THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION

The Books Of Samuel: God's Shift Of Israel From Apostasy Under The Judges To David's Reign

I. 1 Samuel: From Samuel To The Death Of Saul

B. Hannah's Testimony Of God's Provision Of Victory Over Abusive Foes

(1 Samuel 1:21-2:10)

Introduction: (To show the need . . .)

Like Hannah of antiquity, many individuals today face abusive foes, a difficult challenge at any level:

(1) It happens at the highest levels of government and the mainstream media: in his letter to The Wall Street Journal (June 3, 2015, p. A16), Alan D. Lewis of Jupiter, Florida, noting "institutional failures of government in addressing the IRS abuses," held the "mainstream media" has "used their free press rights not to independently (sic) expose governmental abuses but as a license to selectively (sic) suppress such coverage when it doesn't suit their political agenda," so "they undermine the checking powers on government and the very reason for a free press," Ibid.

(2) It happens at the grassroots level, too: Robert Eppich of Syracuse, Indiania, in a letter to the journal (Ibid., June 4, 2015, p. A14) told how he once fired "a very bright, black, young technician working for me" at "General Motors Research Laboratories . . . for his continued absenteeism" due to "pressure from 'the hood.' They would . . . make fun of him . . . as he went to work . . . not wanting 'one of their own' to rise above where his peers were stuck."

(3) Similarly, Samantha Costa's September 15, 2015 story, "10 Concerns Parents Have About Their Kids' Health" on the usnews.com web site told how "(p)arents surveyed in a new poll were most worried about childhood obesity, bullying and drug abuse," in that order. Bullying is thus a big concern parents have all over the nation!

(4) Indeed, bullying is a big problem locally: last week I heard of a young adult male who was verbally abused by both boys and girls in state schools while he was growing up to where today his self-confidence is badly damaged.

Need: So we ask, "Does God make provision for victory over abusive foes, and, if so, how do we obtain it?!"

I. We before learned that Hannah had faced great, escalating verbal abuse from Peninnah, 1 Samuel 1:1-8:

A. Due to Hannah's barrenness, her husband Elkanah had wed a second woman named, Peninnah, who successfully bore him children (1 Samuel 1:2; Bible Knowledge Commentary, Old Testament, p. 433).

B. Elkanah still loved Hannah, so he would give her a double portion of the sacrifice meat when they worshiped each year at the tabernacle, but that made Peninnah jealous, so she would abuse Hannah, 1 Samuel 1:3-7 NIV.

C. Elkanah would then criticize Hannah for her depression caused by Peninnah's abuse, 1 Samuel 1:8 NIV.

D. Realizing she could make Elkanah criticize Hannah if she abused her, Peninnah abused Hannah even more to make Elkanah more irritated at Hannah's depression that Peninnah might cause Elkanah to love Hannah less!

E. This trial thus fed on itself year after year, leaving Hannah feeling like she was spiraling downward into the sinkhole of divorce and its resulting loss of her means of a livelihood, 1 Samuel 1:3-8 NIV.

F. The threat of her loss of a livelihood via divorce in a male-dominated culture in an era known for its abuses of such unprotected women as seen in the Judges 19 atrocity only enhanced Hannah's fear, frustration and grief!

II. In desperation, Hannah had finally applied the Scripture precedent of Samson's mother to ask God for a baby boy with the vow that she would then devote him to God as a Nazirite for life, 1 Samuel 1:9-11.

III. When she explained to Eli the high priest that she had prayed out of suffering, and he had encouraged her, expressing that God might grant her petition, Hannah waited on the Lord to help, 1 Samuel 1:12-18.

IV. God had then answered her prayer, giving Hannah a baby boy she named Samuel, 1 Samuel 1:19-20.

V. Hannah then weaned her son before giving him to God at the tabernacle, 1 Samuel 1:21-28:

A. Hannah wished to avoid visiting the tabernacle until she had weaned Samuel so that when she did visit God's tabernacle, she could permanently turn him over to the Lord there in fulfillment of her vow, 1 Samuel 1:21-22.

B. Elkanah saw the wisdom in her wish, so he granted it in hope that God would establish His Word in not judging them, but graciously wait for Hannah to wean Samuel before she fulfilled her vow, 1 Sam. 1:23; Ibid.

C. After weaning him, what took three years (Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, 1978, ftn. to 1 Sam. 1:22) Hannah took him to the tabernacle with three bulls and flour and wine for offerings, 1 Sam. 1:24 KJV. [Many alter the Hebrew (of the very credible Masoretes, cf. Gleason L. Archer, Jr., A Survey of O. T. Intro., 1972, p. 56-58) text at v. 24 from the KJV's "three bulls" to read "a-three-year-old-bull" (NIV, ESV) since Hannah offered only "a bullock" in v. 25 KJV, but this reflects ignorance of ancient Hebrew: in the context of sacrifice in antiquity, multiples could be named in the singular as collective nouns (like "sheep" can be a flock in our era), what occurs in the Hebrew at Gen. 15:9-10 of Abraham's sacrifice of birds and 2 Sam. 6:17-18 of David's sacrifices. (claudemariottini.com, "Hannah and Her Sacrifice," 2/21/2011, citing R. Ratner, "Three Bulls or One?: A Reappraisal of 1 Samuel 1,24," Biblica 68 (1987): 98-102.) Hannah saved up a bull for each year she missed going to the tabernacle at great cost to herself, showing God that she truly meant to keep her vow!]

