She Opened Her Heart to God in Prayer

 

"Why Does  Your Heart Feel Bad?" 

Peninnah's favorite opportunity, it seems, came at the time of the actual  prilgrimage to Shiloh.  To each of Peninnah's  many children-all her sons and her daughters"-Elkanah gave portions of the sacrifices offered to Jehovah.  Beloved Hannah, though received a special portion.  Jealous Peninnah then so lorded over  Hanna and reminded her of her barrenness that the poor woman gave way to weeping and even lost her appetite.  Elkanah could not help but notice that  is dear Hannah was distressed and was not eating, so he attempted to comfort her.  "Hannah," he asked, "why do you weep, and why do you not eat, and why does your heart feel bad?  Am I not better to you than ten sons?" - 1 SAMUEL 2:4-8. 

To his credit, Elkanah discerned that Hannah's distress had to do with her barrenness. And Hannah surely treasured his kind assurances of love.  But Elkanah did not mention Peninnah's  malice; nor does the Bible record suggest that Hannah told him of it. Perhaps she saw that exposing Peninnah would only make her situation worse.  Would Elkanah really change things?  Might not Peninnah's contempt for Hannah only deepen, and would not the children and the servants of that spiteful woman follow suit? Hannah could only feel more and more  like an outcast in her own household.

Whether Elkanah knew of the full scope of Peninnah's petty meanness or not, Jehovah God saw it all.  His Word reveals the whole picture, thus providing a solemn warning to any who indulge in seemingly minor jealous and hateful acts. On the other hand, the innocent and the peaceable, like Hannah, can find comfort in knowing that the God of justice sets all manners right in his own  time and in his own way. (Read Deuteronomy 32:4.)  Perhaps Hannah knew as much, for it was to Jehovah that she turned for help.

Next time: She Opened Her Heart to Jehovah in Prayer - "Self-Concerned No More" 

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