Bible Commentaries
1 Samuel 1

Introduction

1. INTRO:
   1. The book of 1st Samuel Overview: [originally 1st & 2nd Sam was 1 book in Hebrew Canon; its 1 continuous account]
      1. Transition of leadership in Israel from Judges to Kings(Monarchy).
      2. 3 prominent characters: Samuel (Last Judge, 1st Prophet); Saul (1st King of Israel); David (King elect, anointed but not yet recognized as Saul’s successor)
   2. They say there are 3 kinds of people:
      1. [1] Those who make things happen [2] Those who watch things happen [3] And Those who have no idea what’s happening!
         1. We find all 3 in the book of Samuel!
   3. Outline: Hannah’s Problem; Hannah’s Prayer; Hannah’s Promise.
      1. Hannah, & later in Samuel, David, will show us God can use both women & men, who may be unappreciated or even rejected by others, to do great things for Him...If they possess great faith in Him.
2. HANNAH’S PROBLEM! (1-7)
   1. GOD CLOSED THE WOMB! (1-5)
   2. (1) Elkanah - God has created, or taken possession.
   3. (2) 2 wives - Bible doesn’t condone that; bible is just honest with what was happening.
      1. Huge disgrace in the day to not have a son to pass on your name.
      2. Hannah(Grace) - And she needed God’s grace to handle her burdens.
      3. Peninnah(Ruby) –
   4. (3) 15 mile trek to Shiloh.
   5. Eli - Jehovah is High; My God.
   6. (4,5) He would give portions - meat a rarity in the typical Israelite diet.
      1. Each wife would be given a portion of meat that corresponds to the number of children to which she had given birth.
         1. For Hannah, just one more reminder of her barrenness!
   7. WOMEN OF FAITH ARE NOT W/O PROBLEMS! (6,7)
   8. Sarah & Hagar example(Gen.16:3-5) ; Also, The righteous often suffer (Job).
   9. (6) Hannah’s distress: she had a rival, was provoked severely, miserable, the Lord closed her womb. [Also, was bitter of soul & in anguish(10); sorrowful spirit(15); complaint, grief(16)]
      1. Did she ever retaliate against her rival? Nope.
      2. How did she dispel her grief? Ps.62:8 Trust in Him at all times, you people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us.
         1. Ps.142:1-3 I cry out to the Lord with my voice; With my voice to the Lord I make my supplication. I pour out my complaint before Him; I declare before Him my trouble. When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, Then You knew my path. In the way in which I walk. They have secretly set a snare for me.
      3. Out of this kind of sorrow & disappointment, God often builds great faith & sends special blessings.
         1. 1 Pet.5:10 But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.
   10. YEAR AFTER YEAR SHE SUFFERED, BUT ALSO...WORSHIPED ! (7)
   11. Worship is to feel in your heart and express in some appropriate manner a humbling but delightful sense of admiring awe and astonished wonder and overpowering love in the presence of that most ancient Mystery, that Majesty which philosophers call the First Cause, but which we call Our Father Which Are in Heaven. A. W. Tozer
3. HANNAH’S PRAYER! (8-18)
   1. ​​​​​​​WHAT DISTINGUISHES THEM WOMEN OF FAITH IS WHAT THEY DO WHEN FACED WITH THEIR PROBLEMS ! (8-18)
   2. (10) Bitterness in soul - Not like Naomi who was bitter at God. (Read Ruth 1:19-21)
      1. Nor did she cause problems in the home.
         1. She asked God for a son, & God answered her prayer.
   3. Prayed - Hannah was the 4th great woman in sacred history who grieved because she had not conceived, & among the 4 she was the most prayerful.
      1. Sarah had laughed when she learned a child would be born to her in old age.
      2. Rebekah bore her trial w/listlessness & indifference.
      3. Rachel, irritated at her long wait for a child, exclaimed,“Give me children or else I die”
      4. Hannah sought her call as a mother in the power of God, for she desired a son, as a poet desires a song. (Edith Deen, All of the Women of the Bible. Pg.89.)
   4. (11) Hannah’s was not bargaining with God in her vow; it was an expression of devotion.
      1. She would give her 1st born to God & not redeem him with a sacrifice. (Ex.13:11-16)
      2. This Vow isn’t a formula for getting what you want, nor for making babies.
   5. (16) Pot calling the kettle black! (see 2:12)
      1. Eli was an indulgent lazy priest & lazy father.
      2. Eli here jumps to conclusions & is obviously quick to judge others.
         1. What a lesson for us. Not to jump to conclusions & not to judge fellow believers unless we know all the circumstances.
            1. Just maybe...there is some facts which, if you knew them, would change your attitude from censure(Severe disapproval) to sympathy.
         2. Illustration: A man was raising beehives & some of his hives were getting too full. So he went & placed extra honey boxes on one of the beehives because of the overcrowding. 1 bee misunderstood his “good intentions”, & supposing him to be an “enemy” promptly attacked him & stung him above his eye for his good deed. It was all a misunderstanding of his motive, but it cost the bee’s life!
