The Book of 1Samuel—2:1-10

“Hannah—Instrument of God” Pt.4

(1/25/15)

I’ve outlined the first part of this book—the part that deals with Hannah:

Hannah’s Suffering—1:1-7

Hannah’s Supplication—1:8-18

Hannah’s Son—1:19-28

Hannah’s Song—2:1-10

IV. Hannah’s Song—2:1-10

Although 1Samuel 2:1–10 is a prayer—it is commonly referred to as the “Song of Hannah” because of its lyrical qualities and similarities to other OT hymns (the Songs of Moses and Miriam in Exodus 15; the Song of Deborah in Judges 5; and especially the Song of David in 2 Samuel 22).

Hannah’s song reminds me very much of Mary’s Magnificat in Luke 1 (also known as Mary’s Song)—

In fact I believe that Mary was very familiar with Hannah’s song of praise to God and patterned her song after it.

We can learn a lot from the prayers in the Bible—which is why our study this morning is so important.

One more thing, there are many that see the song of Hannah as being prophetic—

They say that while she is praising God for giving her victory over her enemy Peninnah—the language goes beyond that and encompasses the struggles of God’s people Israel over their enemies and their ultimate triumph when Messiah finally reigns over the whole earth during the Millennial Kingdom.

I’ve divided Hannah’s song into seven parts—

A. The Joy of the Lord—v.1

B. The Uniqueness of the Lord—v.2

C. The Omniscience of the Lord—v.3

D. The Sovereignty of the Lord—v.4-8b

E. The Omnipotence of the Lord—v.8c

F. The Protection of the Lord—v.9

G. The Justice of the Lord—v.10

A. The Joy of the Lord—v.1

1 Samuel 2:1 (NKJV) 1 And Hannah prayed and said: "My heart rejoices in the LORD; My horn is exalted in the LORD. I smile at my enemies, Because I rejoice in Your salvation.

Don’t forget the context—Hannah has just left her son Samuel with Eli the high priest to live with him and be raised in the house of the LORD never to come home again.

She could have left weeping but instead she left rejoicing—and broke into a song of praise.

As one commentator remarked, “The world doesn’t understand the relationship between sacrifice and song, how God’s people can sing their way into sacrifice and sacrifice their way into singing”.

This is something we see throughout the pages of Scripture—

 Before He went to the garden where He would be arrested and eventually crucified— Jesus sang a hymn with His disciples (Matt. 26:30);

 Paul and Silas sang hymns to the Lord after they had been beaten and thrown into prison in Philippi (Acts 16:20–26).

 In many of David’s psalms we see him frequently praising God in the midst of difficult circumstances.

 After being beaten by the religious leaders in Jerusalem, the apostles “departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name” (Acts 5:41, NKJV).

How can the people of God find joy in difficult circumstances and even praise God in the midst of pain—

Because we put His glory before our pleasure and temporal happiness—and we keep our eyes on eternity.

2 Corinthians 4:17-18 (NLT) 17 For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! 18 So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.

And so Hannah in offering her son to the Lord didn’t feel sorry for herself that she couldn’t keep him for herself—she saw her sacrifice as a blessing and that caused her to rejoice.

1 Samuel 2:1 (NKJV) 1 And Hannah prayed and said: "My heart rejoices in the LORD; My horn is exalted in the LORD. I smile at my enemies, Because I rejoice in Your salvation.

When Hannah mentions her ‘horn’—she is speaking of the horn of an animal which, in the Bible, speaks of strength.

So Hannah is praising God for lifting her out of the despair of barrenness and giving her new strength.

Basically she is thanking God for saving her from her enemy (Peninnah)—which is what she means by saying, “I rejoice in Your salvation”.

The word “salvation” is yeshua (“the Lord is salvation”)—and will be the name of the Messiah when He came—Jesus.

In that regard Hannah becomes a type of the nation Israel that will rejoice someday when Messiah comes, defeats her enemies and establishes a glorious kingdom on the earth.

