Verse of the Day 10-3-22

Then Hannah prayed and said:
“My heart rejoices in the LORD;
in the LORD my horn is lifted high.
My mouth boasts over my enemies,
for I delight in your deliverance.
“There is no one holy like the LORD;
there is no one besides you;
there is no Rock like our God.
“Do not keep talking so proudly
or let your mouth speak such arrogance,
for the LORD is a God who knows,
and by him deeds are weighed.
“The bows of the warriors are broken,
but those who stumbled are armed with strength.
Those who were full hire themselves out for food,
but those who were hungry are hungry no more.
She who was barren has borne seven children,
but she who has had many sons pines away.
“The LORD brings death and makes alive;
he brings down to the grave and raises up.
The LORD sends poverty and wealth;
he humbles and he exalts.
He raises the poor from the dust
and lifts the needy from the ash heap;
he seats them with princes
and has them inherit a throne of honor.
“For the foundations of the earth are the LORD’s;
on them he has set the world.
He will guard the feet of his faithful servants,
but the wicked will be silenced in the place of darkness.
“It is not by strength that one prevails;
those who oppose the LORD will be broken.
The Most High will thunder from heaven;
the LORD will judge the ends of the earth.
“He will give strength to his king
and exalt the horn of his anointed. 1 Samuel 2:1-10

The back drop for this prayer of Hannah is found in 1 Samuel 1. In 1 Samuel 1 we see that a man named Elkanah has two wives: Hannah and Peninnah. Hannah was not able to have any children while Peninnah was, which caused tension between these two women. Finally we are told in 1 Samuel 1:10 that, “In her (Hannah’s) deep anguish Hannah prayed to the LORD, weeping bitterly.” And God hears her pray and grants her request for a son. After Samuel had been weaned, which would have made Samuel anywhere between 2 and 3 years old, Hannah takes the son that God has granted to her and fulfills the promise she made to God back 1 Samuel 1:11, “LORD Almighty, if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the LORD for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head.” Hannah’s prayer that is found in 1 Samuel 2:1-10 is giving the praise and glory to God who has heard her prayer two to three years earlier and now as she is fulfilling her vow to dedicate her son to God for the rest of his life she is offering up this prayer as her way of thanking God for the opportunity to have played a role, if only for short time, in Samuel’s life.

The themes of Hannah’s prayer were the holiness, sovereignty and power of God displayed among his people and in her own life. It exalts the Lord for all his actions on behalf of his people: He is holy, a rock and full of knowledge (vv. 2-3). He brings death and gives life (v. 6). He brings poverty and gives wealth (v. 7). He guards the steps of his faithful ones (v. 9). Those who align themselves with him, then, are on the winning side.

Today’s Bible Readings:

Jeremiah 1:1-2:30, Philippians 4, Psalm 75:1-10 and Proverbs 24:17-20