“And she vowed a vow and said, “O LORD of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head.” (1 Samuel 1:11)

This passage of Scripture in 1 Samuel is about prayers being offered and prayers being answered. There is nothing as powerful and comforting as to pray and tangibly have your prayers answered directly by the Lord. I have always loved the story of Hannah because it is about God remembering His people and it is about God not forgetting His people. It seems strange that Hannah (or anyone for that matter) should pray in this way. To ask that God remember you already implies that God not forget you. To ask God never to forget you is to ask God to remember you. So what is the purpose behind this double reference to the same thing?

The Bible often uses this method of communicating truth by emphasizing both the positive and negative side of the same coin. The book of Samuel gives us an account of the history of Israel from the end of the 12th century through to the beginning of the 10th century BC. It is however, imperative for us to read the historical books not merely as historical, but as theological. What is God saying to us through the historical account? In 1 Samuel, we see the rise of David to the throne, and ultimately we see Jesus as David’s greater Son to whom the throne belongs. It appears from Acts 2:29 -36, that the Lord Jesus has fulfilled this in His resurrection from the dead and in His ascension to glory. God’s promise to set one of David’s descendants upon David’s throne is said to be accomplished with the resurrection of Jesus in that He was not abandoned by God to Hades nor did He see corruption. This is what we mean about interpreting the book theologically as well as historically. [Read More] about Remember Me…Your Servant