Extra Credit - 1 Samuel 2 - Part 1 (verses 1-6)

1 and 2 Kings and 1 and 2 Samuel are written to be read together. It's interesting that the story of kings in Israel begins with a barren woman. Israel needs the promised seed from Genesis 3 to come and crush the head of the serpent!

Eli represents a "blind priesthood"; lacking spiritual discernment, he does the opposite of what the people need.

1Sam 2... Hannah after her sacrifice pours out her heart before God in a prayer-like song. 

In Hannah's prayer, her heart exults the Lord (Mary will later pray the same thing); the focus then shifts from her heart and her mouth in the first two verses, to a focus on God and his attributes. This is what corporate worship is meant to be. 

This prayer begins and ends with horns... at the beginning, she says her horn is exalted in the Lord; she's been made strong and victorious in him. At the end, she says God will exalt the horn of his anointed; she's speaking prophetically of David's future anointing. Her son Samuel will eventually bring forth a King over Israel. Her "sister-wife" Peninnah mocked her so badly that Hannah's rejoicing condemned her!

Hannah moves directly into praising God for these attributes:

- Holiness, which is his most distinguishing attribute. There is none like him! All other gods are akin to demons.

- His steadfastness and protection; there is no rock like him!

Jeremiah 9:23... let no man boast in his blessings, but boast in the Lord! Hannah is boasting in the Lord alone.

It changes us when we understand God is holy and that he sees everything!

Verses 4 and 5 are great reversals...

The bows of the mighty are broken, but the feeble bind on strength.

Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, but those who were hungry have ceased to hunger.

The barren has borne seven, but she who has many children is forlorn.

...this is a picture of Hannah herself. She understands that her child coming into the world is the mark of a new beginning, of a series of reversals. Philistines will be defeated, Eli and his sons will be replaced by better men, the giants will be driven out by David. A reversal of the curse on the land!

We too should be praying for a great reversal in our world! We should want to see institutions of evil defeated, and ideologies of evil crumble to the ground.

In verse 5, speaking of "the full" hiring themselves out for bread and the hungry ceasing to hunger... this is often used to prop up a communist or socialist perspective, redistributing wealth from the rich to the poor. Even a brief reading of this verse in context shows it's actually talking about reversing corruption (of the sons of Eli), not stealing from the rich to give to the poor. She's asking for the corrupt to be brought low, and the low to be elevated to abundance.

The barren has borne seven children (and we know she bore at least six)... God really opened her womb!

Verse 6... God is not only our judge, but determines our every breath. He alone brings to life, and he alone determines the hour of our death!