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RUTH &HANNAH:Learning To Walk By Faith

TThe women of the Bible tell us a lot aboutourselves. Although

times have changed, humannature has not. Women asdifferent as Ruth and Hannahcan still help us see how to walk by faith.

In the following pages,author, Bible teacher, andprofessor Alice Mathews shows us that women like Ruth and Hannah are especiallyimportant because of what theytell us about our God. She alsoexplores the timeless truth that in the wisdom and grace of God none of us lives abovethe power of a decision orbeyond the reach of our Lord.

Martin R. De Haan II

CONTENTS

RUTH:How To See God In The Dailiness Of Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

HANNAH:How To Deal With Depression . . . . . 16

Managing Editor: David Sper Cover Painting:“Ruth Gleaning” by James Tissot (1836–1902)Scripture taken from the New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright©1973, 1978, 1984by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan.All rights reserved.© 2004 RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, Michigan Printed in USA

HP051 Ruth & Hannah pp 9/27/04 4:06 PM Page 1

© RBC Ministries. All rights reserved.

RUTH:How To See GodIn The DailinessOf Life

DDo you enjoy reading?It is my greatest joy

and sometimes mybesetting sin. I can losemyself in a good book whenI should be doing otherthings. Most of us who enjoyreading know that a goodstory can take us out of thehumdrum sameness of ourlives and transport us intothe tension and drama ofsomeone else’s experience.

I have a second question:Do you ever sneak a peak atthe ending before you getthere? If you’re into adetective story and it’s timeto cook dinner, you maythink you can’t wait to findout who dunnit. So youlook. Or if it’s a greatromance and you can’tstand the thought that thewrong girl gets the boy, youmay glance at the last page

to see who ends up in his arms.

If you have ever satdown to read the little book of Ruth in the OldTestament, were youtempted to sneak a peak tosee how the story ends? Ifyou did, you were probablydisappointed. The finalverses of Ruth chapter 4—the climax of the wholestory—seem anything butclimactic. What we findthere is a genealogy: “Perez was the father ofHezron, Hezron the father of Ram, Ram the father ofAmminadab, Amminadabthe father of Nahshon,Nahshon the father ofSalmon,” and so on. Canyou imagine a duller endingfor a story? An author wouldhave to work hard to comeup with something moreboring and anti-climacticthan that.

Yet, when we look at this little book of Ruth, wesee a very good storyteller at

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work. All the way throughwe watch the authordropping hints of things to come—clues that draw us in, that keep us awarethat the plot is thickening.Things could turn outseveral different ways. Whywould the writer want toblow a good story with abad ending?

To understand that thosedull verses at the end of thebook really are the climax—and a stunning climax atthat—we have to go backand look at the rest of thestory. Then, suddenly, aboring genealogy comesalive and makes sense.

Our story is a play in four acts. The five principalactors on our stage are threewomen—Naomi, Ruth, andOrpah—and two men—Boazand the nearer kinsman. Thestage director is God.

Act One. When thecurtain goes up on the firstact, we find a bitter oldwoman on center stage.

To listen to her, it is clearthat the Stage Director doesnot know what He is doing.But that’s getting ahead ofthe story. Begin with thedescription of the setting as we read it in the script in Ruth 1:1-5.

In the days when thejudges ruled, there was afamine in the land, and aman from Bethlehem inJudah, together with hiswife and two sons, wentto live for a while in thecountry of Moab. The man’s name wasElimelech, his wife’s nameNaomi, and the names ofhis two sons were Mahlonand Kilion. They wereEphrathites fromBethlehem, Judah. And they went to Moaband lived there. NowElimelech, Naomi’shusband, died, and shewas left with her twosons. They marriedMoabite women, onenamed Orpah and the

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other Ruth. After they had lived there about tenyears, both Mahlon andKilion also died, andNaomi was left withouther two sons and herhusband.The setting is in the time

of the judges. This period ofIsrael’s history was one ofbarbaric oppression andbloodshed. Between violentinvasions, tribal civil wars,and unchecked lawlessness,the Jews had to contendwith constant trouble. Nowa famine added to theirmisery. In Bethlehem—theHouse of Bread—there wasno bread. Elimelech choseto take his family toneighboring Moab.

While the trip to Moabwas not a long one—notmuch more than 30 mileseast of Bethlehem—distance in the Bible, as H. W. Morton observed,is often measured not inmiles but in distance fromGod. Moabites worshiped

the god Chemosh, notJehovah. Elimelech and hisfamily left the familiar forthe unfamiliar, the knownfor the unknown.

While in Moab, thefamily faced first the loss ofthe father, Elimelech. Thenthe sons who had bothmarried Moabite womenalso died. The play beginswith three widows in agloomy, hopeless setting.Naomi, on center stage, has heard that once againBethlehem is really theHouse of Bread. The faminehas passed. Food is plentifulin Judah. She and her twodaughters-in-law prepare tomove to Bethlehem. Thedialogue in our play beginsin verse 8:

Then Naomi said to hertwo daughters-in-law,“Go back, each of you, toyour mother’s home. Maythe Lord show kindnessto you, as you haveshown to your dead andto me. May the Lord

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grant that each of youwill find rest in the homeof another husband.”Naomi knew that Orpah

and Ruth faced a bleak anduncertain future if theyreturned to Bethlehem withher. They must stay inMoab. She kissed them—a sign of release from anyobligation to her. They hadvoluntarily stayed withNaomi after their husbandshad died, but now theycould not forfeit their ownhappiness just to care forher. Desperate, powerless to do anything for them,Naomi prayed that Godwould care for them andprovide them with husbandswho would care for them.

