What does the Bible say about breastfeeding?

We can also learn from four other aspects of Hannah’s conduct in raising her son. While it was pure grace on God’s part that Samuel became what he was, Hannah recognised the side of human responsibility, which co-exists with God’s grace. She did not simply rely on God’s grace and use this as an excuse not to fulfil her responsibility in connection with the heritage God had given her.

First, she nursed her young son by breastfeeding him (1:23). Applying this spiritually, we must supply our children with spiritual food for their souls. It is never too early to feed our children with such food, which is the ‘pure mental milk of the word’ (1 Pet. 2:2). When they are still young, we read it to them. When they start going to school, we help them read and understand it on their own. Of course, we will respect the age and the character of a child. We will not give them the wrong food. We will not give them too much or too little. Quality and quantity will be well balanced so that they can grow spiritually. Also, breast milk is something which is formed beforehand, and inside the mother. There is no spiritual equivalent of fast food or a ready meal. Our children will only be blessed as we give them something which has been produced and experienced in ourselves and practised by us.

Second, Hannah weaned her son (1 Sam. 1:23). Our children cannot rely solely on spiritual food from their parents forever. We have to ‘wean’ them. They need to learn to stand on their own two feet, and feed themselves spiritually. They need to build up their own close relationship to the Lord Jesus. Of course, spiritual weaning is a process which may take some time. We can spend time with our children as they learn to be independent in these matters.

"And the man Elkanah and all his house went up to offer unto the Lord the yearly sacrifice, and his vow. But Hannah went not up; for she said unto her husband, I will not go up until the child be weaned, and then will I bring him, that he may appear before the Lord, and there abide forever. And Elkanah her husband said unto her, Do what seemeth thee good — tarry until thou have weaned him; only the Lord establish his word. So the woman abode and gave her son suck until she weaned him.

"And when she had weaned him she took him up with her; with three bullocks, and one ephah of flour, and a bottle of wine, and brought him unto the house of the Lord in Shiloh; and the child was young. And they slew a bullock, and brought the child to Eli. And she said, O my lord, as thy soul liveth, my lord, I am the woman that stood by thee here, praying unto the Lord. For this child I prayed, and the Lord hath given me my petition which I asked of Him: therefore also have I lent him to the Lord; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the Lord. And he worshiped the Lord there."

I hope you have learned to nurse your baby: we heard bad accounts of you in this respect. It is a charge the Lord has given you for higher purposes than this world; and thorough confidence in the parents, begotten by tender care and laying oneself out a little for them - is what creates it under God's goodness, though of course your little one is too young to be much in your care now; but affection begins early. This world passes and ends, but what we do, and are in it, never does - save the poor vessel.

Let us not be afraid to have faith for our children, to lay hold upon God for them before they are able to lay hold upon Him for themselves. People say, A child must believe for himself. You cannot believe for him. Yes, you can in a very real way, as Moses' parents believed for him. Suppose they had not believed for him. Suppose they had said, If he were large enough, he might trust in God; but we must cast him into the river. That would have been the end of Moses as far as human power was concerned. But what a place they put him in! You know how he was taken from the river's brink by Pharaoh's daughter, adopted by her, and then put back under his mother's care until he was of sufficient age to go permanently back to the king's court. Every advantage was given to him; but God's tender care had given him also all the benefit of a mother's love and training in the fear of God and His ways. How diligently that dear mother must have made use of her time! How she must have instilled into his mind the promises of the God of their fathers! How she must have taught that young child that he was identified with those bondsmen who yet were the people of God! How she must have told him of the promises of God, that He would visit them and bring them up out of that land, and give them an inheritance! No doubt she made faithful and diligent use of her opportunities; and, as Pharaoh's daughter said to her (in a higher sense than Pharaoh's daughter meant, she heard another Voice saying,) "Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages." What wages has a faithful mother, if she has spent time and strength and prayers in bringing up her children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord!

She had chosen the best spot in which to leave the ark, for Pharaoh's daughter came there to bathe, bringing her female attendants with her. Seeing the ark among the reeds, she sent a maid to bring it to her. Her woman's heart was tenderly affected in seeing the beautiful child and hearing him weep. She knew immediately that he was a Hebrew child, but how could she obey her father's decree that the child must be drowned? In fact, before she had time to consider what she should do, the child's sister appeared immediately and asked her if she should go and get a Hebrew woman who could nurse the child for her (v. 7).

Pharaoh's daughter would not be acquainted with Hebrew women, and the suggestion of Moses' sister was to her a providential opportunity of possessing a child of her own, with a more natural mother to nurse the child. The immediate suggestion of his sister also averted the alternative that Pharaoh's daughter might have considered, in having the child put to death.