It reminds me of the song of Zacharias when his wife Elizabeth gave birth to their son John—

Luke 1:68-71 (NKJV) 68 "Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited and redeemed His people, 69 And has raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of His servant David, 70 As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, Who have been since the world began, 71 That we should be saved from our enemies And from the hand of all who hate us,

B. The Uniqueness of the Lord—v.2

1 Samuel 2:2 (NKJV) 2 "No one is holy like the LORD, For there is none besides You, Nor is there any rock like our God.

In this verse Hannah is praising God for His uniqueness as compared with all the gods of this world—

Exodus 15:11 (NKJV) 11 "Who is like You, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness, Fearful in praises, doing wonders?

Deuteronomy 4:35 (NKJV) 35 To you it was shown, that you might know that the LORD Himself is God; there is none other besides Him.

There is only one true God—the God of the Bible—the LORD God Almighty—and that makes our God unique.

The rock speaks of the Lord’s strength, stability, and steadfastness and magnifies the fact that He does not change—we can depend on Him, for His character is unchangeable and His promises never fail. “For I am the Lord, I change not”

He alone is God—the only Rock we can build our life and eternity upon and know that we will never be moved.

As the hymn goes, “My hope is built on nothing less Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness; I dare not trust the sweetest frame, But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.”

Chorus: “On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand; All other ground is sinking sand, All other ground is sinking sand.”

In these days of pluralism and tolerance, many are building their lives (and whether they know it or not their eternity) upon different gods that are not God and cannot save them.

Contrary to what many believe there are not many roads that lead to heaven—there is only one.

Buddha isn’t going to get you there; Mohammed isn’t going to get you there; Brahman isn’t going to get you there—

Only Jesus Christ will get you there (John 14:6)

C. The Omniscience of the Lord—v.3

1 Samuel 2:3 (NKJV) 3 "Talk no more so very proudly; Let no arrogance come from your mouth, For the LORD is the God of knowledge; And by Him actions are weighed.

When we say that God is omniscient—it means that He knows all things.

So in the light of that truth—the Holy Spirit speaking through Hannah exhorts us not to talk proudly or arrogantly—because He knows and every person will someday stand before Him and give an accounting for everything they have said and done and even thought in the privacy of their heart.

Matthew 12:36 (NASB) 36 "But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment.

Hebrews 4:13 (ESV) 13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

God heard all of Peninnah’s proud and arrogant words she spoke in public and private against Hannah—

“For the LORD is the God of knowledge; And by Him actions are weighed”—

As in the scales of justice on Judgment Day.

D. The Sovereignty of the Lord—v.4-8b

1 Samuel 2:4-8b (NKJV) 4 "The bows of the mighty men are broken, And those who stumbled are girded with strength. 5 Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, And the hungry have ceased to hunger. Even the barren has borne seven, And she who has many children has become feeble. 6 "The LORD kills and makes alive; He brings down to the grave and brings up. 7 The LORD makes poor and makes rich; He brings low and lifts up. 8 He raises the poor from the dust And lifts the beggar from the ash heap, To set them among princes And make them inherit the throne of glory…

The bulk of Hannah’s song is magnifying the sovereignty of God.

When we say that God is sovereign we mean that He possesses supreme, absolute, and unlimited power to do whatever He chooses to do in the lives of people or nations—He is the ultimate Sovereign of the universe.

He can make the poor rich and the rich poor. He can resurrect the dead or kill the living. He can raise up leaders or bring them down—He is sovereign and can do what He wants.

At this point Mary’s song in Luke 1 sounds very similar—

Luke 1:47-54 (NKJV) 47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. 48 For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed. 49 For He who is mighty has done great things for me, And holy is His name. 50 And His mercy is on those who fear Him From generation to generation. 51 He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. 52 He has put down the mighty from their thrones, And exalted the lowly. 53 He has filled the hungry with good things, And the rich He has sent away empty. 54 He has helped His servant Israel, In remembrance of His mercy,

The fact that God is sovereign or all-powerful is a great source of comfort to me—but only because I know He is a God of love and therefore would never use His power to hurt me but only to help and bless me.

Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT) 11 For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

The Bible clearly teaches that God’s sovereignty and His love always work together for my ultimate good. (Rom.8:28)

I have to believe this by faith because my circumstances don’t always show me that this is true.

And the devil is always trying to get me to use my circumstances to judge the love and goodness of God by.

