Scripture reading: 1 Samuel 1:1-20.

Sermon text: 1 Samuel 2:1-10.

When the waves of evil threaten to overwhelm you, you’ll find no rock like our God for refuge.

Today’s passages come to us from the book of 1 Samuel in the Old Testament. The episodes describes occurred during the final days of the judges in Israel. This period, which lasted from Joshua’s death to Saul’s anointing as king, included some of the most heroic but also most sordid events of Israel’s history. The last words of the book of Judges powerfully and succinctly describes the entire period: “Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”

The sin and depravity of Israel had even seeped into the priesthood itself. While the high priest Eli also served as Israel’s judge, his sons, Hophni and Phinehas, abused the priesthood for their own lusts. Everyone who attended the festivals at the tabernacle saw the corruption in the priesthood, leading many Hebrews to abandon the festivals out of sheer disgust.

In this period of national apostasy, corruption, and depravity, we find a bright hint that God had not abandoned His people. One Hebrew, a man named Elkanah (“Created by God”), faithfully attended the high festivals every year. Elkanah and his family didn’t attend the festivals only for the partying (and trust me, the Hebrews partied when they met for the festivals!); “this man used to go up year by year from his city to worship and to sacrifice to the LORD of hosts at Shiloh.” Elkanah recognized the truth of his name; he faithfully worshiped the LORD, both by attending and by performing the sacrifices in faith to God.

Elkanah’s family included 2 wives, Hannah and Peninnah. We can find a major clue to Elkanah’s situation in verse 5 of the first chapter: “he loved her, though the LORD had closed her womb.” Elkanah had taken a second wife, Peninnah, to bear him children to carry his name in Israel, but he truly loved Hannah.

Unfortunately, Hannah, whose named means “grace,” experienced little grace from Peninnah. “Her rival used to provoke her grievously to irritate her, because the LORD had closed her womb.” Peninnah knew that her children would inherit Elkanah’s name and wealth, and she never let Hannah forget it. Every year, when the family attended the festivals, Elkanah gave portions of the sacrifices to his family, and every year, he gave twice as much to Hannah to show his love for her.

Peninnah’s taunts and insults nearly crushed Hannah. “Hannah wept and would not eat.” Nothing Elkanah could say would help. No one could help Hannah. Elkanah could not help his wife, even though he certainly tried. No husband likes to face a dilemma like this. “Hannah, why do you weep? And why do you not eat? And why is your heart sad? Am I not more to you than ten sons?” Hannah’s trials consumed everyone around her, including the man who loved her more than anyone in her life.

So, when her grief overwhelmed her, Hannah turned to the only help she could find; she turned to the only One who could comfort her and deliver her from her plight. “After they had eaten and drunk in Shiloh, Hannah rose. 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. And she vowed a vow and said, ‘O LORD of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head.’” Hannah prayed to the “LORD of hosts,” the God who had delivered her ancestors from slavery and given them the land where they dwelled in her lifetime and dwell today. The vow Hannah made promised God that if He answered her prayer, she would devote her son to God’s service for his entire life.

At this point, the incompetence of Israel’s spiritual leadership revealed itself. Eli, the high priest of Israel, could not tell the difference between a drunken worshiper and a distressed woman needing God’s deliverance. Only after Hannah revealed her prayer did Eli understand her actions. “Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition that you have made to him.”

We see a valuable lesson in Hannah’s reaction following her prayer. Once Hannah prayed to God, “The woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.” Hannah unburdened her soul to God and then left the matter to God to answer as He would. Hannah no longer obsessed about her childlessness; she no longer allowed Peninnah’s attitude to crush her. Instead, the family “rose early in the morning and worshiped before the LORD; then they went back to their house at Ramah. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and the LORD remembered her. And in due time Hannah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Samuel, for she said, ‘I have asked for him from the LORD.’” Hannah, whose name means “grace,” received grace from God in her son Samuel, whose name means, “Heard of God.”

Hannah did not attend the festivals with Elkanah and the rest of the family until she weaned Samuel. When Hannah attended her next festival, she took Samuel with her, along with the bull, wine, and flour for a peace offering. After she gave Samuel to Eli to serve the LORD in the tabernacle, Hannah made her peace offering.

You can find more about the peace offering in Leviticus chapters 3 and 7. The peace offering served as a communal meal for everyone in the sanctuary at that time. As the worshiper’s offering cooked on the altar, the worshiper would stand beside the altar and give a testimony to the reason for the offering. The worshipers would hear the testimony and know that as the LORD worked in the situation of the one giving the offering, He would also work to answer their prayers.

Hannah’s testimony proclaimed the LORD’s work in her life and told everyone in the sanctuary how God had answered her prayer. Hannah also beautifully described God’s sovereignty in the affairs of humanity.

