Title Answered Prayer (1 Samuel 01:19-2:10)
Contents Hannah's life has changed. The whole family returned home, and shortly thereafter Hannah gave birth to a son. “(1 Samuel 1:19) They got up early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord, and went back to the house of Ramah. Elkanah had sex with his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered her. (1 Samuel 1:20) Hannah conceived and the time came. She gave birth to a son and named him Samuel, because it was said that I sought him from the LORD.”
And he called his name Samuel. (God hears)
Today, people understand children as burdens rather than joys, and as beings that cause economic damage rather than real wealth for families and countries. Hannah rejected the cold, selfish life of aborting millions of unborn babies each year. Hannah showed us the truth that children are God's inheritance and reward (Psalm 127:3).
The Lord “looked after” Hannah, so she forgot all the heartbreaking agony of her early marriage. On a personal level, this truth holds the message that God will never forget the people who trust in him.
How about you, don't you feel that the Lord is with you?
Also, remember that the advent of Samuel brings us one step closer to the coming Lord Jesus Christ. All the worries of God's people were poured out on Jesus. The Lord carried all those burdens on his own body.
The Lord suffered and died in their place to save and heal sinners. The Lord is still inviting us to Him that we may believe in His name to receive eternal life and to enjoy rest.
dedicated Samuel
Hanan became a happy mother. Yet she could not forget the vow she made to dedicate her son to the ministry of the sanctuary of God in Shiloh. So, when Samuel was weaned and when he was old enough to receive Eli's care and supervision, Hannah decided to take her son to Shiloh. Going up to the temple at the most enjoyable and charming time of human nature was a very important but painful journey.
What's more, it was really difficult for the newly weaned baby and his mother.
“Hannah did not go up” when Elkanah and all her household went up “to offer an annual offering to the Lord” and especially “to offer a vow” without Elkanah knowing something. So Elkanah accepted Hannah's will and blessed her, saying, "May the Lord do just what he has said."
Two or three years later Samuel was weaned. After Samuel was weaned
(1 Samuel 1:24) After weaning, we took him up and went up to the house of the LORD with three bulls, an ephah of flour, and a skinskin of wine.
After offering sacrifices to God, Hannah took Samuel to the priest Eli to keep the vow she had made to God and entrusted him with him. “Therefore I also give him to the LORD,” she said.
(1 Samuel 1:20) And Hannah conceived and the time came, and she gave birth to a son and named him Samuel, because it was said that I sought him from the LORD.
(1 Samuel 1:27) I prayed for this child, and the Lord granted what I asked for and prayed for.
(1 Samuel 1:28) Therefore I also give him to the LORD, and all his days I give him to the LORD." And the boy worshiped the LORD there.
This is in line with the will of God who is doing everything for Israel and the history of redemption.
Now Hannah sings of the joy and life gained through answered prayer.
Song of Thanks (2:1-10)
The uniqueness of Samuel's birth is reflected in Hannah's song of thanksgiving. It is in line with Mary's hymn that she sang at the birth of Jesus, who would appear 1,000 years later.
Hannah's song focuses more sharply on the redemptive meaning. Hannah, who was inspired by the Holy Spirit, sang a song that prophesied the Messiah and showed what kind of God he is. In other words, it is a song about the Lord Jesus Christ who will come from the birth of Samuel as the starting point, and it is a song about the love of God who sent Jesus.
Hannah's song is not an echo of past events, such as feeling a moment of warmth after reading a novel in a magazine. Hannah leads us straight to the Redeemer. When we listen to Hannah's song, we hear the voice of Jesus.
It is very evil to say that a man does not know God. But speaking wrongly without knowing God rightly is even worse. Therefore, we must know God, but not according to our thoughts or knowledge, but correctly as it is revealed in the Word of God.
Through the text, we can find out who God is in Hannah's prayer answer song, which sang about God's love for giving Hannah a son and raising him as a symbolic figure who would give her the Messiah. Then, what kind of God is the God that Hannah gave thanks to?
1. He is the God who gives joy.
(1 John 4:10) Here is love, not that we loved God, but that God loved us and sent his Son as a propitiation for our sins.
In this way, God is the God of grace who gives us salvation and even the joy of salvation.
2. He is the God who gives life.
Hannah is thankful that God, who holds the keys of death and life, has given her life (v. 6). Even if a person had everything in the world, what use would those things be if he lost his life? Human life is that precious, so the Lord declared that human life is more valuable than the world (Matthew 16:26).
(Matthew 16:26) What profit does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul? What will a man give in exchange for his soul?
But God gave us eternal life freely (Ephesians 2:8). And He said that no one can take the life He has given us (John 10:28).
(John 10:28) I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.
This is because God Himself is the essence of life and the ruler of life (John 1:4; 11:25). Therefore, we must know that God is the only one who can give us eternal life (1 John 5:12).
(1 John 5:12) He who has the Son has life, and he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.
3. It is the God who gives victory.
Hannah is praying that she could not overcome in her own strength, but God exalted her to give her victory (v. 10). In a word, the Christian life can be said to be a spiritual warfare with Satan and the evil forces that are instigated by him (1 Timothy 6:12).
(1 Timothy 6:12) Fight the good fight of the faith, and take hold of eternal life, to which you were called, to which you bore witness before many witnesses.
However, we must remember that in this battle, our captain, Jesus, fought against Satan before us and has already been victorious (Colossians 2:13,14). However, when we rely solely on our own strength, we are bound to fail in all areas. The reason for this is that even though Satan is defeated by Christ, he is stronger than our lives. Therefore, the only way we can fight and overcome Satan is to fully trust in the victorious Christ (Philippians 4:13) and move forward with faith (1 John 5:4,5).
(1 John 5:4) For everyone who is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world, our faith. (1 John 5:5) Who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
Then surely we will have complete victory through the power of God (Romans 8:37).
(Romans 8:37) But in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
Saints!
What kind of God is the God you always praise? He is not only a joy-giver and life-giver as revealed to Hannah, but also an almighty God of grace who gives victory through Christ. May you come to know more and more of the God who not only redeems you through the Holy Spirit, but gives you victory in your daily life.