Hannah: A Godly Mother B

Are you preparing to be a godly mother, are you if you are already older, preparing younger women to be godly mothers. The hope for our society really rests in what happens in the next generation that is so much hands. Samuel is one of the great heroes of the faith. Yet even more amazing is the fact that Hannah gave up the day-to-day responsibilities of raising Samuel so how, then, is she considered one of the great biblical examples of motherhood as Mother's Day approaches dig into Hannah's story here on grace to you. John MacArthur is going to show you why her life reflects God's design for all women.

Yesterday, John examined the first of three factors that made Hannah a godly mother you review .1 to start and here's John. It is fitting that we take another look at what God intends motherhood to be the highest calling a little or no.

But when the Bible details the honor due to a mother, no more detail is given to anyone beyond Hannah. We meet her in first Samuel one Hannah her name speaks of her beauty.

It means grace, and indeed she is the emblem of the grace of womanhood. She became a mother by face.

She first appears as first Samuel opens as a childless woman, then she becomes a mother the mother of one of the greatest men who ever walked the earth. Samuel and as you see the account of the birth of Samuel. You know the profile of a godly mother as we are introduced to the story.

I want us to know three things that profile a godly mother.

She had a right husband relationship. She had a right heavenly relationship and she had a right home relationship. Those three things stand out and profile her for us. First of all, let's consider her right husband relationship and may I say that this is at the very outset essential for you to understand the most important relationship in a family in raising godly children is not the relationship between the parents and the children is the relationship between the mother and the father what you communicate to your children by your relationship dominates their thinking. They are learning about human relationships from the two of you there learning about virtue their learning about sin there learning about love their learning about forgiveness there learning about sympathy there learning about understanding there learning about compassion there learning about virtue their learning about honesty and integrity there watching, and far more important than your relationship to your child. In the long run is the relationship you have to your spouse this project to do your job. Secondly, as you profile a godly mother. She had a right heavenly relationship.

Not only were things right between she and her husband. By the way, there is no statement of any conflict in their union at all. No hint of any conflict in the godly mother grows best in the soil of a godly loving supportive sympathetic husband but then she had a right heavenly relationship. She knew where to go with her problem right to the Lord, and there are several virtues that come out of this aspect. First of all, she had a passion for the Lord's best just use the word passion Jetta passion for the Lord's best what we mean by that.

You want a child.

She desperately wanted a child she want a child so much that she wept and fasted her heart was broken over the fact that she could not have a child, but she didn't have a selfish motive.

She didn't want to child to live out her unfulfilled fantasies.

She didn't want to child dress like little Lord Fauntleroy and show off. She didn't want the child to fulfill her own need for love. She wanted a child again to God.

She wanted a child because she knew that was God's best for a woman and although God does not call all women to be married according to first Corinthians 7 to give some the gift of singleness, and although there are times when, for God's own purposes.

He makes a woman baron or a husband, so that no child can be born. It is still the norm. It is still the gift of God's best gift to women to give them a child. Children are after all an inheritance from the Lord and it is God who opens the womb of the mother and makes her heart rejoice, she desired a child because he wanted God's best. She wanted to honor and glorify God and she knew the best gift of God's love ever given to a woman as a child. What I'm saying to you is in a truly godly mother is not a reluctant mother not a mother who finds a child an intrusion not a mother who will postpone the birth of a child as long as possible so that child doesn't crowd her schedule and become upset when finding out that some contraception was an effective but truly godly mother, a woman with the heart of a mother as God would give a mother, a heart is one who longs to have a child a passion for children seeing a child is a gift from God. A special blessing of his love, a fulfillment of the divine intention for women and certainly hope for the next generation to raise a godly seed, godly mother longs to have a child and has she no child.

She weeps it is not a whim.

It is not an act of self-indulgence to prove her womanhood is that she knows this is God's best for women and their heart is unfulfilled, so she was characterized by passion for God's best. Secondly, she was characterized by prayer. She knew where to go and look at verse nine Hannah rose after eating and drinking in Shiloh. Obviously she perhaps eaten a little bit under the encouraging sympathy of her husband in verse eight she now has completed that in Shiloh. Eli the priest was sitting on the seat by the doorpost of the temple of the Lord, the high priest is in the temple. She goes there. She came into the temple greatly distressed. Her soul was bitter literally says and she prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly. She is just crushed, crushed, and she made a promise of the Lord and she goes on to make about but notice this about this godly woman. She was a woman of prayer. The beautiful characteristic. She understood that God was the source of children. She understood that God alone could alter her sterility. Her distinctive virtue was her faith, constant faith, verse 12, it came about as she continued praying before the Lord constant. She remained there she staying there. Her heart was broken.

