“[There is] none holy as the LORD: for [there is] none beside thee: neither [is there] any rock like our God.” (1Sa 2:2 AV)
These words were spoken by Hannah on the birth of her son, Samuel. Her husband Elkanah joined her in this song of praise. This was no small matter. The answer of a male child meant more to her and her husband than merely giving birth to their firstborn. Elkanah was of the tribe of Levi. Specifically, he was of the family of Kohath. The Kohathites were responsible for the maintenance of the tabernacle. Elkanah had a second wife, by whom they had at least two sons. According to the law, those sons were to begin service in the tabernacle beginning at age twenty. The Bible suggests Peninnah did not offer her sons to the service of the tabernacle. This ensued a relationship of torment, false accusation, and self-righteous condemnation. Hannah was at the end of her rope and pled with God for a son. She vowed to fulfill her duty and present her son to the service of the tabernacle. In spite of the immorality and greed found at the tabernacle, Hannah vowed to be obedient and leave her son in the care of God. When the LORD blessed Hannah with Samuel, she not only praised God for answered prayer, but made the statement above regarding God’s ability to keep her son from harm.
There are many ways in which to apply this, but the LORD has given me a different way than the obvious. Normally, we would see the omnipotence of God. Hannah was barren for many years. Her husband had given up on her ever being able to bear children. The miracle that Samuel was might have been see only through the lens of God’s ability to create life. However, note how Hannah begins her statement. She references the holiness of God. Why? Why would holiness be the first reference to a God who can do all things? There are several reasons this might be the case. First, the law required the Kohathites to serve. Peninnah’s sons were not. The family was living in disobedience. Hannah knew the only way for the family to live in obedience was for the LORD to honor His holiness. The LORD had to provide a servant by His own hand. But I think Hannah’s statement goes even further. By recognizing the holiness of God, she is also laying her faith in His holiness and not the holiness of Eli and his sons. This took no small faith on Hannah’s part.
Hannah had faith that we can admire. No doubt we should avoid circumstances that might cause us to fall. Putting Samuel under the care of a priest who could not raise his own sons seems to be unreasonable and risky, to say the least. But her confidence was in the holiness of God. Not the holiness of people. We are often disappointed by the sins of others. Lest we become self-righteous, let us remember that we are equally wicked. If we ever get to the place where we rank people based on their sins as the means to elevate Self, we are in a dangerous place. Too many Christians refuse to interact with the world out of distaste for its sin. Rather than trust the holiness of God to be greater than the wickedness of man, they live in a bubble of self-righteousness. Hannah shows tremendous faith in God to overcome a fallen world, and she did not condemn Eli nor his sons are far more wicked than herself. We are all in this boat called fallen humanity, and no one has the moral right to judge others as much worse than self. Rather, we should learn to trust God’s holiness above the sin of mankind. And that would include our own.
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