Our Immutable God: 1 Samuel 2:1-11
God is amazing and worthy of our focus. I’ve often spoken about how nothing is impossible for Him. But He is also amazing because He is immutable. The same character traits true in Abraham’s day are true with Hannah and are still true now.
Hannah’s prayer is a remarkable witness where it is placed in the text. This prayer immediately follows giving up her firstborn son to God. Hannah spent three years weaning Samuel and teaching him the basic tenets of faithfulness to God only to allow him up to be raised by a man who struggled to care. Hannah had every reason to feel sorrow, but she didn’t. This prayer is not a prayer of sorrow.
Hannah’s prayer focuses completely on the greatness of God. The greatness of God is a phenomenal thought to perpetually have running in the back of the head. When we are in great need, what good does it do to list our troubles before Him? Does He not already know? Listing our troubles only reminds us of our inability. When we are in great need, it is far better to list the omnipotence of God. He is the provider. He answers prayer. His greatness is our refuge. This is the message of the first three verses of her prayer. The greatest prayer transcends our need and instead focuses on God’s incredible nature.
What does Hannah tell us of God? God is a master of the great reversal. The weapons of the mighty are broken, but those who rely upon God find strength. Those whose lives are full continue to work themselves to acquire more, but those who are empty and turn to God find true fulfillment. In a moment of person testimony, Peninnah had many children but was brought low, yet Hannah was barren and has seven.
Incidentally, the verse about the barren having seven children may be evidence this prayer was a mantra in Hannah’s life and she changed the words as her circumstances changed. At the time of giving Samuel to God, she could not have had seven children! She could have had one or two more if she conceived quickly after giving birth to Samuel, but seven would be a statistical improbability!
What else is in the character of God? God exalts the poor to the same level as the rich. God has a way of bringing the forgotten people into a place of honor. He guards the paths of the faithful. He allows those who oppose Him to find ruin, yet those who rest in His strength prevail.
Hannah’s prayer is a song of God’s greatness. It reminds us of the hope we can know when our focus is on God and not our own problems. It reminds us that God does not forget us or abandon us. It reminds us that He not only remembers the poor and the downtrodden but honors and exalts them. God is amazing and worthy of our focus.
