A reflection on 1 Samuel 2:1-10 & 1 Peter 2:21-25 for Sunday, November 7, 2021 at Mosaic Baptist Church.
Hannah prayed and said,
‘My heart exults in the Lord;
my strength is exalted in my God.
My mouth derides my enemies,
because I rejoice in my victory.
‘There is no Holy One like the Lord,
no one besides 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 gird on strength.
Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread,
but those who were hungry are fat with spoil.
The barren has borne seven,
but she who has many children is forlorn.
The Lord kills and brings to life;
he brings down to Sheol and raises up.
The Lord makes poor and makes rich;
he brings low, he also exalts.
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 honour.
For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s,
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 does one prevail.
The Lord! His adversaries shall be shattered;
the Most High will thunder in heaven.
The Lord will judge the ends of the earth;
he will give strength to his king,
and exalt the power of his anointed.’
1 Samuel 2:1-10 (NRSVA)
For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps.
He never sinned,
nor ever deceived anyone.
He did not retaliate when he was insulted,
nor threaten revenge when he suffered.
He left his case in the hands of God,
who always judges fairly.
He personally carried our sins
in his body on the cross
so that we can be dead to sin
and live for what is right.
By his wounds
you are healed.
Once you were like sheep
who wandered away.
But now you have turned to your Shepherd,
the Guardian of your souls.
1 Peter 2:21-25 (NLT)
Hannah’s song is a personal celebration of the action of God in the life of this new mother. Hannah is, to pull all three of our title’s words together, singing her beautiful story.
The opening two chapters of the book of 1 Samuel make this clear by first telling Hannah’s story – and only then launching into this magnificent hymn of praise.
We do well to consider the broad strokes of her experience. Hannah was one of two wives. Of the two, Hannah was the only one unable to bare children. Loved by her husband, but barren, mocked, and provoked by her ‘rival’, Hannah, we are told, suffered to the point of tears and ceased to eat. her shame drove her to an anguished prayer at the yearly sacrifice – a spilling out of her misery before God. Eli, the priest, assuming Hannah to be drunk, initially rebuked her. After realising that before him was a woman in travail, Eli pronounced his blessing: “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him.”
In time Hannah became pregnant, gave birth to a son, named him Samuel (linked to the Hebrew meaning ‘Heard by God’), weened him, and dedicated him to a lifetime of service in the ‘house of the LORD’.
Hannah’s prayer has moved from one of grief and desperate request to one of overflowing joy. Her song is something of a pinnacle to her staggering story of answered prayer, vindication, grace and provision. As this story unfolds we hear nothing more of her rival’s sons and daughters, of Hannah’s husband, Elkanah, nor of Hannah herself. Samuel, however, the one born of such anguished prayer, names the history book(s) that cover the vast majority of the life of Israel’s most famous monarch, King David.
Perhaps Hannah’s song could have been a sad one. After all, she is parting with her long-awaited infant son. Yet, it brims with delight in the deliverance God has provided. Hers is a victory song:
The Lord makes poor and makes rich;
he brings low, he also exalts.
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 honour.
For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s,
and on them he has set the world.
It is clearly prophetic. From here the one whose mother was barren will move among kings. From the ‘ash heap’ to ‘a seat of honour’.
As we have said, a song inspired by Hannah’s beautiful story.
Hannah’s, however, is not the only story to inspire songs of beauty. Throughout our New Testament there is evidence in a number of passages parallel phrasing, distinct wording, use of pronouns and even rhythmic prose. Scholars have long speculated that this may point to the prior existence of these passages. Many may have had a previous life as early hymns.
1 Peter 2:22-25 may be one of these. The New Living Translation (NLT) quoted above sets this passage out as poetry. Not all translations do this. It is an indication that at least these translators see the possibility that here is an early song or hymn – a beautiful response to the gospel story.
Read it again, knowing that even where translation makes poetry (and its beauty) clunky, the story that inspired it is still clear:
He never sinned,
nor ever deceived anyone.
He did not retaliate when he was insulted,
nor threaten revenge when he suffered.
He left his case in the hands of God,
who always judges fairly.
He personally carried our sins
in his body on the cross
so that we can be dead to sin
and live for what is right.
By his wounds
you are healed.
Once you were like sheep
who wandered away.
But now you have turned to your Shepherd,
the Guardian of your souls.
The perfect one, identified as Christ in verse 21, ‘suffered’ and ‘carried our sins’ that we might ‘live for what is right’. His ‘wounds’ have ‘healed’. Once we were like lost ‘sheep’. Now we are found by the ‘Shepherd’.
The gospel story expressed in the mystery and beauty of song.
Of course song is not the only way the beauty of the Gospel can be expressed. Singing is not everyone’s primary gift – and nor should it be. The Bible itself uses story, poetry, dance, musicianship, craftsmanship, symbol, and song in ways that, by extension, invite us to express the gospel – and our part in its story – both personally and artistically.
If even Paul – who articulated the gospel more carefully than any before him – could describe God’s story as a ‘mystery’ that had been revealed, then surely the whole spectrum of artistic expression is at our disposal as we seek to respond (See Romans 16:25 and Ephesians 6:19).
I have often wondered if this sits behind Jesus’ symbolic use of the community meal as a way of remembering his life, death and resurrection. The bread and wine are clearly used in such a way as to point to a mystery beyond themselves. The regularity of a meal invites us into an expectant revisiting of the story of God’s action in our world – are that asks us to see again and anew. It has inherent echoes of the lavish banquet to come.
Such a symbolic – indeed artistic – response to our invitation to join the broad and communal Kingdom of God just may be one of the good and precious gifts that keeps life in balance.
If so, it does not exclude personal expression of our own stories. In fact, it only makes sense of – and invites – them.
Conversation Starters:
What are the stories that you have found artistic or symbolic ways to express? What are the stories you have not done this for?
Does the story of you and God have to be completed before it can be translated into beauty? In what ways was Hannah’s story ‘complete’? In what ways was it incomplete? In what sense is the Kingdom of God complete? In what sense is it incomplete?