Sermon Tone Analysis

Turn in your Bibles to 1 Samuel chapter 1 and PRAY with me...

Intro:

Why did God record this for us in the Bible?

Why did Elkanah have two wives?

Why hadn’t God already given Hannah children?

Was Hannah miserable all the time?

Why did Hannah make a vow like this one?

Why did God give her a son now?

Did Hannah really give her toddler away?

Does God expect us to be like Hannah?

1 Samuel in Context

Transitioning to a new phase in Israel’s history…

In order to get into the book of 1 Samuel, we need to be reminded of the context of Joshua and Judges leading up to this point.

[Excellent summary by Bob Deffinbaugh: (https://bible.org/seriespage/1-introduction-1-samuel)]

[The] days of the judges were dark days for the nation Israel.

God had delivered the Israelites from their slavery in Egypt.

Due to their unbelief, the first generation of Israelites failed to enter the promised land.

The second generation entered Canaan, and under the leadership of Joshua, did reasonably well.

But after the death of Joshua, things began to fall apart.

Israel went through repetitive cycles of blessing and discipline, the result of their obedience or rebellion.

When Israel disobeyed, God gave the nation over to an oppressive enemy.

When the Israelites repented and cried out to God, He sent a “judge” to deliver them.

When that judge died, the people of Israel returned to their sin.

The cycle seemed to be endless.

One might conclude from reading the Book of Judges that the problem was the absence of a king in Israel: “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25).

In 1 Samuel, Israel will get her king.

Saul, Israel’s first king, will be the kind of king the people want, and prove to be the king Israel deserves.

David, Israel’s second king, will replace Saul.

He is God’s kind of king, a man after God’s heart. 1 Samuel tells the story of fascinating people like Hannah and Samuel, like Saul and David.

There is never a dull moment in this masterfully well written history.

The book closes with the death of Saul, and thus the end of David’s flight from the hand of Saul, who seeks to kill him as an enemy.

While the people and events of 1 Samuel are from long ago and from far away, the struggles these men and women faced are the same as ours today, as we seek to live in a fallen world in a way that is pleasing to God.

There are many ways in which we can identify with these ancient Israelites, and many lessons we can learn from their successes and failures.

As we embark on our study, let us do so with a sense of expectation, praying that God may change us and work in our lives as He did in the lives of these men and women of old.

May God use this book to make us men and women after His heart.

[series title slide] 1 Samuel: A Heart for God

In our opening text in 1 Samuel, we see God’s mercy to a woman distressed in heart and desperate for deliverance, but also with a heart devoted to God (so rightly pouring out her soul to the one who could do something about it).

God chose to use Hannah to accomplish his plan.

- As always, look for: What do we learn about God?

What do we learn about us?

Hannah’s Plight (1:1-8)

Elkanah had two wives.

We are such a messed up people.

Even when we are mostly honoring God with our actions and intentions, we still manage to miss the mark and create extra messes for ourselves.

Elkanah multiplied difficulty through polygamy.

Hannah was barren and “deeply distressed.”

A woman accustomed to being mistreated and provoked, who felt her pain deeply… but one who prayed, even though doing so while weeping bitterly (10), with great anxiety and vexation (16)

We recognize this pain

Our Lord knows this pain

[transition]

Hannah’s Plea (vv.

9-16)

Simple - “remember me”

Submissive - “your servant”

We need to pray according to God’s purposes.

- Steve Cole:

Hannah knew that God’s purpose for His people superceded her personal desire for a son.

So, while she prayed for a son, she also prayed for God’s greater purpose and willingly yielded her son to meet that purpose.

That’s how God wants us to pray—not just to meet our needs, but for His purpose to be fulfilled through the answers to our prayers.

Sincere - She made a vow, pledging the son of answered prayer to the Lord.

Vow: It is a promise to worship God with a certain offering in the future, motivated by gratitude for God’s grace in the life of the offerer.

Sincere also v. 16

Prayer: Knowing Where to Go

When you recognize that there is nowhere to go for help, what we really need is to know the caring God to whom we can go.

It is for our own good that we go to God in prayer.

Where will we go?

God’s Answer (vv.

17-20)

Eli reassured Hannah that God would grant her request.

Hannah was then content to believe and wait on God.

God gave her a son, and she called him Samuel.

Hannah’s Son (vv.

21-28)

Presentation: Right Response to God’s Mercy

Hannah’s God

God is sovereign and good.

God is merciful and trustworthy.

The Lord had closed her womb

God chose Hannah to accomplish his plan and display his power

God’s People

(Practical Truths Grounded in a Perfect God)

Don’t disassociate human tragedy from God’s ultimate purposes.

Faith is proven and strengthened through suffering.

Faith in God will be vindicated.

Psalm 135:14 ESV

For the Lord will vindicate his people and have compassion on his servants.

Psalm 37:32-33 ESV

The wicked watches for the righteous and seeks to put him to death.

The Lord will not abandon him to his power or let him be condemned when he is brought to trial.

Psalm 58:11 ESV

Mankind will say, “Surely there is a reward for the righteous; surely there is a God who judges on earth.”

Isaiah 35:4 ESV

Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not!

Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God.

He will come and save you.”

Psalm 34:21-22 ESV

Affliction will slay the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.

The Lord redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.

Posture before God > position in society.

We will see this truth made plain in Hannah’s song.

Hannah’s Song of Praise (2:1-10)

Exulting (v. 1)

Extolling (vv.