1 Samuel 2:1-10

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Transcript

My name is Spencer I am one of the pastors here we are in the book of First Samuel right now we're in Chapter 2 so you can go ahead and turn there in your blue Bibles also will be on the screen we're going to be in verses 1 through 10 as we continue to walk through this uh uh 1 and 2 Samuel throughout this year so I don't know what you were doing uh last Sunday uh but I was having a lot lot of fun uh I was watching the Super Bowl a game that people said was kind of boring.

Because it's a very one-sided Affair but I had a very I guess you could call it delightful experience and watching Kansas City just get murdered it was it was very it was very exciting for me see I'm a Colts fan uh and uh we're in the same conference refences them and for the last I don't know eight years and really the next decade like we're not going to make the Super Bowl because that team well we're not going to make the Super Bowl.

For a lot of reasons but outside of just being a bad franchise right now we don't really have much of a shot uh at making it past Kansas City and I've had to watch these games where they kick our teeth in and kick other people's teeth in and then once like the game like you know goes to commercials I have to keep seeing their faces endless amounts of commercials and they just are really good they have the best quarterback they have one of the greatest coaches of all time and they've gotten a big head the last few years I go watch uh clips of their after the.

Second Super Bowl in a row whenn they had a year ago and just coming out of it just like we're going to three repeat like just real you know and that's not unique to Kansas City it's not unique to their fan base not unique to their team teams that get really really good do this they just they get a big head they think very much of themselves and when they fall there it wasn't just me like I there's a universal response of like yes.

Now part of that you can say is pettiness and I won't concede that an aspect of that is pettiness but I might argue that part of that is Holiness th this is the one of the themes that runs throughout the Scriptures like this is what our God does he humbles the proud he gives grace to the humble so I would say that it wasn't all bad to see this and the way that I wanted to see it uh the proud are eventually humbled that is inevitable you cannot read the Scriptures without seeing this over and over and over again that those who put both hope in themselves.

And then make much of themselves God eventually brings low and what we're going to see today in 10 verses it was the Scripture reading that we had earlier it is both a prayer and it is a song that celebrates that God indeed does humble the proud but he also does raise up the lowly as James chapter 4 in 1 Peter 5 teach that God opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble it's not just a new testament teaching it is deeply rooted also in the Old Testament as.

Well so we're going to see the C ation of God both humbling the proud and raising up the lowly and we're going to see how that's celebrated and how that also ties into the bigger story of the Scriptures with this theme that runs throughout the Bible so my hope is that as we sit in this that we would both be worshiping God for who he is but also it would serve as a warning to our souls and also be held out as a wonderful hope.

So let we pray for us and then we want through this together heavenly father I pray that you might help us sit under your word this morning that where we have doubts where we have arrogance that the parts of our lives that need to be brought in submission to you by obedience to you by faith in you that you might do that this morning that you might put our defenses down for the next few minutes to help us see clearly your heart and that we would not leave unchanged we ask this in.

Jesus name amen all right so uh we introduced the book of First and 2 Samuel and if you are here I'll just quickly highlight what we were doing last week uh this book was all meant to be read together so uh the way this used to be was all one 1 and second samel were all one big story together over time they had to separate into two because of the different Scrolls that they had and the limitations so it's all meant to be read together and one of the things that we saw last week is that uh 1 and 2 Samuel is this big buildup to the establishment of the Throne of David and that's.

Where this is going we're going to see some of these Old Testament stories of David and the establishment of his Rule and his Reign that goes on forever so we're going to get there but we have some stories ahead of us before we get there first is uh the first major person in 1 and 2 Samuel is who the book is named after Samuel he's the prophet the last judge in the period of the judges and he establishes the Throne of David anoints David as king.

But we got to see his origin story which began with his mother and what we saw last week is Hannah uh that she was one of two wives of ela uh the other wife was panana this wife was a uh really a rival wife panana had lots of children and Hannah had none and we saw that panana provoked her grievously that she uh really tortured her with this that we looked at the pain of infertility but also the cultural stigma that was attached to infertility at the time that panana was was constantly uh uh poking at pouring salt into this painful wound.