But note what Orpah and Ruth answered: “Wewill go back with you toyour people.” Whether outof loyalty to their deadhusbands or out of love fortheir mother-in-law, Ruthand Orpah pushed ontoward Bethlehem. But

Naomi tried again:Return home, mydaughters. Why wouldyou come with me? Am I going to have any moresons, who could becomeyour husbands? Returnhome, my daughters; I amtoo old to have anotherhusband. Even if Ithought there was stillhope for me—even if I hada husband tonight andthen gave birth to sons—would you wait until theygrew up? Would youremain unmarried forthem? No, my daughters.It is more bitter for methan for you, because theLord’s hand has gone outagainst me! (1:11-13).What is the tone of

Naomi’s argument to Orpah and Ruth? It isn’t justanother effort to persuadethem not to stay with her. It is also a lament accusingGod of botching up her life. It affirms God’s directinvolvement in her life and

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His accountability for hersituation. Basically Naomitold Orpah and Ruth that ifGod was “after” her, to staywith her was to courtdisaster.

The second effort topersuade them had its effecton Orpah, who kissed hermother-in-law and startedback to Moab. But Ruth still wasn’t persuaded. In the next verses we hear herunshakable decision to staywith Naomi:

Don’t urge me to leaveyou or to turn back fromyou. Where you go, I willgo, and where you stay Iwill stay. Your people willbe my people and yourGod my God. Where youdie I will die, and there Iwill be buried. May theLord deal with me, be it ever so severely, ifanything but deathseparates you and me (1:16-17).With that Naomi gave

up trying to talk Ruth into

returning to Moab.Can we fault Orpah for

going back to Moab? Not atall. Orpah did the expectedthing. It is Ruth who did theunexpected. We understandthe reasonableness ofOrpah’s decision. We don’tunderstand the incredibleloyalty Ruth displayed. Ruth demonstrated what the Hebrews called hesed.

Hesed is a Hebrew word we can translate “loyallove.” It is a love that goeswell beyond the expected.David’s mighty men showedhesed for their belovedleader a hundred years later when they left thewilderness and fought their way into and out ofBethlehem to bring David adrink of water from the townwell. God shows us hesed insacrificing even His own Sonto redeem us, to buy usback from sin. Ruth was ashining example of hesedas she stood at a crossroadbetween familiar Moab and

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unfamiliar Judah.Her loyal love made the

choice—for Naomi’s peopleand for Naomi’s God. Wesee her making that choicewith no husband and noprospect of marriage,devoting herself to an oldwoman. She might havewished for a crystal ball asshe stood on that dusty roadso many years ago. It wouldhave been nice to see howher choice would work out.But she had none. She had to choose for God andNaomi with no guarantees.

The scene continues. In verse 19 we see the two women arriving inBethlehem where everyonecame out to greet them.“Can this be Naomi?” It had been more than 10years since she had left.Suddenly hearing her name, Naomi, the oldwoman was reminded of the irony of that name.Naomi means “pleasant” or “lovely.” “Lovely?” she

exclaimed. “Don’t call meNaomi [Lovely] . . . . Callme Mara [Bitter]” (1:20).

As Naomi continuedspeaking, her anger at Godspilled over once again.

The Almighty has mademy life very bitter. I wentaway full, but the Lordhas brought me backempty (1:20-21).Throughout this first

act we hear Naomi talkingabout God. She wasconscious of His work in theuniverse and in her life. Butas she talked about God, wesee that she misjudged Himand she misjudged life. Shestated that she went out ofJudah full. But did she? Thevery thing that caused herfamily’s migration to Moabwas a famine. They went out empty. Life was tough or they would not have leftBethlehem in the first place.

Naomi also stated thatGod had brought her backempty. But had He? It wastrue that she had lost her

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husband and both sons. But in their place God hadgiven her the incredibledevotion of Ruth, whopledged to stay with her todeath’s door and beyond.

Naomi misjudged her situation when shemisjudged God. She focusedon the negative and becamebitter. Calling herself Mara(bitter), she looked at Godand looked at life throughdirty windows.

Like Naomi, we can be religious. We can talkabout God. We can offerprayers to God. But if wemisjudge Him and His work in our lives, we easilymisjudge all that touches us.

As act one and chapterone end, the curtain slowlydescends on two women:loyal Ruth and bitter Naomi.The last words of the lastverse of this chapter give us a clue to what is to follow in the next act. Ruthand Naomi had arrived inBethlehem as the barley

harvest began. What didthis presage for two poorwidows newly arrived intown?

Act Two. As the curtainrises on act two, we discoverthat Naomi had a relative intown who was wealthy andinfluential. Was he destinedfor some crucial role in ourplay?

Meanwhile, Naomi and Ruth had nothing toeat. Ruth decided to glean,that is to follow the reapersduring the harvest and topick up from the ground anygrains left behind. In thisact, Naomi moves to thestage wing and Ruth moves to center stage.

In Ruth 2:3 we read that“as it turned out, she foundherself working in a fieldbelonging to Boaz.” Thatstatement makes it sound as if all that followed waspurely accidental. But theauthor is actually hinting ata cause for this “chance”happening. Behind what

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appears to be human lucklies divine purpose. Even in the “accidents” in life, the hand of God is at workon our behalf.

