A Windy Road - 1 Samuel 2:1-10

We are going to be in 1 Samuel 2. I'm going to read through this text, and then we will pray. If you'd like to follow along, there are some Bibles. If you don't have one, there are some in the seats around you, in those little pockets, if you would like to follow along with our reading this morning. If you don't have a Bible, you're welcome to just grab one of those and take it with you if you would like. I'm going to begin by reading in 1 Samuel 2. It says this, "And Hannah prayed and said, 'My heart exalts in the Lord, and my horn is exalted in the Lord, and my mouth derides my enemies, because I rejoice in your salvation. There is none holy like the Lord. There is none beside you. There is no rock like our God. 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. The bows of the mighty are broken, but the feeble bind on strength. Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, but those who were hungry have ceased to hunger. The barren has born seven, but she who has many children is forlorn. The Lord kills and brings to life. He brings down to Sheol, and he raises up. The Lord makes poor and makes rich. He brings low, and he exalts. He raises up the poor from the dust, and he lifts the needy from the ash heap, and he makes them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor. For the pillars of the earth are the Lord's, and on them he has sent the world. He will guard the feet of the faithful ones, but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness. For not by might shall man prevail.

The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces. Against them he will thunder in the heaven. The Lord will judge the ends of the earth, and he will give strength to his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed. Then Elkanah went home to Ramah, and the boy was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli the priest. This is the word of the Lord. Father in heaven, we know, as Hannah sings and prays, that it is not through our might that we prevail. That it is not through our strength, or our goodness, or our power. And so I ask this morning that as we come to your word, that you would bring us to faithfulness in you. That if we are Christians, you would deepen our faith. That you would strengthen our faith. That it would not simply be something that exists in our words and talk, but it would be something that is in the center of our being. That you would give us strength.

Help us to see humility. And to see your justice. To be corrected by your word. And help us to see the hope that you have laid up for us in Jesus. I ask that you would bless our time together. That you would bless your word. That you would send it out. And it would be filled up. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. So about 35 miles south of us. And maybe you have been there. I know probably a lot of you have been. There's an old fire tower just in the mountains, just to the west of Woodstock. And it's kind of neat because you can climb up this tower. It's not even really a hike. It's just a few short paces through the woods from the road to this tower. And you can stand, and you can look out over the Shenandoah Valley, and you can see the curves and the bends of the Shenandoah River.

And the first time I went there was more years ago than I really like to admit. I wasn't married. Brent wasn't married. And I don't remember why he was in town, but we decided we'd never been there. We decided to go find this fire tower. And so we found it. We climbed it. We walked back to the car. And as we walked back to my car, and some of you may have owned a car, like this, where sometimes there's like a puddle underneath the car. And we walked back, and we're on this gravel road on the top of this mountain. And I look, and there's just like a puddle seeping out from under the car. And I go, "Man, that really, really looks like transmission fluid." Now, it turns out it was transmission fluid, but not from the transmission, because somebody had filled the power steering with transmission fluid.

And at some point on our journey, likely when we parked rather firmly against the bank, something had broken in my rusty Vermont car, and all the power steering fluid came out. And as a result, we had no power steering. Now on cars that are designed to not have power steering, right, it just takes a little bit of oomph. But a car that is designed to have power steering, it just makes it so much more difficult. And at the top of this mountain where we were, there's two roads. And there was the road that we came up with, which if you've driven it, it's pretty wide. It's gravel for a lot of it, but it's wide. The bends are nice and wide. It's not a hard road to drive. But at the top where that tower is, there's another road that goes down toward Woodstock.

And not having power steering, and never having driven over this mountain, we'll drive the quicker way so we can get home more quickly. And hopefully if we break down that way, we can break down closer to town. Now, so we came up the big, wide, beautiful road. And then we went down this road that is barely as wide as the car. It's gravel. And it has these almost 180-degree switchbacks. And it doesn't just switch back, but it's like you're banking in a fighter jet down this road, which normally would have been fine. Except, right, there's no power steering, so it's like trying to make these corners, praying that no car meets us coming up. It's like, "I don't know what we're going to do. I guess we just drive off the side of the mountain and hopefully they find us someday."

It was a windy, adventurous road. And here's the reality about life. There are times when it feels like our road of life is kind of wide open, and it's easy going. But more often than not, we find ourselves in the dark of the woods, on this curvy, windy, narrow road, using all of our strength to try to stay on the road. Sometimes the road is wide and gentle and peaceful, and sometimes it's dark and difficult. And as we've walked into the book of 1 Samuel, and as we've walked with Hannah, we've found so far in this first chapter of the book of Samuel, her life has been a dark and windy road. But this morning, we come to this place that is almost surprising in its joy and in its light. This morning, Hannah is in Shiloh to worship God, and she's going to pray the prayer that we just read, which also is a song to be sung, but this song echoes throughout Scripture.