And then we saw how Hannah uh humbled herself before the Lord in deep longing prayer and then God answers her prayer and gives her Samuel and what happens going into chapter two is this uh this prayer and this song that celebrates this so it says in verse one and Hannah prayed this and and this is a prayer but when you look at the original language in the Hebrew it's very clear there's also really lyrical elements here that are similar to much of what we.

See in the Book of Psalms so this is not just a prayer but it's also a song so that's what we're looking at this morning and it's and it's actually a song of Thanksgiving this is often called the song of Hannah specifically it's a it's a song of Thanksgiving of praise to God for what he has done so 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 all right.

So in that first verse what we see is that there are really autobiographical elements that she's telling her own personal story in this which that that happens we see it here we see it in the Book of Psalms see it in songs that are written today some of the songs that Matt and I have written for m city music there there's autobiographical elements that show up in shades of those songs this is a very common thing that happens in songwriting and she's talking about her experience with this my my my I uh she's recounting this testimony and she says my heart exalts which means Rejoice she rejoices in the.

Lord she says my horn and that's animal horn and in the Hebrew that is symbolic of strength she says my horn is exalted which is to be raised up to be glorified in the Lord so she says my heart rejoices in the Lord but then she says really my strength is lifted up in the Lord so she's praising God that in the Deep experience of sadness and loss that she carried with her for so many years as show she so deeply longed.

For the blessing of a child that finally God has raised her up and she is rejoicing in him and then she says my mouth derides my enemies because I rejoice in your salvation so her mouth derides or really the literal phrasing here is to to uh open wide against her enemies meaning that she has an answer to her enemies now when I was studying this uh commentaries bent over backwards to say well I mean this is actually this is bigger than just panana this is this this is this is actually enemies in general and I'm not a Hebrew scholar and I haven't spent years studying.

First and 2 Samuel but I do have eyes and in reading the first chapter the main enemy that shows up is the woman who tortured her for years so it is enemies plural so it's certainly more than panana but it's not less than this has to be in her mind thinking about the person who made her life so miserable for so long that that she finally has an answer to this schoolyard bully who provoked her for so long and while the answer I would like to.

See is just a you know just a she she doesn't because she's better than I am she responds by rejoicing in the Lord she says look look at this child how good is God how wonderful is God and she continues that in verse two there is none holy like the Lord for there is none beside you there is no Rock like our God so this is very similar to Moses's song in Exodus 15 when he talks about who is like you oh.

Lord Holiness uh Majestic and Holiness awesome inde Deeds doing wonder who is like our God she has that same theme here who is like our God who's like our God who can be built upon like this this rock this firm foundation and she really stops using personal pronouns at this point so a little bit of she was starting at the beginning this I my me this this personal testimony and now she's looking at everyone else say come on do you see how good our.

God is there is no one like him there's no one holy like him there's no one who could be built upon like him and she's inviting everyone else to worship God because of what he has done to her and what he does to his his people and then she continues in verse three talk no more so very proudly let no arrogance come from your mouth for the Lord is a God of knowledge and by him actions are way so she says.

Because there is no one like our God it is time to put the Arrogant speech away talk no more proudly let arrogance not come from your mouth this is what she's getting at because God humbles the proud and he gives grace to the humble and for so long she heard the pride and the arrogance of penum sure the pride and the arrogance of someone who boasted in what God had given to her and she says let no more of this speech happen.

For all of that is weighed against the God who is the God of all knowledge and The God Who will bring judgment upon us his actions are weighed so we get the next five verses example after example of unpacking that idea that God humbles the proud he gives grace to the humble and she's going to hit them back to back to back to back to back to back to back so let's look at these examples that she gives of how God does this verse four the bows of the mighty are broken.

But the feeble bind on strength and this is a picture of the mighty armies that have strength have strength in their archers their bows are Mighty but every single Mighty Army eventually Falls and that proves to be true over and over every strong power eventually Fades and Falls so God humbles the proud but then the feeble by not in strength God will raise up others verse 5 those who were full have hired themselves out for bread but those who were hungry have ceased to hunger.

So it's a picture of those who had full bellies for so long eventually are having to finally work hard to get that again but those who are hungry they will be filled up they will be eventually satisfied and this picture of opposing the the proud and giving grace to the humble continues with her next picture the back end of verse 5 it says the baram has born seven but she who has many children is forlorn and it's a really a shades of her own story that those who have uh who have no children will eventually they will have born seven.

