twins. Yet I chose to worship God in my pain. Not all women end up with a viable pregnancy, as I had with my living twins, so I am very thankful I did get to experience good times after my losses. My heart aches for the women who are still in their valleys of pain. We need to cry out to the Lord, for he will comfort us. He did it for Hannah, and he will do it for you too. Have a blessed week!