She made a vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed look upon the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall ever come upon his head.”
— First Samuel 1:11
During the time of the judges, the situation among the children of Israel had fallen very low. In order to change the age, God required a woman who was pure enough to offer Him her own child. This woman was Hannah (1 Sam. 1:2). In most regards, Hannah did not stand out from others. Her name means favored (Strong) or gracious (Hitchcock), which all females generally are. Her husband had a second wife who bore him children, yet Hannah remained barren. This, however, did not affect his love or affection for her (v. 5).
Hannah could not accept this barrenness and traveled all the way to the Lord’s dwelling in Shiloh to beseech the Lord for a son. In her prayer, she vowed to the Lord that, should He give her a son, she would offer him back to the Lord to serve Him all his life, and that no razor would come upon his head (v. 11). In other words, she would offer her son as a Nazarite (Num. 6:1–5), someone who would be qualified to serve before the Lord even though he was not born a priest. In effect, Hannah was saying, “I don’t want a son for myself; I want a son for You.”
Adapted from David: After God’s Heart, page 20.
Tomorrow: “Hannah and Eli”