            1. We can excuse the dumb insect’s mistake, for its motive too was good (protecting its hive) but she was all wrong!
            2. Today, don’t judge others, wait until all the facts are known, & then 1 more thing...Can you leave the judgment to God?
   6. One more thing about Eli (Read 3:13)
   7. This was written sarcastically back in Dec.1958 regarding raising children (The Evangel)
      1. Begin in infancy to give the child all he wants. In this way he will grow up believing the world owes him a living.
      2. When he picks up a bad/dirty word, laugh at him, as though it were cute. It will encourage him to pick up similar words.
      3. Avoid the word “wrong”. It may develop in the child a guilt complex.
      4. Don’t help him to decide between right & wrong, but let him find out for himself
      5. Always take his side against the school teacher & the police.
      6. Pick up everything after him: shoes, books, clothes, etc. - Avoid “child labor!”
      7. Always quarrel in the presence of your children. It will give them experience.
      8. Let him read anything he wants & be sure he has plenty of spending money.
      9. Spend all the time you can away from the house, so he can be alone & develop self-reliance.
      10. And when they take him to prison, excuse yourself by saying, “I did my best, but I couldn’t do anything with him.” (Bread For Each Day, M. R. DeHaan: Nov.13.)
   8. (18b) How do you account for his change? And, can a similar experience be mine?
      1. Jn.4:50 Jesus said to him(Nobleman) “Go your way; your son lives.” So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, & he went his way. & as he was now going down, his servants met him & told him, saying, “Your son lives!”
   9. Hannah’s Prayer was:
      1. With the bitterness of soul (10); With weeping in anguish (10); With an offer of a solemn vow (11); With persistence (12); With her heart (13); With all her soul (15-16); With faith in God's promise (18).
         1. Hannah pushed through & prayed!
4. IV. HANNAH’S PROMISE! (19-28)
   1. ​​​​​​​SAMUEL IS BORN! (19-28)
   2. (19a) Great habit!
   3. (20) God had turned her barrenness into blessing!
   4. Samuel - asked of God, heard by God.
      1. Every time she called Sam for dinner it was a reminder, “answered prayer!”
   5. (22) Weaned - usually from 3-5 years. [Important formative years]
   6. (24) Hannah brought 2 sacrifices to the tabernacle that day:
      1. A bull for slaughter & a son for service.
   7. (26-28) Compare: Ps.116:12-14 What shall I render to the Lord For all His benefits toward me? I will take up the cup of salvation, And call upon the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows to the Lord Now in the presence of all His people.
      1. Find all your encouragement in the faithfulness & unforgetfulness of the Lord!
      2. Hannah’s humiliating hardship actually played a useful role in her life.
         1. It drove her to God & forced her to look to Him for her hope & help!
         2. She was rewarded not only with her son Samuel, but also she brought onto the stage of history Israel’s greatest judge & first kingmaker! (Shepherdʼs Notes: 1 & 2 Samuel, pg.6.)
   8. (28) Hannah’s Promise:
      1. She planned to keep her promise (22 not until); She carried out what she promised (24-28); She worshipped the Lord (28)
      2. A disciplined body results in physical fitness; A disciplined soul results in spiritual usefulness!
   9. Lent to the Lord - give. [Not “Lord, I’ll let you borrow it for a time if You return it.”]
      1. An irrevocable permanent giving of something to God.
      2. There greatest desire for their sin Samuel, not richest or smartest (go to the best University’s) as much as that he’d serve the Lord.
         1. We want this kid to love God; We want this kid to serve the Lord.
         2. They just came through a period of bad leadership (i.e. Judges).
         3. The only earthly possession you can take to heaven is your children! (think about it!)
   10. A mother’s prayers & a fathers encouragement(vs.21-23, 28) changed the destiny of an entire nation.
       1. Never underestimate the power of prayer or the value of one godly home! (Warren Wiersbe, With The Word.)
       2. Oh the tremendous potential for a godly loving mother, to change the world through a child conceived in faith & dedicated to the Lord.
   11. Hannah, a Woman Of Faith serves to remind us that all women/men of faith - Endure real problems; Extend vibrant prayers; Experience God's provisions; Excel at keeping promises; & Express their praise.
       1. Hannah, & later in Samuel, David, will show us God can use both women & men, who may be unappreciated or even rejected by others, to do great things for Him...If they possess great faith in Him.
   12. Today, anyone can become a person of faith…
       1. Even though you face many problems...If you are willing to come to God in prayerful obedience; Receive the gift of salvation provided through God's Son; Remain true to your commitment to His authority as Lord of your life; Offer your life and the fruit of your lips in praise to Him.
   13. May everyone, male or female, be able to say together with Hannah: My heart rejoices in the Lord; My horn(strength) is exalted in the Lord. 1 Sam.2:1