Broken

1 Samuel 2:4-6 – “The bows of the warriors are broken, but those who stumbled are armed with strength. Those who were full hire themselves out for food, but those who were hungry are hungry no more. She who was barren has borne seven children, but she who has had many sons pines away. “The Lord brings death and makes alive; he brings down to the grave and raises up.

Psalm 46:9 – He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire.

Isaiah 40:30-31 – Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Isaiah 26:19 – But your dead will live, Lord; their bodies will rise—let those who dwell in the dust wake up and shout for joy—your dew is like the dew of the morning; the earth will give birth to her dead.

1 Kings 17:24 – Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord from your mouth is the truth.”

Application:

• ·         Hannah shows that God often works contrary to natural expectations and brings about surprising reversals.
• ·         Human weakness will be exchanged for God’s strength.
• ·         “Your dead will live…bodies will rise” was a reference to the restoration of Israel—perhaps including the resurrection of the body.
• ·         The widow had addressed Elijah as a man of God previously, but now she knew in a much more experiential way that he truly was a prophet of the Lord.

All Scripture verses taken from NIV