But she who has many children is forlorn that is sad and worn and it's a picture of the reversal of Fortunes here God humbles the proud he gives Grace to The Humble verse six another one the Lord kills and brings to life he brings down to shol and raises up God gives life and he takes it away verse 7 the Lord makes uh poor and makes rich he brings low and he exalts the God gives wealth and he takes it away.

And then we get verse eight he raises up the poor from the dust he lifts the needy from the ash Heep to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of Honor but God raises up the poor and the lowly to a place of royalty this is what our God does and then she gives another explanation of why for The Pillars of the Earth are the Lords and on them he has set the world and that is a picture of.

God securing the foundations of the world that is a poetic picture of how The Sovereign ruler and Creator and ruler and reer over all things sustains creation every aspect of it that's God's providential work that he has determined in every ocean on every Shore just how far every day the tide comes in and he has determined how far it will go out that God has placed the Earth on the exact tilt that it is supposed to be in the exact distance it is supposed to be from the Sun at every.

Second of existence God upholds all of creation which is why we should never ever be prideful never boast in ourselves never boast in the things that we have it be like the kid who is struggling to graduate and he's in this class where he's failing I can say this and identify with this because I did the eighth grade twice but it' be like this kid who is just trying to graduate and the teacher looks upon him and has mercy and says all right I'm going to put you with these two students and he gets paired with the valorium the Salud atorium number one number two in the class and he gets pair with them.

Of course they're going to do the bulk of the work and they're they do such a good job that it's an A and that's presented and then all of a sudden at the end of it all he begins to beat his chest and say look at the work that I've done I'm going to graduate now look at how awesome my work is and it's foolishness and that that's that is in denome what we look like we boast in ourselves and we.

See this so often some some of it's really built into the American ethos of how we think about things that I've earned this that I've built this and that's usually said pitted against others who are asking for help or handouts I've earned this I've built this and the reality is is that you have earned this with the very measure of intellect God granted to you you you've earned this the very measure of how uh skilled you are that was given to you that you were born some will call this the the geographic Lottery you were born in the US and were able to accomplish these things.

Because you weren't born in a place like Lithuania where maybe you were not able to accomplish these things that you got every every break that you ever got was given to you by God the fact that you have air in your lungs and a heartbeat to accomplish the work that God has called you to do was a gift and was given to you so those who boast in themselves and boast in their work really beat their own chest to their own demise and the picture of this is foolishness.

Now there's another bad way to read this another bad way to read this is to look at some of the examples that are given of having strength having children having wealth and think that's the problem in and of itself so you can read this and go yeah Eat the Rich like just really have this that the problem itself is is someone who is in a higher position but that's not the problem that is at hand here it is the posture that the individual has with what they've been given it is the posture of their heart with the prosperity that.

God has bestowed upon them and God brings judgment upon them over and over again you see this throughout the Bible you see Pharaoh and his arrogance and in his pride before the Lord and you see eventually that ends up with him on the bottom of the Red Sea you see later in when Babylon takes Juda Nebuchadnezzar the king who started to pridefully make much of himself and the Lord took his sanity away from him for a period of time you see in the New Testament the book of Acts.

When King Herod when people are praising him like a God and he does not reject their praise well you see that God strikes him dead and immediately God brings judgment he humbles the proud in this life or Worse the next but this is what our God does and he also raises the lowly he raises the lowly either in this life or the next and that theme runs throughout the Scriptures God raises up the Israelites who were slaves for hundreds of years and he raises them up into a mighty nation that conquers that.

God chooses Christ chooses fisherman and a traitorous tax collector and a zealot and a bunch of unimpressive people to build his Church this is what our God does he raises up the lowly and this is what Hannah is singing and celebrating as she also praise in verse n it says he will guard the feet of his faithful ones but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness for not by might shall a man Prevail so no matter how smart or how strong or how rich or how beautiful or how powerful is not by strength that man prevails.

God will guard the feet of his faithful ones but the wicked shall be be cut off in darkness and then in verse 10 it says the adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to Pieces against them he will Thunder in heaven so this reads very similar to other Psalms like Psalm 29 which talks about prideful Kings it says in Psalm 29 he will break them with a rod of iron and dash to them pieces like a Potter's vessel very similar language the adversaries of the.

