"Then Hannah prayed and said: '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.'" (1 Samuel 2:1) In the psalms we often find David using the word "horn" to denote strength and power or vindication from the Lord. Hannah is giving thanks to the Lord for helping and strengthening her. When Hannah speaks of her mouth boasting over her "enemies" I have no doubt that Peninnah, her husband's second wife, is the main person she's thinking of. We were told in Chapter 1 how cruelly Peninnah taunted her for being childless. Hannah likely also regarded as enemies those who whispered behind her back, for it was common for barren women to be regarded with suspicion as if they must be under the judgment of the Lord for hidden sins. The Lord has vindicated Hannah from all such accusations.
The Lord vindicated her by performing a miracle. She was completely infertile. There is no way she could have conceived a child without intervention and, since she lived in a time when modern fertility treatments were unavailable, it's clear to one and all that the Lord is responsible for her great blessing. She praises Him for this blessing, saying, "There is no one holy like the Lord; there is no one besides You; there is no Rock like our God." (1 Samuel 2:2)
Anyone who said or thought bad things about Hannah will be ashamed now. Though she is not perfect (because no one is), her previous infertile state was not discipline from the Lord for disobedience. She has not been living a secret life of sin. The Lord has cleared her name from every hint of suspicion and has put to shame those who accused her of wrongdoing. "Do not keep talking so proudly or let your mouth speak such arrogance, for the Lord is a God who knows, and by Him deeds are weighed. The bows of the warriors are broken, but those who stumbled are armed with strength. Those who were full hire themselves out for food, but those who were hungry are hungry no more. She who was barren has borne seven children, but she who has many sons pines away." (1 Samuel 2:3-5)
Many boast in their worldly achievements and place their trust in their prosperity. But, as King Solomon warned us, we must not trust in riches or in our own cleverness because these things can vanish in an instant. (Proverbs 23:4-5) Hannah agrees, saying something like, "Those who were confident their prosperity would never end, and those who were uplifted in pride over how many offspring they produced, once boasted against the poor and against the childless. But fortunes can reverse in the blink of an eye. Wealth can be lost. Sons can die of disease or on the battlefield. We cannot place our security on anything or on anyone but the Lord. He is the One who makes us secure. He is the One who provides our needs. He is the One who rewards the humble and judges the proud."
Hannah was used to being looked down on with pity by people in her community. She was used to being taunted by the jealous Peninnah. At times she probably felt sorry for herself and experienced low self-esteem. But she is loved by the Lord and highly thought of by Him! Join us tomorrow when we'll study the second half of her prayer of praise.
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