Turning the World Topsy Turvy

1 Samuel 2:1-10

Context
The story of Hannah opens the books of Samuel, which describe the beginning of the Israelite monarchy. Hannah, an Israelite living in the time of the Judges, has been barren most of her life. On a visit to the main YWHW worship site at Shiloh, she is told that her prayer for a son will be answered. She gives birth to a son, Samuel.

Listening to the writer
Look carefully at the prayer and you'll see that it doesn't relate specifically to Hannah's situation. She was barren (v. 5), but did not give birth to septuplets! And she was not hungry, but in fact was given extra by Elkanah in an attempt to make up for her barrenness. Rather than reading the prayer as Hannah's appreciation for a child, try reading it as an introduction to the broader story of Samuel, Saul, David, and Solomon - the birth of the monarchy.

Note the characteristics of this YHWH.

The prayer is a psalm - note that Hebrew poetry does not rhyme sounds (not even in the original Hebrew), but ideas. Most Psalms consist of pairs of lines that convey the same idea using different words: for example, in verse 3, "talk no more so very proudly" and "let not arrogance come from your mouth" are two ways of saying the same thing. (I've occasionally seen interpretations that try to distinguish the difference between two lines of a Psalm - beware of such readings, as they misunderstand the poetry...)

Listening to God
Are there any characteristics attributed to God that disturb you? God is quite popular for "bringing to life" - do you also think of God as the one who kills, who makes barren, who makes poor?

To what extent do you see God influencing your day to day life? Does God: plan & execute everything? work in conjunction with you? sit back and watch? ignore it?

Verses 3 and 9 set all this "topsy turvy" behavior in the context of judgment - presumably God is killing the wicked and bringing to life the faithful. Job argues that this isn't always the case. Spend some time with God thinking about when and where God is involved.

Miscellaneous Meanderings
Hannah's song kicks off the Davidic monarchy, and is echoed by Mary when she is pregnant with David's most famous descendant (Luke 1:46ff). For me, it claims the hope that God does see the injustice in the world and is acting to overcome it. I also hope that I - and all of us - remember that sometimes we are on the unjust side of the equation.

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