Continued from Last Week:

The Messiah in the OT, Lesson 9___

After Moses left the scene as leader of Israel, some of the greatness and glory seemed to fade. Israel was left with observing the rite of circumcision and the Passover along with other sacrificial rituals for the core of their religious beliefs. We are now looking at the conquest of Canaan. One might use a modern term to describe what happened at least in the initial state. A Blitzkrieg fashion of conquest was carried out with the nation following Joshua.

But_____Israel quickly lost interest in the mopping up exercises that were required and the nation lapsed into sin. They grew lax in their worship of God, adopted the gods of the Canaanites who they were supposed to conquer and destroy.

Because of the above conditions, scholars remind us, "the period of the judges was ill adapted for the development of the Messianic idea. The conquest of the Holy Land and the settlement of the tribes in the midst of the conquered Canaanites whom they had failed to drive out resulted in the breaking of the national unity and the decay of religious life in general."

It might be said that this entire period was one of the "dark ages." The first ray of light that I see was the wife of a farmer, an ordinary woman named Hannah, who was chosen to be the mother of a prophet who would in effect introduce the linage of David. Then came the priest Eli, whose priesthood God had declared he would maintain, even though he would have to remove the family of Eli from office and transfer it to another family. But few things could have prepared Israel or the reader of the revelation of God for the startling announcement made by the prophet Nathan to David. This announcement is a high water mark in the OT concerning Messianic prophecies.

There are three major prophecies given in the era leading up to David's reign over the nation Israel:

1. To Hannah

2. To an unnamed prophet who prophesies the removal of Eli's family from the office of the high priesthood (2:27-36).

3. To Nathan who gives the famous prophecy about the house of David in 2^nd Samuel 7.

Since we are constrained by time, we will handle each of these in three lessons.

1. HANNAH AND THE KING: GOD'S ANOINTED ONE

The story of Hannah is one of a poor, needy, and frustrated, barren woman who prayed to God to remove the stigma of her inability to have children. Her prayer at the tabernacle at Shiloh was at first misinterpreted by the priest Eli, who thought she was drunk. Eventually God gave this devout woman a son named Samuel, who became one of the most important figures in the history of God's promise-plan of redemption. He was to play a key role in moving from the ages of the Judges.

SAMUEL Samuel lived and ministered during one of Israel's most crucial transitional periods. He was the first in the line of prophets whom Moses had announced, but he also served as the last of the line of Judges. But most importantly, Samuel was the person who transfered his political authority from the office of judge to that of king. These acts set up the most explicit Messianic theme known up to this time.

HANNAH. As we have already mentioned, Hannah was having a hard time being a mother and I am sure she never thought that her son was to be a great prophet. Like Sarah of old, God suddenly opened her womb and the child was born.

In accordance with the vow she made to God she took her son to the tabernacle after she had weaned him. It was at this time that she broke out in joyful prayer. We have her magnificent prayer today. Some scholars complain that this poor woman could not have uttered such a developed theology as we find in 1^st Sam. 21-10. Look at the song of Moses found in Ex. 15. If this woman was a Bible student (as we say) there is no doubt in my mind that she had the ability to pray in this manner.

The genuineness of Hannah's prayer.

"A number of reasons lead us to believe that Hannah acted as a prophetess in pronouncing her canticle. Her personal piety and sanctity, the publicity of her divine praises, the occasion of the canticle (i.e. Samuel's presentation before the Lord) and the fact that Hannah dwells wholly on the public and national benefits bestowed by God on Israel. These are strong arguments for considering Hannah as favored by a prophetic light when she recited her canticle of divine praise. "

The Substance of Hannah's Prayer___  So what did this prayer include and where does the Messianic angle come in? Hannah did not focus on herself, rather she represented the cry of the pious who in some ten verses are depicted as the "poor, the needy and those who were hungry and she who was barren." Meanwhile, the ungodly are represented four times as proud and arrogant. Yet, neither of these groups dominate the prayer. YHWH is the dominant figure in this prayer. YHWH appears nine times by that name (YHWH) and fifteen times by other names and pronouns.

The Structure of Hannah's Prayer___ The prayer has been analyzed many times and broken down into many different structures. Here is one of those divisions:

Hannah rejoices in:

(1) her experience (v.1),

(2) her God (vv. 2-3),

(3) her observations about life (vv. 4-8) and

(4) her hope (vv. 9-10).

The Theme of Hannah's prayer The theme of Hannah's prayer is found in verse 10c. "The Lord will judge the ends of the earth." With such a fair and righteous judge, the godly have nothing to fear for the Lord Himself will silence the mouth of the wicked who vaunt themselves against the righteous. (v.9)

The Messiah in Hannah's Prayer At this point in her prayer Hannah suddenly introduces "the king" to whom God will give strength (v. 10d); in parallelism to this king comes the promise that God will "exalt the horn of his anointed [actually the word Messiah]. Similar terms are found in the Lord judging the earth and about an empire being given to this Messiah-King in Psalm 2 and 110.

Some see the prediction that [God] "will thunder against them from heaven" (v.10) as fulfilled in 1^st Sam. 7:10 when God delivered Israel from the Philistines at the battle of Mizpah. At one level that may be true but the ultimate meaning is not about a single battle but God will judge "the ends of the earth."

The Application of Hannah's Prayer To apply Hannah's words about God's humbling the proud and destroying his enemies to her rival, Peninnah (1^st Sam. 1:2) is without any basis. Regardless of Peninnah's faults, noting she did deserves the massive judgment mentioned in this text.

This word from Hannah about the future judgment over all of God's enemies and about the expected Messiah is given by God shortly before the capture of the ark and the destruction at Shiloh. More than any other, the two events stimulate a demand in the people for a king that will ensure a permanent dynasty, one not dependent on God. While such a demand for a king was well within the divine plan and purpose (look at Dt. 17:14-20), it is a premature request and the motive as suspect. But the New Testament helps interpret Hannah's prayer more than anything else.

Where does Samuel make a reference to any messianic prediction except in Hannah's prophecy which he records and leaves behind? We must go back to v. 10___.

¹ It is no surprise to find the the Targum renders verse 10 about "exalting the horn (a symbol of strength and dignity, [see Ps. 89:24; 112:9; 132:17]) of his anointed" by these words: "and will magnify the kingdom of his Messiah." The "anointed one" in this text is clearly Jesus Christ.

The Four Stages of Royal Messianism. Here is the fourth stage in the royal theme of the Messiah.

1. Abraham had been promised that a "king was to come from him" (Gen. 17:6, 16) and God reaffirmed the same promise to Jacob: "Kings will come from your body" (35:11).

2. In the second stage the symbols of rule and authority ("the scepter" and the "rulers staff") were given to Judah (49:10); accordingly, this royalty was promised "the obedience of the nations."

3. The third speaks of the coming king crushing his enemies, as Balaam predicted on the one he called the "star....out of Jacob" and the "scepter" out of Israel (Nu.24:17).

4. In 1^st Samuel 2:10 the 4^th stage is reached: The Messiah as the exalted King who will judge all the earth. Only In Jesus, Lane