Long Live the King!

Numbers 6 explains the requirements and details for taking a temporary Nazirite vow as a form of worship. This vow was effective for a certain period of time. Paul took such a vow (Acts 18:18). However, what Hannah is doing here is consecrating her son for his entire life. This is similar to what Samson’s parents did when they were instructed by the angel to consecrate him for his whole life for service as a warrior (Judg 13:4-5). As we know, Samson violated his oath. John the Baptist was also a lifelong Nazirite (Luke 1:15).

When Hannah takes this vow, it means she is giving up all claims to her son in order to let him live in the temple and serve God. The Nazirite vow effectively moved a person out of one’s family. In other words, when Hannah makes this Nazirite vow for her son, she renounces everything that would have been valuable about having a son! Her son would not grow up in her house. He would not be an emotional support for her. He would not be available to take care of her in her old age. He would have no land inheritance, just as the Levites had no land allotment in Israel. Hannah prayed for a son but laid aside every benefit a son could have given her.

Yet Hannah “went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad” (v. 18 ESV). She rejoiced before she received a son, despite knowing that if she did receive one she had renounced everything she had previously hoped for in him. Hannah’s joy is no longer dependent on obtaining a son. Hannah’s joy is now found in God, the God of her salvation (2:1). This discovery anchors her soul to a rock that quiets the storms of her heart (2:2).

We might expect the order here to be

But something different appears in the story. Instead of the order listed above, we find

The order of events is not empty! Hannah found joy and deep faith as she found her deepest needs met in God. Faith-filled Hannah has found a source of joy and security greater than her hope of sons: God Himself! Can you feel the excitement she pours forth in her prayer in chapter 2? Hannah says, “My heart rejoices in the Lord. . . . There is no one holy like the Lord . . . there is no Rock like our God” (2:1-2 NIV).

Faith means rejoicing in God when our dreams are still unfulfilled and resting on God when life is still falling apart all around us. In the following verses of this prayer, Hannah goes on to talk about God’s unfathomable wisdom, His great strength, His perfect beauty, His compassion for small, broken, and sinful people. This, she says, is the ultimate treasure; and because she has found a God like that, she no longer looks to children to provide her with value and worth. This was the moment of Hannah’s repentance and salvation. She found her life, her security, her identity, and her significance in God. She was finally set free from her bondage to the idolatry of family.

Hannah still prays for a son, but her tone is altogether different: “God, I’m still asking You for a son, as I have hundreds of times before. But all my life I’ve asked for You to give me a son to make up for some deficiency in my life. It has always been for me. Now, I’m asking for one for You. You are my sufficiency and my treasure, and if You give me a son, he will belong solely to You.”

And God gave her a son. She would name him Samuel, which means “God has heard.” Samuel grew up to be a great prophet, a priestly figure, and an almost-king of Israel (see 1 Sam 8). Although Samuel is great in the story of Scripture, he anoints another king, a coming king. Eventually he would be the prophet to anoint David to be the king of Israel.

Hannah’s story is included in 1 Samuel as more than an intriguing situation that led up to David’s coronation. Her story sets a pattern for the story of David. Recall that Israel was searching for a king. Why did they want a king so badly? They wanted a king for the same reasons Hannah had wanted a son. They desired prosperity, stability, and security. Hannah sought these in a son; Israel sought them in a king. To Hannah, God says, “These things are not found in sons.” To Israel He says, “These things are not found in kings.” To both of them He says, “These things are only found in Me.”

There is also a strong pattern that connects Hannah’s story and Jesus’ story. Hundreds of years later another woman would face an impossible birth like Hannah. This woman’s name was Mary. Yet her pregnancy was even more unlikely. She was not barren; in fact, she had never slept with a man! And for Mary, having a child would mean losing everything she held onto for significance and security. To be pregnant out of wedlock in the first century meant the loss of reputation, most likely the loss of her intended spouse, and financial hardship. It would have been a type of death! (See, for instance, Joseph’s reaction to Mary’s untimely pregnancy in Matt 2:19.)

Like Hannah, however, Mary grasped the gospel. She understood that God was a more certain source of identity and security than reputation, than family, than money. She surrendered herself to God and found her identity and hope in Him. She expressed that hope, as Hannah did, in a song. Luke 1 records what we call “Mary’s Magnificat,” with wording nearly identical to that of Hannah’s prayer: “My spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. . . . He has toppled the mighty from their thrones and exalted the lowly” (Luke 1:47,52; cf. 1 Sam 2:1,4,8). Mary’s song, like Hannah’s, declares that security and significance are found in a God who would care about the broken and poor enough to give Himself to them.

Note all the parallels between Hannah’s story and Mary’s story.^[6]Hannah gave birth to Samuel, who would be both priest and prophet, a man who would anoint the king of Israel. Mary gave birth to the One who would be Priest, Prophet, and King of all kings. Most scholars recognize that Hannah’s Song in 1 Samuel 2 is the foundation for Mary’s song that she sang after the angel announced that she would carry God’s Son, the Messiah (Luke 1). The parallels (indicated by the symbol “//”) are too strong to ignore:

Hannah (childless)

//

Mary (childless)

Divine Intervention for Hannah

//

Divine Intervention for Mary

Hannah’s Praise

//

Mary’s Praise

Praise for her Savior (1 Sam 2:1-10)

//

Praise for her Savior (Luke 1:46-55)

These connections are helpful. They remind us that God answers the prayers of those who fervently cry out to Him. They remind us that God looks on the “lowly” state of ordinary people and loves them with extravagant love. We don’t have to be rich or perfect or glamorous or religious or Democrat or Republican or anything else for God to love us. He loves us because He made us and as a result has gone above and beyond for humanity. He meets us right where we are.

