What does 1 Samuel 2:6 mean?
What is the meaning of 1 Samuel 2:6?

The LORD brings death

– Hannah’s song unveils God as the ultimate Arbiter over physical life.

Deuteronomy 32:39 echoes, “It is I who put to death and give life.”

Ecclesiastes 8:8 reminds that “no man has authority over the day of death.”

• Because the Lord alone numbers our days (Psalm 139:16), no accident, disease, or violent act escapes His sovereign oversight.

This statement rebukes any notion that life’s ending is random or left to fate; instead, it rests in purposeful hands.


and gives life

God’s sovereignty is equally displayed in every birth and every moment a heart keeps beating.

Psalm 104:29-30 shows Him sending forth His Spirit to “create” and “renew the face of the earth.”

Acts 17:25 affirms He “gives all men life and breath and everything else.”

Job 33:4: “The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.”

Whether He revives a barren womb (as with Hannah herself) or sustains a frail body, life is a deliberate gift flowing from His goodness.


He brings down to Sheol

“Sheol” represents the realm of the dead. The verse states that God personally oversees the descent there.

Numbers 16:32-33 illustrates the earth swallowing Korah’s rebels alive into Sheol—an act directly attributed to the LORD.

Psalm 49:15 notes that while death captures many, it does so only under divine permission.

God’s holiness means persistent rebellion can meet judgment, sometimes swiftly and visibly. He is never passive about sin.


and raises up

The final phrase lifts the heart: the same God who presides over death possesses power to reverse it.

1 Kings 17:22 records Elijah’s prayer answered: “the life of the child returned to him.”

2 Kings 5:14 shows God restoring Naaman’s flesh “like that of a little child,” a foretaste of resurrection power.

• Ultimately, Acts 2:24 proclaims that God “raised Him up, releasing Him from the agony of death,” spotlighting Christ’s resurrection as the decisive proof.

These examples assure believers of a coming bodily resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:52-54), confirming that death never has the last word when the Lord speaks life.


summary

1 Samuel 2:6 proclaims that every boundary we face—birth, death, the grave itself—is under God’s direct command. He can justly take life, mercifully sustain it, permit a descent into Sheol, and triumphantly call forth resurrection. Resting in His sovereign goodness frees us from fear and anchors our hope in the One who both authors and overcomes death.

How does 1 Samuel 2:5 challenge the concept of self-sufficiency?
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