A human birth, as the beginning of life, is representative of most beginnings that occur in life. Like birth, all beginnings are full of promise. Like birth, all beginnings are hard. The major moves of God's dealings in history seem to be marked by births.

The story of the patriarchs is begun with the birth of Isaac (Genesis 12). The beginning of the history of Israel as a people is marked with the birth of Moses (Exodus 1). Here, the beginning of the history of the kings is marked by the birth of Samuel (1 Samuel 1). In two of these births, the mother occupies a center place in the narrative. Both Sarah and Hannah are in despair because they are childless. In 1 Samuel 1, Hannah weeps in the sanctuary imploring God for a child. She is promised that her prayer will be heard, she believes t…