The book of 1 Samuel, where we find the story of Hannah,
follows the period of the Judges (a particularly dark period in Israel’s
history). Judges ends with the familiar line, “In those days there was no king
in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” This anticipates what
is about to take place. Both the book of Ruth and the beginning of 1 Samuel
recount how God was using two women, Ruth and Hannah, to keep his plan of
redemption moving forward, despite what was taking place in the rest of Israel.
The offspring of these women figure significantly into the establishment of the
monarchy in Israel.
What we want to focus on for our purposes, however, is the reality
of Hannah’s life, which must have seemed to her far removed from God’s grand
story. Due to her barrenness, her life was one of pain and shame. How could she
know as she cried out to God for a child that the answer would result in David
being anointed king of Israel? She couldn’t know.
In truth, we often don’t know how our lives factor into God’s
meta-narrative. But what we learn from Hannah is that there are no
insignificant characters in the drama. Each of us has a part to play. And
though our lives, with their struggles and sorrows, triumphs and joys, may
never be recorded for posterity, they are nonetheless important to God. He uses
each of his people to move the plot forward to its glorious conclusion.
Don’t lose heart. We are told that God “remembered” Hannah,
he will remember each of his children.
