"Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up." (Pro 12:25 NIV)
Song of Hannah is very nice. It is in 1Samuel 2 chapter 1. Hannah can't have a baby, and then suddenly she can. She's so happy when she is singing. It is cathartic, and I get emotional when I read it. You know how people always say that Joseph is like Jesus or that Jesus is the second Adam. Mary is like Hannah and like Sarah. When you read the story of Mary, this same prayer of Hannah is there, not written out, but its there. She's very happy, and she's talking about the future not just of the nation but of the world and peace and equality and things like that. Everything she's gone through is for a purpose, and somehow the birth of Samuel brings this home for her. "He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; he seats them with princes and has them inherit a throne of honor."
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted." (Mat 5:3-4 NIV) This relates to Hannah's song and the general theme of Jesus mission. It is a couple of bullet points from his sermon.
Genesis 18:12 is where Sarah laughs at the idea that she could have a baby at her age. That, too, is ironic; since she later has a child and names him 'Laughter'. This foreshadows and is along the same theme as Hannah's song and Jesus mission. Sarah lives a long life wishing she could be a mother, so much so that she has given it up. Then she is told to try one more time. This a little like the story where Jesus tells some fishermen to move their nets to the other side of a boat. Suddenly they can't hold all the fish.
The common thread in these stories is that these people think they've reached the end, but then they turn a corner and everything changes. Its the fish and the nets, baby Samuel, baby Isaac and baby Jesus, too.