Now look at verse 4:“Just then Boaz arrived fromBethlehem.”

Surprise! One morecoincidence! The wealthy,influential relative of Naomi owned the field and happened on the scenewhile Ruth was there!

Noticing Ruth, he askedabout her and learned thatshe was from Moab and had come back with Naomi.Now comes the moment oftruth. “Chance” had thrownRuth and Boaz together inthe same field. What wouldBoaz do?

Obviously, things areturning out well. Boaz, inshort, gives Ruth “mostfavored gleaner” status inhis fields. By following hisinstructions carefully, Ruthwould be protected fromyoung men who might try to

bother her. She would alsoglean much more grain thanwould normally be the case.

Not only did Boaz makeRuth’s gleaning easier, buthe also invited her to eatwith his harvesters and saw to it that she had anadequate meal. At the endof her first day of gleaning,she returned to Naomi witha shawl full of winnowedgrain. The Bible tells us thatshe took home an ephah ofbarley—about 29 pounds ofgrain. Ruth’s success on herfirst day of gleaning farexceeded her expectationswhen she set out thatmorning.

What happened whenshe returned to Naomi thatevening? Of course, theolder woman wanted a fullrecounting of all that hadhappened that day. Such ahuge shawl-full of grainmeant that she had gleanedin a good place. Where hadshe gone? In whose fieldhad she gleaned?

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Notice Naomi’s reactionwhen Ruth answered herquestions. Hearing aboutBoaz, she exclaimed, “TheLord bless him! . . . Thatman is our close relative; heis one of our kinsman-redeemers” (2:20).

What does that mean?Why is that important? Thecurtain descends slowly onour second act. But Naomi’sstatement about a kinsman-redeemer lets us know thatthe play is not over.

Act Three. Act three is about to begin. It turnsout to be the turning point in the play. God hasprovided food for the twowidows. But that is only ashort-term solution to their needs. Ruth needs a husband. Naomi needs a son to preserve her inheritance and to carryon the family name. As thebarley and wheat harvestsend, Naomi cooks up ascheme that is bold, brash,and a little bit dangerous

for Ruth. Read her plan in3:1-4.

One day Naomi hermother-in-law said to her,“My daughter, should Inot try to find a home foryou, where you will bewell provided for? Is notBoaz, with whose servantgirls you have been, akinsman of ours? Tonighthe will be winnowingbarley on the threshingfloor. Wash and perfumeyourself, and put on yourbest clothes. Then godown to the threshingfloor, but don’t let himknow you are there untilhe has finished eating and drinking. When helies down, note the placewhere he is lying. Then goand uncover his feet andlie down. He will tell youwhat to do.”Thus Naomi began to

answer her own prayer forRuth back in Ruth 1:9—“May the Lord grant thateach of you will find rest

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in the home of anotherhusband.” In one wayNaomi models for us theway God works throughhuman actions. We are not to wait passively forevents to happen. When anopportunity presents itself,we may need to seize theinitiative. Naomi did justthat. But we also recognizethat in Naomi’s plan lay real risk for Ruth.

Boaz and Ruth would be in a secluded spot wherethey could talk privately. In Old Testament times,however, threshing floorswere associated withlicentiousness. Naomi was gambling on thecharacter of Boaz, that he would not take unfairadvantage of Ruth. Naomiwas asking Ruth to enter anuncertain, compromisingsituation with a great dealhanging in the balance.

What was hanging in thebalance? Was Ruth beingasked to seduce Boaz there

on the threshing floor?The Levirate Law

required that if a man diedwithout an heir, his brotherwas to marry the widow. Thefirst son born to them thenbecame the legal heir of thedeceased husband andcontinued his name,inheriting his property. If nobrother were available tomarry the widow, she couldask a more distant relativeto do so. Here we see Ruthusing a strange old customto propose marriage to Boaz.The meaning of what shedid was to ask for Boaz’stotal protection.

I’ve always been glad for many reasons that I wasborn a woman. One reasonis that as a woman in ourculture, I never had to risk rejection by having topropose marriage to a man!But Ruth lived in a differenttime and place. She had to take that risk.

She didn’t propose as someone might today.

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Rather, she asked Boaz tospread his garment over heras a kinsman-redeemer. Thatact symbolized his intentionto protect her. It was likegiving and receiving anengagement ring today.

Did he do it? Yes and no. He replied, “Mmmm,yes. I’d like to do that. But I’m not your nearestkinsman-redeemer. There isanother man who is closerto Naomi by family ties. Hehas first choice. It’s up tohim” (see 3:12-13).

So, no. They were notengaged that night. But Ruthknew that Boaz would marryher if the nearer kinsmanreneged. Boaz would settlethings properly and leavethe outcome to God.

Ruth remained quietly atBoaz’s feet throughout thenight, then just as quietlywent back to Bethlehembefore dawn. The curtaindescends on our third act asRuth tells Naomi everythingthat happened.

Even the schemes of menand women can be used byGod to accomplish Hispurposes. This scheme didnot turn sour, not becausethe circumstances were notright for hanky-panky, butbecause of the character of Ruth and Boaz. Boaz was concerned for Ruth’sreputation. She was safe.Naomi staked the schemeon Boaz’s integrity. Heproved to be a man ofhonor. But the question now in the air is, Which guy will get the girl?

