1 Samuel 1:9-11, 19-20; 2:1-10
(sermon note:
After they had eaten and drunk at Shiloh, Hannah rose and presented herself before the Lord. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat beside the doorpost of the temple of the Lord. She was deeply distressed and prayed to the Lord, and wept bitterly. She made this vow: ‘O Lord of hosts, if only you will look on the misery of your servant, and remember me, and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a male child, then I will set him before you as a nazirite until the day of his death. He shall drink neither wine nor intoxicants, and no razor shall touch his head.’
They rose early in the morning and worshipped before the Lord; then they went back to their house at Ramah. Elkanah knew his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered her. In due time Hannah conceived and bore a son. She named him Samuel, for she said, ‘I have asked him of the Lord.’
Hannah prayed and said,
‘My heart exults in the Lord;
my strength is exalted in my God.
My mouth derides my enemies,
because I rejoice in my victory.
‘There is no Holy One like the Lord,
no one besides you;
there is no Rock like our God.
Talk no more so very proudly,
let not arrogance come from your mouth;
for the Lord is a God of knowledge,
and by him actions are weighed.
The bows of the mighty are broken,
but the feeble gird on strength.
Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread,
but those who were hungry are fat with spoil.
The barren has borne seven,
but she who has many children is forlorn.
The Lord kills and brings to life;
he brings down to Sheol and raises up.
The Lord makes poor and makes rich;
he brings low, he also exalts.
He raises up the poor from the dust;
he lifts the needy from the ash heap,
to make them sit with princes
and inherit a seat of honor.
For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s,
and on them he has set the world.
‘He will guard the feet of his faithful ones,
but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness;
for not by might does one prevail.
The Lord! His adversaries shall be shattered;
the Most High will thunder in heaven.
The Lord will judge the ends of the earth;
he will give strength to his king,
and exalt the power of his anointed.’
This morning’s reading reminds me of the one a sweet, old, God-fearing grandmother who was walking on the beach with her grandson one day. Suddenly, a rogue wave came in and swept the grandson out to sea. Distraught, the grandmother looked to the sky and pleaded, “Oh God, I have always been true and faithful to you. Please bring my grandson back!” And with that, another wave came in and deposited the grandson safely on the shore. The grandmother once again looked to the sky and said, “And he had a hat.”
Some people just don’t know how to quit when they’re ahead! It just wasn’t enough that God miraculously brought her grandson back to her safely on the shore. She had to go and demand the grandson’s hat back too! I mean, come on…some people! Sheesh. I suppose her demand reflected a deep trust in God’s generosity and grace. Not unlike the deep trust that Hannah had in our reading for today. We don’t how old Hannah was when she made her bold request for a son, but we get the sense that she had endured a long time of ridicule from the women around her for not having a child. She wasn’t beyond child-bearing age like Sarah was but there she held similar long-suffering and shame for being childless. And yet she kept her faith in our loving and generous God. It no doubt helped that she was married to a faithful, God-fearing man as well. Earlier in the book of Samuel we heard that Elkanah would “go up year by year from his town to worship and to sacrifice to the Lord of hosts at Shiloh.” And he would give double portions of his sacrifices to Hannah, perhaps out of pity for her childlessness. He loved Hannah and was faithful to her despite her having not borne him any children. But Hannah certainly carried a heavy burden of shame and grief over her situation and pleaded with God to change her situation. God eventually heard her cries and blessed her with a son, Samuel.
It’s interesting how our readings have jumped from Moses and the unfaithful freed Israelites. We heard last week how Moses brought the freed Israelites to the foot of Mt. Sinai where he went up to talk with God and receive the Ten Commandments. Recall how the Israelites became restless in Moses’ absence and had Moses’ brother, Aaron, build them a golden calf to worship. Their faithlessness greatly angered both God and Moses, but God again showed mercy and restrained himself from destroying the Israelites. In comparison to their unfaithfulness, our narrative naturally jumped to the faithfulness of Hannah. And maybe not just the faithfulness of Hannah but also the faithfulness of God. After all, it is the same God who refrained from destroying the Israelites that gave the barren Hannah a child. Truly God’s mercy and grace has no bounds! Our God is a good and gracious God who wants to help us and bless us, not destroy us! Our God is a God who answers prayers! Maybe not all prayers but certainly some prayers which is both assuring and hopeful. Of course, it probably helped that Hannah dedicated Samuel to serve in the church in exchange for him! Seems kind of like a no-brainer from God’s perspective…his glory is revealed twofold in giving Samuel to Hannah! But we won’t regard God as this grand dealmaker! Our God is a good and generous God who bestows blessings regardless of what we give him. We’d be fools to believe we can somehow influence God’s generosity with our gifts. Our God doesn’t need anything! We can’t influence God with gifts. We simply have to trust in his abundant generosity. He does provide abundantly.
Now just because God doesn’t need anything, does that necessarily mean He doesn’t want anything? Of course not! God most certainly wants our love and trust! God most certainly wants our hearts and faith! That’s why He so generously gave us his law. That’s why He so generously gave Hannah a son. That’s why He so generously gives us his steadfast faithfulness. He gives exactly what He wants to receive: FAITHFULNESS!! Our God wants nothing more and nothing less than our committed faithfulness to him. All the key characters of the Bible, from Noah to Abraham to Joseph to Jacob to Moses to David to Ruth to Mary to Hannah, they all had one shared characteristic: faithfulness. Sure, they all had profoundly deep flaws too. None of them were without sin. None of them were without fear and doubt. None of them had extraordinary gifts or personalities. But they all shared the same gift from God: a deep and abiding faith and trust in God. They all had hearts for God and sought out God’s guidance and wisdom in their lives. And God always rewarded them for their faith. God is faithful to those who are faithful, plain and simple. God gives exactly what He wants to receive!
Recall the words of Moses in his book of Deuteronomy, “If you will only obey the Lord your God, by diligently observing all his commandments that I am commanding you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth; all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the Lord your God.” (28:1-2) Friends, you’ve heard me say it for several weeks now, God richly blesses those who diligently heed his words and commands. There’s no way around it, if we want to live and live abundantly then we have to heed his words! Obedience is required for true life! And often times obedience requires faith. We obey not because we know the consequences for disobedience. We obey because we trust in the love of God. We obey because we honor God above all else as his first commandment would have us do. Paul tells us, “for we walk by faith, not by sight.” (2 Corinthians 5:7) On the one hand, that’s a no-brainer statement. Of course, we all walk by faith. None of us knows with absolute certainty what the future holds. But on the other hand, it’s a bold proclamation of trust in God. We might not know what the future holds, but God does and we’re okay with that because we know God is a loving and generous God. God only wants the best for us, for life, for love in general.
So yes, we’re lifting up the faithfulness of Hannah this morning. Her words of praise and thanksgiving are powerful words of truth and reassurance. But more importantly, her witness is yet another witness to the deep and abiding faithfulness of God. Lamentations says, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” (3:22-23) We hear this truth most clearly revealed in Hannah’s witness. Let us give thanks for both her faithfulness and the faithfulness of God. Thanks be to God!
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
