SERMON: ANTICIPATED PROMISES

 

I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to 1 Samuel 1:9-11, 19-20 [read 1 Samuel 1:9-11 and 19-20]

 

1 Samuel 1:9 Once when they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah stood up. Now Eli the priest was sitting on his chair by the doorpost of the Lord’s house. 10 In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the Lord, weeping bitterly. 11 And she made a vow, saying, “Lord Almighty, if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head.”

 

1 Samuel 1:19 Early the next morning they arose and worshiped before the Lord and then went back to their home at Ramah. Elkanah made love to his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered her. 20 So in the course of time Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel,[a] saying, “Because I asked the Lord for him.”

 

            -- a lot has happened since we last checked in on the story of the Israelites in light of God’s promises -- last week, God had brought the Israelites out of Egypt to Mt. Sinai, where He makes a promise that they will be His people and He will be their God, provided they abide by the terms of the covenant and obey Him in all things

            -- but things didn’t work out that well -- no sooner had Moses gone up the mountain to receive instructions on how to worship God and build a tabernacle for His name, then the people made an idol in the form of a golden calf to worship in the place of God

            -- this was the first instance in Scripture we have of the Israelites trying to fulfill the promise on their own -- but it would not be the last

 

            -- as we turn now to the Book of 1 Samuel, we find the nation of Israel securely in place in the Promised Land as God had led them across the Jordan River into the land through Joshua’s leadership -- however, just like at Mt. Sinai, the people constantly turned away from God and His sovereign rule and tried to fulfill the promises of God in their own strength and in their own ways

            -- they turned to idols again and again -- and they were punished by God for their disobedience as He allowed other nations and other people groups to come in and raid them and conquer them -- the people would cry out for a Savior, and God would raise up a judge to lead the nation -- not only in their battles -- but to lead them back to the worship of the One True God -- but once the danger had passed, it wouldn’t be long before they turned away from God yet again

            -- this is the continuing story of the nation of Israel in its early days -- the days of the judges -- when, as it says in Judges 21:25, “in those days, Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit”

            -- their example causes us to ask the question, “What do we do with the promises of God in our lives?” -- do we trust in God’s will and God’s ways in all things and believe in faith that the promise will come true, even if we don’t know how? -- or do we copy the pattern of the Israelites, and try to bring about the promise in our own strength and in our own way, suffering whatever consequences there are?

 

            -- this morning, we are going to look at a young woman who has come face-to-face with those very questions -- not as the leader or judge of the nation of Israel -- but in her personal life -- but how she deals with these questions in her life allows us to contrast the pattern of Israel versus the way God would have us go

 

II.  Hannah’s Dilemma

            -- the subject of our study this morning, Hannah, lived in the waning days of the judges -- she was one of two wives married to an Israelite named Elkanah -- his other wife was named Peninnah, which means “fertile” or “prolific” -- and that was part of Hannah’s problem

            -- Hannah was barren -- she could not have children -- and in her day, to not have children -- especially, to not have a son -- was disgraceful -- it was assumed that there was something wrong with you -- that there was a reason why God was withholding His blessing of children in your life

            -- Peninnah, on the other hand, didn’t have a problem bearing children -- she had many children, where Hannah had none -- and Peninnah used her children to lord it over Hannah -- to provoke her to tears -- to make her think she was less than she actually was in the sight of their husband

            -- Hannah was miserable, even though it was clear that Elkanah loved her as much, if not more, than Peninnah -- when Hannah would get depressed and weep and not eat because she did not have children, Elkanah would go to her and ask why she was so sad -- was he not worth more to her than ten sons?

            -- but nothing he said could remove the longing in her heart for children -- the promise of children was something dear to all Israelite women -- I have heard that the greatest desire of all Israelite women was to be the one chosen to bear the promised Messiah -- to be the one who would usher in the Kingdom of God on earth

            -- so, when the family traveled to Shiloh to worship God and make their annual sacrifices, her childlessness weighed heavily on her mind

            -- Hannah faced a choice in how to handle it -- how could the promise of children be fulfilled in her life? -- what could she do?

            -- if you remember, Abraham and Sarah faced a similar choice -- God had come to Abraham and made a covenant with him and said that his children would be more numerous than the stars in the sky -- but as time passed and Abraham and Sarah grew older and her womb remained empty, they decided to take matters into their own hands and to fulfill the promise in their own way

            -- Sarah turned her servant Hagar over to Abraham so that Hagar might bear a child for him that would be the child of the promise -- but taking things into their own hands -- trying to fulfill the promise in their own way -- resulted in disaster and is the root of the conflict between the Israelites and the Arab nations to this day

 

            -- so, what does Hannah do when faced with a similar situation? -- as we saw in the passage we opened with, Hannah chose the path of God -- rather than trying to follow Sarah’s example -- rather than following the pattern of the Israelite nation who constantly tried to do things their own way apart from God -- Hannah chose to believe and trust God

