QUESTION. Why study the book of 1 Samuel?

ANSWER I. The book of 1 Samuel is in the Scriptures, therefore God wants us to know it (Deuteronomy 29:29).

ANSWER II. The book of 1 Samuel is God-breathed, therefore it is profitable (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

ANSWER III. The book of 1 Samuel is the Lord Jesus’ family history (Matthew 1:5-6).

ANSWER IV. The book of 1 Samuel will help us see our need for a true Prophet, Priest, and King (1 Corinthians 10:11). We need a Prophet who lives longer than Samuel, a Priest better than Eli, and a King better than Saul. And we have one; His name is Jesus!

ANSWER V. The book of 1 Samuel will help us delight in Jesus all the more, who is the true King, the true Son of David (John 5:39). Come with me and search the book of 1 Samuel, seeing that it ultimately testifies about Christ!

CONTEXT: The book of 1 Samuel begins about 1140 B.C. and moves us from the time when God’s people had Judges to when they have Kings. The book of Judges repeatedly says, “There was no king in Israel and everyone did what was right in their own eyes.” 1 Samuel shows us the beginning of the founding of the Throne of David, which the LORD promises will have a King whose reign will never end.

BIG IDEA OF 1 SAMUEL 1:1-20: What a gracious woman looks like.

I. A GRACIOUS WOMAN MAY STILL BE A SUFFERING WOMAN (1 Samuel 1:1-2). As Psalm 34:19 says, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.”

II. A GRACIOUS WOMAN SUFFERS ONLY BY THE GRACIOUS PROVIDENCE OF THE LORD (1 Samuel 1:3-5). Job said in Job 6:4, “For the arrows of the Almighty are in me; my spirit drinks their poison; the terrors of God are arrayed against me.” Yet he said in Job 5:18, “For he wounds, but he binds up; he shatters, but his hands heal.”

III. A GRACIOUS WOMAN MAY STILL BE A GRIEVOUSLY PROVOKED WOMAN (1 Samuel 1:6-7). God may allow suffering to come upon and even others to vex you (Job 4:7-8). Job’s friend Eliphaz wrongly concludes that those who suffer are always to blame for their suffering when he says, "Remember: who that was innocent ever perished? Or where were the upright cut off? As I have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same.”

IV. A GRACIOUS WOMAN CANNOT BE FULFILLED BY ANY MERE MAN; SHE CAN ONLY BE FULFILLED BY THE LORD (1 Samuel 1:8). Asaph sings in Psalm 73:25-26, “Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” Hannah sings the same.

V. A GRACIOUS WOMAN RUSHES TO THE THRONE OF GRACE IN HER WEEPING AND DISTRESS (1 Samuel 1:9-10). God will use your suffering to drive you to His throne of grace (Hebrews 4:15-16). “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

VI. A GRACIOUS WOMAN PETITIONS THE LORD TO ENABLE HER TO GLORIFY HIM MORE (1 Samuel 1:11). Eli calls this vow a “petition” in verse 17. Hannah’s petition has to do not with getting from the Lord in order to keep, but, rather, her petition has to do with getting from the Lord so she can give to him for his glory.

VII. A GRACIOUS WOMAN CAN RECEIVE A REBUKE, EVEN WRONGFULLY SO, AND RESPOND WITH HUMILITY (1 Samuel 1:12-15).

VIII. A GRACIOUS WOMAN, EVEN WHEN SHE IS SUFFERING, PROVOKED, ANXIOUS, AND VEXED, DOES NOT POUR OUT SUBSTANCES INTO HER BODY; RATHER, SHE POURS OUT HER SOUL TO THE LORD (1 Samuel 1:15-16).

IX. A GRACIOUS WOMAN CHEERS HERSELF WITH THE INTERCESSION OF GOD’S HIGH PRIEST (1 Samuel 1:17-18). How much greater of a High Priest do we have in Christ? Let us, like Hannah, cheer ourselves with the intercession of our High Priest Christ, who always lives to make intercession for us (Hebrews 7:25). “Consequently, [Christ] is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.”

X. A GRACIOUS WOMEN WORSHIPS THE LORD IN THE MIDST OF HER SUFFERING (1 Samuel 1:19-20). All your sufferings and vexations will only result in increased joy once your redemption is realized (Romans 8:18). “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”