1 Samuel 1:5–6

The "six measures" of barley that Ruth was carrying to Naomi equalled two ephahs. That was twice what she had gleaned herself. It was a "double portion," a sign from Boaz of special favour (Deuteronomy 21:17; 1 Samuel 1:5).

Among the Israelites, taking a second wife was not always driven by lower motives. In many cases it came from the desire for children, which the first wife could not have. This was probably the reason for Elkanah's double marriage. But "from the beginning it was not so." Marriage was meant from the start to give a man only one companion. Marriages with more than one wife never seem to have worked well in practice. Look at the humiliating discord in Abraham's family over Hagar, and the bitter jealousy in Jacob's family between the two sisters, Rachel and Leah. Here too it breeds strife and bitterness that is shameful to see. The bitter taunts of a proud Peninnah spoil what might otherwise have been an ideal Hebrew home, and they leave her barren rival in sorrow.

Hannah means "grace"; but before she matched her name, she pictures the flesh that cannot bear fruit for God. We must always begin there… Like Sarah long before, she faced the hatred and contempt of the wife according to the flesh. That wife was thriving, for Peninnah "had children" when Hannah had none. But the first wife hated her all the more, because their husband's love turned toward Hannah — the wife who was miserable and barren.

When he sacrificed, Elkanah did not forget his wives and Peninnah's children, but he favoured Hannah because he loved her. The Lord had, in His wisdom, withheld her from bearing children. … But Hannah was to learn the lesson, as we all should, that "it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual." The Lord allows mere human nature to have its way at first, to prove its own emptiness. Then He brings in something far better — just as Adam was the first man, Christ the second Man. … Even though the Lord Himself is enough to satisfy our hearts, He has planted in every believer a desire to bear fruit for Him. This is only normal and right.

Here we find that it was God who had closed her womb. I believe He did it to test her faith and to make her pray as she did. In this way she would be an example to us of prayer and perseverance, and of answer and response to God. What a wonderful story it is. So Hannah was persecuted and ridiculed, and how deeply she felt it. She could have gone to her husband and complained about the treatment, but in verse 10 she prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly.

The barren woman is in Scripture the picture of nature's ruined and helpless condition. There is no ability to do anything for God — no power to bring forth any fruit to Him; all is death and barrenness. Such is the real condition of every child of Adam.

It is the Lord's special work to make the barren woman rejoice. He alone can say, "Sing, O barren one, who did not bear; break forth into singing and cry aloud, you who have not been in labor! For the children of the desolate one will be more than the children of her who is married, says the LORD."

Among the Israelites, taking a second wife was not always based on lower motives. In many cases it came from the desire for children, which the first wife had not been given. This was likely the reason for Elkanah's double marriage. But "from the beginning it was not so" (Matt. 19:5-8). Marriage at first meant a single companion for a man, and plural marriages appear never to have worked well in practice. Look at the humiliating discord in Abraham's family over Hagar, and the bitter jealousy in Jacob's family between the two sisters, Rachel and Leah. The bitter provoking of the proud Peninnah, and the sorrow it caused her barren rival, spoil what might otherwise have been an ideal Hebrew home.

We know from the book of Daniel that Jewish women longed to give birth to a son. They hoped that son would prove to be the Messiah, the One long promised to Israel. So for a Jewish woman to be barren was a great reproach to her.

She looked at Hannah's tender conscience with proud contempt and scorn, and she used this public occasion to provoke her. She did it all the more boldly because she could point to her many children as proof of the Lord's blessing, while Hannah's barrenness must be a sure sign of His displeasure. This intensified not only her grief but her isolation. In the middle of a crowd of outward worshippers, and in the presence of Eli, she was alone — but alone with God.

Here we find that it was God who had closed her womb. I believe He did it to test her faith and to make her pray as she did. In this way she becomes an example to us of prayer and perseverance, and of answer and response to God. So Hannah was persecuted and ridiculed, and how deeply she felt it. She might have gone to her husband and complained of the treatment, but in verse 10 she prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly.

The barren woman is in Scripture the type of nature's ruined and helpless condition. There is no ability to do anything for God — no power to bring forth any fruit to Him; all is death and barrenness. Such is the real condition of every child of Adam. He can neither do anything for God nor for himself, as regards his eternal destiny. He is emphatically "without strength"; he is "a dry tree," "a heath in the desert."

Hannah means "grace"; but before answering to her name, she represents the flesh incapable of bearing fruit for God. We must always begin there… It is easier to confess that we are guilty than to admit that we cannot do anything. Admitting that our flesh has no power humbles us deeply.

The devil would seek to occupy our thoughts with the trial, to bring in distance between our souls and the LORD. He would seek to fill our minds with the harsh words and unjust acts of those who oppose us. In this way he leads us to "fret" and "grieve" and complain in bitterness of soul, like Hannah of old. Faith turns the trial into an occasion for turning to the LORD. It not only defeats the devil but gets blessing out of the trial.

The contrast is striking. First we see Hannah unable to eat, weeping in bitterness of soul. Then we see Hannah go on her way and eat, with her face no longer sad. How did this difference come about? Was it a change of circumstances, or the removal of what caused the sorrow? Not at all; the circumstances had not altered; she was still the barren woman. The secret of the change is that she had poured out her soul before the Lord. The persecution of her adversary, the fretting of spirit, the bitterness of soul — she poured it all out with weeping before the Lord. Her sorrow is poured out and God's peace is poured in.