She was pouring out her prayers. This is the spirit of true prayer. She slipped into the sanctuary of God, and she began to pour out her heart and honest open faith totally dependent on God and given to prayer.

She knew it was God alone who would weave life in the womb is Psalm 139 set sore passion turned to prayer. This speaks of her right heavenly relationship. She knew where to go with her problems. Certainly she was a woman of promise, not only of passion and prayer, but would you look at verse 11, she made a valid promise at all Lord of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction she sought childlessness is an affliction of thy maidservant and remember me, doesn't mean he did know she was, but remember me in the sense of my longing for a child and not forget thy maidservant, but will give thy maidservant a son. Here's the promise.

Then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life and a razor shall never come on his head. That last part was a Nazirite vow described in number six, 3 to 6. If a Jew wanted to take a valid total consecration to God, he would not cut his hair. No concern for physical appearance, not drink the wine and strong drink, abstaining from the banqueting's in the celebrations and all of that living an austere consecrated God centered life. Many Jews took a Nazirite vow for a short period of time. Three of them in the Scripture were lifelong Nazirite's Samson, John the Baptist, and this child, Samuel all their lifelong totally devoted and consecrated to God, no personal indulgence at all. No preoccupation with form and looks in fashion at all so she promise. God will give you this child.

I just want to be fulfilled as a mother I just want to raise a godly son to give back to your glory. And if you give them to me. I'll give him back. This is her promise to present her child to God. That's the essence of a godly mother while praying for a child.

She prays for that child. Not for a wrong reason, but a right reason to turn that child back to God. From where the child came so Hannah made a promise the next thing we see about Hannah was her purity. Eli was the high priest, but I gotta tell you he was really a lousy hyper and nothing could be said about his discernment either came about when she was praying continually before the Lord. Eli was watching her mouth should not funnel. He was a big fat man back when his sons died.

He was so short he fell over Leno his neck and broke and killed himself. So Eli was sitting there watching her and she was in there pouring out her hard and weeping and crying and she was speaking in her heart she wasn't speaking out loud. It says in verse 13, only her lips were moving.

If you ever had that experience what you're really talking in your heart what your lips are moving.

Though not a sound was heard. So Eli thought she was drunk as any discerning not only about my discernment is relative to other people or to realize, but I'll tell you think I know the difference using the drunken woman broken in prayer. So Eli decided to play the spiritual role. How long will you make yourself drunk wine from you. He says Hannah so graciously answered and said no, my Lord, I'm a woman oppressed in spirit. I have drunk neither wine or strong drink, but I have poured out my soul before the Lord, you misjudge me do not consider your maidservant is a worthless woman that tells us a little bit about drinking wine or strong drink and its relationship to worthlessness regarding women. That's an Old Testament attitude. Don't consider me like that. I have spoken until now out of my great concern and my provocation.

Then Eli hearings is a lucid answer answered and said go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant your petition that you vested sort of a mild apology, but he mistook her for being drunk. Don't think your maidservant a worthless woman.

Literally, a son of DeLisle profitless common term by the way the Old Testament associated with idolatry. Deuteronomy 13 rebellion for Samuel to elude sensuous acts in the Judges 19 to 20 a term used to speak of arrogance and stupidity and for single 25 and even murder in first Kings 21 point think that I'm in that group. I'm not that kind of person she was a virtuous woman like the woman of Proverbs 12, four 3110. She was a woman of virtue. The next one we see in terms of characteristics comes in verse 18.

I love this and she said respondent Eli let your maidservant find favor in your sight, so the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad. She could eat now and she wasn't sad to say why I'll tell you why because she had patient faith. She had patient faith. She gave it to God. What else could she do as he wasn't about to remain frustrated. This is true faith. True faith doesn't trail God, here's my problem. Here's my problem walk away in utter frustration. That's really doubt faith says here is God and walks away and is no longer sad stress.

