The Nazarite Covenant Held Onto in the Midst of Suffering (1 Samuel 1:9–18)
The Nazarite Covenant Held Onto in the Midst of Suffering (1 Samuel 1:9–18) 8/16/2026
The central theme of the Books of Samuel is the biblical record of how God brought an end to the period of the Judges, a time filled with suffering, and established a kingdom in which God Himself would govern over the king. These books are not simply a historical account of the beginning of Israel’s monarchy.
They record what God did to prepare for Christ, the King of kings, who would come to destroy our enemy and give us eternal victory. Samuel was the first person God used for this purpose. That is why these books are called the Books of Samuel.
What were some of the important things God accomplished through Samuel? First, Samuel played a crucial role in bringing the period of the Judges to an end with Eli the priest and in opening the age of Israel’s monarchy (1 Samuel 10:25). Samuel also established King Saul. And Samuel was the one who anointed, blessed, and guided David, the ancestor of Christ, when David was still young. Through Samuel, the idolatry that had continued throughout the period of the Judges came to an end, and the Mizpah movement began, through which all the people of Israel restored their covenant with God.
The important figures of an age do not simply appear. If Samuel was the person God used to raise up David, then the people God used to raise up Samuel were, in his family, a mother named Hannah, and in the temple, a priest named Eli. These were not people who possessed anything extraordinary. Yet God used them. That standard is the covenant we must hold onto. Hannah was an ordinary wife of a man named Elkanah from the tribe of Ephraim. She had even become the second wife, according to the misguided customs of that time. On top of that, because she could not have children, she suffered severe ridicule and harassment from the first wife. She was especially tormented every year when she went to the temple to worship during the appointed feast. These things happened even inside the temple.
Through such a woman, a leader named Samuel arose. The point is not simply that she eventually had a child and received God’s blessing. What matters is that my life and my suffering can be used to accomplish God’s absolute plan. Through this passage, we must hold onto God’s absolute plan and absolute blessing that He is accomplishing in each of our lives.
- Why does God allow these things to happen, and why does He use people who have experienced such suffering? Because this is the power of the gospel and the way God accomplishes His absolute plan.
1) The Bible tells us that God did not choose and save us because we were perfect. After Adam fell in Genesis 3, no human being could be perfect or righteous before God (Romans 3:10, 3:23). Satan, who worked through Adam, still acts as the ruler of this world and of people’s lives, leading them into darkness. That is why, as time goes on, the world and human life continue to become corrupted, suffering continues, and incomprehensible problems keep arising.
2) God did not want us to remain trapped in this kind of life. That is why He prepared Christ before the ages began. The Old Testament records through all of history and its events how God revealed in advance the Christ who would come. That Christ finally came to this earth, possessed the three heavenly authorities, accomplished everything, and finished it all (John 19:30). In every age, God looks for people who will first realize and enjoy this blessing and then save others like themselves (evangelists and disciples).
3) What is the method and standard? The Bible speaks of at least three things.
① God’s absolute plan and absolute sovereignty. We did not choose God. He did not consult with us. The perfect God determined and called us before the foundation of the world (Isaiah 43:1; Ephesians 1:4). Therefore, our salvation is perfect.
② God’s absolute love and absolute grace (Isaiah 43:4; John 3:16). This is God’s standard.
From the beginning, He loved human beings, whom He created in His image, and gave us everything. Human beings were precious from the beginning and were beings who received God’s love. This is where we must find our self-worth. Our worth is not determined by human standards or the standards of the world. This is where people are wounded and collapse. We must discover who we are according to how God sees us.
③ God’s absolute mercy and compassion. This was also the reason God first chose Israel, the smallest of the nations (Deuteronomy 7:7; Ezekiel 16:5–8). This is also why He chose us (1 Corinthians 1:27). He wants us to live our entire lives enjoying God’s compassion. There is also a hidden reason. God wanted those of us who have been saved in this way not to become proud, but to exalt God alone and live for Him. The devil also became proud and boasted in himself, and fell. Human beings ultimately fall for the same reason (Isaiah 14:13, Ezekiel 28:17, 1 Timothy 3:6).
- What matters is how we respond when God reaches out His hand of sovereignty, love, and compassion to us. Not everyone who experiences hardship takes hold of God’s hand. Many people simply hold onto their difficulties as wounds and end there. Resentment and anger accumulate, and they become a channel for Satan. That is why families, churches, and the world all experience such difficulties.
1) Hannah initially lived this way as well. Whenever she became angry, she wept and would not eat (v. 7). This is completely understandable. But believers must not remain there. Some people try to devise ways to get revenge for the suffering they have experienced. But that becomes a trap and snare that they dig for themselves, ultimately leading to their own destruction.
2) What did Hannah choose?
① She chose to pray before God. While others were eating and drinking, Hannah sat alone in the temple and began to pray (v. 9). To unbelievers or those without the covenant, prayer may appear to be the most powerless and foolish method. But for the people of the Lord who are in Christ, prayer is called the key of the kingdom of heaven that opens door of heaven (Mattew 16:19). Our prayers are said to rise to the heavenly throne through the angels, placed in golden bowls (Revelation 8:3–4).
② Through her own suffering, she thought about God’s will(Prayer 300%). Why would God allow this kind of problem in my life, in my family, and in my field of life? Even if we simply hold onto and meditate on the Word a little, answers begin to emerge. Even if we make just a little effort to seek God’s will, God begins to work. What Hannah realized there was the “covenant of the Nazarite.” She began to think, “In this dark age, I must raise up someone whom God can use to bring an end to the darkness.” From that thought came a prayer holding onto the covenant of the Nazarite. This is how all of God’s masterpieces are created.
3) There are three clear conclusions we must hold onto when we face problems. Without a doubt, Christ suffered terrible suffering and curse on the cross, thereby setting us free and bringing every problem to an end. If that is true, then the other problems that saved believers experience must contain God’s hidden plan and hidden message.
① Through my problem, God wants me to see the problems of the world. Then I can see what I ought to do. I can embrace God’s heart toward those who are suffering (Exodus 3:8; Romans 12:15–16).
② I come to realize that there is someone who needs to devote themselves there. Then I can see what God needs. From the moment Samuel was dedicated to God and sent to the temple, what he had to learn was devotion. We know well how Samuel was trained.
③ From there, God raises up a worker, disciple, and summit who can save an entire age. Then we can see what is absolute in God’s plan. This is also why we engage in multiethnic ministry and Remnant ministry.
Conclusion- We want our children to be used by God like Samuel. However, we often live without recognizing the suffering Hannah went through or the covenant and message she grasped in the midst of that suffering. In every problem we face, may we be able to hold onto this covenant and this message.
8.16.2026 The Nazarite Covenant Held Onto in the Midst of Suffering