Hannah's Song of Thanksgiving

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(1 Samuel 2:1) And Hannah prayed and said, "My heart rejoices in the Lord; my horn is exalted in the Lord. My mouth is enlarged over my enemies, because I rejoice in your salvation."

In the last chapter and post, Hannah had borne a son, Samuel, who was an answer to prayer.  She brought her son to the Lord's house where she gave him to the Lord for His service for the rest of his life.  She now prayed to the Lord what is called Hannah's song of thanksgiving.  She said her heart rejoiced in the Lord.  Her horn, an allusion to horned creatures, was exalted in the Lord.  A horn often represented strength and glory in the Bible.  Hannah had been low in spirit when she prayed to the Lord for a son, and her spirit had been renewed, and she had recovered strength and glory thanks to the Lord.  She had been sad and quiet with no answer to her tormenters before, but now she could open her mouth wide with joy because she rejoiced in the Lord's salvation.  And that meant, not just her salvation from her barrenness, but her song was a prophetic one about the coming Messiah in whom true salvation would come.

(2) "No one is holy as the Lord, for there is none besides You, neither any rock like our God."

Hannah sang that there was no one who was holy besides the Lord, and there was no rock like the Lord, a sure steady foundation for defense, strength, refuge, and the only true salvation.

(3) "Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let no arrogancy come out of your mouth, for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by Him actions are weighed."

Hannah sounds as if she is speaking to Peninnah now, not to speak so proudly and arrogantly.  However, it could be spoken of anyone who was likewise haughty and arrogant, for the Lord is a God of knowledge who sees and knows all, even the hearts of men.  He is the judge of all thoughts and actions, and He alone will weigh them and judge them.

(4) "The bows of the mighty men are broken, and they who stumbled are girded with strength."

The strength of the mighty men of which they boasted is broken by God, and those who are weak are girded with strength from the Lord.  Jesus would later say, "And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."  That could certainly be spoken of Peninnah and Hannah, Peninnah who bragged about having so many children and tormenting Hannah because she had none, and Hannah who suffered in silence and prayed to God.

(5) "The full have hired themselves out for bread, and the hungry ceased, so that the barren has born seven, and she who has many children has become feeble."

As another way of describing how the proud and strong are brought down, and the weak and humble are exalted, Hannah said that those who were full and well fed were now having to hire themselves out for bread, and those who were hungry now ceased to hunger.  The barren woman now bore seven children, which Hannah could be prophesying about herself, as she would go on to have more children, and the woman with many children had become feeble and unable to bear any more.

(6) "The Lord kills and makes alive; He brings down to the grave and brings up."

The Lord only is the author and arbiter over life and death.  He alone decides who will live and who will die.  However, I think that Hannah's meaning was that the Lord can make one very low and then raise them up again.  Hannah had been almost consumed by her grief, but then was raised by God to joyful life again.

(7) "The Lord makes poor and makes rich; He brings low and lifts up."

The Lord makes some people poor and some people rich.  All things are in His power and for His purposes.  Being poor is not always a bad thing as often wealth ruins a person.  Being low and then brought up can make a person much more appreciative and thankful, as Hannah was now.

(8) "He raises up the poor out of the dust, lifts up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes and to make them inherit the throne of glory, for the pillars of the earth are the Lord's, and He has set the world upon them."

The Lord was the one who raised the poor out of the dust and the beggar out of the most sordid of places, to raise them up among princes.  Although people may be raised from nothing to equal with princes, I don't think this is necessarily meant to be literal, but spiritual and prophetic.  When the Lord makes them inherit the throne of glory, that is undoubtedly speaking of the heavenly throne.  Through Christ the poor are raised to be princes in that they are children of the King of kings, and they will inherit the throne of glory as Jesus said in Revelation 3:21, "To him who overcomes will I grant to sit with Me in My throne, as I also overcame and am set down with My Father on His throne."  The "pillars of the earth," that which supports it in open space, are the Lord's alone; only He set the world as it is.

(9) "He will keep the feet of His saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness, for by strength shall no man prevail."

The Lord will guard the feet and guide the steps of His people.  However, the wicked will be put to silence in their darkness when they are shown the light of truth in the end.  In the end even the most devout atheists will know the Lord and will bow to Him (Isaiah 45:23, Romans 14:11).  However, then will be too late, and they will be cast into the pit of darkness (2 Peter 2:4).  No man will prevail by his own strength but will be only in submission to Christ.

(10) "The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven shall He thunder upon them. The Lord shall judge the ends of the earth; and He shall give strength to His king and exalt the horn of His anointed."

The adversaries of the Lord will be broken; from heaven He will thunder upon them.  No man can stand against the power and will of God.  The Lord judges all mankind to the ends of the earth, reaching every person and every place.  He will give strength to His King, undoubtedly Jesus Christ, as He is God's anointed.  He will exalt the horn of His anointed.  Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, prophesied about the horn of salvation to be raised up in the house of David (Luke 1:69), and David called the Lord the horn of his salvation (Psalm 18:2).  "His anointed" in the original Hebrew is "Mashiyach," in our present-day English, Messiah.  Hannah, in her prophetic song, makes the first mention in the Bible of Christ as the Messiah.

I will end this post here.  Although it makes for a short post, Hannah's song stands alone in its beauty and prophecy.  Hannah was so thankful and full of joy over what the Lord had done for her that she was able to sing this song rejoicing in the Lord even though she was leaving her child, her only child, at the tabernacle, and she would never have him with her again.  She gave glory to God, who humbled the strong and exalted the weak.  And she looked forward to the future Messiah.