This morning we are going to take a departure from our Revelation study and focus on The Blessings Of A Mother on this Mother’s Day 2007. You see, over the last 40 years or so the role of a mother has changed in our society. We have moved from the Ozzie and Harriet type of motherhood to the Sharon Osbourne, wife of Ozzie Osbourne and Roseanne type of motherhood. And I don’t think this was necessarily for the better. You see, we have moved away from a Biblical perspective of motherhood and because of that we have lost out on the blessings that a mother brings to a family. The reality is, there has been some disturbing consequences related to the destruction of the family.
Let me share with you some 2000 Census figures and you will see what I mean regarding how the family is changing, what is happening within the family. The results show us:
Because of this, and the pressure for mom’s to work outside the home, care for
the family, to try to do it all, our children have been affected. Now please, hear me out on this. I am in no way placing the responsibility solely upon the mother, not at all. And men, we will deal with our role on Father’s Day. But for you mom’s out there who have to work, you single moms, keep forging on, God will honor your work.
But as we look at our society, we can see radical changes in our children over the years and LSU Sociologist, Michael Grimes’ research shows how the family intersects other institutions of society. He said:
“The family must always be viewed as interdependent with the larger society. Because of this interdependence, the structure of the family and its activities at a given point in time cannot be understood in isolation from the events that are occurring in the larger society at that point in time. For example, one only has to look at the tremendous impact that women’s return to work, which began during the late 1960s and early 1970s, had on the structure and activities of American family to realize the interdependence between the family and the remainder of society.”
This is what we see happening with our children today, their behavior, their violence, their lack of respect and-so-on, I believe are a direct result of what is happening or not happening in the home. You see, what is on the inside, what they have learned or not learned is being manifested in their actions.
Now this is not a study to put you down or make you feel condemned, but I did need to lay some groundwork as we look at the role of a mother, Biblically speaking, the blessings of a mother. Thus, with that said, please turn in your Bibles to I Samuel chapter 1 as we look at one mother and what she did in raising her child, lessons we can glean. As you are turning there let me share with you this story. We are told:
We had the meanest mother in the whole world! While other kids ate candy for breakfast, we had to have cereal, eggs, and toast. When others had a Pepsi and a Twinkie for lunch, we had to eat sandwiches. And you can guess our mother fixed us a dinner that was different from what other kids had, too.
Mother insisted on knowing where we were at all times. You’d think we were convicts in a prison. She had to know who our friends were, and what we were doing with them. She insisted that if we said would be gone for an hour, we would be gone for an hour or less. We were ashamed to admit it, but she had the nerve to break the Child Labor Laws by making us work. We had to wash the dishes, make the beds, learn to cook, vacuum the floor, do laundry, and all sorts of cruel jobs. I think she would lie awake at night thinking of more things for us to do. She always insisted on us telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
By the time we were teenagers, she could read our minds. Then, life was really tough! Mother wouldn’t let our friend’s just honk the horn when they drove up. They had to come up to the door so she could meet them. While everyone else could date when they were 12 or 13, we had to wait until we were 16.
Because of our mother, we missed out on lots of things other kids experience. None of us have ever been caught shoplifting, vandalizing other’s property, or even arrested for any crime. It was all her fault. We never got drunk, took up smoking, stayed out all night or a million other things, other kids did. Sunday’s were reserved for church, and we never missed once. We knew better than to ask to spend the night with a friend on Saturdays.
Now that we have left home, we are all God-fearing, educated, honest adults. We are doing our best to be mean parents just like Mom was. I think that’s what is wrong with the world today. It just doesn’t have enough mean moms anymore.
- Source Unknown
I don’t think she was mean, but she loved her children and that was reflected in her actions. Yes, as children we might see that as mean, but I think as we grow up, we truly see it as love! Here in I Samuel chapter 1 we are introduced to a man named Elkanah who was a descendent of Levi, a priest. He and his family were living in one of the Levitical cities in Ephraim, even though he was not an Ephraimite. He was a Koathite or a priest. Thus, he was a Levite by linage but an Ephraimite by residence.
Elkanah had two wives, he was a polygamist and he should have known better. God said a husband and wife not wives! Now Elkanah loved Hannah more than he loved Peninnah but Hannah was barren while Peninnah bore him children. And every year they traveled to Shiloh to the house of the Lord to worship the Lord there. And Peninnah provoked Hannah because of her barrenness, which hurt her deeply and that is why she did it. With that as our background, let’s begin reading in I Samuel chapter 1, starting in verse 8 and see what the Lord has for us this morning on this Mother’s Day 2007.
