God is Not Powerless
God is not limited in his ability to love you, care for you, and see your dreams to reality. An example from 1 Samuel 1 on how to read Scripture for understanding to hear God.
God is not limited in his ability to love you, care for you, and see your dreams to reality.
In 1 Samuel 1, we read the story of a woman who is powerless. She is powerless because she’s a woman in a patriarchal culture. She is powerless because she has no resources of her own. She is powerless because she is unable to have children in a world where her value is found in producing offspring for her husband.
That is the story of Hannah as we open up the book of 1 Samuel. Place on top of this the greater world in which she lives. Israel, her home, has struggled to find its footing after entering the Promised Land a few hundred years earlier. They are constantly defending themselves against the neighboring nations. It’s been a process of taking two steps forward only to take a step (or two) back.
More than me…
So as we read about Hannah in Samuel 1, it’s not just powerlessness in her personal life, but she was a picture of the nation of Israel. And Hannah wasn’t alone in her weakness.
Hannah and her family traveled to Bethel to offer sacrifices to God. The ritual included portioning out a part of the lamb to different members of the family. Hannah received a nice lamb chop, but nothing more. She received in proportion to what she produced, and her husband (Elkanah) was powerless to change this.
“And though he loved Hannah, he would give her only one choice portion because the Lord had given her no children.” 1 Samuel 1:5
Elkanah’s problem wasn’t poverty. He could afford to care for two wives (no matter what we think about this practice). Elkanah was able to provide a lamb for the sacrifice (the law of Moses allowed those in poverty to sacrifice doves if they can’t afford a lamb). He traveled to the festival yearly. Elkanah’s problem wasn’t wealth, but he was powerless to help or even comfort his wife.
“Why are you crying, Hannah?” Elkanah would ask. “Why aren’t you eating? Why be downhearted just because you have no children? You have me—isn’t that better than having ten sons?” 1 Samuel 1:8
Israel is powerless. Elkanah is powerless. Hannah is powerless.
God is not powerless.
Distraught, Hannah, entered the Tabernacle to pour her heart out to God. There she encountered the prophet and priest Eli. One important note: the cycle of struggle Israel endured was induced by sin. When the people of God were obedient, things were good. When they sinned, they encountered trouble from the neighboring lands. So when Eli sees Hannah crying and babbling about the pain in her heart, he assumed she was simply another drunk woman who wandered into the Tabernacle.
When Israel would break the cycle of sin and serve God wholeheartedly, God would bless them. With her pure heart and motives, Hannah figuratively broke another cycle of sin within the nation. God used Eli to bless Hannah with this simple encouragement:
“In that case,” Eli said, “go in peace! May the God of Israel grant the request you have asked of him.” 1 Samuel 1:17
Israel was impotent. Elkanah was weak. Hannah was helpless. God is not powerless.
The desire of Hannah’s heart was a child. Being a mother represented a rise in station and a sense of purpose. Hannah recognized her powerlessness. She turned to the only One who had the ability to help her.
What is the desire of your heart?
Have you worked toward something near to your heart only to see it fall apart? Do you have the dream of being married, a mother/father, a business owner, owning your own home, free of sickness, reuniting with a loved one, or working a better job? You very well may be powerless to change your situation. Despite your position, power, or wealth you may not be able to influence change.
God is not powerless.
I encourage you to be honest in your desperation. Don’t settle for a cheap imitation (marriage to Elkanah was not better than 10 sons). Find a holy place - your church, your porch, your car driving down the highway. Pour out your heart to God. Be real. Don’t hold back. God will hear you.
I know you’ve prayed before. I guarantee Hannah had prayed before too. I know you’ve been disappointed in God’s response. Hannah was disappointed too. But I wrote this earlier this year about this passage — Hannah became a drip, drip, drip that God couldn’t ignore. As you continue to approach him for an answer, he will provide.
God is not powerless.
