1-2 There was a certain man of Ramathaim-zophim of the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, an Ephrathite. He had two wives. The name of one was Hannah, and the name of the other, Peninnah. And Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children. 3-4 Now this man used to go up year by year from his city to worship and to sacrifice to the Lord of hosts at Shiloh, where the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests of the Lord. On the day when Elkanah sacrificed, he would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and daughters. 5 But to Hannah he gave a double portion, because he loved her, though the Lord had closed her womb.

6-7 And her rival used to provoke her grievously to irritate her, because the Lord had closed her womb. So it went on year by year. As often as she went up to the house of the Lord, she used to provoke her. Therefore Hannah wept and would not eat. 8 And Elkanah, her husband, said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep? And why do you not eat? And why is your heart sad? Am I not more to you than ten sons?” 1 Samuel 1:1 -8 English Standard Version

I thought I'd take a break from Psalms and do 'First Samuel' which starts near the end of some 300 years when Israel's leadership had been in the form of Judges. These were people whom God used to rescue the Israelites when the Philistine inhabitants of the land were getting the upper hand over them. Samson, a man famous for his God given strength, was one such judge. But the book called 'Judges' ends with the sad words that “in those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” (Judges 21:25)

Fortunately, that doesn't mean that ALL the people behaved terribly. Even in those dark days there were men and women who were seeking to be faithful to God – much as we are called to do in these dark days our world is going through. Two such people then were Elkanah, and his wife Hannah. What was it that shows us that Elkanah was seeking to stay true to the Lord? (vs 3-5)

During their exodus from Egypt the Israelites were directed by Moses to construct a tent tabernacle where the 'Ark of the Covenant' (a chest made of acacia wood overlaid with gold) was to be kept. After Israel settled in the land God had given them, the tabernacle was set up at a place called Shiloh. Archaeological findings put Shiloh in the central highlands of Israel some 20 miles from modern day Jerusalem. So Elkanah made an annual journey to Shiloh to offer a sacrifice to the Lord as an act of worship. He sought to obey what God had commanded through Moses. As Christians we need to remember Jesus' words to His disciples when He said: “If you love me, keep my commands”. (John 14:15)

We see in First Samuel that being obedient to the Lord does not mean that life will always be smooth. As we will see in the next section of this book, Hannah also loved the Lord, yet she experienced not only the sorrow of being childless, but also the taunts of Elkanah's other wife who had borne children. Those were Old Testament days - the New Testament reminds us that God's pattern for marriage is that of one man and one woman.

Verses 6-7 describe an unhappy household. There were tensions and tears. So too, being a Christian today doesn't guarantee that our home will never experience sorrows. Christians can also be stubborn, selfish or unkind. A marriage can be childless. Worse still, children may be rebellious and even reject the faith. But whatever trials we may experience, the best thing we can do is to seek to put into action the instructions which the apostles gave in their letters for husbands, wives and children. Jesus called His followers to be 'peacemakers'. That should influence our conduct in our homes too, how we speak and how we respond to situations.

We see Elkanah tried to do that in his home. Verses 5 and 8 show how, with actions and words, he tried to console Hannnah. The apostle Paul said: “Husbands, love your wives and don’t be harsh with them”, and the apostle Peter wrote: “Husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way.” Elkanah showed the actions of a man who wanted to be faithful to God. That's the best course of action for healing in any home that is hurting.