As you read of this woman you might be thinking, “What a gal!” You see, she exemplifies the qualities of a godly woman. What God has done on the inside of this woman is seen on the outside, overflowing in her actions. She wasn’t perfect, but her love for the Lord was seen by how she lived out her faith. I am blessed to have a wife like this, who gave her all for her family, her children, not perfect but she loved the Lord and what the Lord was doing on the inside of her overflowed in her actions and it still does!
In these verses here in I Samuel chapter 1 I see five points that show her love for the Lord and because of that, she blessed those around her. Thus, with the remainder of our time this morning we are going to focus on these five points and see what we can glean from them. Ladies, my prayer for you is that you would be encouraged and grow from these lessons. Men and children, I pray that you would see the blessing that God has given to us – a wife and a mother.
1. HANNAH WAS SUBJECT TO HER HUSBAND –
I SAMUEL 1:8-9
Now when you read these verses you see how Elkanah was not very sensitive to his wife’s needs. She was hurting, she was in pain because she was barren and in that society it was looked upon as a curse. And, instead of comforting her he basically says, “You got me babe! What more do you need?” As great a guy as he might have been, that was not the issue. He missed out on comforting her. You see, her heart was broken! Thus, men, may we learn to be sensitive to our wives, to pay attention to them and if need be, pray before we speak!
The point I want to focus on here is Hannah’s response. She could have said, “Thanks for your support Mr. Sensitive!” Or she could have responded even worse, but she did not respond like that, she just submitted to his authority. I know, I said a bad word – SUBMIT! Folks, I didn’t say it, God did! Listen to what the Lord said through Paul in Ephesians 5:22-24, “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.”
I realize that is not politically correct, but that is God’s position on the matter, that is God’s position for wives. To submit to their husbands is what He has called them to do. The reason this is such an issue, the reason this is such a problem, the reason people can’t submit is because they are negating what Paul said in Ephesians 5:21, “submitting to one another in the fear of God.” Or as The Amplified Bible puts it, “Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One).” You see, if you refuse to submit to the Lord you will have a hard time submitting to anyone!
Now let me also say this. Women are not inferior to men, less intelligent then men, but in the role of the family, God has placed the man as the spiritual leader of the family. The reason so many homes are out of order today is because the God given roles for the family are not being followed. You have women running the family, children running the family and the men acting like Casper milk toast and shy away from their responsibility. That is wrong!
And think about it. When God created Adam and Eve, Adam was the spiritual leader of the family and it was a beautiful relationship. But, as soon as sin entered the picture, then things got messed up. In Genesis 3:16 the Lord said, “To the woman He said: ‘ will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; In pain you shall bring forth children; Your desire shall be for your husband, And he shall rule over you.’” Some see this as a beautiful picture of a husband and wife relationship. The woman “desires” her husband and the husband “rules” over the wife. Folks, forget about it! That is not what this verse is saying.
Keep in mind that this is a curse against them for their sin. Thus, Eve and women who are born after her will desire the role of the husband, to usurp his position as spiritual leader of the family. And for the husband, he will want to rule, lord over his wife, to be in an elevated position. And isn’t that what we see today? Of course it is but that is not what God desires for us as Christians. The woman is to submit to her husband as unto the Lord and the husband is to love his wife as the Lord loves the church and gave his life for it. That is unconditional love!
And so this first character of a godly woman that we see in Hannah’s life is her willingness to submit to her husband’s authority as unto the Lord. That heart attitude overflowed with blessings for her family.
2. HANNAH WAS A WOMAN OF PRAYER –
I SAMUEL 1:10-11
Hannah was truly a woman of prayer. Now, in saying that, don’t come to the conclusion that she was without emotion. Hannah was broken by her barrenness. Her heart ached. You see, it is out of that we see her bring her requests to the Lord. Paul put it this way in Philippians 4:6-7, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
Paul is not saying that we are to be like the stoics, without emotion, but we are not to be anxious over things. We bring our pain, our hurt, our sorrow and-so-on to the Lord, why? Because Peter tells us, “casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” I Peter 5:7.