Act Four. The curtainrises on act four. We seeBoaz at the city gate, wherehe knew he would find thenearer kinsman. It wascertain that Ruth wouldsoon have a husband. Whatwas not certain was who itwould be. What up to thispoint had been a privatematter between Naomi,Ruth, and Boaz now had tobecome public. This was afamily matter to be worked

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out between the kinsmen in a public meeting.

Assembling 10 witnesses,Boaz addressed the nearerkinsman about redeemingthe property of Elimelech.The kinsman must havethought, Sure. That lookseasy enough, so he replied,“I will redeem it” (4:4). He knew he would have tomarry the widow to do that,but he assumed that Naomiwas too old to have childrenand he would end up withthe property with no heir to claim it. Financially theinvestment was a bargainwithout risk. How could he lose?

Boaz sprang the clincher: Ruth comes withthe property. If the nearerkinsman bought it, hebought her as well. Thekinsman would be obliged to father a son by Ruth toperpetuate Elimelech’s nameover his inheritance. Inother words, the kinsmanwould not be allowed to

keep the property when theson was old enough to claimhis inheritance.

Suddenly the picturechanged for the nearerkinsman. He quickly waived his prior rights ofredemption. Boaz would getRuth! The crowd cheeredand Boaz took his bridehome.

What follows in this actties up all the loose ends inour story. It isn’t enoughthat the guy gets the girl orthe girl gets the guy. All ofthat is for a larger purpose.

One purpose lies inperpetuating Elimelech’sname over his inheritance.For that Naomi must have ason. But she’s too old forthat! Not by Jewish law.When her kinsman Boazand Ruth, her daughter-in-law, produce a son, we seean interesting processionwinding through the streetsof Bethlehem. The women of the town are carrying thistiny baby and placing him in

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the arms of Naomi. Naominow has a son. The bitterwoman who complained in the first act about beingempty is now full. Not onlyis she well fed. She has a son to carry on herhusband’s name. This son is Elimelech’s legal heir.

Does our story end here? No. We still have thatstrange genealogy as theclimax of our story. What do we learn from it? Pick up reading where I left off(on page 2): “Salmon thefather of Boaz, Boaz thefather of Obed, Obed thefather of Jesse, and Jesse thefather of David” (4:21-22).

David! Suddenly thesimple, clever human storyof two struggling widowstakes on a new dimension.This bitter old woman andthis foreign Moabitessbecome bright threadswoven into the fabric ofIsrael’s national history.

God provided breadthrough Ruth’s gleaning.

God provided securitythrough Ruth’s marriage to Boaz. God providedposterity for Elimelech and Naomi. Even more, God provided a great kingfor the nation Israel througha foreign woman. God usedthe faithfulness of ordinarypeople to accomplish greatthings.

We find the samegenealogy in Matthew 1:3-6.

Perez the father of Hezron, Hezron the fatherof Ram, Ram the father ofAmminadab, Amminadabthe father of Nahshon,Nahshon the father ofSalmon, Salmon the father of Boaz, whosemother was Rahab, Boazthe father of Obed, whosemother was Ruth, Obedthe father of Jesse, andJesse the father of KingDavid.This genealogy does not

stop with David. After manymore unpronounceablenames, we read in verse 16:

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. . . and Jacob the fatherof Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, whois called Christ.Not only did the faithful

Ruth and the upright Boazserve as great-grandparentsof Israel’s greatest king. Theyalso stand in the line ofthose through whom Godchose to send His Son intothe world to bring ussalvation.

Many times on a drearyTuesday afternoon we mayfind it hard to believe thatGod is really at work in ourlives. God seems hiddenfrom us. Like Naomi in thefirst act, we can misjudge lifebecause we are not sureGod is actively involved inour lives.

Things happen that looklike accidents—like Ruthgleaning in the fields ofBoaz. Life can seemhaphazard and accidental.But over all the seemingaccidents in our lives God

is at work, making divineappointments with usthrough the things thathappen to us. God is thestage manager in control ofall the players on the stage.In the midst of what seemsterribly ordinary, He is doingsomething extraordinary.

It has been said thatwhat we are determineswhat we see. We may lookfor God and miss Himbecause we confuse Himwith shining angels. God is found not just in the miraculous and theextraordinary. He is at workin us and through us in thedailiness of life. On a drearyTuesday afternoon we canget the idea that life is all up to us. But if we belong toGod, even when we don’tsee Him at work, we can besure that God is movingevents on our behalf.

Ruth made a choice on a dusty road between Moaband Bethlehem. She choseto give her loyalty to God

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and His people. That choice may have seemedinsignificant, but it changedNaomi and it changedhistory.

When you and I chooseGod and His people, wemay hear no bells ringing.But the silence does notmean the choice is not life-changing. As Christians, we are involved in anincredible drama. There are no ordinary days. There are no insignificantchoices. If we saw our life as God sees it, we’d beoverwhelmed. On a drearyTuesday afternoon we canremind ourselves that as we choose for God and Hispeople, God will use thatchoice in ways that exceedour imagination.

HANNAH:How To DealWith Depression

DDepression. It happens to the

best of people.In her book Some Run

With Feet Of Clay, actressJeannette Clift tells of aconversation she had with a good friend:

The other day I called one of the mostproductive Christians Iknow. “How are you,” I asked, thinking it was a somewhat needlessquestion. She was always fine, and had 19Scripture verses to proveit! I didn’t get her usualanswer, though. Instead I got a long pause, andthen words all capsulatedin one breath.