I trust you very much. The mark of a godly mother want to totally trust God, she cast her burden on God and that's the end of it.

She walks away she eats she is no longer sad was another thing about this woman that I have to talk to you for a moment about chapter 2 verses 1 to 10.

She is not only a woman of passion and prayer and promise impurity and a woman of patient faith.

She is also a woman I love this of praise when God gave her the child. What was her response. Hannah prayed and said, verse one.

My heart exults in the Lord my horn is exalted in the Lord.

My mouth speaks boldly against my enemy is because I rejoice in thy salvation. There is no one holy like the Lord. Indeed, there is no one besides the nor is there any rock like our God goes on like that occurred after verse 10 prays thanks exaltation.

All this is a woman of praise. This is a woman with a thankful heart. When God did give her that child. She expressed that she were broken prays that streams out of a thankful soul. In fact, you should read those 10 verses carefully because they are a masterpiece of praise with all kinds of elements much like Mary's Magnificat recorded in Luke 146 to 55 where she says my soul doth magnify the Lord and then goes down through those wonderful elements of praise at the prospect of the birth of her own child.

A godly mother is known by her praise.

That's the pattern she has a right relationship with her husband. They share worship. They sure love they shared a deep feeling she has a right relationship would have in her passions are God's passion.

She is a woman of prayer. She is a woman of faith.

She is a woman of purity. She is a woman of promise, she's a woman of praise, and finally she had a ride home relationship go back to verse 21 of chapter 1. She had a ride home relationship and this is with reference to the child. In verse 21, then the Mandel Canada went up with all his household. Offer the Lord dearly sacrificing phase values into his routine and he's a faithful guy and he gathers the whole household up they go. Verse 22, here we come to it.

Hannah did not go. She didn't go for she said to her husband.

I will not go up until the child is weaned. The way to minute as a couple years. Hannah three years. I don't know exactly how long Hannah nursed little Samuel, but several years.

Surely I will go. It was only about a two or three week trip, the longest to go up there be there for a week traveling there traveling back its lesson 200 miles from one end of Palestine to the other window June the little why she was dedicated the child when God gave the child she was dedicated to the child back up to verse 19. Let's see how it all started. They rose early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord, husband and wife worshiping in the morning and that beautiful together worshiping the Lord the return to their house in Rainelle canna had relations with Hannah, his wife, and the Lord remembered her. And it came about in due time. After Hannah had conceived. She gave birth to a son she named him Samuel saying, because I have asked him of the Lord. Samuel means her by God and boy was that child came.

Hannah said this is the child of my passion. This is the child of my vow. I will not forsake my time with this child. I won't leave this child for several weeks. I will take this little child along and make it uncomfortable because they would necessarily walk the child needs sleep in the child needs the gentleness of home. The quietness of the nursing environment. Boy it's a long way from what we see today is not women having babies and couple of months later, slamming the baby and some care center and taken off of the job, not Hannah totally committed to stay in the home until that little life was trained so that little life was nursed and loved and cherished. Wanting to speak to that little wind of the truth of God preparing for the time when the little one would be deposited in the temple itself child must've been at least three years old. Those were such important times such important times. The little one learning from his mother and loved by his mother. No doubt she took the injunction of Deuteronomy and taught that little one all the time, the things of the Lord so necessary. Give yourself to the child. Such a child was a man named John styles the product of a godly mother listen to his sentiments. I have worship in churches and chapels. I have prayed in the busy street. I have sought my God, and have found him or the waves of his ocean beat. I have knelt in the silent forest in the shade of some ancient tree but the dearest of all my altars was that my mother's knee I have listen to God in his temple. I've caught his voice in the crowd. I have heard him speak where the breakers were booming, long and loud where the winds play soft in the treetops my God is talk to me, but I have never heard them clear than I did at my mother's knee.

The things in my life that are worthy were born in my mother's breast and breathing of mind by the wonder of the love of her life expressed the years that it brought me to manhood have taken her far from me, but memory keeps me from straying too far from my mother's knee God make me the man of her vision and purge me of selfishness.