Hannah began by saying, “My heart exults in the LORD; my horn is exalted in the LORD.” The LORD’s work in Hannah’s life led her to sing of His work. The phrase “my horn” refers to strength. Hannah had possessed no strength of her own in her childlessness; she could do nothing to resolve her dilemma. God had answered Hannah’s prayer and given her strength through the birth of Samuel.

Hannah also said, “My mouth derides my enemies, because I rejoice in your salvation.” The LORD’s answer to Hannah’s prayer had destroyed Peninnah’s power over the family and saved Hannah from her insults, so Hannah could rejoice in God’s salvation in her life. Hannah knew that God alone had helped her: “There is none holy like the LORD: for there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God.” God alone had served as Hannah’s strength and refuge during the time of Peninnah’s domination in her life.

Hannah now returned to Peninnah’s insults. “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.” Hannah reminded everyone in the sanctuary that God heard the evil that Peninnah had dealt to her over the years.

Hannah stated a powerful truth in her testimony. “The bows of the mighty are broken, but the feeble bind on strength.” Those who rely on their own strength and oppress the weak will find that God preserves the weak and will punish the ones who oppress the weak and powerless. In the economy of God, He provides for the helpless and suffering: “Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, but those who were hungry have ceased to hunger.”

Hannah now returned to her own particular answer to prayer. “The barren has borne seven, but she who has many children is forlorn.” This related specifically to Peninnah, whose hold on the family had evaporated with Hannah’s pregnancy and Samuel’s birth.

Hannah then said, “The LORD kills and brings to life; he brings down to Sheol and raises up.” All life relies on God, both for creation and for preservation. God alone determines whether someone is born, and God alone determines the moment of death for every living being.

The LORD alone also determines the course of a person’s life. “The LORD makes poor and makes rich; he brings low and he 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.”

The LORD reveals His control and His majesty in creation as well as in human affairs. “For the pillars of the earth are the LORD’s, and on them he has set the world.” The LORD established the universe and all that exists.

Hannah also spoke about the futility of opposing God’s righteous rule in creation. “He will guard the feet of his faithful ones, but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness, for not by might shall a man prevail.  The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken to pieces; against them he will thunder in heaven.” The wicked may oppose the LORD’s rule, but they will never thwart the LORD’s will and sovereign rule.

Hannah’s last words prophesied about a key role Samuel would play in Israel’s history. “The LORD will judge the ends of the earth; he will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed.” At this point in Israel’s history, God ruled Israel through the judges; Israel didn’t have a king. Samuel would anoint Israel’s first 2 kings, including Israel’s greatest king and Jesus’ ancestor David.

Today’s the lessons of Hannah’s glorious testimony still apply.

For one, God still graciously answers the prayers of His people. Hannah, whose named means “grace,” could find no one else on whom to rely for help. Hannah prayed to God in faith, and He answered her prayer.

Like Hannah, we must proclaim God’s work in our lives. Every Hebrew who prayed for God to answer a request owed Him a sacrifice of thanks and a testimony as part of that praise. Hannah willingly, happily, proclaimed her praise to God in the sanctuary. Her praise lifted everyone around her and assured them God still worked for His people. We often share our problems with others. For this week, the week of Thanksgiving, make certain you tell someone how God has answered your prayers even as you ask them to pray for you.

Hannah also found that God serves as a refuge for His people. Hannah used a fascinating contrast in her testimony. The name of Hannah’s nemesis, Peninnah, means “precious stone” in Hebrew. In contrast to the “precious stone” who abused Hannah, the LORD became Hannah’s rock: “There is no rock like our God.” The last king Samuel would anoint, David, later wrote, “The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold” (Psalm 18:2).

Lastly, we find the ultimate answer to Hannah’s prayer through the Descendant of David, the last king Hannah’s son Samuel would anoint as king of Israel. Hannah rejoiced in the salvation of the LORD as have countless believers both before and after her. After Hannah, Israel cried to the LORD for centuries, beseeching His salvation from the countries that oppressed her. Israel’s salvation came, but not in the sense the Jews expected. Jesus became our salvation, not merely the salvation of a nation oppressed by the mighty empires of her day. Jesus achieved the salvation of humanity through His death on the cross and His resurrection from the dead. No longer must we endure the power of sin to oppress us; no longer must we fear the power of death to destroy us.

Hannah’s words in the sanctuary ring true for us. “There is no rock like our God.” Through Jesus, the Son of God, we can call on God for help; through Jesus, we can call on God to deliver us, knowing He hears us and works on behalf of His people. We can call on God, our Rock, and know that in Him, we find salvation, security, and in the times to come, eternal glory and joy.