The Issue Of Barrenness in The Old Testament

In the Old Testament, barrenness was a disgrace as God had promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob he would give them descendants who would receive blessings. Rachel’s and Hannah’s situations placed the women in a difficult position as they were ridiculed for their bareness at some point in time, but bore children after divine intervention. Jacob sought a wife and visited Laban who was deceptive and presented Leah his older daughter yet Jacob wanted Rachel and he had to wait for seven more years working for Laban to marry Rachel.

Despite bareness and fertility issues, prayer and trust in God offers hope that the future will be better for Leah who was fertile, but unloved, while Rachel and Hannah were barren.

Rachel the wife of Jacobs her sister bear children for Jacob that she envied her and even suggested it was better to die. However, Leah was already despised for being childless and Rachel remained unloved. In Genesis 30: 22: 24, Gods fulfilled Rachel’s prayers, and she bore a son, who she named Joseph to indicate he became pregnant and gave birth to a son and said that God taken away her disgrace.

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Being a parent is a personal fulfillment as many married people desire to have children and they are mostly satisfied when they are biological parents. Leah felt that God had heard her prayers and thought that the birth of her children would result in Jacob loving her, but this did not happen even when she bore a second son.

Jacob had worked hard fourteen years for his uncle Laban to get his wife Rachel, but she was barren. Rachel loved Jacob and wanted to please him by giving him offspring (s), but it difficult was to conceive. At the same time, Rachel the younger sister to Leah knew, Jacob had a special love for her and also wanted to give her children, which fulfill the promise of creating a great nation. Thus, in due time, Rachel became the mother of Joseph and Benjamin. Rachel afraid to be in the presence of God and when God granted her request, and she bore a son and her dignity is the dignity of God. In her desperation, Rachel already expressed disappointment as she not have children and preferred death, but Jacob relied to her that he was not God who grants children in Geneses 30:2.

Both Leah and Rachel were believers, and while prays helped them overcome their challenges they chose different ways. For instance, Leah named her children to reflect God’s faithfulness even as Jacob did not love her like Rachel. On the other hand, Rachel was a believer who made mistakes because she was barren she tried to pressure her husband and even stole idols from her father then tried to hide her actions. Both sisters named their children based on their circumstances and belief that God had fulfilled their prayers. The birth of their children was an affirmation of God approval even as they had both stayed childless, and their first children were external signal of their relationship with God, just like can make barren land fertile

Jacob and his family faced various challenges from fleeing from Laban his father-in-law and even the death of Rachel. Laban’s sons indicated that Jacob had taken their father’s properties and pursued him so he would go back to his ancestral land. Jacob’s family moved from Bethel towards the land of Ephrath and on their way Rachel gave birth to Benjamin and she later died (Genesis 35:16-20). Rachel’s death is described after the soul departing her body, where she was then buried and the place marked. Even in the end, God publicly showed that Hannah was his faithful servant and her barrenness was not a divine condemnation, and God’s timing is the best.

Like Rachel, Hannah was unhappy as she was barren in a fertile land and did not have a cordial relationship with her co-wife, but she was still prayerful. Elkanah married Peninnah since Hannah was barren, and the first wife suffered ridicule and cruelty because Peninah was jealous of Hannah. Elkanah continued to love Hannah even as she was barren. At the same time, Hannah, prayed so hard despite her husband’s assurances that he would continue loving her that some mistook her of being drunk. As Hannah wanted to be a mother she felt the best way to doo this was to stand before the lord rather than go through a priest who is an intermediary.

In due time, the Lord remembered the Hannah’s prayer, and she gave birth to a son whom she named Samuel, and even as she had more children she left Samuel to serve God as this is the promise she made if she bore her first child. Eli the priest was not sympathetic to Hannah as he ignored her bitter grief and accused her of being drunk. However, Hannah placed her faith in God and by keeping his promise, this showed that God does not forget, and his timing is right. Being childless does not mean that a married woman is worthless and women can be many things in one. While Hannah and Eli were servants of God who had trials, God’s presence is most apparent in Hannah’s life as she blessed with more children because as a faithful servant of God.

When talking to Eli the priest Hannah indicated that she was not like a worthless servant, but rather one who was anxious and afflicted all the time. Hannah presented her problem to God, and she played a more prominent role in the first chapter than that of her husband. What distinguishes Hannah from Peninnah is that her relationship with God was persistent and authentic as she sought the permanent presence of God. Among the Israelites failure to conceive indicated that there was something wrong with Hannah, like she had committed sin or deserved or remain childless because of the character flaw. Elkanah is presented as a pious man and since he had a child with Peninnah it is Hannah who was barren.

Peninnah was jealous of Hannah and even mocked, yet Hannah had God’s adorations for the way she handled the situation. Culturally, there was a high value placed on women who were wives and mothers, yet Elkanah continued to love Hannah even when she could not bear children. Hannah was a woman with dignity, despite all the ridicule she endured from the co-wife, and since she had a closer relationship with God, prayers strengthened her faith as she conceived. God granting Hannah’s requests indicates that he would make the faithful fertile and fruitful in their endeavors. Furthermore, her prayers represent the transformations that can be made by God who rewards the faithful and punishes the evil.

In Samuel 2:1-10 (21), Hannah sang to God and thanked him for his divine goodness in answering her prayer “She who was barren has borne seven children, but she who has had many sons pines away”. In Hanna’s song, the Bible indicates that God can give children to those who are barren, and it is no surprise that the prayer of thanksgiving is a testament to God’s faithfulness. The Lord is holy and the Creator who is to be worshipped and because he represents moral perfection, Hannah saw it fit to praise him and rejoice for being fertile like other women. Hannah received mercy and was thankful as reflected in the spirit of her prayers.

The stories of Leah and Rachel, Hannah and Peninnah highlight the importance of pray and faith being patient and one has the option worry or pray and wait. Rachel and Hannah had true faith and waited on God to give them children. Neither Leah nor Peninnah experienced love of their husbands despite having children with them, while Rachel and Hannah felt less before their co-wives when they were barren but were assured the love of their husbands. As such, it is better to have a relationship with God and pray rather than relate with those who have little faith like Eli. The prayers by Rachel and Hannah reveal their faith as they stands firm in God’s presence regardless of their circumstances, and Samuel grew in the presence of God.