Daily Thought

There are in the scriptures a number of songs of thanksgiving to God from women, beginning with Miriam, Exod. 15. 20. Hannah’s is the first extended one from a single source, following that of dual origin from Deborah and Barak, Judg. 5. 1. Elisabeth’s and Mary’s, Luke 1. 42, 46, are two later examples.

Hannah left behind her a great example of spiritual prayer and praise to all believing womanhood. In it she rose to spiritual heights hitherto unknown for a woman, and she touched on issues we would have thought of little interest to a woman from an obscure place in Ephraim. Her spiritual perception is even more remarkable when we think of the spiritual darkness around her. What an influence she must have been on little Samuel!

There is a remarkable parallel between Hannah’s praise and that of Mary, the occasion of both being the birth of a remarkable son. Both rejoiced in God and acknowledged His salvation, 1 Sam. 2. 1; Luke 1. 47. This is paralleled for the believer today in that ‘we joy [rejoice, boast] in God through our Lord Jesus Christ’, Rom. 5. 11 (cp. Ps. 33. 1; 97. 12; Isa. 41. 16; 61. 10; Joel 2. 23; Hab. 3. 18; Zech. 10. 7). There is no higher boast than God Himself, so that we ‘rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh’, Phil. 3. 3.

Hannah had come to an end of herself and was totally dependent on God. She, like Mary, came to acknowledge His beneficial sovereignty and goodness to the humble, but not to the proud and self-sufficient.

Obviously, the one who had set herself up as her enemy was proud and arrogant - Penninah, v. 3, but God knew and would take account. However, Hannah is able to rise above her own situation and see the over-riding purposes and ways of the God who ‘maketh poor, and maketh rich: he bringeth low, and lifteth up’, v. 7. He is able, according to His will, to so control circumstances that He can cause even the beggar to rise from his dunghill and to sit among princes on their thrones of glory, v. 8; cp. Jude 24.

Last, we see that Hannah had an expectation of a coming king. There was at that time no king in Israel, but she looked forward to God’s anointed king, v. 10. We should do the same in our day!