This was written as an example of how to read the Bible to understand and hear God. Last week, I shared several tips on reading scripture to receive the same type of insight and understanding. To make more clear the tie between last week’s newsletter and the writing above, here is the breakdown.
Characters
When we read the Bible we need to look for 3 different types of characters. The author, the audience, and the cast. Here are all three for this text.
Author
The author of 1 Samuel is not clear in the text, and it’s not clear to Biblical scholars either. The traditional view was the prophets Samuel, Nathan and Gad (all mentioned in 1 + 2 Samuel) wrote 1 Samuel.
More recently it’s believed that it was written a few hundred years later during the reign of King Hezekiah by his scribes. They most likely pulled together various sources to write a cohesive history of the nation of Israel.
Audience
While the author was not clear, the audience is known — the nation of Israel. 1 + 2 Samuel was written as a reminder of how God came through for his people time and again, and also of the results of straying from God’s purpose.
Cast
The obvious are Hannah, Elkanah, and Eli.
Not mentioned above but important to the overall narrative are Peninnah (Elkanah’s other wife and Hannah’s nemesis), Hophni and Phineas (Eli’s evil sons who are introduced in chapter 2), and Samuel (the longed-for son).
Not obvious, but important to the narrative are the nations of Israel and Philistia (Israel’s nearest and most hated enemy).
Context
I shared this last week in my “how-to” post, and I referred to these ideas in the writing above. But it’s worth repeating:
The book of Samuel takes place at the tail end of the era of the judges. This was between Israel entering the Promised Land and the first kings anointed by the prophet Samuel. To learn more about this era you can read the book of Judges. This is a reoccurring theme and line of text in Judges:
“In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.” Judges 21:25
Oddly, while the era was known as the time of the judges, it was a lawless time. The desire for a king by the people of Israel was a desire for order in the chaos. It helps to understand this when reading through the struggles the nation goes through during the time of Samuel, Saul, and David. They are reacting to this long history (several hundred years) of lawlessness and oppression.
The book of 1 Samuel is a transition from the time of the Judges to the era of Kings in Israel. Samuel is the last of the Judges because the people of Israel clamor for a king because Samuel’s sons are godless.
Past Interpretation
I’ve read the story of Samuel dozens of times over the years. It’s a common book to teach - both to adults and children. There are lots of vivid stories and principles to pull from. I wrote a series of posts on 1 Samuel, and you can find these HERE. Specifically, I referred to the post I made on 1 Samuel 1 in the “drip, drip, drip” of Hannah in God’s ear.
New Revelation
Most times a new revelation builds on a past interpretation. This is the case with what I wrote both today and earlier this year about 1 Samuel 1. Sometimes a new revelation will completely alter the picture you’ve had of the character, God’s response, or the effect on my heart. I am reading the book of Genesis currently, and I read this passage about Abraham being told by God he will have a son through his wife Sarah:
Then Abraham bowed down to the ground, but he laughed to himself in disbelief. “How could I become a father at the age of 100?” he thought. “And how can Sarah have a baby when she is ninety years old?”
Genesis 17:17
Again I’ve read this passage over a dozen times, and I’d never noticed it. The very next chapter records a more ‘famous’ interaction with Sarah, who also laughs at the news. Sarah’s passage is talked about much more than the one with Abraham, though their response is the same to God. We all have a hard time believing the impossible.
This year I re-read the story of David in 1 and 2 Samuel. As I read the end of David’s life, I saw a much more imperfect David than before. I’m still processing this revelation, but David ended his life poorly, and I don’t want to brush over this because he began so well.
Know + Known
I hope these tools are helpful for you to begin mining scripture for yourself. When you hear God, you are known by God. When you hear God, you know God. May you be known by God and know God.
Playlist
I thought I would add a new little bit of information each week. I don’t know if we have the same taste in music, but here are some songs to explore. All the links go to Spotify.
While writing this post, this is some of what I was listening to:
Joy in the Morning - Tauren Wells + Elevation
More than Able - Chandler Moore + Elevation
Now - Beautiful Chorus