Useful Bible Studies > 1 Samuel Commentary > chapter 2
God does not merely save (or rescue) his people. He also brings them safety, satisfaction and peace.
Clearly, Hannah refers to her own experience when she speaks about the woman without children. God had given Hannah the son that she had prayed for. However, by the power of the Holy Spirit, Hannah describes something that was beyond her own experience. That woman without children now has a complete family of 7 sons. Hannah is expressing how completely God satisfies his people. They lack nothing, because he provides for them (Psalm 23:1).
On the other hand, the proud enemies of God’s people lose everything. For them, hunger replaces greed, and despair replaces satisfaction. God has taken away from them all the things of which they were so proud.
Of course, we do not always see such things happen in this life. For the author of Ecclesiastes, that fact was proof that there is life beyond death (Ecclesiastes 3:16-17). God is the judge of everyone, and his purposes cannot fail (Ecclesiastes 12:14).
We can see that, by the power of the Holy Spirit, Mary expresses similar ideas to Hannah, in Luke 1:51-53. Jesus too seems to refer to Hannah’s words in Luke 6:20-26 and perhaps Mark 10:28-30. Both Isaiah (Isaiah 54:1) and Jeremiah (Jeremiah 31:15-17) repeat the ideas that Hannah expressed. In fact, for Isaiah, the idea of the woman without children becomes a major part of the later chapters in his book. He uses it to express the promise that God would bring back his people to their own country, Israel.
However, God’s promise is not just for the people in that nation. God will bring safety, satisfaction and peace to all his people, from every nation.
Next part: God’s power over life and death (1 Samuel 2:6)
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© 2014, Keith Simons.