Problems Within the Home

21. May 2008 by Bernice Davis.

Hello: 

Let’s continue our Hannah Story. Our text for today is: 

I Samuel 1:6 “And her adversary also provoked her sore, for to make her fret, because the LORD had shut up her womb. 7 And as he did so year by year, when she went up to the house of the LORD, so she provoked her; therefore she wept, and did not eat.” 

Okay, not only does Hannah have to endure the scrutiny from the community but as you can see in the text, she also has to deal with ridicule and provoke from within her own household.   Our home should be our “little sanctuary.”  It should be the one place where we can go to and feel safe and supported and loved.  This was not the case with Hannah, or with many of us. 

Often times our worst enemies can be in our  own households.  Many of us are dealing with situations now where you can handle outsiders criticizing you but when the torment comes within your own household and among the people that you live with and share with, that’s a little harder to swallow.   

The text calls Peninnah her adversary.   That word adversary means to trouble, to distress, to afflict.    Maybe Peninnah was jealous that Elkanah loved Hannah more than her, for the text clearly teaches us that his giving Hannah a “worthy” portion to sacrifice at the house of God demonstrated how he favored her over Peninnah.   Maybe Peninnah had her own hurts and insecurities that she was experiencing from being the less favored.  

If scholars are right and Elkanah married Peninnah because Hannah was barren and he only wanted children through her then Peninnah lives a life with out the love of her husband and she may have been acting out her frustrations on Hannah.  We do not know the exact reason, but what we do know is that she was her adversary and that she provoked her to the point that it caused her to weep and not eat.   

Okay, if you’re reading ahead, you may think that the next part of the text is to bring Hannah comfort, but the event actually has an opposite effect.   It’s too much to get into today, so we’ll discuss it tomorrow.    God Bless. 

Don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily. 

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