“Oh, Jeannette, I’m awful! I’ve been sodepressed I don’t knowwhat to do. I’ve had toquit teaching my Bible

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classes. I’m not doinganything. I don’t go out, I don’t see anybody. It’sall I can do just to get upin the morning, and somedays I can’t even do that.I’m so ashamed of myselfI don’t think I can standit!”

Jeannette explains:This was no erraticspiritual novice; this was a mighty Christiansoldier! I had seen her inaction and praised Godfor her accuracy as shetaught or counseled. Myheart hurt for her. Thisdear friend was not onlydown in the depths, butashamed of herself forbeing there . . . . AnyChristian who is trulyshocked by anotherChristian’s depressionhas not dealt honestlywith the possibility of her own. In the past year, I have

spent many hours with eachof two close friends trapped

in the web of paralyzingdepression. One woman isthe college friend whosefaith and commitment toChrist brought me into apersonal relationship withGod. She and her husbandhave ministered effectivelyin Christ’s name in EastAfrica for more than 30years. During this furlough,however, she has beenplunged into severedepression.

My second friend was a colleague in ministry inFrance. Gifted with asplendid mind, she has notalways found doors open tothe use of her gifts. Focusingher energies on her family,she and her husband havesuccessfully parented twomodel sons. Now that theboys are grown, she has notbeen able to find outlets forall that she has to give. Shehas lived for several yearsnow in a miasma ofdepression.

Cynthia Swindoll, 17



executive director of InsightFor Living, looked back overthe 15 years in which her life was darkened bydepression. In the preface to Don Baker’s book,Depression, she describedher experience:

[It was] black as athousand midnights in a cypress swamp.

[It was] loneliness that is indescribable.

[It brought] confusionregarding God.

[I experienced]frustration with life and circumstances.

[It was] the feelingthat you have beenabandoned, that you are worthless.

[I felt] unlovable.The pain was

excruciating.Depression. Did you

notice the feelings CynthiaSwindoll had? She feltlonely, confused, frustrated,worthless, unlovable. The pain, she said,

was excruciating.Depression comes in

many forms with manysymptoms. Perhaps youexperience some of themright now. Dr. TimothyFoster lists seven mainsymptoms of depression inhis helpful book, How ToDeal With Depression.1. We lose emotional

feeling and call it “theblahs.” This is that dropin mood in which we say,“I don’t feel particularlybad; I don’t feelparticularly good. I just don’t feel much of anything.” (Fosterreminds us that everyemotionally-causeddepression starts with acase of the blahs thathangs on and graduallydeteriorates.)

2. We become overly self-conscious. Most of thetime we do scores ofthings “on automaticpilot”—we drive the car,cross our legs, scratch

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our noses, or eat dinnerwith no consciousthought about ouractions. But suddenly wehave to think about whatare usually unconsciousdecisions. We becomeself-conscious.

3. Our sleep patternschange. If we normallysleep through the night,we may experiencesleeplessness. If weusually function well on 7 or 8 hours of sleepat night, we may find that we want to sleep all the time.

4. Our eating patternschange. If we havealways kept our weightunder control withdisciplined eating, we may find ourselvesreaching for foodconstantly. Or we may lose our normalappetite and cannot force ourselves to eat.

5. Our crying patternschange. This too can

take two forms. If we cryregularly, we may findsomething holding backnormal tears. We can’tcry. Something blocks theflow of our emotions. Orwe may constantly feelthat we need to cry. Thetears are always only aninch below the surface.

6. We lose confidence inour ability to function.With this we mayexperience a loss ofenergy or a lack ofinitiative.

7. Our mood drops. We feel sad. Depression often starts with feeling“nothing” or the blahs,but eventually the mooddrops and a combinationof sadness and not caringsets in. Foster states that the

presence of only one or two of these symptomsshould not alarm us. But ifwe experience three or moreof these symptoms, we maybe in depression.

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Where does depressioncome from? In most cases itcan be traced to the way wethink about ourselves.

Some depressions—about 5 percent of them—are due to a biochemicalimbalance and must betreated with medications for life. It is estimated thatthe other 95 percent ofdepressions are rooted in emotional factors.

Depression is one way of handling stress. Somepeople handle stress bybecoming physically ill.Others handle stress byover-achieving. Still othershandle stress with a drop inmood, by checking out fromfull participation in life.

Many depressions arecaused by some traumaticevent in our lives. We can point to those eventsand explain why we aredepressed. Perhaps we feelrejected by someone wevalue. Or we’ve just comethrough a devastating

divorce. Or perhapssomeone close to us has recently died. Maybe it’s a job loss with the threat of losing our house.Depression from loss is theeasiest kind to understand.

Other depressions can’tbe tied to anything specificthat has happened to us.We feel down “for no reason at all.”

Stress often moves in with us when we focus on ourselves negatively. It comes when we feelpowerless to change oursituation. We see noalternatives from which tochoose. Wherever we turn,we see closed doors orroadblocks shutting us offfrom happiness. What ismerely a minor barrier forone person becomes aninsurmountable obstacle for another.

For many women in theirmiddle years, depressioncomes when they realizethat they will never become

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what once they dreamed ofbeing. Psychologists call thisinvolutional melancholia.Helplessness graduallybecomes both a cause andan effect of depression.

