1 Samuel

1 Samuel 2: The LORD raises the poor

Begin in prayer

Before we hear Hannah sing of the holy LORD who lifts the poor and strengthens His anointed King, let us pray together. Ask Him to humble our hearts, to bless our family, and to show us Jesus.

For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

Luke 14:11

Father in heaven, please open our eyes as we read Your Word. Show us that You are holy, that You lift up the poor, and that You give strength to Your King. Make us more like Jesus. And please bless our family as we worship You together. In Jesus' name, Amen.

See where we're going

Hannah sings a song of praise, because her heart rejoices in the LORD who has answered her. No one is holy like the LORD, and He sees every proud word and every action. He breaks the bows of the mighty, fills the hungry, and raises the poor out of the dust. Meanwhile Eli’s sons are wicked, they take the best of the offerings by force, and they despise the LORD’s sacrifices. Samuel grows before the LORD, and his mother brings him a little robe each year. A man of God warns Eli that the LORD will judge his house, but He will raise up a faithful priest.

As you read 1 Samuel 2, look for the answers:

Reflect together

Key truth

The LORD is holy, and He raises the poor and gives strength to His anointed King.

Hannah sings after she has given Samuel to the LORD, and her song praises God for far more than one son. She calls the LORD holy and says there is no rock like Him (verse 2). He weighs every action, so proud words come to nothing before Him (verse 3). The mighty are broken, the hungry are filled, and the poor are raised from the dust to sit with princes (verses 4 to 8). Israel had no king when Hannah sang, so her last words about the LORD's king and His anointed look far ahead (verse 10). Soon Eli's sons show what the song means. They despised the LORD's offering, and both would die in one day (verses 17 and 34). Christ means the Anointed One, and God has made this Jesus, whom men crucified, both Lord and Christ (Acts 2 verse 36).

How does 1 Samuel 2 show us that the LORD is holy, raises the poor, and gives strength to His anointed King?

The LORD is holy, and no one is like Him.

Holy means set apart from everything made and from all sin. Hannah says no one is as holy as the LORD and no rock is like our God (verse 2). Eli's sons did not know Him, and they took meat from worshipers by force (verses 12 to 16). The text says their sin was great before the LORD, because they despised His offering (verse 17).

The LORD brings down the proud and lifts up the poor.

The full hire themselves out for bread, the hungry are satisfied, and the woman with no children bears seven (verse 5). The LORD kills and makes alive, makes poor and makes rich, brings low and lifts up (verses 6 and 7). Hannah had seen this herself, because the LORD lifted her out of sorrow. While Eli's sons grew proud, the boy Samuel grew in favor with the LORD and with men (verses 18 and 26).

The LORD will strengthen His anointed King.

Hannah says the LORD will give strength to His king and lift up the horn of His anointed (verse 10). A horn stands for strength, so a lifted horn is a king made strong. The man of God also promised a faithful priest who would walk before the LORD's anointed forever (verse 35). That word came true first when Zadok replaced Eli's line in Solomon's day (1 Kings 2 verses 27 and 35). Every faithful priest of the old covenant was a shadow of Jesus, the merciful and faithful high priest (Hebrews 2 verse 17).

Memorise

He will give strength to his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed.

1 Samuel 2:10

Looking to Jesus in my life

Ask yourself in your heart, where am I still proud, and what do I need to bring to Jesus?

Hannah sang that the LORD makes poor and makes rich, that He brings low and lifts up. She sang of the poor raised from the dust, and of strength for His king and His anointed.

Christ means the Anointed One. Jesus is the King the LORD anointed, yet He came low and poor, and men rejected Him. Our pride is sin against a holy God, and Jesus gave His life as a ransom for many when He died on the cross. God raised Him from the dead and lifted Him above every name (Philippians 2 verse 9). He offered Himself once for all.

The LORD brings down proud hearts and lifts up humble ones. Turn from your pride and your sin, and put your trust in Jesus. The LORD raises every poor sinner who looks to Him in faith, and He forgives them.

Parent's note

Tell your children that the LORD is holy, and that He lifts up the poor. Parents, you may want to explain verse 22 in your own words. Please do not tell them they are saved just because they grew up in a Christian home. Call each child to turn from sin and trust Jesus, and pray that God would give them a new heart.

Pray together

Now please close your time together in prayer. Thank God that He is holy and lifts up the poor, and bring the heart question to Him. Every child can pray, so let each one say a short prayer if they want to.

He raises up the poor out of the dust. Lifts up the needy from the ash heap

Psalm 113:7

Father, You are holy, and no one is like You. Thank You that You raise up the poor and give strength to Your Anointed King, Jesus. Show each of us where we are proud, and help us to turn from our sin and trust Him. Teach us to rest in You this week. Amen.