Devotions
Rev Gav
Listen
1 Samuel 1.1–8
There was a certain man of Ramathaim, a Zuphite from the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Elkanah son of Jeroham son of Elihu son of Tohu son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. He had two wives; the name of one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.
Now this man used to go up year by year from his town to worship and to sacrifice to the Lord of hosts at Shiloh, where the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests of the Lord. On the day when Elkanah sacrificed, he would give portions to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters; but to Hannah he gave a double portion, because he loved her, though the Lord had closed her womb. Her rival used to provoke her severely, to irritate her, because the Lord had closed her womb. So it went on year after year; as often as she went up to the house of the Lord, she used to provoke her. Therefore Hannah wept and would not eat. Her husband Elkanah said to her, ‘Hannah, why do you weep? Why do you not eat? Why is your heart sad? Am I not more to you than ten sons?’
Reflect
To those who say we should get back to ‘biblical’ marriage, it might be worth pointing out that Elkanah had two wives, as did Abram, Jacob, Gideon, David and Solomon! Anyway, I’ll climb off that soap box and focus on the content of today’s Bible passage which is the opening to the wonderful story about the conception and birth of Samuel.
Within Judaism it was legal to marry more than one wife, and having a second wife was a sign of affluence. Here we have a respectable, God-fearing family, but it wasn’t a happy family. Bearing children was a sign of God’s blessing and, sadly, being barren was often viewed as a sign of God’s punishment and it could put the woman in a tenuous position, for barren women were often discarded, ostracised, or given a lower status. Despite Elkanah’s attempts to help and console Hannah, the unkindness of her rival-wife Peninnah made her position intolerable.
Although we sympathise with Hannah and Elkanah’s words of consolation, he missed the point. He misunderstood Hannah’s yearning for a child was not about companionship but a deep spiritual longing.
When we are faced with the pain of others, it is tempting to jump in and try and fix them, or make them feel better by offering advice or words of encouragement, but what people most need is to be listened to and heard. When I trained as a Christian prayer counsellor, it was drummed into us by our tutor to ‘never give advice’ but to actively listen to the person who came to us for support and help. Active listening is where you repeat back to the person what you have heard so that they know you have heard them.
Perhaps the greatest gift you can give anyone is to listen to them. Who will you listen to today?
Pray
Holy God
Help me to be
slow to speak
and quick to listen.
Help me be aware that
the interruptions in my day
are my ministry,
and remind me of my
calling to stop and
give time to those
who are hurting
or in pain.
This day and forever.
and then