All depressed peopleexperience a decrease inself-confidence. If I have low self-esteem, I am muchmore vulnerable todepression. Somethinghappens to me that confirms my idea that I’m no good. The scenariomight look like this:

I’m a professor atGordon-Conwell TheologicalSeminary. Suppose thedepartment head stops bymy office and asks me if Ihave finished a project hegave me to do. I haven’t. SoI feel his disappointment inme. I begin to translate thatinto all kinds of feelings he,in reality, isn’t having. If my self-esteem is low, I may conclude that he isdisgusted with me for notgetting my work done. In

fact, I assume, he is gettingso disgusted that he willprobably fire me. I believethat I deserve whatever hethrows at me because I amnot a capable person. I amreally a failure. Because Iam so worthless and reallyam a handicap to mystudents, the best thing Ican do is to quit my job somy boss can hire someoneelse who will do the jobcorrectly.

Have you ever playedthat kind of scenario in your head? I have. Whathappens is that I file thisincident away in mymemory where I havealready filed many otherincidents of “rejection.” Mylevel of self-confidence sinksa bit lower each time underthe weight of this heavy file-drawer full of my failures.

As my self-confidencedrains away, I withdrawfrom people around me,from life in general, andoften from God. I’m

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probably not conscious ofmy reasons for withdrawing.But the more I withdraw, the more I blame myself.This merely increases theproblem. Each time I dothis, my self-confidence hitsa new low. A vicious cyclebegins to spin, leading meinto more withdrawal andmore feelings of guilt andworthlessness.

Caught in the cycle, I feel totally helpless.Nothing that I do is worthanything. I’m at the mercyof forces that overwhelm me in my inadequacy. I feelmyself being sucked down, down in a spiralingwhirlpool of depression.

Negative thoughts aboutourselves quickly becomeautomatic. We don’t have to work at thinking negative thoughts. Theybecome well-ingrainedhabits strengthened by yearsof practice. We do not arriveat negative thoughts throughlogic. We reach most of

them with no objectiveevidence at all. But thatdoesn’t stop us.

Depression creates aframe of mind in whichalmost everything weexperience reminds us of our miserable, helplesscondition. This is one reason depression is so

painful. We really believe weare to blame for whateverwe think is wrong. We holdourselves responsible foreverything bad that happens around us. Weemphasize failures and weignore successes or brush

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Depression createsa frame of mind in which almost

everything we experience

reminds us of ourmiserable, helpless

condition.

h

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them aside as accidental.Most of the time,

depressed people anchortheir sense of self-worth to a very narrow idea of whatsuccess is. Unrealisticexpectations and impossiblyhigh goals lead us to anoverwhelming sense offailure and worthlessness.We set ourselves up to fail.The mental habit of inflatingothers and deflatingourselves is typical ofdepression. We end up with distorted perceptions of other people that leave us feeling hopelessly inferior.We see ourselves as stupid,unattractive, untalented, orunspiritual.

So much for a clinicaldescription of depression. It can be helpful to reviewsymptoms and thesyndrome. But this isn’t a medical journal anddepression is not a virus. It is always personal. Ithappens to real people. Wemay understand it better if

we look at a biblical casestudy in depression.

Our case study is awoman named Hannah. Herstory can help us as we walkwith her through and out ofher depression. We meet herin 1 Samuel 1. As we getacquainted with her, wediscover that she hadseveral sources of stress.

First, she lived at astressful time in Israel’shistory. The nation wasmerely a loose confederacyof tribes united around theworship of Jehovah at theshrine at Shiloh. Invadersharassed one tribe, thenanother. Over a period ofseveral hundred years oneor another strong leadercalled a judge would deliverGod’s people from foreignrule, only to find anotherIsraeli tribe oppressed by adifferent group of outsiders.

As we flip on the news orpick up Time or Newsweek,we can understand how thetensions in the world and

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in our town can affect theway we feel. Not only wasHannah’s nation oppressedby neighbor nations, but thereligious life of the peoplewas being corrupted by badpriests. The two sons of thehigh priest made a mockeryof the sacrifices, and tomake bad matters worse,they were sleeping with thewomen who served at theentrance to the tabernacle. It was not a time to inspirefaith and devotion to God.

Yet, in the midst ofreligious hypocrisy we find a pious family living inRamah in the hill countryallotted to the tribe ofEphraim. Elkanah, thehusband in our story, was a Levite, or a priest. Everyyear he and his family madethe 10-mile journey on footto the tabernacle or shrine at Shiloh to worship.

Hannah lived at astressful time both politicallyand religiously. But she alsohad to live with stress in her

family. In 1 Samuel 1:2 welearn that Elkanah had twowives—Hannah, who wasbeloved but barren, andPeninnah, who was lessloved but very fertile. Someof Hannah’s stress camefrom living in a polygamousmarriage.

Polygamy was a fact oflife in ancient Israel. Wiveswere a means of securingchildren. In Hannah’s case it is likely that she wasElkanah’s first wife. Butbecause she was infertile, he took a second wife toinsure that the family namewould not be lost becausehe had no children.

In Hannah’s day, awoman who failed toproduce children wasconsidered to be a uselesslink in the chain leading to the promised Messiah.Hannah’s situation wasdepressing. Year after yearPeninnah produced children.Year after year Hannahsuffered emotionally from

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her infertility, her hopes for a pregnancy receding withevery menstrual period.Hannah’s stress in the familycame not only from being ina polygamous marriage. Italso came from her infertilityas she lived next to a co-wifewho had no troubleconceiving and bearingchildren.

