GRACE COVENANT CHURCH
Fall 2001 - 1 Samuel 1


The Lord Remembers
1 Samuel 1 - Servants' Guide



DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Share about a time when God "delivered" you from a hopeless situation/condition.


1. Describe the conditions surrounding Hannah's life? (vv. 1-8) How do you think she felt?

  • v. 2 -- Barren. Ultimate shame for married women. Son = status.
  • No future. Hopeless. Felt inadequate and maybe unwanted by husband.
  • v. 3 - Long time-suffering. "year after year". Discouraged at church.
  • vv. 5-6 -- God was behind the closing of her womb
  • v. 6-8 -- Being taunted by Peninnah to point of tears, anxiety, loss of appetite.
  • v. 8 -- Had a BAD heart (see notes)
    •  (optional: talk about vv. 5-6 and potential "problem" it might create)


    2. How did Hannah respond to her situation? (vv. 9-17)

  • Characterize her prayer: fervor (v. 10, 12-16), appealed to covenant God (v. 11 - see notes), makes a dedication/vow (v. 11), honestly from the heart (v. 13)
    •  Optional question: "How do you usually respond when faced with dire circumstances/conditions?" or "How would you characterize your prayer life?"


    3. What is so impressive (noteworthy) when we read v. 18?

  • Her heart turned from despair to peace and hope after praying!!!
  • She shows great faith in believing that God will hear and grant her petition even after years.
  • Phil. 4:6-7 -- Peace is not the absence of pain, but the presence of God as we pray!!!
  • "sometimes God clams the storm, sometimes God calms us as we go through the storm".
  • She wasn't told that her prayers would be answered. She was not promised anything by God explicitly. How often we lack biblical faith when confronted by the seemingly "impossible" situation.
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    4. What can we learn about God from this passage?

  • V. 19 - God remembers us. We are not forgotten. Does not turn his back to us.
  • God hears and answers prayer!
  • God is always at work in Hannah's (and your) life even when nothing seems to be changing. He has perfect timing.
  • God is a covenantal God. Vows to be with His people, keep His promises, and fulfill His plans for us.
  • God is in control of all things (talk about vv. 5-6). Uses seemingly "bad" things for His glory!!
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    5. What can we learn about ourselves through the example of Hannah from this passage?

  • We need to pray continually (1 Thess 5:-17, Phil. 4:6-7)
  • We need to live with faith in God (v. 18). He can be trusted.
  • Things will not always be easy in Christian life. We will endure trials (James 1:2-4)
  • The response of a child of God is faithfulness and worship!!! (vv. 24-28)
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    APPLICATION

    Notes
    Hannah's hopeless situation. We see her waiting in hopelessness.
  • v. 2 Starts w/ a problem: barrenness. No child, no son, no heir, no future, no historical possibility.
  • v. 28 Ends in resolution: worship. A son given and a future opened for Hannah and Israel.
    •  This narrative details a process through which the problem of barrenness is transformed into a resolution of glad, trustful, yielding praise.
  • What role does God play? He demonstrates His transformative power. Able to create something out of a nothing situation.

    VV. 1-2 Articulates the problem.
  • Barrenness is the ultimate tragedy for a married woman. Shameful. Women valued by number of sons could produce. Samuel probably married Hannah first and loved her more, but had to take another wife to continue the family name/line.
  • Polygamy permitted and practiced in the society. However, we see that this is against God's purpose for husband and wife.
  • Genesis 2:24 - "will become one flesh".
  • How is a new future possible amid the barrenness that renders us bitter, hopeless, and fruitless? The answer to this question is articulated in four scenes:
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    A. vv. 3-8 Transaction between Elkanah and Hannah
  • v. 3 Hannah probably felt worse when she went to church (Temple at Shiloh). Every time she went it was constant reminder of her failures, sense of inadequacy, unfulfilled dreams. Israelites took annual pilgrimage to Shiloh to worship and sacrifice because that was where the Ark of the Covenant was located.
  • vv. 5-6 Barrenness brought about by God Himself. You might have to talk about this since it will probably disturb some people. God is completely in control and determines all things. Ex. John 9:2-3 (man born blind to display God's glory), Phil 2:13, Eph. 1:11, Rom. 8:28, Prov. 20:24, Acts 17:24.
  • vv. 6-7 Verbally and emotionally abused by her rival, Peninnah year after year. Depression, grief, loss of appetite, and weeping.
  • v. 8 - "Why are you downhearted?" -- more literally means, "why is your heart bad?" Interesting point: Hannah's heart is described as being NOT SAD, but BAD. This connotes a sense of anger and full of spite. Our attitude and perspective on things is important in the midst of God's providence.
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    B. vv. 9-18 Hannah interacts with Eli

  • v. 11 Not trying to force God to give her what she wanted. Rather, she makes a vow to evoke a new gift from God. If He will give her a son, in gratitude she will "give" him back tot he Lord - which in a broader sense was a covenant requirement for every Israelite mother (Exodus 22:29b). In a wider sense, she sees the child not belonging to her, but to God. Her son will be preserved for obedience only to Yahweh. She wanted son to be used by god for His glory.
  • vv. 12-14 Prayer: desperate, passionate, honest, appeals to covenant God. NOTE: The word LORD in the OT is a covenant name. Notice that Eli uses the term "God of Israel in v. 17 while Hannah and the writer Samuel refer to God as "LORD".
  • v. 17-18 Priestly assurance. Eli tells Hannah that God may (will) hear and answer. This scene enacts covenantal faith. The priest mediates. Hannah asks, and Yahweh answers. Priestly assurance marks the decisive turn in the story. Hannah believes Eli in v. 18. Faith nullifies grief despair. She believed the word!!! You see that the situation did not change, but her heart did. Phil 4-6-7

    • C. vv. 19-20 Hannah and Elkanah

  • v. 20 "The LORD remembered her." Does not forget or look away. Interestingly, this is what Hannah had precisely asked for in verse 11 (remember me and not forget your servant).
  • God is a god who remembers His promises and people (covenantal God). Ex. Gen. 8:1 (Noah in ark), 19:29 (Abraham not destroyed in S&G), 30:22 (Rachel also barren)
  • Hannah, once hopeless, now has a future.

    • D. vv. 21-18 Hannah offers thanksgiving and fulfills vow
     Problem (despair) turns into resolution (glad worship). This is the proper response of a covenantal child of God.

  • Hannah shows great faithfulness in her vow.
  • Subject of the narrative: Yahweh's astonishing fidelity and Hannah's responding fidelity (characteristic of a covenant relationship b/w God and His people)
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    God stands at the center of each scene:
    1. vv. 5-6 "The LORD had closed her womb"
    2. v. 17 "The God of Israel grant you your petition"
    3. v. 19 "The LORD remembered her"
    4. v. 27 "The LORD has granted me my petition"