1 Samuel 2:1-11: 1 Samuel’s Theme Tune
James Bond films follow a certain formula: near-death experiences, explosions, chases, pretty girls, almost comical villains, flash cars, high tech gadgets, all-action pre-title opening scene, and the theme song with the opening credits. If you watch the title sequence closely and listen to the lyrics of the theme tune you can get an idea of the characters, themes, and direction of the film. Our passage today is a bit like that.
It is a song, or at the very least, a poetic prayer. It follows the opening scene of 1 Samuel: an ordinary family with an ordinary problem. We’ve seen tempers, tension, and teasing. We’ve felt the pain of Hannah’s childlessness and the insensitivity of her family to that. Hannah has prayed in pain, and God has given a son, who she dedicated to God as she promised. The scene fades from view and the theme music starts. And like the Bond theme tune, all the themes and directions of the main story are here. If you want to get a handle on what 1 Samuel is all about, let your thoughts linger here.
As an aside, here is an important angle to consider when studying the Bible. Why is this section here? Why does the writer change style (whether it’s into poetry, or parable, or prose)? What threads are here that ran through the previous section? Let the authors, and the Author, speak to you as they craft their story.
Back to the main point – why should we read of people and places we don’t know, of events thousands of miles and thousands of years removed from us? Hannah’s prayer shows us why. As Hannah looks at her situation and sees the help she has received, she sees it as a scale model of how God works. As a pattern of God’s ways in the world, this prayer has much to teach us this week.
Questions
- As you look over the passage again, pick out the threads that run through it from Hannah’s personal story in the previous passage.
- From what you know of the story of 1 and 2 Samuel (Samuel, Saul and David), pick out the threads in this passage that run throughout the rest of the narrative.
- Look at all these threads and consider how you see God working in the same ways in the rest of the Bible, in history, and in your life.
Prayer Points
- Pray for the Holy Spirit to help us read the Bible as he wrote it – sensitive to the shape and form of the story.
- Use prayer points from your congregation.
- Pray for family matters.