Hannah’s stress,however, was compoundedby the fact that Peninnahnever stopped needling herabout her childlessness. Inverse 6 we read that herrival, Peninnah, “keptprovoking her in order toirritate her.” We know fromverse 7 that this had beengoing on for a long time—“year after year.”

One of the most tryingtimes for Hannah appearsto have been the annualpilgrimage to Shiloh.Imagine having to walk for10 miles with someone whonever stops picking at yourinadequacy all the while her

children keep bumping intoyou, wiping their noses onyour skirt, or asking you tocarry them. No wonderHannah arrived at Shilohunder a black cloud ofdepression.

How do we know shewas depressed? What weresome of her symptoms?Elkanah’s questions to hiswife in verse 8 give us someclues:

Why are you weeping?Why don’t you eat? Whyare you downhearted?Think back to Foster’s

seven major symptoms ofdepression (pp.18-19). He said that any threeindicated depression.Hannah was depressed.Elkanah’s well-intentionedeffort to console her did notsucceed. Nothing seemed to make any difference. Herdespair was overpowering.She withdrew from thecomfort of her husband. She withdrew from thefamily circle.

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If you have ever been in the black hole of depression, you cansympathize with Hannah.She was depressed, and she had much in her life tocause her depression. In themidst of it all, however,Hannah had not lost hergrip on God. Watch whathappens next. In verses 9and 10 we read:

Once when they hadfinished eating anddrinking in Shiloh,Hannah stood up. Now Eli the priest wassitting on a chair by thedoorpost of the Lord’stemple [tabernacle]. Inbitterness of soul Hannahwept much and prayed tothe Lord.Note that while we have

learned a lot about Hannahin the Bible story up to thispoint, we only now hearHannah herself speak. We have had no indicationwhether she answeredPeninnah’s jeers or whether

she tried to help Elkanahunderstand her misery when he attempted toconsole her. Until shespeaks in verse 11, she has been a silent sufferingfigure, very much like many women suffering from depression today.Depression has a way ofrobbing us of the ability to communicate with theimportant people around us. We may feel that no one will understand.

In bitterness of soul shewept. But she did somethingelse. She prayed to the Lord.The first time we hear herspeak, we hear heraddressing God:

She made a vow, saying,“O Lord Almighty, if Youwill only look upon Yourservant’s misery andremember me, and notforget Your servant butgive her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and no razor will

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ever be used on his head.”Hannah’s vow was called

a Nazirite vow. Samson, anearlier judge of Israel, wasalso a Nazirite, “set apart to God from birth,” one who would “begin thedeliverance of Israel fromthe hands of the Philistines”(Jud. 13:5). Jews believedthat anything that had notbeen touched, plowed, orcut belonged to the Lord. A field was the Lord’s until itwas plowed. Once a farmerdug it up, it was his and not the Lord’s. A persondedicated to the Lord fromhis birth could not have hishair cut. Once it was cut, he no longer had the same relationship to theLord. This explains whathappened to Samson whenDelilah wheedled the secretof his strength from him anda razor was used on hishead.

Listen to Hannah as shebargained for a son. Feel herdesperation and the urgency

of her petition. “Look at mymisery! Remember me!Don’t forget me! Give me ason!” We hear the heavinessin the words she prays. Wesee it in the way she prays.Read verses 12 through 16:

As she kept on praying tothe Lord, Eli observed hermouth. Hannah waspraying in her heart, andher lips were moving buther voice was not heard.Eli thought she was drunk and said to her,“How long will you keepon getting drunk? Get ridof your wine.” “Not so, my lord,” Hannah replied,“I am a woman who isdeeply troubled. I havenot been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring outmy soul to the Lord. Donot take your servant for a wicked woman; I havebeen praying here out ofmy great anguish andgrief.” Added to Peninnah’s jibes

and Elkanah’s ineffective 27



effort at consolation came asharp rebuke from the highpriest. In the midst of hermisery, Hannah also had to deal with unjustifiedcriticism from one whomisunderstood her.

In the prayer in verse 11she made a vow that if theLord gave her the desire ofher heart, she would givethat son back to Him toserve Him all the days of his life. But that vow andher pleas do not account forall the time Hannah stoodpraying. In verse 10 we readthat “in bitterness of soulHannah wept much andprayed,” and in verse 12,“she kept on praying.”

Sympathetic to Hannah’swords, Eli told her in verse17 to “go in peace, and maythe God of Israel grant youwhat you have asked ofHim.” Notice that Eli did not know what Hannah hadasked God to do. He merelyadded his prayer to hers to the God of Israel. Yet

something happened toHannah as she stood therepraying. Whatever it was, itproduced the result we seein verse 18:

Then she went her wayand ate something, andher face was no longerdowncast. Hannah joined in the

worship of the Lord the next morning, went back toRamah with Elkanah, andvoila!—before long she waspregnant and gave birth toSamuel whose name means“heard of God.” She asked,and God heard her andanswered her prayer. Nowonder her depressionlifted! She had the baby she asked for.

