1 Samuel 1:1-20; The God Who Hears and Sees

1 Samuel 1:1-20; The God Who Sees

Sermon in a sentence: I will live like God sees and hears me.

Introduction

Brandon’s eyesight and baseball.

The Blind Israelites (vs. 1-3)

The Background of Samuel

1-2 Samuel were one book in the Hebrew Bible.

Preceded by the judges in the Hebrew ordering and the book of Ruth in the English ordering

The period of the Judges was an abysmal time.

Judges 2:7–22 ESV

7 And the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work that the Lord had done for Israel. 8 And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of 110 years. 9 And they buried him within the boundaries of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of the mountain of Gaash. 10 And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel. 11 And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals. 12 And they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them. And they provoked the Lord to anger. 13 They abandoned the Lord and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. 14 So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he gave them over to plunderers, who plundered them. And he sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies, so that they could no longer withstand their enemies. 15 Whenever they marched out, the hand of the Lord was against them for harm, as the Lord had warned, and as the Lord had sworn to them. And they were in terrible distress. 16 Then the Lord raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them. 17 Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they whored after other gods and bowed down to them. They soon turned aside from the way in which their fathers had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the Lord, and they did not do so. 18 Whenever the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was with the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. For the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them. 19 But whenever the judge died, they turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods, serving them and bowing down to them. They did not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways. 20 So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he said, “Because this people have transgressed my covenant that I commanded their fathers and have not obeyed my voice, 21 I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died, 22 in order to test Israel by them, whether they will take care to walk in the way of the Lord as their fathers did, or not.”

Judges ends with a depressing statement.

Judges 21:25 ESV

25 In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

Samuel focuses on two primary themes: Covenants and Commanders

The people failed to keep the Mosiac covenant. No one can keep it! So God will make a new covenant, the Davidic covenant.

The Commanders (judges, priests, prophets, and kings will all fail). God alone is the one who can perfectly command his people.

The Deaf Families (vs. 4-16)

Elkanah did not listen to Peninnah’s mocking or Hannah’s pleas.

He did not stop the proud or comfort the brokenhearted.

Eli was also too deaf to hear Hannah’s plea.

He rebuked Hannah before he rebuked his own sons in the story.

Later we will see that God will speak to Samuel the boy and not Eli or his sons.

The sons of Eli will turn deaf ears to the rebuke of their father

The God Who Sees and Hears (vs. 17-20)

While men and women think they carry the story of their lives, God is the one who writes His story with us.

God was the one that closed Hannah’s womb.

God was the one that heard and saw Hannah’s pain.

God was the one that saw the wickedness of His people.

Conclusion

Only God can judge me.

Application

Say, “God sees me and hears me.”

Family Discussion Questions

What was the point of the sermon? The Text?

What is one thing you learned?

How did the sermon/text point you to Jesus?

How will you apply this?