This is not just sort of an isolated prayer at the beginning of a book that we tend to skip over sometimes. This is a prayer that actually is reflected in the end of 2 Samuel as David prays near the very end of its life. But probably the most familiar place that you will hear this prayer echoed is in the Gospel of Luke in chapter 1, as a young woman named Mary, upon hearing about the child, she was about to have praise. A prayer whose themes echo all the way back to Hannah here at Shiloh. It's not been an easy journey to get to this place, though, specifically for Hannah. 1 Samuel begins with a dysfunctional family in a small town, and as the focus narrows in on this family, we see more detail, and we see Hannah specifically.

She's walked through disappointment and discouragement. She's faced family conflict and spiritual struggles. She's poured out her heart so fervently before God that the priest, Eli, who sits at the door to the tabernacle, thinks she's drunk. And maybe so quietly, we know she doesn't utter any words, but her mouth moves, that he thinks she is drunk. But she pours out her troubles to God, and she experiences the peace of God even when her prayer hasn't been answered yet. And the second half of Samuel chapter one is a response of worship and obedience. And sacrifice as she fulfills her vow in Shiloh. And in all of this, even though Hannah is the main character, the focus in every word is on the goodness and greatness of God. And so as we come to our text this morning, I want us first of all to see Hannah's faithfulness.

Then I want to, as we unpack her prayer, to see a warning and a comfort about God's justice. And then as we read through her prayer, see this hope we have in God. And so we're just going to kind of walk with Hannah through her prayer this morning. That is also a song that also echoes, not just through the Old Testament, but into the New Testament directing us to Jesus. And we begin with a faithful life. And in Hannah, and I love this so much, we see a wonderful faith in her God. And it encompasses her entire being. Listen to the beginning words of her prayer. It says, "And Hannah prayed and said, My heart exalts in the Lord. My horn is exalted in the Lord. My mouth derides my enemies, because I rejoice in your salvation."

Hannah here is praying to God with her entire being. She specifically says her heart, her horn, and her mouth. And I want to explain that just a little bit. Biblically, the center of your being is the heart. Hannah is praying with joy, and in doing so, it says she exalts in the Lord. What she is saying is that my entire being, the very core, the very center, the very depth of myself is exalting, or rejoicing, or worshiping in God. She's saying that I am lifted up, and I am overflowing with glory, and that joy. And then she says something that's a little strange to us. She says, "My horn is exalted in the Lord." Now, this does not mean that Hannah is a unicorn, right? In Scripture, what we see when we hear this word "horn," the picture there is of power and of strength. What she is saying is that God has strengthened her, and her

strength has been lifted up where she has been weak and fearful and unable to accomplish. God has done it and has given her strength. And from the weakness and brokenness of her grief, as we saw in the last chapter, to the prayer that hurt so much she couldn't even say it out loud, we now see her praying loudly and publicly, strengthened by the power of God. And notice that her praise doesn't just impact how she thinks or how she feels, but it has strengthened her for action. Right? That this is not just something that she intellectually believes, it's not just something that she feels very deeply about, but this horn or this power, her strength, it means that she is lifted up with joy in how she lives in her actions. And then she says, "My mouth derides my enemies." That word

just simply means to grow loud. And what she is saying here is that I am so filled with joy, so strengthened by the power of God, that I am willing to shout God's goodness at my enemies. Right? So normally, when the enemies of Israel come throughout the book of Judges, which is where this takes place at the very end, when God's enemies came, what happened? God's people hid. Remember Gideon famously trying to thresh wheat in a winepress. And so as God's enemies encircle his people, which is about to happen here in Samuel with the Philistines. God's people tended to hide and to run and to be oppressed and live in fear. Notice the difference that is in Hannah's life, right? She says, "Because God has strengthened me and exalted me in the core of my being, because he has given me the

strength not just to believe this, but to act on it." She's like, "I'm not afraid to shout God's blessings at my enemies because God has saved me." Notice that her faithfulness is not just in her emotions or thinking, but it's in her strength and in her words. She's consistent in how she thinks, feels, and acts. Hannah's faith demonstrates her trust in God. Look at what it says. "There's none holy like the Lord, for there is none beside you. There is no rock like our God." Hannah's prayer is speaking to what God is doing in her life, and because she sees God's goodness, she lifts up her heart, her strength, and her voice, and she's speaking about herself, but her focus is on God. There is nothing that you can hope in that will transform your heart

like God will. Some things may temporarily excite us. Some things may temporarily energize us. Some things may temporarily make us very bold, but all of that disappears and passes. But when your hope and your faith and your trust is in God, of whom Hannah says, "There is none holy or good or righteous or set apart." There's nobody that God can be compared to. He is the rock that does not move, that does not shift, that does not erode. He is the rock of safety, the place where we can build and anchor her life. When she says that, this prayer is not about Hannah and what she has or what she has done, but it is about God and what He has done for her. And because she sees that, it explodes out in her heart and in her words and in her actions.