Is that really whathappened? If our storyended with 1 Samuelchapter 1, we might thinkthat the only way out ofdepression is to have God intervene in somemiraculous way to fill up the empty places in our

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lives. But the story doesn’tend with chapter 1. The keyto understanding Hannah’sdramatic turn-around inverse 18 lies in her song, or psalm, that we find in 1 Samuel 2:1-10.

Hannah’s depressionlifted when she took herfocus from herself and hersituation and put her focuson God. In the midst of hermisery she was able to focuson three important factsabout God. She underlinedthese three facts in her song.

The first thing she knewabout God is found in 1 Samuel 2:2,

There is no one holy likethe Lord; there is no onebesides You; there is noRock like our God.She recognized God’s

holiness. What could thefact of God’s holiness meanto a woman in depression?Far from being consoling,that could only intensify thefeelings of worthlessnessand guilt that are often

part of depression.If we define holiness

negatively—as a separationfrom all that is unclean—that may make us feel worseabout ourselves. But God’sholiness is much more.

Charles Ryrie suggests an analogy that may help usunderstand this word holy.Ryrie asks, “What does itmean to be healthy?” Itmeans the absence ofillness. But we all know thatbeing healthy is a lot morethan simply not being sick.It also means having energy,being physically able tomeet the demands of ourdaily lives.

Holiness is not merelythe absence of evil. It is alsothe presence of positiveright. It is God at work doingwhat is positively right forus. It is the part of God’snature that keeps Him from doing anything in our lives that is not in ourbest interest. His love is aholy and pure love that is

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committed to our best good.The second thing

Hannah knew about God is found in 1 Samuel 2:3,

For the Lord is a God who knows, and by Himdeeds are weighed. The New American

Standard Bible translatesthis verse, “For the Lord is a God of knowledge.” Notonly does God’s holinesskeep Him committed to ourbest good; His perfectknowledge keeps Him fromdoing anything in our livesthat is not perfectly right for us.

Someone has said that“God does not waste Hisstrokes in our lives.” That istrue. It is true because Godknows what is best for us.No trial and error. No foulballs or strikeouts. The Lordis a God of knowledge. Thatgives us confidence in Hisactions in our lives.

The third thing Hannahknew occupies much of hersong. God has power. We

see this in 1 Samuel 2:6-7and at the end of verse 8:

The Lord brings deathand makes alive; Hebrings down to the graveand raises up. The Lordsends poverty and wealth;He humbles and Heexalts. . . . For thefoundations of the earthare the Lord’s; upon themHe has set the world.The Lord of creation has

all power. He can dowhatever He wants to do.

That fact without the first two facts might terrifyus. If God had all power andwe did not know anythingelse about Him, we’d have reason for a massivedepression. We’d all cowerin dark corners to escapeHis wrath or His caprice.But God tempers His powerwith His commitment to ourwelfare. He controls Hispower with His knowledgeof what is best for us.

My husband, Randy, andI have four adult children.

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We have always wanted thebest for our children. Butoften we didn’t know whatwas best for them. Whichschools would be best?Which activities would bemost wholesome? Whichchurch would nurture them?As our children grew up, wemade thousands of decisionswith their interests at heart.But we were not always surethat our choices were wise.

Not only have Randy andI often lacked knowledge ofwhat was best for ourchildren; there were timeswhen we knew what wasbest but didn’t have thepower to make that decisionstick. We’re finite, fallibleparents who have made lotsof mistakes along the way.We wanted what was bestfor our children, but welacked the knowledge andthe power we needed.

God is not finite. God is not fallible. He not onlywants what is best for usand knows with perfect

knowledge what is best, Healso has the power to makethe best happen in our lives.God’s holy commitment tous, God’s knowledge of whatis best for us, and God’spower to make the rightthings happen in our livesare all linked together forour good.

What brought Hannahout of her depression? Shesaw God as He really is. Godbacked His commitment to her welfare with Hisknowledge and His power to do what needed to bedone in her life.

Hannah’s story had ahappy ending. Samuel wasborn. She gave him to theLord, and God gave herthree more sons and twodaughters. Yet in 1 Samuel1:18, when she stoppedpraying, ate some food, andstopped looking sad, shedidn’t know at that momenthow the story would end.She was able to do thatbecause she had met with

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God and understood whoHe was and what He coulddo.

At the beginning of this section, I mentionedthat psychologists believedepression is related to the way we think aboutourselves. It is also true thatdepression is related to theway we think—or fail tothink—about God. Once we bind ourselves to a God-sized God, we have aresource for dealing withdepression. We can focus on God—His holiness, Hisknowledge, His power. Wecan face our fears andanxieties in the light of His character and Hiscommitment to us.

If depression results from the way we think about ourselves, then it canbe lifted by the way we thinkabout ourselves in relationto a holy, knowledgeable,and powerful God who iscommitted to us.

Robert Browning

reminds us that “lookingdownward that makes onedizzy.” I’m an acrophobe. I don’t like being up high on the top of things like firetowers or monuments orskyscrapers. Looking downterrifies me.

Spiritually speaking, thedownward look is the onethat leads to depression. The upward look takes away our fear. Look to the God of Hannah, the One who dispelled her depression with a newunderstanding of His love,His knowledge, and Hispower.

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This booklet is excerpted from A Woman God Can Leadby Alice Mathews, published by Discovery House Publishers © 1998. Alice is a regular participant on the RBC daily radio program Discover The Word.

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Ruth and Hannah - Learning to Walk by Faith - RBC Ministries

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