Wind,Rain,Winding Roads & Sunshine, The By-Ways of Life: October 2012

A woman of humility and kindness, she was married and adored by her husband. She was the second of his wives, and he had chosen her because of her heart attitude. The man loved her; he slept with her often and took her in an act of love, declaring his love for her, as he ejaculated his semen within her.

In those days, the number of children that sprung through a woman's womb determined the measurement of a man's love for his wife. Whenever a man and woman united together in the highest act of love that was ordained by God, between a man and woman, the fertilization of the female egg caused a conception, which was a sign of God's acceptance, God's favour, but this woman's womb remained barren. The eggs within her remained unfertile, and the woman despaired over the plight of her barrenness and her inability to conceive.

Her husband loved her deeply. He recognized the pain and disappointment she carried within her, and he did everything within his power to alleviate the embarrassment and pain of rejection she felt. Even though he took her often in his arms and carried out this god given act of sexual intimacy with her, which climaxed into the release of his semen being injected into her, the desired fertilization of one of her eggs never took place. God had shut up her womb.

What do you do when seeds that are planted within you lay dormant?

How do you fertilize the many eggs of talent that lay unused, hidden beneath the layers of fear, which keep you from stretching your wings and flying?

How do you awaken the flame, so that it catches fire and begins to burn as it forces you to take action?

Desperation set in. Her husband had no idea what he could do to help her.

His faithfulness remained unbroken;

His care–– without blame,

His love–– unstained;

Yet her womb remained barren.

One day, he caught her crying. He could feel the pain that rumbled deep within and burdened her soul. Helplessness overcame him because his hands were tied. There was nothing he could do to change the matter. It was a situation that was not in his hands––a circumstance in which he did not have any say in the matter one-way or the other. So, when he entered his home and caught her wailing in misery, he cried out to her in desperation:

"Why are you weeping? Why don't you eat? Why are you downhearted?

Don't I mean more to you than ten sons?"[1]

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Once every year the people had to appear in Shiloh before the LORD Almighty. This year was no different. The man's first wife and all of her brood received their portions of meat for the sacrifice, and the second wife, for whom he had a special love, because God had closed up her womb, received a double portion. The trip was long and tedious. The barren woman, the object of mockery, ridicule and torture from the first wife, dreaded the trip each year. The whispers, pointed fingers, and jeers stung deep into her soul. No longer able to bear the burden, she ran to the temple, after the sacrifice, to hide behind the curtains, and cry out her worry, her pain, and her feelings of worthlessness to Yahweh.

"O LORD Almighty, if you will only look upon your servant's misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the LORD for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head."[2]

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The vow had been made silently, because her pain sat in the middle of her heart and robbed her of the strength to speak. She sobbed as she moved her mouth, pleading her case to God, begging him to hear her summons. Like someone who had drunk too much wine, she wailed soundlessly, as tears flowed down her face, and the watchman for the temple thought she was drunk.

"How long will you keep on getting drunk? Get rid of your wine."

"Not so, my lord," the woman replied. "I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer. I was pouring out my soul to the LORD. Do not take your servant for a wicked woman. I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief."

The Watchman answered, "Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him."

She said, "May your servant find favor in your eyes." Then she went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast.[3]

How do you deal with unanswered prayers?

Do you plead with the only one who can change things?

Or do you seek the advice of your friends and neighbors to explain why certain prayers have not been heard?

Who do you turn to?

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The trip home was totally opposite of the woman's trip going to Shiloh. Her mood had swung. Expectancy hung in the air. She was relaxed and full of joy, and her husband came to her bed late in the evening, seeking the sexual intimacy that transpires between a man and a woman bonded together in covenant marriage. As he ejaculated the outpouring of his love into her, an egg received life. She felt the fertilization as the egg fell and nested itself within her womb.

Nine months later, her child was born.

It was a boy;

It was her only child;

It was her comfort;

It was her retirement for old age;

But, she had made a vow.

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Have you ever made a vow to God, only to forget it, after you have received the prize?

This woman did not forget! The following year as her husband prepared to go to Shiloh, she informed him she would not be going until the child was weaned.

Can't you see her with her little baby as she rocks him in her arms, talking to him about his glorious future with the LORD?

Can't you see her when he takes his first steps, as she jumps for joy and tells him those steps were the first steps of his walking into his chosen purpose?

Can't you see her as she sews the first linen Ephod for her child, just turning three years of age? His Ephod was the smallest ever made!

A barren woman who had made a silent vow was chosen to show God's faithfulness to those who seek him diligently. She had no idea whether she would ever become pregnant again. She had asked for only one child––the child whom she had vowed to give back.

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The time had come. The young child looked cute in his small, sized Ephod. As they started towards Shiloh, the young mother began to explain to her son the importance of the day. It had come time to pay up, and she made a promise to visit him every year.

Accompanying her husband to the temple, she had a contented smile on her face. As they approached the Watchman, she had to tell him who she was. He had forgotten, and suddenly he saw the little tiny tot who had been peeping up at him while holding on to his mother's dress, as she stood before him.

"He's yours," she said. "He belongs to God."

The Watchman, Eli; guardian of the temple was humbled over the faithfulness of the woman. As the young boy walked to Eli, his tiny hands stretched upward to God, the woman's, Hannah, wife of Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, a Zuphite from the hill country of Ephraim, heart overflowed with joy, tears ran down her face, and her mouth brought forth words of praise, as she began to pray:

My heart rejoices in the LORD;

In the LORD my horn is lifted high.

My mouth boasts over my enemies,

For I delight in your deliverance.

There is no one holy like the LORD;

There is no one besides you;

There is no rock like our God.[4]