Hannah has this picture of what happens when this is our reality. When we see that there is no one holy like the Lord. When there is no one who compares to Him. When there is no rock like our God. Her next words after she declares how God has transformed her. She begins next with a warning and a wonder at God's justice. Listen to what she says. "Talk no more, very proudly. Let not arrogance come from your mouth. For the Lord is a God of knowledge and by Him actions are weighed. The bows of the mighty are broken, but the feeble bind on strength. Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, but those who were hungry have ceased to hunger. The barren has born seven, but she who has many children is forlorn. The Lord kills and brings to life.

He brings down to Sheol and He raises up. The Lord makes poor and makes rich. He brings low and exalts." What you find in these words is justice. And what justice simply means is what's right, or that things are as they should be. When we talk about justice, what we want to see is that things are as they should be. They're not broken, they're not upside down, but they're back where they belong. Justice is one of God's attributes, and it flows out of His holiness. Holiness and justice are sometimes used interchangeably because holiness and righteousness and doing good is the same as being just, right? Putting things where they belong. And here's the thing about us as people. When we are wronged, when something happens to us that is wrong, we desire justice. Back not very long before Rachel and I were married, and she was working over at the other side of town, and I would go and have lunch with her.

And this particular day, I put the dog in the back of the car, and I packed the lunch, and I left here, and as I was driving over, there was kind of a traffic backup at the light, which wasn't a big deal because there was a turn lane, and I was turning left anyway. And so I jump into that turn lane, and I'm heading to the light so I can turn left and go meet Rachel and eat lunch, and we can take the dog for a walk, and as we're doing so, there's a break in the cars to my right, and some guy pulls out of a parking lot, ignoring the fact that there's a turn lane, and hits right into the front of my car. Now, it wasn't a lot of damage. So we pull into that parking lot that he just pulled out of,

and he's incredibly apologetic. He's like, "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. We'll take care of the damage. Here's my insurance information. You don't need to call the police." It should have been a red flag, but I was much younger then. He's like, "You don't need to worry about it." I said, "Okay, right. We'll figure it out. We got all your information." So I submitted my claim to his insurance, made my statement as to what happened. They called me back a few days later and said, "Well, we've heard what he said, and he said you were at fault, and you were driving the wrong way, you know, outside on the outside line in the road, and all this, and because there's no way we confirm it, we're just going to go with him." And I'm like, I'm still mad about this.

Like, the guy just straight up promised that he would take care of it. It would be good. And then what happens when the time comes to actually do it? He lies and he blames me. And I'm like, it's been like 12 or 13 years, and I'm still hoping that someday I can run into him and then lie about it, right? We're going to have justice. We're going to even out the scales, right? When we are wronged, we desire justice. We want things to be made right. And what we find in this is there is a desire in our heart to make things right. When we are wronged, we desire it. However, there's another side of the story, right? What happens when we are the ones who are wrong? When we have done the thing that shouldn't have been done?

We don't desire justice in that moment, right? We want justice for the other person. We want mercy for ourselves. These verses, they show us one of the things we already know. That things are not as they should be. And what Hannah is doing as she worships, is she's saying God is bringing justice to those who have been wronged, right? Those who have been hurt, those who have been oppressed, God is lifting them up. And those who have been the oppressors and those who hurt, He is bringing them down. He is putting things back right. And as we read or hear these words about bows being broken and the feeble receiving strength. The full going back to work and the hungry being fed. Understand that God here is not just sort of deciding in a random way who gets what, right?

You get hungry, you get food. God is not redistributing in the sense that one person earns and the other does nothing. This is a picture of God's justice. But it's not just about justice, right? It's about pride. At the heart of this injustice are those who are justifying their wrongdoing with pride, right? I'm better, so I deserve to get ahead. I'm better than they are. Look, in fact, how it begins like this. Talk no more very proudly. Let not arrogance come from your mouth, for the Lord God is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed. And what Hannah is saying is that God sees the heart. And on one hand, for us, this is a warning to watch, to care for our hearts. That we would not boast in what we have done, but rather we would proclaim what God has done.

