2.
1 Samuel 1v1-28
Hannah: pain and
pleasure
If you wanted
to write a song about the way you feel – what would be the main
feeling in the song?
Contentment -
anxiety- love- sadness - etc
(If you
can –
make a first line for the song).
Use 1 Samuel
2v2 as a basis for a time of worship –
a song; a
rock or something ‘holy’ could be used (where holy can mean
something ‘set apart for God’).
”There is no one
holy like the LORD;
there is no one besides you;
there is no Rock like our God.”
Hannah’s
first line was, “My heart rejoices in the Lord”
The pain expressed by Hannah was
very deep - she was childless. She made a promise to God that if she had
a child, the child would be ‘given back‘ to God. Her child, Samuel, was to
eventually to change Israel and bring the people back to God. CS Lewis once said that, “God whispers to us in our pleasures
but shouts to us in our pain”.
Read 1 Samuel 1v1-28
Questions:
1. Consider
Hannah’s Pain. What caused her so much pain? What do you think she
was feeling before she prayed in the temple?
2. Some might
say that Hannah was bargaining with God (v11), others that she was
giving ‘back’ to God what was in his gift and grace anyway. How do
you read the passage? Have you made promises to God in prayer?
3. How can
pain send us closer to God – or further from Him - or both? Look up
some helpful verses;
Romans
5v3-5; Romans 8v28 and Romans 12v12.
4. Eli was
the ‘God - sent’ first answer to Hannah’s prayer (although he didn’t
realise it at first!). How have others helped you in the past - who
came alongside - who was the answer to your prayers? Has anyone in
this group fulfilled this role for you?
5. What do
you think Hannah felt at the end of the chapter? (Link to 1 Samuel
2v1-2). Does this surprise/challenge you?
Read 1 Samuel
2v18-21, 26 to continue the story.
6. What is
the most encouraging aspect of this passage for you? Would anyone
like prayer from the group now?
Extra
Question:
See how easy
it is to judge people (v15). Have you found yourself wrong about people
before? Does the Bible help us to think about how we should we view
people?
Is there
anything happening in the Small Group or church diary that you might
consider inviting people to?
You might like to
read Psalms 42 and 43
before the next meeting.
|
