12. Hannah's Gift
The final aspect of generous giving that we will consider here is one that is found repeatedly in the Bible. It is seen, for example, in the story of the poor widow who gave her last remaining few coins to the temple (Mark 12:41–44; Luke 21:1–4), and in the story of the woman who anointed Jesus with expensive perfume shortly before his death (Matthew 26:6–13; Mark 14:3–9; Luke 7:36–50; John 12:1–8). Different as these stories may seem on the surface – one involved giving a little and the other involved giving a lot – they both involved the same aspect of generosity, which is sacrificial giving.
The poor widow obviously sacrificed in giving all she had, but the woman who anointed Christ also sacrificed by giving an extremely expensive gift. The kind of perfume she gave and the quantity (she poured out the whole container) would have cost a great deal. We are told it was worth three hundred denarii, and a denarius was regarded as a day's wage – so three hundred denarii equaled a year's wages for a working person (365 days less Sabbaths and Holy Days equals approximately 300 work days). It may well be that the jar of perfume that the woman gave was her dowry or inheritance and was likely the most valuable thing she owned. Whatever the case, it was certainly a sacrificially expensive gift.
Another and perhaps even more instructive account of sacrificial giving is found in the Old Testament in the story of Hannah. Hannah was one of the two wives of the Israelite Elkanah, a woman whose story is a lasting testimony to sacrifice and blessing (1 Samuel 1; 2:1–11). Although she was loved by her husband, Hannah was childless and was tormented by her co-wife, Peninnah, who had borne children to him. Every year Elkanah went up to the religious center of Shiloh to offer sacrifices, and it was on one of these occasions that Hannah went into the sanctuary and prayed before God while the High Priest, Eli, was sitting nearby. In her anguish
Hannah prayed silently yet fervently for a son, promising that she would give the child back to God, as a lifelong servant, if he would answer her prayer (1 Samuel 1:10-11). Such was the fervor of Hannah's prayer that Eli thought she was drunk and rebuked her, only to change his correction to a blessing when he realized the truth of the situation.
As 1 Samuel shows, God heard Hannah's prayer and blessed her with a son; but true to her word, after she had raised the young boy, she returned to Shiloh and presented him to Eli for the service of God. Notice Hannah's words: "I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the LORD" (1 Samuel 1:27-28). But a more literal translation of the last part of this passage might be as follows: "I also have given back what was asked [what I prayed for] to God" The more literal translation puts focus on the fact that Hannah had given back a gift from God – which meant a great deal to her – and returned the gift to God, despite the fact that it was doubtless a great emotional strain for her. In fact, we must put ourselves in Hannah's shoes to see what a sacrifice this was for her. Hannah knew that her son was miraculously given and that she had no guarantee that she would ever be able to have another child to replace him. The gift was a sacrifice not only of her son, but of her greatest desire, the thing she longed for most in life. Generous Giving Is Sacrificial Giving We see several things regarding sacrificially generous giving in the story of Hannah – not least that God often blesses those who give back his gifts to him even more than before. After sacrificing her beloved only son to God's service, God blessed Hannah with more children (1 Samuel 2:21) and doubtless great happiness.
God honors what we sacrifice and give back to him, also. We have all received gifts from God (James 1:17), and if we are willing to give some of them back, God often blesses us richly. That is not
"prosperity gospel" teaching – in fact, it is the very opposite because biblical giving is giving and expecting nothing in return. But the Bible does make it clear that God's people have always given generously – and that they are blessed for it with either physical or spiritual blessings.
Another lesson we learn from the story of Hannah is that God often uses the gifts which are true sacrifices in very powerful ways. Hannah's son Samuel grew to be one of the greatest prophets of ancient Israel and God's leading servant in that era. We see this pattern in the lives of a number of biblical figures – that those who are dedicated to God and sacrificed to his purpose perform great deeds, as we see repeatedly in the lives of individuals like Samuel and Samson and in no less a person than Jesus himself: the greater the sacrifice, the greater that which is accomplished through it.
Hannah's story also shows that the greatest gifts we can give are not those things which we can easily replace or not notice their absence, but those things that we do miss, that may hurt to give, and that are given in sacrificial love. Hannah exemplified that kind of love in giving her only son – a type of the greatest gift ever given:
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16) This is a perfect definition of sacrificial love. It is generosity to the full, and it is the kind of generous giving to which we can all aspire – even if it is to a far smaller degree – in our own lives.
PART FOUR:
OPPORTUNITIES TO GIVE