And keep in mind what Paul said. When you give your requests to God, leave them at His feet for His will to be done, then God will give you His peace that surpasses all understanding. Not only that but He will also guard our hearts. What does that mean? It means that God will guard our emotions! You see, Satan loves to play games with our emotions, so much so that they can be like a roller coaster; up and down, up and down! But God says that He wants to guard our emotions from that, if we would only let Him!
Not only that, but Paul says that God will also guard our mind. You see, another area Satan loves to mess with is our mind, by getting us to doubt our salvation, he causes us to feel condemned, he causes us to doubt God’s love for us and-so-on. Again, it can be like a giant roller coaster of thoughts; God loves me, no He doesn’t, God loves me, no He doesn’t! God doesn’t want us to live like that so He tells us to give it to Him so He can guard, protect our thoughts, but again, if we will let Him!
So here we see Hannah bare her soul to the Lord, the pain she is feeling and she is praying for the child the Lord will give her, even before little Samuel is born she was praying for him. That is important and that praying needs to continue on after they are born, a year old, 10 years old, 20 years old, 30 years old, I don’t think it stops! You continue to pray for your children even after they are grown. Never stop praying for them!
Hannah was a woman of prayer and thus, the second characteristic of a godly woman. And folks, her prayers not only affected her own life, but they were a blessing to the lives of others!
3. HANNAH WAS A WOMAN OF FAITH – I
SAMUEL 1:16-20
Notice the faith that Hannah had in the Lord. She prayed to the Lord, gave her requests to the Lord and then trusted that God would answer her hearts cry. And when Eli the priest told her that God would answer her prayer she went away with joy in her heart that overflowed in her actions. It is as Paul said in Romans 15:13, “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” The Amplified Bible puts it like this, “May the God of your hope so fill you with all joy and peace in believing [through the experience of your faith] that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound and be overflowing (bubbling over) with hope.”
And when Hannah gave birth she called her son by the name of Samuel, which means “heard of God” or “asked of God.” In other words, every time she saw little Samuel she remembered the faithfulness of God in answering her prayer. It was truly a faith builder for her.
Paul, in II Corinthians 5:7 said, “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” Or as The Amplified Bible puts it, “For we walk by faith [we regulate our lives and conduct ourselves by our conviction or belief respecting man's relationship to God and divine things, with trust and holy fervor; thus we walk] not by sight or appearance.” What does that mean? It means trusting in God when the outward circumstances, the outward situations are not good. You see, it is easy to trust God when things are going well, when everything is okay, but what happens when they don’t? The Lord is admonishing us through Paul to walk not by sight but by faith in Him, trusting Him.
Solomon tells us in Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.” Listen to how The Amplified Bible puts these verses, “Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths.”
How can we learn to do that? How can we trust the Lord for all things? By knowing Him and His character and once you do, you will not have any fear in trusting Him. It is hard to trust someone you don’t know. Thus, get to know God through His Word. As you do, you will be able to rest in Him, place your full weight upon Him because you trust in Him. In other words, you will be able to walk by faith and not by sight!
And so the third characteristic of a godly woman that we see in the life of Hannah is that she was a woman of faith, she learned to trust in the Lord and then walk accordingly. In doing so she was a blessing to others as she lived out her faith.
4. HANNAH WAS A WOMAN WHO CARED – I
SAMUEL 1:21-23
What is important to you? You see, whatever is important to you, you will do. Nothing will stop you from doing it or watching it or buying it or whatever. Now here we see Hannah have a caring heart and folks, I believe this is born out of the last characteristic, her love for the Lord and we will deal with that in a few minutes. But here we see the love she had for her son Samuel, the gift that God had given her.
Instead of going here and going there, instead of doing this or doing that, she set her priorities on her family. Only the Lord was more important. She was training up little Samuel even at this young age in the things of the Lord.
In Proverbs 22:6 Solomon tells us, “Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.” In other words, we are to instill the things of God into our children. That is not only speaking about teaching them the things of God found in the Word of God but then applying it to their everyday life so they can learn lessons of faith. Now I know that some say that is brainwashing, but let me ask you this. Your children’s lives are going to be filled with something; someone is going to instill in them what they believe. Now, do you want Hollywood or any other secular institution doing that or would you rather have them filled with the things of God? Of course you want them filled with the things of God. But there is that choice, to allow them to be conformed to this world or transformed by the Lord!