            -- when the family went to Shiloh to worship God, Hannah went alone to the tabernacle and poured out her heart before the Lord -- she wept much and made a promise of her own to God in her prayer of faith -- that if God would grant her a son, she would dedicate him for God’s service

            -- and God heard her prayer -- He saw her heart -- He remembered the promise -- and in the course of time, Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son she called Samuel -- which means “heard of God”

 

            -- Hannah learned a lesson about trusting in God and in the promise rather than trying to meet her desires in ungodly ways like Sarah and like the nation of Israel -- in response, Hannah prays a prayer of exaltation and worship that echoes Mary’s prayer after she is chosen to be the mother of Jesus

            -- Hannah’s prayer affirms that human strength and success come from and are exalted only in God -- as Susan Koenig put it, “all human ways to exert power fall short in comparison with God, who can reverse human circumstances of status and power”¹ and bring to pass all that He has promised, regardless of how impossible it may seem to us

 

            -- if you would, turn over to 1 Samuel 2, beginning at verse 1, and let’s look at Hannah’s prayer

 

1 Samuel 2:1Then Hannah prayed and said:

 

“My heart rejoices in the Lord;

    in the Lord my horn[a] is lifted high.

My mouth boasts over my enemies,

    for I delight in your deliverance.

 

2 “There is no one holy like the Lord;

    there is no one besides you;

    there is no Rock like our God.

 

            -- as Hannah begins to cry out to God, she speaks with a truth that the nation of Israel has yet to learn: the greatness and the saving power of Yahweh

            -- for it is in Him and Him alone that power and deliverance is found -- it is in Him and Him alone that holiness and righteousness are found -- for He is our Rock -- there is no one beside Him -- there is nothing we can do that can compare with what God can do for us

 

            -- rather than following the example of Abraham and Sarah when she was childless, Hannah turned to God in her need -- He heard her prayer -- He quickened her womb -- and Samuel was born -- so she rejoices here in this prayer

            -- this is a reminder to us that we need to go back to the Lord in praise and thanksgiving after He answers our prayers and works in our lives -- I’m reminded of the story of the ten lepers that Jesus healed in Luke 17 -- the lepers had come to Him, asking for healing -- He sent them to the priest to show themselves to him, and as they went, they were healed -- only one of them -- a Samaritan -- returned and fell at his knees and worshiped Jesus and thanked Him for His healing

            -- we’re good at asking God to work in our lives -- to bring healing to us and others when we are sick -- to provide for us when we are in need -- but we always need to remember to go back to Jesus as Hannah does here, and thank Him and praise Him for His miracles and promises that have come to pass

 

            -- in verse 1, when Hannah says that her horn is lifted high in the Lord -- that’s a phrase we see in the Old Testament quite often -- the word, “horn,” here means strength -- so, Hannah is literally saying that she finds strength only through God -- that she can do anything through God -- when she says that her horn is lifted high in the Lord, she’s saying the same thing that Paul says in Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”

 

            -- verse 3-5

 

3 “Do not keep talking so proudly

    or let your mouth speak such arrogance,

for the Lord is a God who knows,

    and by him deeds are weighed.

 

4 “The bows of the warriors are broken,

    but those who stumbled are armed with strength.

5 Those who were full hire themselves out for food,

    but those who were hungry are hungry no more.

She who was barren has borne seven children,

    but she who has had many sons pines away.

 

            -- here we see Hannah voice the lesson of faith that the nation of Israel has yet to learn -- each of them did whatever seemed best to them -- and they clamored for a king so that they could be like the other nations -- in their pride and arrogance, they assumed they were fully capable of becoming a mighty nation on their own -- that they were fully capable of meeting their needs and fulfilling the promise apart from God

            -- we can make strides in human endeavors -- we do a lot in our own strength -- there’s a lot of churches and church programs that are built on the strength and the will of people, not God

            -- but, as Hannah points out here, man’s strength and man’s accomplishments are fleeting -- they may show results at the start -- churches may grow big -- you may show great progress in your job -- your hard work may produce money and power and prestige -- but it accomplishes nothing in the eternal

            -- it’s so easy to point to people who had it all, but in the end collapsed with nothing to show for it -- think of Howard Hughes, one of the richest men in the world during his day -- who lost most of his money before he died from poor health and addictions, with no direct descendants or immediate family to mourn him or to carry on his legacy

            -- or think of churches that are built around charismatic and powerful preachers that collapse when the preacher is tripped up in public sin or when they pass away -- because the church was built on the strength of man rather than on God, it collapses with no lasting legacy for the kingdom

 

            -- Hannah points out here the reversal of fortunes and strength through God -- the bows of the warriors are broken, but those who stumbled are armed with strength -- those who were full now find themselves hungry, while those who hungered now are full -- those who were barren are blessed with many children while the ones who had children grieve as theirs are taken away

            -- it is the same lesson that Jesus taught in the Beatitudes -- the blessed are those who trust in God and put their faith in Him, rather than in themselves or human strength

 

            -- verse 6-9a

 

1 Samuel 2:6 “The Lord brings death and makes alive;

    he brings down to the grave and raises up.

