A Woman of Faith

 

Consider how strong was the faith of Hannah. She prayed earnestly for a child. Her faith made her realise that God controlled her life and it was up to her to accept God's will and to learn the lessons. When her long awaited hope was realised she not only dedicated her son to be a Nazarite but she gave him to the High Priest for the temple. She trusted God completely. As God had given her the promised son, then God would also protect and guide him in the difficulties of his temple service. This display of faith and trust in God is exactly like Abraham who received the long awaited child of promise but was willing to give him back to God as a sacrifice.

This attitude of complete trust in God is really faith in God's ultimate purpose, or a faith in the resurrection, for it makes God's ultimate purpose more important than the transient things of this life. Like Abraham, the father of the faithful, to whom the promises were made, Hannah demonstrated her complete trust in God. No doubt her faith will also be accounted to her for righteousness. Hannah is not included in the list of the faithful recorded in Hebrews chapter 11 but her famous son Samuel who followed her example of service to God is included:

‘And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gideon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets.’ [Hebrews 11.32]

Women of faith in general, are however included in this list of the faithful (See Hebrews 11.35). There are many examples of such women, who bore many sorrows in their role of bringing forth the children of God. There was Rachel who was barren for a long time in contrast to her sister Leah. Eventually, in a parallel with Hannah, she gave birth to Joseph who, like Samuel, was also a type of Christ.

In New Testament times there was Elisabeth who was barren until ‘well stricken in years’ [Luke 1.7] before she produced John the Baptist. Then of course there was Mary the mother of Jesus who was Elisabeth's cousin. Both of their wonderful children of promise died at an early age in service to God. Mary was sustained in these trials of her faith by strong belief in the resurrection, as the prophet Simeon said to her:

‘(Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.’ [Luke 2.35]

The thoughts and trials of some of these faithful women will be considered in later articles. When we think of the faith exhibited by women like Hannah, we realise that they indeed held their treasure of truth, in weak earthen vessels that gave glory to God, as Paul reminded the Corinthians:

‘…we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.’ [2 Corinthians 4.7]

They were indeed the weak of this world who were strong in faith.