Chapter 6: The Walk That Changed Israel

The day finally came. Samuel was weaned, old enough to keep the vow his mother had made before he was born.

She gathered the offering: a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour, and a skin of wine. With Samuel beside her, she and her household made the climb to Shiloh.

The hills she had once walked in grief, she now walked with the answer to that grief in her arms.

When they arrived, they slaughtered the bull and brought the boy to Eli.

HANNAH“Oh, my lord! As you live, my lord, I am the woman who was standing here in your presence, praying to the Lord. For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition that I made to Him. Therefore I have lent him to the Lord. As long as he lives, he is lent to the Lord.”— 1 Samuel 1:26-28

And then Hannah did not collapse. She did not weep. She lifted her face and sang.

HANNAH“My heart exults in the Lord; my horn is exalted in the Lord. There is none holy like the Lord, for there is none besides You; there is no rock like our God.”— 1 Samuel 2:1-2

HANNAH“The bows of the mighty are broken, but the feeble bind on strength. The Lord kills and brings to life; He brings down to Sheol and raises up. The Lord makes poor and makes rich; He brings low and He exalts.”— 1 Samuel 2:4, 6–7

HANNAH“The barren has borne seven. He raises up the poor from the dust; He lifts the needy from the ash heap to make them sit with princes.”— 1 Samuel 2:5, 8

She had walked into Shiloh with a son in her arms. She walked out with a song in her mouth, and the boy who had been given to her was now given back.