Sermon Tone Analysis

Apparently winter is upon us in Wisconsin.

One day it is sunny and almost 60, and the next there is snow on the ground and it is in the 20’s.

I have mixed emotions about winter.

I love the snow and the beauty of winter, but there are a lot of negatives about the winter.

One of those negatives is having to drive on snow covered roads.

Especially the first time of the season when people have to adjust their driving habits all over again to what it is like to drive on snow.

My wife, especially does not like the feeling of sitting in the passenger seat while I am driving in snowy slippery conditions.

You know that feeling you get when your car starts sliding on the snow, out of your control… As a man I like to reassure my wife, “Don’t worry honey, I’ve got every thing (what?) under control.”

Verbally she agrees with that statement, “Uh-huh, OK dear.”

But her body language doesn’t always project that same sentiment.

Verbally, “Uh-huh, OK dear.”

Body language, “AHHHHHHH, watch out, your going to kill us all!!!”

We hate the feeling when life feels out of control.

This morning my goal is to reaffirm one vital truth that cannot be overstated enough- God is ALWAYS in control.

Even when it feels like your life is like the car slipping on ice and snow, and any semblance of control has vanished, God is still in control.

No matter how out of control life seems, we must remember that God is ruling and reigning over the world, that God is completely sovereign and He is always in control.

God is presently ruling and reigning over human history in such a way that every event that occurs in our lives is either caused by God or permitted by God, and God has His purposes in what He causes and what He permits.

What I am talking about is a doctrine we call providence, if you want the fancy theological term for it, we would call it the doctrine of meticulous providence.

It is the idea that God rules over the events of our lives, even the events of our lives that to us seem out of control.

That means that every event that happens in your life, and especially the events that seem out of control, are either permitted by God or they are directly caused by Him, and God has His own purposes in what He causes or permits to happen in your life.

How should we think about that?

When our lives are going well, it is easy to agree and understand and respond to this truth of God’s providence.

But, what about when our lives are going badly?

What about when we are going through painful trials?

And what if we have been going through those painful trials for a very long time?

How should we think about God’s providence then?

And how should we respond to God’s providence when we are at our lowest?

This morning I want us to examine this question by examining .

We need to understand where we are in the story of the OT, so we can properly understand the story of the book of I Samuel.

gives us a good background as to where we are in the story line.

The specifically stated problem was that everyone did what was right in their own eyes and that problem stemmed from having no king.

The book of I Samuel is all about God putting the man that He chooses on the throne as king.

This is a big problem.

God has chosen a people out of all the nations of the world to be His people.

He has delivered them out of the bondage of Egypt, He has given them a land to dwell in.

But His people are seemingly out of control.

God however, is still on His throne, ruling and reigning, and He in the story of I Samuel is going to providentially put the man of His choosing on the throne as king in order to bring His own people back to Himself.

Out of this big problem, filled with big obstacles, with big consequences, God begins the big story with one small story about the life of a woman named Hannah.

As we look at the story of Hannah this morning I want us to consider this question:

How should I respond to God’s providence when my life seems out of control?

Scene #1- The Long Hard Road (1:1-8)

Remember we are asking the question, “How should I respond to God’s providence when my life seems out of control?”

We are introduced to three primary characters in this first scene of the story: Elkanah, Peninnah, and Hannah.

And from these three characters we see three different responses to God’s providential control in their lives.

Now if you want to understand narratives properly the first thing that you need to determine in the flow of the story is the occasioning incident- or the big problem that occurs in the lives of the individual characters.

So, what is the occasioning incident in Hannah’s story?

(v.

1)- we are given some background information- who Elkanah was- his lineage and where he was from.

(v.2)- this is where we run into the problem of the story.

The big problem is that Hannah had no children, while Peninnah had children (plural)

Side Note- Most of us have (or should have) an aversion to the idea of bigamy.

How are we to assess Elkanah’s situation?

Side Note: For time’s sake and the sake of the flow of the story I am not going to go into detail about the problem of bigamy or polygamy.