7 The Lord sends poverty and wealth;

    he humbles and he exalts.

8 He raises the poor from the dust

    and lifts the needy from the ash heap;

he seats them with princes

    and has them inherit a throne of honor.

 

“For the foundations of the earth are the Lord’s;

    on them he has set the world.

9 He will guard the feet of his faithful servants,

    but the wicked will be silenced in the place of darkness.

 

            -- Hannah’s prayer reminds us that God is sovereign over all humanity -- God is the giver of life and our Creator -- it is in God that we find life and meaning and purpose -- God is ever active in our world and an ever-present help in our lives

            -- as Henry Blackaby pointed out, “God is always at work around us” -- it is the Lord who brings death and makes alive -- it is the Lord who brings some down to the grave and raises up others -- it is the Lord who sends poverty and wealth, not our human effort

            -- it is the Lord who raises the poor from the dust and the needy from the ash heap

            -- Hannah had learned the true source of life when she prayed for a son to be born -- and she continued to trust in God and His providence the rest of her life

 

            -- second part of verse 9b-10

 

1 Samuel 9b:“It is not by strength that one prevails;

10     those who oppose the Lord will be broken.

The Most High will thunder from heaven;

    the Lord will judge the ends of the earth.

 

“He will give strength to his king

    and exalt the horn of his anointed.”

 

            -- as Hannah concludes her prayer of thanksgiving to God, we see the overall theme and message for the nation of Israel that is going to come through her son, the prophet Samuel

            -- Samuel grows up to be the transitory leader for the nation of Israel -- he is the last true judge and prophet in his day -- the last judge who trusted in God and who believed in God and who sought to fulfill the promise in God’s way and God’s will -- he is the last leader who pointed to God as sovereign over the nation

            -- we see in him echoes of Jesus -- the promise of the Son who was to come -- the Messiah -- who would come to lead the nation of Israel forever spiritually and sovereignly, as both King and Priest

 

            -- the people continued their pattern of turning away from God and trying to do life in their own way while they gave lip service to the Lord -- they still came to worship as usual -- they still made sacrifices, as usual -- they still maintained their religious life, as usual -- but it was just a Sabbath Day religion -- not a way of life

            -- they liked God on the Sabbath -- they liked compartmentalizing Him and keeping Him around and giving lip service to Him on that one day a week -- but the rest of the week, they lived like there was no God

            -- and when things started to go bad again -- when they started to suffer the consequences of trying to fulfill the promise on their own -- they looked around them at the other nations and decided they wanted to be like them -- the answer to the promise, in their minds, was to have a king, just like all the other nations

            -- God granted their wish and appointed Saul as their first king, to the dismay of Samuel -- who continued to advocate for the people to live under God’s leadership and not the leadership of an earthly ruler

            -- he kept repeating the same truth that his mother Hannah prays here in these verses -- that it is not by one’s own strength that you prevail, but only the strength of the Lord -- what we try to do in our human strength and with our human wisdom is destined to be shattered and destroyed

            -- God will thunder against those who set themselves up against the Kingdom of God -- His judgment will fall on them -- God gives strength to His king -- literally, the anointed one -- the Messiah -- and the horn of His anointed will be exalted

            -- at the end, we find that the promise and the power and the glory are found only through God

 

III.  Closing

            -- so, what we see here in the story of Hannah and in her prayer of exaltation, is the foreshadowing of the destiny of Israel if they continue on their path of trying to meet their desires through worldly means

            -- In Samuel’s lifetime, this turning away from God and exaltation of self will be seen in the clamor of the nation for an earthly king -- and all you have to do is read the accounts from 1 and 2 Kings and 1 and 2 Chronicles to see that this did not turn out well for them

            -- there are brief interludes in their history where we see kings who bring about restoration and revival in Israel -- periods that come about when God raises up godly men like David who lead the nation both spiritually and sovereignly -- but, unfortunately, the list of kings who resemble David as men after God’s own heart are few in number for the nation of Israel

            -- despite Hannah’s warnings in this prayer -- despite the words from her son, the prophet Samuel, who was Israel’s last judge, the overall trajectory of the Kingdom of Israel from this point on is a turning away from God and a turning towards trusting in man and man’s strength until eventually the people are removed from the Promised Land and carried off into captivity in Assyria and Babylon

            -- one day, as this prayer promises, true restoration and revival will come to Israel and to this world -- but it will only come when Jesus returns to take up the throne of Israel as King of kings and Lord of lords -- when the Kingdom of God on earth is fully established and God’s will is done on earth as it is in heaven

 

            -- so, the take-home message from today is that the Promise is only fulfilled through God -- when we try to do life in our strength and in our own way apart from Him -- or when we look to man or the government in place of God -- our efforts will be in vain

            -- for strength and power is found only in God -- and is realized only by those who come to Him in humbleness and in true faith as Hannah does here

            -- let us pray

 

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1 Susan Koenig http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=4584