D. After the slaying of the bulls, Hannah brought Samuel to Eli, saying that in view of God's answer to her prayer of a vow to give him to the Lord for giving her a son, she was presenting him to God for life, 1 Sam. 1:25-28a.

E. Deeply moved by this whole event, the high priest Eli right there worshiped the Lord, 1 Samuel 1:28b!

VI. Hannah then prayed, testifying of God's provision of victory over abusive foes, 1 Samuel 2:1-10:

A. She testified of God's provision of victory over her verbally abusive foe, Peninnah, 1 Samuel 2:1-5:

1. Hannah rejoiced in God's victory for her over her foe, for He had given her strength, the figurative meaning of "horns," in answering her prayer, 1 Sam. 2:1; Ibid., Bib. Know. Com., O. T., p. 434.

2. Due to God's holiness and strength (rock), Hannah called on her foe no more to speak arrogantly and abusively, for God in holy and sovereign power had girded Hannah with strength to produce a son, 2:2-3.

3. Speaking directly of Peninnah, Hannah claimed that they who had been full were now impoverished, that she who had born many children was now enfeebled while Hannah who had been barren had born seven, a figurative reference to God's full blessing for giving her a son, Ibid.; 1 Samuel 2:5.

4. Hannah also testified of God's provision of victory over all His people's abusive foes, 1 Samuel 2:4-8: her words on "breaking of the bows (v. 4), satisfying of the hungry(v. 5), raising of the dead (v. 6), and elevating the poor (vv. 7-8) refer to the principle that the final disposition of all things is in the hand of the Lord. He Who created the world (v. 8) was able to cause Hannah to triumph," Ibid.

B. Hannah then predicted God's provision of victory over Israel's abusive foes via the Messiah, 1 Samuel 2:9-10:

1. She predicted that God would bless His saints and destroy the wicked in accord with His faithfulness to believers like herself, for by human might no party would prevail against God, 1 Samuel 2:9; Ibid.

2. In 1 Samuel 2:10, Hannah looked prophetically into the distant future to speak of God's giving strength to His king and exalting the "horn," that is, the strength of His Anointed One, or "Messiah," 1 Samuel 2:10.

3. This prediction is amazing: Israel had not yet asked God for a king, and this is the first time in the Old Testament that an individual is called "the Anointed One," the "Messiah," Ibid. Also, this "Messiah" is here associated with Israel's kings, for the first time implying the royal nature of the Messiah, Ibid.

Lesson: Though facing escalating abuse, Hannah (1) sought God's help in prayer, (2) she drew encouragement from the high priest's edifying words and (3) waited on God to help, and (4) He then gave her a son. (5) Hannah's testimony examples how to look to God for victory over abusive foes, even for Christ's final victory over all foes!

Application: (1) May we trust in Christ to be saved, John 3:16. (2) If facing escalating abuse, may we (a) withdraw from it if possible for protection (2 Timothy 3:1-5), what Hannah was not Biblically free to do in her case, (b) may we pray to God for help, (c) may we draw encouragement from supportive people and (d) may we wait for God to intervene. (3) May we respond to oppressive foes in general by putting our hope in Christ's return at the Rapture.

Conclusion: (To illustrate the message . . .)

A Biblical illustration on handling abusive foes in God's will is found in Acts 19:11-20 et al.

The Jews in the synagogue at Ephesus had reacted to Paul's Gospel by publicly maligning it, Acts 19:8-9 NIV, so Paul did what Hannah had not been Biblically free to do in her case -- he withdrew from the abusive and kept on ministering in the lecture hall of Tyrannus that was offered for traveling philosophers and teachers, Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, 1978, ftn. to Acts 19:9. Then, as he kept ministering in faith in God's help (Acts 19:10), God produced miracles through Paul that countered his critics, Acts 19:12-20: his discarded work face-cloths (soudarion, Arndt & Gingrich, A Grk.-Eng. Lex. of the N. T., 1967, p. 766) and work aprons (simikinthion, Ibid., p. 758) needed for his tentmaker trade were used of God to heal people, humanly-soiled items Paul's Jewish critics would have despised as repulsive!

In addition, Jewish exorcists tried to use the name of Jesus whom Paul preached to cast out a demon from a man, but the demon-possessed man made them flee from the house beaten and naked, for "(c)ontrary to the theories of magic of the time, the name by itself could do nothing," Ibid., Ryrie, ftn. to Acts 19:13. The demon did not recognize these exorcists as having the spiritual authority of Jesus or Paul, Acts 19:14-16!

As a result, many Jews and Greeks at Ephesus came to respect Jesus Christ highly, and many gathered together their items of magical practices to be burned, Acts 19:17-20.

May we trust in Christ for salvation. Then, if oppressed by foes, may we withdraw from them if possible, look to God for help, be encouraged by edifying words from His people and wait for God to help us!