God keep me true to her standards and help me to live to bless God hallow the holy impress of the days that used to be and keep me a pilgrim forever to the shrine at my mother's knee. Such was the testimony of Samuel in the years that Hannah dedicated herself to him. No higher calling on the face of the earth in human life than that kind of devotion from a mother to a child. She not only dedicated herself to the child. But secondly, she dedicated her child to the Lord. Verse 24 when she had waiting. She took him up with her along with a three-year-old bowling one e-file of flour and a jug of wine brought them to the house of the Lord in Shiloh. Although the child was young, they slaughtered the bull and brought the boy to Eli and she said oh my Lord as your soul lives. My Lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you.

Praying to the Lord for this boy. I prayed and the Lord is given me my petition which I asked of him. So I have also dedicated him to the Lord as long as he lives. He is dedicated to the Lord, and he worshiped the Lord there to be a godly mother involves a right husband relationship. A right heavenly relationship and a ride home relationship. Hannah had all of that got audited and she gives us a model to follow. In closing, let me ask a couple of questions.

What is a say in how do we apply this first of all, ask yourself, are you a godly mother. Are you a godly mother. Are you preparing to be a godly mother, are you if you are already older, preparing younger women to be godly mothers and two men I say are you creating the environment in which your wife's godliness can have its best effect and are you raising sons who will lead their wives to be godly mothers and to young people I say are you honoring your mother.

Are you obeying your mother. If God is given you a godly mother God is given you the best of gifts. None of them are perfect, but when they love the Lord Jesus Christ in the pass that on to you. They have given you the greatest thing they could give are you thankful, and there are some who say my mother was not godly. Are you praying for her. Are you praying for her and asking God's spirit somehow to bring you under the influence of a godly woman who can show you the things your mother never showed the hope for our society really rests in what happens in the next generation and that is so much in the hands of godly. This is grace to you with John MacArthur. Thanks for being with us. John is the pastor of Grace Community Church, East Chancellor of the Masters University in seminary and today he wrapped up his lesson on Hannah a godly mother of John. I know that you know that Christian women in today's culture face a lot of challenges they're told that they need to be independent.

They need to have a career and yet they are also expected to you and and they rightly have a sense of duty to raise their children and manage their houses well. In light of all the pressure that they face what encouragement would you offer to mothers who are feeling the strain. I think the only reason they're feeling the strain is that there trapped between two worlds there trapped between the wisdom that is from above, and the wisdom that is from beneath. To borrow the words of James there caught between cultural ideology and biblical truth. But the Bible is not unclear about a woman's role. Women are to be keepers at home. Women are to love their husbands, love their children keep the home minister in the home minister to people watch the Saints feed all those things that Scripture says they are to be godly influences on their children. Raising children in godliness and virtue. This is the focus of their lives.

You know I think Phil the exploding home school movement now is basically related to the fact that women realize that the culture is sending their kids in educational environments down the wrong road and they're going to lose their kids even a even a stay-at-home mom is going to lose her kids to the cultural ideology if she doesn't get a hold of the educational process. So I think were seeing a reaction to this and there a lot of the Internet processes that you can tap into to do home school, but I think mothers are finally waking up to the disaster of what this culture is doing to their kids in public education.

It's a horrific thing and at the university level. It's worse than anywhere else, which is why were so committed to the Masters University in godly education of men and women in that environment, but women need to know that if you follow what God designs for you to do your gonna be in the place of blessing. Your husband is going to call you blessed the people and the gates are going to talk about him because you're his wife. And that's going to be an honor to him and your children are going to rise up to call you as a mom blessed. Don't forfeit God's design with all of its lessons. Spiritual rewards and even eternal rewards.

Don't forfeit that to buy into the lie that Satan is spewing that you need to be out in the workplace. You need to be carving out your own niche in culture need to be competing with men know there's a sacred environment that women have and it's the home and it's the powerful unparalleled influence you have on your children.

Follow that and the Lord will bless your life and that's his promise yes and if John's recent series of been a blessing to you or help you better understand the roles God is given to men and women we let us know John a note and send it our way. Get in touch today.

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Wishing you and your family a happy Mother's Day. Also keep in mind you can watch grace to you television this Sunday. Check your local listings were stationed in times then join us next week when John shows you how to find true happiness. No matter what comes your way is launching a series on the beatitude that's Monday be here for another 30 minutes of unleashing God's truth one verse at a time