Then she made a vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head.” – I Samuel 1: 11
Hannah is not unique in being a barren woman in the Bible. That sorority includes the likes of Sarah, Rachel, Rebekah and Elisabeth. What causes Hannah to stand out among her Sorors is that the others seemed to have wanted a baby to fulfill themselves or to present a child to their respective husbands. Hannah, on the other hand, had a different motivation.
Hannah’s husband, Elkanah, repeatedly made it clear to her that he would love her no less if she never had a child. In fact, even though she was childless, he loved her more than he loved his other wife, Peninnah who had given him several children. Hannah did not yearn to have a child for herself or for her husband. She pled to have a child in order to give that child to the Lord. She made a deal with God:
“O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head.”
Hannah’s vow, demonstrates to us:
(1). The source of life. When Hannah’s husband Elkanah saw her weeping and found that she was crying because she had no child, he asked her was he not better to her than having ten sons? The fact that she kept on crying told him: “No!” It also told him something else. Not even a loving husband can give you a child. That and life itself only comes from God. Hannah was, therefore, right to go God with her request and not to her husband. A husband can give a woman a seed, but only God can turn that seed into human life.
(2). The stewardship of parenthood. Although children are born to us and through us, they do not belong to us. Just like the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and they that dwell therein, so do our child belong to God. Thus, we are stewards of them and will someday have to give an account of how we treated God’s child.
(3). The sincere desire to raise a kingdom kid. Hannah was not content with just having a boy. Nor, did she simply hope that he would grow up to be a doctor, lawyer or king. She wanted a baby so that he would be dedicated to the work of the Lord and make a contribution to the Kingdom of God. That’s what she meant when she said no razor shall come upon his head. Being unshaven was a common sign of priests and servants of God who had taken a vow to work in the Lord’s service. They were called Nazarites. Remember, Samson did not shave his head either. (That’s where his power came from.) Hannah made a simple and, yet, powerful proposal to God. If you give me a son, I’ll give him back to you so that he can make the world a better place. What more could a mother ask of and offer to God?