Lord shall be broken into pieces and against them he will Thunder in heaven then then this is how she ends the song verse the rest of verse 10 the Lord will judge the ends of the Earth he will give strength to his King and exalt the Horn of his anointed he will give strength to his King and exalt the Horn of his anointed that is a very curious ending it's curious because Hannah doesn't have a king and it's pretty unlikely that she's going to live long enough to.

See her son grow old and anoint the first king of Israel so who is she talking about why is she sing and he will give strength to his King and exalt the Horn of his anointed why does she end the song like this so I'm going to argue that it's possible that someone finishes the song for her that someone like Samuel who lived to see the first king of Israel in the establishment of the Kingdom later finished the song it's possible some will argue.

Well actually she knows the Old Testament law and the Old Testament law sometimes gives shades of and foreshadowing of a kingdom that is to come and a king that is to come it's possible here's what I believe I believe the Lord gives us the music that we sing I think he gives the words he tells us what to say and in Hannah's situation I think God gave her the words as a prophetic foreshadowing of the future king of God's anointed king that's what I think is happening here and here's the really cool part.

When you get to the end of 2 Samuel when you get it to the end there's a similar song by David when you get to 2 Samuel chapter 22 you get a song that captures his life that has some similarities in verse two of chapter 22 he says he said the Lord is my rock and my Fortress and my deliverer my God my rock in whom I take refuge my shield and the Horn of my salvation my stronghold and my refuge My Savior you save me from the violence.

Then we get this similar imagery of God as a rock God as a deliverer God is the Horn of my salvation and when you get to the end of his song which is quite a bit longer it's 50 verses not 10 so David really went for it when you get the very end of his song this is how he ends it in verse 51 great salvation he brings to his King and shows steadfast love to his anointed to David and his offspring forever.

So this language of great salvation he brings to his King and shows steadfast love to his anointed is very similar to Hannah's song This anointed king and this Offspring forever now here's the really cool part if you take what God is doing in Hannah's song and you pull that thread towards David and the song that he writes and then you pull that thread even farther about a thousand years we're going to see very similar things that are said and sung by a young woman named Mary in Luke chapter 1.

And when Mary sings a song in Luke chapter 1 after she's been with Elizabeth her cousin John the Baptist is in Elizabeth's womb leaps in the presence of Jesus in her womb after this we see this this song in Luke 1 verse 51-55 he has shown strength with his arm he has scattered the proud and the thoughts of their heart he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their heart God humbles the proud he has brought down the mighty from their Thrones and exalted those of humble estate.

God lifts up the lowly he has filled the Hungry with good things and the rich he has sent away empty he has helped his servant Israel in remembrance of his Mercy as he spoke to our fathers to Abraham and to his offspring forever the anointed king that Hannah for shadows and the anointed one which is another way of saying the Messiah that David also speaks of is the son of Mary Mary the son of David the Son of God this is all pointing forward to Christ.

God has been writing this type of Redemption Song this Redemption of the lowly through different people for a very long time and then that song comes to life Mary gives birth to the Messiah who embodies the very heart of Hannah's song that Jesus The God Who establishes the foundations of the Earth that this God In the Flesh humbles himself by becoming man God humbles himself by becoming man and Philippians 2 says to the point of death he's humbled to the point of death even death on a cross.

And then our humble savior comes for faithful ones now if you misunderstand the song of Hannah and all the foreshadowing that is happening in these songs concerning the Messiah you might wrongfully conclude that Jesus is coming for the good guys the faithful ones here is the good guys the bad guys get judgment but the good guys they get rewarded but that's not what Hannah was singing about and that's not the message that flows through Hannah to Christ now Jesus comes for the lowly and the prideful are brought low and one of the clearest examples we.

See that the ministry of Jesus is that Jesus is preaching quite consistently religious leaders are in the crowd and the religious leaders would have they would have taught 1st Samuel 2:9 in the synagogues he will guard the feet of his faithful ones but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness for not by might shall a man Prevail they would have taught this very message and completely misunderstood who the faithful ones were they would have misunderstood who Jesus is talking about.