But I will say this- God’s design is for marriage to be between one man and one woman.

First, we should note that every instance of bigamy/polygamy that is recorded in the OT in any detail attaches some negative circumstance to it.

The polygamy of Abraham, Jacob, Elkanah, and David all resulted in family discord to one degree or another.

So, the biblical pattern for marriage is still recorded in .

God never endorses bigamy- in the OT under the dispensation of the Mosaic Law, God allowed it in something of a concession to sinful human nature.

But, we should note that 1) In every instance of bigamy/polygamy that is recorded in the OT in any detail attaches some negative circumstance to it.

Even though God allowed it, He did not eliminate the personal tragedy or hardship that was always associated with it.

2).

In every instance of bigamy there is always one woman who is the favored or primary wife.

I think this is because God created marriage to be between one man and one woman and even in marriages with multiple wives God’s intention of one woman stands out.

Conclusion: God’s design for marriage is to be between one man and one woman.

This is crystal clear in the NT dispensation.

Gen 2

Coming back to the flow of the story: the big problem is that Hannah has no children.

The rest of this scene is all about that problem intensifying.

In other words the problem goes from bad to worse.

Every year this family would travel to Shiloh in order to offer sacrifices to the Lord.

This is especially significant, since this is a time in Israel’s history where not many people would be doing this.

(Every man did that which was right in his own eyes) This highlights the fact that Elkanah really does love the Lord and wants his family to love and serve God as well.

This should have been a very special time for Hannah, this should have been a time for her to express her love and worship unto the Lord.

But this was instead the hardest most painful part of her life.

At the time of the sacrifice Elkanah would give to his family portions for the sacrifice.

Even though Peninnah is not his favorite, He still fulfills his responsibilities to her in including her in worship.

But unto Hannah, Elkanah gave a worthy or a double portion.

This is a clear sign of his attitude toward her.

He loves her very much even though she has not provided an heir for him.

He views their relationship as close and special and He genuinely wants to console her in her grief over her barrenness.

I Sam 1.

However, her adversary (rival- Peninnah) provoked her sore, for to make her fret-

Peninnah upon seeing Elkanah give Hannah a double portion, as Hannah’s rival- she would provoke her severely in order to irritate her or in order to make her miserable.

That was Peninnah’s goal: provoke, taunt, to anger her in order to make her life miserable.

And she did this year after year after year- we don’t know how long this went on, but the idea seems to be a significant amount of time- 5, 10, 15 years Hannah had to endure this torment.

For year after year Hannah is having to endure misery and pain and discouragement and a feeling of failure.

Now we cannot miss the important truth in v. 5. Hannah at this point in the story feels like her life is out of control, but the truth is that God is always in control.

Who allowed Hannah to go through, year after year, of misery?

God did.

Look at the end of v. 5

Who

The Lord was the one who shut up Hannah’s womb.

This is the exact reason for why Hannah feels like her life is out of control, that her life is a misery.

Remember, God is presently ruling and reigning over human history in such a way that every event that occurs in our lives is either caused by God or permitted by God, and God has His purposes in what He causes and what He permits.

How do we sometimes respond to God’s providence, especially when our lives feel out of control?

Perhaps we respond like Peninnah.

Peninnah responded in outright willful sin to God’s providential control.

Peninnah, who has multiple children- both sons and daughters, she tries to compensate for the fact that she is obviously the secondary wife to Elkanah in a very unhealthy and sinful way- she provokes and irritates and does whatever she can to cause misery.

Has God allowed you to travel the long hard road in you own life?

Maybe you have been in pain and misery and maybe you have been there for a very long time.

Maybe like Hannah, God has not allowed you to have children, maybe God has allowed you to stay single, maybe God has allowed you to struggle in you job- maybe your work is demanding/wearisome/unemployed, maybe you are in a relationship with your spouse that for lack of a better term is miserable, maybe God has allowed your relationship with your children to become difficult and demanding and wearisome and miserable, maybe it is in the area of your finances- you haven’t had enough money in your life for what seems like a long long time.