More than anything, Hannah desperately wanted a son. However, God closed her womb so she was unable to conceive. Not only was she barren, but her husband Elkanah’s other wife mocked and tormented her because of her inability to have a child. Further, as she was crying out to God in the temple, the chief priest Eli verbally attacked Hannah, accusing her of being drunk and a daughter of Satan. 

As she prayed in the temple, she promised that if only God would grant her a boy, she would “give him to the Lord all the days of his life” (1 Samuel 1:11).

God heard her prayer, and when the time was right for both Hannah and Israel, God allowed Hannah to become pregnant and give birth to a boy that she named Samuel.

Amid the joy hung the oath Hannah had made to God. She had the baby boy in her arms, but she knew he was not hers to keep. She had already promised that he would serve God all the days of his life. That meant that he would grow up in the temple.

When the baby boy had been weaned, Hannah and Elkanah gave him to God as a living sacrifice. They willingly brought their child to the temple to serve God.

As a parent, it’s hard to comprehend. This boy was their son, and the emotional turmoil of giving up their own child must have been excruciatingly difficult. Samuel was their whole world. Now Hannah had vowed to give him up, and she brought him to the chief priest, Eli. 

Eli already had two sons who were wicked men. In a worldly view of things, Hannah and Elkanah had every right to be concerned about their child’s well-being.

What was the result of this incredible living sacrifice by Hannah and Elkanah?

We’re told that “Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established as a prophet of the Lord” (1 Samuel 3:19-20). 

Israel, which had been spiritually parched and had not heard from God in years (1 Samuel 3:1), suddenly came alive to the reality of the Lord as the young boy Samuel grew into a prophet who spoke the words of God to the entire nation!

Elkanah and Hannah made the greatest of living sacrifices so Israel could hear the Word of the Lord, but often we’re too busy or too comfortable to make the simplest of gestures to share Christ with our friends or neighbors.

God may not be calling you to give up your child, but He is calling you to cross the street and share the hope that can only be found in a relationship with Jesus. Heed that call. Be a living sacrifice. And watch Him work in and through you! ©2025 BGEA

Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version.

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