I must resist the temptation to formulate my understanding of God based on my circumstances and rather base it on what He has said about Himself in His Word.

H. The Omnipotence of the Lord—v.8c

1 Samuel 2:8c (NKJV) 8 …"For the pillars of the earth are the LORD'S, And He has set the world upon them.

God couldn’t be sovereign if He wasn’t omnipotent.

In other words God couldn’t do whatever He wants to do (sovereignty) if He wasn’t powerful enough to do whatever He wanted (omnipotence).

Psalm 102:25 (NKJV) 25 Of old You laid the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the work of Your hands.

Job 9:10, 12 (NKJV) 10 He does great things past finding out, Yes, wonders without number...12 If He takes away, who can hinder Him? Who can say to Him, 'What are You doing?'

I. The Protection of the Lord—v.9

1 Samuel 2:9 (NKJV) 9 He will guard the feet of His saints…

Psalm 37:23 (NKJV) 23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD, And He delights in his way.

Psalm 56:13 (NKJV) 13 For You have delivered my soul from death. Have You not kept my feet from falling, that I may walk before God In the light of the living?

God establishes our steps in life—as long as we are walking in the light of His Word—

Psalm 119:105 (NKJV) 105 Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.

Conversely, those that refuse to walk according to God’s truth He won’t protect—

1 Samuel 2:9 (NKJV) 9 He will guard the feet of His saints, But the wicked shall be silent in darkness. "For by strength no man shall prevail.

Warren Wiersbe— “As God’s people walk on this earth and walk in the light, the Lord will guard and guide their steps, but the wicked will walk in spiritual darkness because they depend on their own wisdom and strength. It may seem that the wicked “have it made,” but one day the storm of God’s wrath will burst upon them in fierce judgment. God is long-suffering with those who resist Him, but their day is coming.”

And that really brings us to the final line in Hannah’s song—which speaks of the justice of God.

J. The Justice of the Lord—v.10

1 Samuel 2:10 (NKJV) 10 The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken in pieces; From heaven He will thunder against them. The LORD will judge the ends of the earth. "He will give strength to His king, And exalt the horn of His anointed."

Psalm 96:13 (NKJV) 13 For He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth. He shall judge the world with righteousness, And the peoples with His truth.

God is a God of justice and all sin is a violation of His law and therefore a crime against a holy God and must be paid for.

That will happen in one of two ways for every person that has ever lived—

1. They receive Jesus into their heart as Lord and Savior and His blood is applied to their account and God marks it “paid in full”.

2. They reject Jesus and stand before Him someday to be judged and pay for their own sins—

We see that scene played out on Judgment Day—

Revelation 20:11-15 (NLT) 11 And I saw a great white throne and the one sitting on it. The earth and sky fled from his presence, but they found no place to hide. 12 I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God’s throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books. 13 The sea gave up its dead, and death and the grave gave up their dead. And all were judged according to their deeds. 14 Then death and the grave were thrown into the lake of fire. This lake of fire is the second death. 15 And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire.

Jesus Christ will judge these unsaved people on the basis of what is written “in the books”— what books?

1. The Word of God

John 12:48 He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him--the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.

Every person will be held accountable for violating God’s laws—His Word.

2. The Ledger of God

What is this ledger? It’s what Paul called—“...the record that contained the charges against us.” Col. 2:14 (NLT)

The Bible says that every sin that a person commits against God’s Law (of which the Ten Commandments are part of) is a debt that he or she owes Him, a debt that has to be paid.

“I don’t believe that—God is a God of love and would never judge anyone”—

Psalm 7:11 (NKJV) 11 God is a just judge, And God is angry with the wicked every day.

Ecclesiastes 12:14 (NKJV) 14 For God will bring every work into judgment, Including every secret thing…

The King is coming to judge the living and the dead and to establish a Kingdom on the earth—

1 Samuel 2:10b (NKJV) The LORD will judge the ends of the earth. "He will give strength to His king, and exalt the horn (the strength) of His anointed."

The king that Hannah makes reference to is none other than the Messiah (“anointed One”)—of course we know Him as the King of kings—the LORD Jesus Christ.

He will be to everyone that has ever lived either a loving Savior or a righteous Judge—it’s up to you to decide what He will be to you.