OUr weakness And god’s strength
1 Samuel 1-2:11
Judges 21:25: In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
Main Idea: God uses our pain and weakness to draw us into dependency upon his sovereign strength and redemptive power.
I. Hannah’s Pain (1:1-8)
1 Samuel begins in obscurity: “a certain man” named Elkanah, living in a rural hill country, with an ordinary lineage tracing back to the small town of Ephrathah (cf. Mic. 5:2), who had two wives. Throughout 1 & 2 Samuel, God will use the unexpected, weak, and seemingly insignificant in order to bring renewal and restoration to his chosen people.
Hannah’s infertility was painful personally, as her family's future security was at risk; it was painful nationally as she was excluded from one of the great promises to God’s people (cf. Gen. 3:15, 22:17-18). Her suffering was marked by an internal ‘irritation’ (‘a thunderstorm’) as she is provoked by Peninnah (2:6) and pitied by her husband (2:8).
It is frequently that new chapters in Yahweh’s history with his people begin… with nothing. God’s tendency is to make our total inability his starting point. Our hopelessness and our helplessness are no barrier to his work. Indeed, our utter incapacity is often the prop he delights to use for his next act... When his people are without strength, without resources, without hope, without human gimmicks—then he loves to stretch forth his hand from heaven. Once we see where God often begins, we will understand how we may be encouraged.
~ Dale Ralph Davis, 1 Samuel: Looking on the Heart
1 Corinthians 1:27-29: But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.
II. Hannah’s Prayer (1:9-18)
Hannah takes her pain and turns in a prayer of lament to the Lord. Despite her distress, weeping (1:10), affliction (1:11; Ex 3:7), troubled spirit (1:15), anxiety and vexation (1:16), she urges the Lord to “remember” and “not forget” her and the covenant promises to his people.
Lament is a prayer in pain that leads to trust. You might think lament is the opposite of praise. It isn’t Instead, lament is a path to praise as we are led through our brokenness and disappointment. The space between brokenness and God’s mercy is where this song is sung. Think of lament as the transition between pain and promise. It is the path from heartbreak to hope… Lament is how we learn to live between the poles of a hard life and God’s goodness. It is an opportunity to remind our hearts about God’s faithfulness in the past, especially when the immediate events of life are overwhelmingly negative. While we’re still in pain, lament reminds our hearts of what we believe to be true.
~ Mark Vroegop, Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy: Discovering the Grace of Lament
By urging the Lord to ‘remember,’ Hannah is situating her barrenness in the long line of God’s redemptive activity through miraculous birth:
Sarah (Gen. 11:30, 17:16
Rebekah (Gen. 25:21-26)
Rachel (Gen. 29-30)
Samson’s Mother (Judg. 13)
Elizabeth (Luke 1:7)
Mary (Luke 1:26-38)
Romans 4:17: …as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.
Hannah’s faith is set in contrast to Eli’s ignorance; he assumes she is drunk (cf. Acts 2:13-15) rather than earnestly praying. He is in a position of spiritual power, but Hannah’s posture shows true spiritual power, and her faith turns the fortunes of Israel around.
III. Hannah’s Prayer (1:9-18)
Hannah offers Samuel ‘back’ to the Lord as a permanent ‘Nazirite’ to serve the Lord in the tabernacle; she sees her story through the lens of the grand, redemptive work that God has promised, rather than merely personal fulfillment.
Hannah’s song is full of ‘great reversals’ that are steeped in Scripture, sets up the rest of 1 & 2 Samuel, and point us to the ‘anointed King’ (2:10) that is to come (cf. Luke 1:46-56)
Those who weep will rejoice in the strength of the Lord (2:1-2)
The ‘high’ and ‘proud’ will be brought low, while the lowly will be exalted (2:3, 7-8)
The ‘mighty’ and ‘strong’ will be broken, while the feeble strengthened (2:4, 9-10a)
The ‘full’ will be hungry, while the hungry will be fed (2:5a)
Life will come from barrenness and resurrection from death (2:5b-6)
