The God of the Powerless - I Samuel 2:1-10

This passage is known as Hannah's Prayer or Song or the Magnificat of Hannah. The story of Hannah, the mother of Samuel, expresses a theological theme that is oft-repeated throughout the Old Testament (e.g., Ruth 1-4) and in the ministry of Jesus (e.g., Matthew 5:1-11): God is the protector and the provider of those who have been marginalized by life and He is especially interested in  reversing the circumstances of those unfortunate ones by His power: "The bows of the mighty are broken, but the feeble bind on strength" (vs. 4). He is God of the powerless not the powerful. In other words, if you have been marginalized by this world, then access to God's intervention is especially available to you. With God misery is not necessarily the antithesis of joy but can be the bearer of joy, the path to fulfillment; desperation can point the way to hope; and misfortune can open the door to blessedness. So what's amazing to me about Hannah is the clear theological understanding of God that this young mother expressed in her song of praise to God. Hannah realized that with God our lives are not defined so much by our present circumstances but by what will be our circumstances in the future—not what we are but what we are becoming because of His lovingkindness and salvation: "He raises up the poor from the dust; he lifts the needs from the ash heap to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor. For the pillars of the earth are the Lords', and on them he has set the world" (vs. 8).