Advent Passage: I Samuel 1-2:11

Yesterday, we learned that Gabriel’s announcement to Mary heralded God’s ancient promises. Mary’s Song also echoed ancient words from another mother-to-be, named Hannah.

For many years, Hannah longed for a baby. She prayed so feverently that Eli, the priest, thought she had been drinking too much wine. Hannah so earnestly wanted a child that she committed to “give him to the Lord for all the days of his life” (1:11). The Lord granted Hannah’s request, and she named her son Samuel, which means “heard by God.”

As soon as Samuel was old enough, Hannah followed through on her promise and brought him to live in the house of the Lord with Eli. Hannah then lifted a song of praise to God for His provision, sovereignty, and justice (I Samuel 2:1-10).

Hannah’s song ends with a note of prophecy: “The Most High will thunder from heaven; the Lord will judge the ends of the earth. He will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed” (I Samuel 2:10).  Perhaps Mary connected with Hannah’s song for reasons beyond their shared celebration of motherhood. These two women shared a hope for God’s eternal kingdom.

You see, at the time Hannah sang, the Israelites were united under tribal rule, governed by a system of judges. They did not have a king, because God was their eternal king. However, as foreign nations threatened them, they began to grumble for their own king (I Samuel 8).

Meanwhile, Samuel grew up in the house of the Lord and became judge over all Israel. Samuel resisted the people’s request for a king. However, God advised him, “It is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king” (I Samuel 8:7). God instructed Samuel to warn the Israelites against it, but to grant them a king as they requested.

Samuel did as the Lord commanded and anointed Israel’s first king, Saul. He also later anointed David. After Samuel’s death, God’s people suffered under the succession of kings to come. And even under a king, Israel experienced internal divisions and foreign defeats, leading to subjection to the Roman Empire in the days of Mary.

However, as He always does, God made a plan to rescue His people. You see, God is the only True King who rules with justice and righteousness and the only one whose kingdom can endure forever. Hannah proclaimed it, and one thousand years later, Mary heard it.

© 2025 Lori Myers Berry

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