The child's sister brought her own mother to Pharaoh's daughter, who asked her to take the child and nurse it for her with promise of payment for this (v. 9). Thus, not only was her child preserved alive, but she was privileged to nurse her own child and receive payment for so doing! Very likely she would hear a voice higher than that of Pharaoh's daughter, saying “Take this child away and nurse him for me.” Since she had faith in the living God, she would certainly rear the child for His glory rather than for the pleasure of Pharaoh's daughter.

If one can imagine the mother’s sorrow as she committed her child to the river, one can likewise imagine the tumultuous joy that filled her heart as she carried away her child to nurse it at the bidding of one high enough to guarantee its exemption from the cruel commandment of the king.

And was it ever heard in the history of the world that a mother should be paid wages for nursing her own child? The mother of Moses needed no wages to make her willing to nurse her child, but wages were given her—she, the wife of a slave of foreign race engaged in making bricks without straw, had her wages paid by princely hands.

Miriam had now joined herself at the critical moment to the group; and with wit quickened by affection availed herself of the evident compassion to say to Pharaoh's daughter, "Shall I go and call thee a nurse of the Hebrews, that she may suckle the child for thee?" What could the princess say to so sensible and timely a suggestion, but "Go"? "And the damsel went and fetched the child's mother [her own too]; and Pharaoh's daughter said to her, Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give [thee] thy wages."

This was no miracle, any more than the preservation of the child. But it was the living God's working in the various persons concerned, to rescue from a watery grave the one who was to rescue His people from a bondage to many more bitter than death in the Nile: the type of the Deliverer from sin and wrath, not for Israel but for every believer; the prophet too and mediator of God's law, like but beyond other men, though immeasurably inferior to Him through Whom grace and truth came, the manifestation of God's light and love as none but Himself.

Then we hear the positive exhortation: "as new-born babes long for the guileless (or, pure) intelligent milk, that by it ye may grow unto salvation." No one can doubt that it is the milk of the word that nourishes the believer. It was the word of God whereby he was born again; it is the same word whereby he is fed. There is no contrast here as in 1 Cor. 3 and in Heb. 5 between milk for the immature and solid food for the adult, blame being put on those who did not profit by the word, rising from elements to higher truths. Here the Spirit of God dwells on the suitability of the food provided for the babe when born; and all are encouraged to desire earnestly the pure nourishment which God supplies so liberally. It is milk for the saint's intelligence; as a mother's breast yields nourishment to her babe physically, so God's word is food to our spiritual understanding.

"And the man Elkanah, and all his house, went up to offer unto the Lord the yearly sacrifice, and his vow. But Hannah went not up; for she said unto her husband, I will not go up until the child be weaned, and then I will bring him, that may appear before the Lord, and there abide for ever. And Elkanah her husband said unto her, Do what seemeth thee good; tarry until thou hast weaned him; only the Lord establish his word. So the woman abode, and gave her son suck until she weaned him. And when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with three bullocks, and one ephah of flour, and a bottle of wine, and brought him unto the house of the Lord in Shiloh: and the child was young. And they slew a bullock, and brought the child to Eli. And she said, Oh my lord, as thy soul liveth, my lord, I am the woman that stood by thee here, praying unto the Lord. For this child I prayed; and the Lord hath given me my petition which I asked of him: therefore also I have lent him to the Lord; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the Lord. And he worshipped the Lord there." (1 Sam. 1:21-28)

Well, Elkanah went up to worship but Hannah remained to home, she said, 'I am going to wean the child'. It would have been very easy for her to give the child immediately. 'No,' she said, 'I will wean the child'. Mothers know that there is a long process involved before the child is weaned, and the child gets entwined in the affections, the child becomes part of the mother, well the child is part of the mother, but more and more as the mother cares for the child before this time of weaning comes. I believe this indicates the extent of the sacrifice that Hannah made. She handed him over to the Lord thoroughly weaned. Oh how she loved him, and how she cared for him, as we see in the succeeding chapters, preparing a garment for him year by year as he grew and given to the Lord and given to the Lord's servant and what a man he became!

When she had weaned him she took him up with her with three bullocks and an ephah of flour and a bottle of wine and brought him unto the house of the Lord at Shiloh and the child was young. I think this indicates to us that there was a very definite response to God. God had done his part, now says Hannah, we will do our part, and I believe the bullocks would be burnt offerings, the flour indicates the meal offering and the wine indicates the drink offering, and the drink offering is always associated with joy. The Lord has His part, the offerer has his part, a mutual matter of joy. Having received this blessing from the Lord, Hannah and her husband responded unto the Lord with worship and thanksgiving.

Three years of age is said to have been the time of weaning with Hebrews; if this was Samuel's age when left with Eli, it exhibits to a marked degree the devotion of Hannah to the interests of Jehovah and His worship, to leave her child at the 'tabernacle so young. But "all things are possible to him that believeth," and faith rises above nature; she gave him gladly, and doubtless with assurance that the Lord had need of him, and would use him to the honor of His great and glorious name in Israel.