But the parallels between Hannah and Mary take us further than what we have described above. The story of Scripture takes us straight to Jesus. Hannah prayed for a baby, and God gave Samuel to Hannah. The world prayed for a Savior, and God gave Jesus to Mary. Scripture turns to Jesus. Jesus, like Hannah, would pray for deliverance from a curse and shame. But whereas God answered Hannah, He would turn His back on Jesus. Why? So that Hannah’s real shame could be taken away. So that our real shame would be abolished. So that we would have the joy of being restored to God.

Our real shame and brokenness come not from the fact that we can’t have kids or that we aren’t successful. Our real shame comes from the break in our relationship with our Creator. We don’t need children. We don’t need more money. We don’t need better sex. We need to be reunited to God. This is what Jesus would accomplish for us. By being forsaken for our sakes, He would restore us to God.

The story of Hannah is not just an isolated incident about a woman, her aloof husband, and a miracle child. It’s about lost people—us!—and how Jesus came to save us. This is the message of the whole Bible. From beginning to end, the grand narrative weaves a beautiful tapestry of a Creator seeking His people to reconcile them to Himself.

Hannah’s life sets a pattern for the life of David. It even sets a pattern for the life of Jesus. What is most pressing is that Hannah’s life parallels our story. Hannah looked to a son for security and significance; Israel looked to a king. Where will we look? What is the king we seek? What one thing must we have for life to be good? What one thing could we not imagine life without?

We all crown someone or something king over our lives. This is true of both religious and irreligious people. For the irreligious, something is needed instead of Jesus. Life is found, for instance, in money, fame, or family. For the religious, something is needed in addition to Jesus. The point of the Bible is that knowing Jesus is enough. He is life, stability, and security. This has at least four practical applications for us today.

When we are disappointed, hurt, or stressed, these feelings indicate that we have chosen another “king” besides God. These feelings are like smoke from a fire: you can follow the smoke back to the source of the fire. Follow these feelings back to their source, and we will find the altars that have been built to the things we are worshiping. This happens, for instance, with married couples who have placed too much weight on their marriage. They look to a spouse to fulfill them and to be their functional king. When that person lets them down, their world falls to pieces. Bitter, insecure, single people don’t get better by getting married. They only become bitter, insecure, married people. Problems like loneliness and insecurity are not cured by the love of another human being; they are cured by the love of God.

The point of Hannah’s story is not that if you trust God and ask for things long enough, He will give you what you ask for. Of course, this doesn’t mean we never pray to God out of hurtful and difficult situations. We do. But we cannot strong-arm God into giving us what we want just by attempting to “have more faith.” Hannah’s attitude changed before she became pregnant, and she would have had joy even if she never had any children. Many among us will never have a child, despite pleading with God for one. Many will never get rich. Many will never get well again from their sicknesses. By all the world’s standards, we may die “barren.”

But if we have God, we have enough: the one who has God has everything. God is significance and stability. If a loving, all-powerful God is in someone’s life, the approval of others becomes inconsequential. If a loving, all-powerful God is in someone’s life, her future is in capable hands. And if a loving, all-powerful God is in someone’s life, she can endure the harshest struggles because He is enough. God plus nothing still equals everything.

Have we not all heard that voice inside telling us that the problems we are experiencing are God’s repayment for our sinfulness? Have we not all felt abandoned by God? When we experience times of barrenness and brokenness, our natural reaction is to assume that God has forsaken us. It may be a natural reaction, but it certainly is not a biblical one. The gospel is that Jesus Christ was forsaken for us. Jesus’ death on the cross took on our barrenness, our brokenness, and our hopelessness. He was forsaken so we would never have to be. When we approach the cross, we find that all that has been defeated, once and for all. We still experience barrenness and brokenness in this life; but because of Jesus, we can face them, knowing that God is for us. God has not abandoned us in our hour of darkness. He is present in that hour, working all things for good. If we have placed faith in the cross, we can be assured that we are not, and never can be, forsaken.

Hannah’s story teaches us that God cares for people that the world no longer cares for. Many of us may feel like the story of our lives has been a gigantic failure. We have not accomplished what we set out to accomplish. We are still childless. We are still addicted to alcohol. Our kings have failed us and have cast us aside. In times like these, we need the faith of Hannah. We need to be reminded that God cares for us and has offered Himself—the world’s greatest possession—to us as our treasure. This is the unique message of the Bible: God cares for the outcast. He gives Himself to the broken. There is no greater consolation for those who feel that the world has cast them away.

Let us run to the cross and find there the love of God that pursues each of us. God has not forsaken us but desires to draw us back to a relationship with Him. No matter our situation, we can say with Hannah, “There is no rock like our God!”