Readers Guide: “The Word for Today” Tuesday, October 23, 2012 Read – 1 Samuel 1 & 2 The book of 1 Samuel begins with the recurrence of a challenge that has been featured in the story before. Like Abraham and Sarah, Jacob and Rachel, and the parents of Samson, Hannah, the wife of Elkanah, is barren. Hannah brings her problem to God in prayer and God responds by giving her a son. The surprising thing in this story is that Hannah promises to give her son back to God – and she keeps her promise. The opening story in 1 Samuel signals that something new is about to happen in the story of God and God’s people. Hannah sings a song that sums up this new beginning. God will raise up the lowly and bring down the mighty. God is doing a new thing. We need to notice that this story in 1 Samuel serves as the template for Luke’s gospel story of the birth of John the Baptist and the birth of Jesus. As we are reading Luke’s story Luke wants us to be remembering this story. So the story is important not only for its own sake but for the sake of the gospel story.