That we would not seek to lift ourselves up, but that we would trust the God who lifts us up. And the problem here is not really about strength or wealth. It's how you go about acquiring and how you go about using. In fact, when God's people come into the Promised Land, there's a warning that God gives them. He says, "Be careful when you come to this land." And God gives you houses and fields and crops and harvests. Don't say in your heart, "It is by my might that I have gotten this from ourselves." You see, pride leads to us seeking ourselves above all else. It involves trusting ourselves above all else. And in verses 6 and 7, we see that God is in control of all things. It's a point of these verses. This is not a threat. The Lord kills and brings life.

This is a reality that God is in control of life and death. He's in control of lifting up and breaking down. He brings low and He exalts. This, in one hand, is a warning against pride as we see the justice of God, but it's also a promise that God makes things right. That when we are broken down and when we are hurt, it is God who makes things right. Hear the promised hope of Hannah. 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 for the pillars of the earth of the Lord. And on them he has set the world. He will guard the feet of his faithful ones, but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness, for not by might shall man prevail.

The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces. Against them he will thunder in heaven. The Lord will judge the ends of the earth. He will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of the strength of his anointed. Notice that there is a removal here. A transformation from struggle and heartbreak. He says, "From the dust of brokenness, from the ash heap, a place traditionally associated with mourning, from brokenness and sorrow, God will lift up." And in verses 8 and 9, we see that God is our strength. That God guards us as we walk our steps. That God protects His people. And we might hear this as Hannah sings this song. We say, "Yes, I can see her as a good example. Yes, I can understand that our world needs justice." We might say, "I understand why she's hopeful. God guards her steps. God watches over her. God lifted her from her sorrow."

But what about us? Hannah's last words, these very last words, are a promise for all of us. It says this, "He will give strength to His King, and He will exalt the horn of His anointed." Hannah's prayer ends with these words, "That God will strengthen His King, and exalt the horn of His anointed." What king? At the end of the book of Judges, it says this, "In those days there was no king in Israel." This is the days of Hannah. Everyone did what was right in their own eyes. What king? Is Hannah saying that God will lift up and exalt? Now, God is about to raise up a king for His people. In their pride and in their bad motives, He's going to establish a king. But it's more than that. This is not just a picture of David coming. And we say, "How can I relate to Hannah?" The woman from the broken, hurting background. The woman who had struggled for so long to see

child and who prayed and who hoped. And now she exalts and she rejoices. And we say, "What about us?" Listen to these words from Isaiah chapter 9. "For to us a child is born. To us a son is given, and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, of the increase of His government, and of His peace there will be no end. And on the throne of David, and over His kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it with justice, and with righteousness, and from this time forth and forevermore, the zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this." That as Hannah prays, and as she rejoices, there is an aspect of this prayer that says, "Yes, there is a King coming who God will

lift up and strengthen," and it does point to David, but it points to someone more. And in fact, the early church in those first couple of centuries took Hannah's prayer and this prayer for a king as not just directed at David, but as a promise that God would raise up a king, King Jesus, who would come to the hurting and to the broken. In fact, it's in Jesus' first sermon that the good news has been declared to those who are in darkness, and those under heavy burden, and those who are blind can see, and those who are imprisoned have been freed. That King Jesus comes to a hurting and broken people. And he doesn't just come and do good things, he transforms us. Like Hannah, when we truly see Jesus, our heart is filled, our actions are strengthened, our words are transformed, and we see God's justice.

And here's the reality: every single one of us deserves God's justice. Because all of us, in our own pride, have turned to follow ourselves. And at the cross, King Jesus takes the weight of God's justice, the justice that we deserve so that we can know only grace and hope and peace. Isaiah will say several chapters later that it is through his wounds that we are healed. That the weight of God's justice falls upon Jesus so we can only know those gifts of grace. And Hannah's prayer promises a hope for her. That one day God would send a king that would do that, but for us this is a reality. And so the question for us is where are we looking? It's so easy, at least for me, sometimes. Especially when you're having a bad day just to look at all the brokenness and all the problems.

And we're out of coffee, and we're busy, and my favorite shirt's not clean, and it's 9,000 degrees outside. And those are just small things, but don't we just add up our struggles and hurts? And we tend to look at them. Or maybe we look at our inabilities. I'm not strong enough. I'm not good enough. What I would call you to do this morning, if you're a Christian or if you're not, is to lift your eyes to Jesus and see the King who comes to fill you with hope and with joy, to transform your heart and your strength and your words, to take the weight of God's justice and to bring to you God's promises and hope, and to know that that King is Jesus, the child that is born to save us from our sins. Let's pray.

Father, I thank you for Jesus and for grace. It's easy for us to become distracted and to become busy, to become self-sufficient, so I ask this morning that you would restore our joy and restore our hope. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.