Because Jesus came for the lowely he came for the lowly and they and their arrogance and their pride and their disdain of Christ and what he was doing well they all eventually are humbled and the picture of 29 being cut off in the darkness was one that was waiting for them and the very bad ones that the Pharisees had a problem with tenor uh Sinners Tax Collectors prostitutes these are the very people that Jesus came for these are the very people that.

Jesus dined with and they're also the very people that in humility left those lives behind by putting their faith in Christ Jesus came for the lowly now I've heard people that don't believe in God heard people make the argument that Jesus in faith is a crutch for weak people so just a crutch for the simple it's a crutch for the weak and I've also seen Christians try to combat that idea and say and try to fight with it and the way I respond to that accusation is that it's not just a crutch.

For L it is life support for the weakest our faith in Christ is life support for the lowly for those who realize they cannot save oursel we cannot save ourselves it is life support for us and that happens in faith in Christ but it also happens in the very sustaining strength that we get to operate out of all of our days as weak people dependent upon the mercies and the strength of our God if you look at the life of the Theologian John Calvin he got married.

When he was was 30 uh and he was married for 9 years uh he had a sweet relationship with his wife that was filled with a lot of pain and suffering they had four uh infant children that they lost never got to see grown children they uh towards the end of those nine years she got very sick and was sick for a while and she eventually passed away and Calvin in reflecting upon this he says may the Lord Jesus support me under this heavy Affliction which would certainly have overcome me had not he who raises up the prostrate strengthens the weak and refreshes the weary stretch forth his hand from Heaven to me and I.

Just I so appreciate the truth of that for the for the life of a Christian that in all types of circumstances which may never improve in this life that we can be lifted up and strengthened by daily faith in him he strengthens his people when we come to him over and over and over again and again that does not mean that things get better faith in Christ is not mean that you are going to have your situation get better you may never be able to Bear children like Hannah you may always live just above the poverty line things may never get better in this life.

But God gives us daily mercies daily strength until one day when we are eternally exalted so my hope is that as we reflect upon the song of Hannah as we think about this in our in our prayer and meditation this week as we discuss this in our community groups we might see how wonderful it is to worship a God that does humble the proud but through faith brings Grace to those who come humbly to Christ the band's going to come up and we get to celebrate that as we take the Lord's Supper.

Then on the night that that Jesus was betrayed he took bread and he broke it he said this is my body that was broken for you that he took the cup and he said this is the cup of the New Covenant as often as my this is my blood shed for you that as often as you eat and drink this you Proclaim my death until I return and what this meal gets to be for us as Christians is the regular admission that we cannot save ourselves it is the regular confession that we need the daily minute by minute sustaining of our savior that he is our very life support that we need Christ.

So deeply and we come in humility to the table asking God to give us the strength that it takes to make it day by day it is also an opportunity for us as Christians to recognize that we also have shape es of Pride that has Stained all aspects of our soul and it should be a point of reflection for you to come to the table and realize and ask some of the tough questions where are you trusting in yourself and boasting in that trust where are we in Pride and in arrogance denying our every moment need of Christ and the good news of the Gospel is that.

Jesus J dies even for the prideful and the blood that he shed on the cross covers Us in our sin and our Rebellion so you can come into the T come to the table in Repentance worshiping and delighting in Christ if you are not a Christian please do not come to the table the Scriptures make this clear this is a meal for Christians for God's people but there is an invitation for you and that invitation is Christ that is our God saying come in humility come come to me in faith come to me with the admission that you have sinned against the.

God of the universe but he loves you so much that he gave up his life for you that you may not walk in arrogance or Pride anymore but you might humbly find your dependence upon him that is the invitation and my hope is that you would not pass it up but that you would take it let's pray Heavenly Father we pray that you might help us come to you in humility we pray that anyone who is here that has not experienced your Saving Grace that they would right.

Now in humility come to you PL Place their faith in you and you alone and put no hope in works and put no hope in anything they bring they would give their sin and their life to you and you would save them God I pray for us as Christians that you would expose the rot of of of Pride that is so pervasive in our lives and that you would help us in humility come to you you would help us depend upon you.

For daily strength and need until the day we are eternally exalted we ask this in Jesus name amen.