I Samuel 1:12-14
“Now it came about, as she continued praying before the LORD, that Eli was watching her mouth. As for Hannah, she was speaking in her heart, only her lips were moving, but her voice was not heard. So Eli thought she was drunk.Then Eli said to her, “How long will you make yourself drunk? Put away your wine from you.”
Hannah is going through one of the most difficult times in her life. She is barren. There seems to be an understanding that the Lord has closed her womb. Her husband’s other wife has several children and torments Hannah. Her husband is self centered and doesn’t understand her sadness. Now the high priest is another person life that misjudges her. This is a big one. The high priest of the nation.
It’s difficult when misunderstood. An understanding person can heal many a wound. Not being understood takes our sadness and compounds it. We have a common phrase, “I feel heard or seen.” No one sees Hannah. Now the religious leader of the nation accuses her wrongly. He misjudges her grief and passionate prayer as drunkenness. One wonders if he understood those things. He was a poor leader.
This accusation interrupts her cherished time with God. She knows no one understands. Except God. She thought, “Maybe this will be the year He answers my prayer.” She has her opportunity. She is at Jerusalem, at the temple. She has dreamt of this. God will surely hear her. She raises the stakes. “I’ll give my son to the Lord’s service”, she thinks. She is in the middle of her supplication and a voice interrupts and calls her drunk. In her life surrounded by fools, here’s one more. And he’s the high priest.
People will disappoint us. We can’t expect too much of them. The only reliable one is the Lord. We need people in our lives. However, we need to know their short comings. Hannah discovers this at every turn. Now the one whom she hoped might put in a good word has a poor view of her. We need to understand that people make mistakes. They will let us down. Knowing this will prevent many heart aches.
Lord, help us to have a proper view of people. Help us to minimize their failings in our lives.