Hannah - A woman of God

This month we will be focusing on Hannah. She was a woman of faith and did an extraordinary thing of faith when she gave her son Samuel to be dedicated to the Lord. Today is the introduction. Her story is found in I Samuel.

It is evident that in the Bible men and women play different roles. This is in sharp contrast to the present world in which the equality of the sexes is presented as a worthwhile ideal. God has created men and women, their similarities and their differences, in order to teach us about His purpose. In His wisdom, He established male and female and their relationship, to teach us about the relationship between Christ and his bride, the saints. [Ephesians 5.23] Similarly, God arranged for us to have families so that we can learn about Him as our Father in Heaven. Viewed in this light the breakdown of family relationships in the world today is an indication of how far the world is straying from God's way.

In this new series of articles entitled Women of Faith, we will try and see how the examples of women in Bible times powerfully demonstrate the wisdom of God.

Bearers of the Seed

In the beginning, when the most basic fundamentals were established, Eve was created out of Adam as a suitable companion for him. They were therefore of the same substance and nature. We see at once the important relationship between Christ and the saints in so far that they were also of the same nature. When Adam and Eve sinned they came under a similar curse. Adam was to till the ground, to plant seeds and to obtain food to sustain life through toil ‘in the sweat of thy face.’ [Genesis 3.19] From this he learnt that life was a precious gift from God and salvation from death required some considerable effort. Eve was told that she too would have to struggle and that she would bare children from Adam’s seed through ‘sorrow.’ But the life she would produce would eventually provide salvation from death. [Genesis 3.15]

We understand that the seed of the woman that would overcome sin was Jesus Christ although we do not know how much of the future Adam and Eve understood at the time. It is not surprising that great importance was given to the production of children in which the hope of the promises of God's salvation lay. The fact that in the Bible the purpose of God often involved barren women like Sarah, Rachel and Hannah, was not coincidental but is to demonstrate that God's purpose will prevail and to Him alone is the glory due.