1 Samuel 2:7 Commentary: God Makes Poor and Makes Rich

Hannah sang this song after dedicating her son Samuel to the Lord at Shiloh. For years she had endured the barrenness that brought public shame in ancient Israel, where a woman's worth was closely tied to childbearing. Her rival Peninnah taunted her, and even the priest Eli misunderstood her fervent prayer as drunkenness. Now, with a child in her arms and a vow fulfilled, she pours out a song that moves far beyond her own story.

The setting is the late period of the judges, a time when “every man did that which was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25). Israel had no central king, and the tribes were often oppressed by surrounding peoples. Into this chaos, Hannah announces that Yahweh, not any earthly ruler, governs the world. Her language draws on ancient Near Eastern motifs of divine reversal, the barren bear children, the hungry are fed, the proud are broken, but gives them a distinctive covenantal frame. She names Yahweh, the God of Israel, as the one who raises the poor from the dust and sets them among princes (v. 8).

This song is the mother of Mary's Magnificat (Luke 1:46, 55). Both women speak of a God who looks on the low estate of his servant and scatters the proud. Together they witness that Israel's hope has always been in a God who overturns the world's order to lift up the humble.

The consulted sources do not mention any significant textual variants for 1 Samuel 2:7. The Hebrew text is stable across manuscripts, and the verse reads without difficulty in the Masoretic tradition. The ancient versions (Septuagint, Peshitta, Targum) closely follow the Hebrew wording.

In the early church, this verse was read as a confession of God's universal providence, the God who kills and makes alive also oversees human fortunes. Origen and Augustine saw it as a rebuke to those who believed luck or fate governed the world. The song was used in the liturgy of Morning Prayer in many monastic traditions to begin the day with acknowledgment of God's sovereignty over all events.

Medieval exegetes such as Thomas Aquinas interpreted the verse through the lens of distributive justice: God gives and withholds goods according to His wise purpose, often hidden from human sight. The Reformation saw a renewed emphasis on God's direct causal role in every circumstance; Calvin cited this verse to support his doctrine of providence that extends even to the smallest details of life. In more recent centuries, the verse has been claimed both by advocates of prosperity theology (who see wealth as a guaranteed blessing for faithfulness) and by social justice movements (who see God's heart for the poor). The Magnificat in Luke 1 remains the most powerful New Testament echo of Hannah's song, uniting all Christians in the hope that God reverses the world's values.

Three-point outline

1. God’s sovereignty extends to every economic outcome. The active participles “makes poor” and “makes rich” present these not as random events but as flowing from the hand of Yahweh. He is not caught off-guard by any financial crisis or windfall.
2. God reverses human fortunes as part of His redemptive plan. “He brings low, he also lifts up”, the pattern runs through Scripture: Joseph enslaved then exalted, Israel in Egypt then the Promised Land, Christ crucified then resurrected.
3. This truth humbles the proud and comforts the lowly. Those who are rich cannot boast; their wealth is a trust from God. Those who are poor are not forgotten; the same God who lifts up the needy sits them among princes.

Five-point outline

1. Yahweh alone can make poor or make rich (v. 7a).
2. Yahweh alone brings low and lifts up (v. 7b).
3. Yahweh’s reversal is not arbitrary but righteous, He weighs actions (v. 3).
4. Yahweh’s reversal looks toward His king, the Messiah (v. 10).
5. Therefore, the proper response is trust in God, not in wealth or status.

Illustration hooks

• A farmer who prays for rain but also tills the soil, God works through both his labor and the weather he cannot control.
• The story of a business owner who suddenly lost everything in a market crash and found unexpected community among the poor; later, slowly rebuilt with a new perspective.
• A church that took up an offering for a family whose house burned down, and months later saw that same family become the most generous givers in the congregation.

Questions your congregation is asking

• “If God makes poor, does He want me to stay in poverty? Should I stop trying to improve my situation?”
• “Does my wealth mean God favors me more than someone who is poor?”
• “When I lose a job or face financial hardship, is God punishing me?”

Hannah sings after God answered her deepest longing. Her words reach beyond her own story to describe how God always deals with humanity. This study asks us to consider what it means that Yahweh, not luck, not effort, not systems, is the one who determines poverty and wealth, lowliness and exaltation.

Discussion questions

1. Read 1 Samuel 1:9, 11 and 1 Samuel 2:1, 10 together. How does Hannah’s personal experience connect to the sweeping claims she makes about God?
2. Verse 7 uses active participles: “makes poor,” “makes rich,” “brings low,” “lifts up.” Why does the grammatical form matter for understanding God’s ongoing role?
3. How do you reconcile this verse with passages that urge human diligence (Proverbs 10:4) or warn against laziness (2 Thessalonians 3:10)?
4. Compare this verse with Deuteronomy 8:17, 18. What does Moses add about the relationship between God’s provision and human effort?
5. If God brings low and lifts up, how should this shape the way we view people who are wealthy or destitute?
6. How does Hannah’s song help you pray when you are financially secure? When you are struggling?
7. In what ways does this verse point forward to Jesus? (Consider Philippians 2:5, 11 and Luke 1:46, 55.)