Samuel continues the story of redemption, God’s plan to save a people for himself. With a focus on kingship, there is the recurring question of what kind of king God’s people need. The emphasis then is not so much on what we are to do but on the king that we need. Given this reality, your sermons should focus on drawing attention to who the king is that honours God and what it means to live in submission to that king.
For 1 Samuel 1:1–20, you will explain the context of the book as well as the purpose of Hannah’s vow. Having done this, you can then discuss the two different responses to covenant curses (compare Elkanah and Hannah) and what the Lord expects from us in times of hardship and suffering.
1 There was a certain man of Ramathaim-zophim of the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, an Ephrathite.