And I know it can be hard, it may seem like you are not making any impact upon them, but you are. Don’t give up, care for your children, love them knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
Maybe you heard the story of a four-year-old and a six-year-old who presented their Mom with a houseplant. They had used their own money and she was thrilled. The older of them said with a sad face, “There was a bouquet that we wanted to give you at the flower shop. It was real pretty, but it was too expensive. It had a ribbon on it that said, ‘Rest In Peace,’ and we thought it would be just perfect since you are always asking for a little peace so that you can rest.” The heart of a child, you have to love them!
Children are truly a blessing from the Lord; yes a lot of work, but also a blessing. And we need to care for them, train them up in the ways of the Lord so that when they are old they will not depart from them. You will have instilled in them the things they need to grow and mature in the Lord and to be an asset to society and bring glory to the Lord.
Listen to what Paul said not only of Timothy’s mother but his grandmother in II Timothy 1:5, “when I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also.” Do you think they impacted his life for the Lord? You bet they did! And keep in mind that his father was a unbelieving Greek and yet the love of the Lord touched Timothy’s life because of his mother and grandmother. You see, you can make a difference!
So the fourth godly characteristic of Hannah was that she was a woman of care, of love for her child and what a blessing that was in little Samuel’s life. Nothing got in her way of caring for him and you can see the fruit of that love in Samuel’s life as he grew up!
5. HANNAH WAS A WOMAN OF DEDICATION –
I SAMUEL 1:24-28
In saying that Hannah was a woman of dedication I am speaking of her dedication to the Lord, she surrendered her life to Him. You see, the Lord was the most important thing in her life and because of that, she was able to manifest these other godly characteristics. If the Lord is not important in your life, your children, your friends, your co-workers and-so-on will see it! You can’t fool them because if you are unwilling to submit to the Lord, your life will show it and you will not submit to anyone!
Paul, in Romans 12:1-2 put it like this, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” The Amplified Bible puts these verses like this, “I APPEAL to you therefore, brethren, and beg of you in view of [all] the mercies of God, to make a decisive dedication of your bodies [presenting all your members and faculties] as a living sacrifice, holy (devoted, consecrated) and well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable (rational, intelligent) service and spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you].”
We are to place our lives on the altar of sacrifice, dedicate our lives to the Lord for His use and as we do, as we surrender to Him, then what will be manifested in our lives is His character, His love and-so-on.
Again, what is most important to you? Where your treasure is that is where your heart will be. And you can tell by watching people and seeing what they pour their lives into, where their passion is. If you are struggling in this area, having other things compete for your relationship with the Lord, repent and return to Him, it is as simple as that. Think about it, if you don’t think going to church and worshiping the Lord is important, if you don’t like to serve Him, why do you think your children will act differently? They won’t but they will respond as you respond because what is important to you will affect their lives! You get your walk right and it will bless others.
And here in I Samuel we see Hannah giving back to the Lord that which she treasured, her son. And in reality, Samuel was the Lord’s in the first place, only given to Hannah to care for. Yes, it is hard to see our children grow up, become independent but we need to let them. We need to give them back to the Lord after we have trained them with the things of God, loved them, nourished them, cared for them and you will see the blessing as they serve the Lord as little Samuel did.
Here are the characteristics of a godly woman that we have seen in the life of Hannah here in I Samuel chapter 1. Hannah was subject to her own husband, she submitted to his spiritual leadership in the family. Hannah was a woman of prayer, she prayed for her child and for others. Hannah was a woman of faith, she trusted in the promises of the Lord and walked by faith. Hannah was a woman of care who loved Samuel and did not let anything get in her way of caring for him, training him in the things of God. And Hannah was a woman who was dedicated to the Lord and it was reflected in her care for her family. Ladies, God can and will do these things in your life if you let Him! And as you do, you will bless others.
Dr. G. Campbell Morgan had 4 sons and they were all preachers. Someone once came into the drawing room when all the family was there. [He] thought they would see what Howard, one of the sons, was made of so [he] asked him this question: “Howard, who is the greatest preacher in your family?” Howard had a great admiration for his father and he looked straight across at him and then without a moment’s hesitation he answered, “Mother.”
- A. Edersheim, Sketches of Jewish Social life, p. 139
As I close this morning I want to thank you moms out there for your love for God and for your family. Keep walking by faith and see what God will not only do in you but through you as you live for Him! God bless you!