1 Samuel 2:3
“Talk no more so very proudly;
let not arrogance come from your mouth;
for the LORD is a God of knowledge,
and by him actions are weighed.”
Introduction:
On the first two verses of this chapter Hannah's highlights the Holiness and Uniqueness of God. It shows how Hannah relies on the God who is just and Holy in every aspect of her life despite of all the persecutions and mistreatment. In this writing, we will now see another phrase of Hannah's song with regards to human's arrogance and God's knowledge about it. There are three things that I outlined focusing on this specific verse.
A. The Human Tendency Toward Arrogance and Pride
There are many moments when we talk too much about ourselves and take pride in who we are or what we have. By nature, we are prideful people. Pride and arrogance elevate sinners above God. As Jason Meyer said,“Other sins lead the sinner further from God, but pride is particularly heinous in that it attempts to elevate the sinner above God”¹. All sins separate us from God, but pride is worse because it puts the self first before God—glorifying oneself instead of God and placing one’s own importance above Him. Pride leads to many other sins, including treating others as less valuable. We often love ourselves so much that we forget to show love to others—we prefer speaking well of ourselves instead of speaking well of others. In verse 3, Hannah gives a strong exhortation—especially to those who know God—that we must not allow pride and arrogance to rule our speech. “Do not be proud, and let no arrogance come from your mouth.”
B. God’s Knowledge of Our Pride and Arrogance
The reason we should not be proud is because God knows everything. He weighs every action and every word we speak. Scripture says plainly that He hates pride, arrogance, and evil speech:
Proverbs 8:13
“The fear of the LORD is hatred of evil.
Pride and arrogance and the way of evil
and perverted speech I hate.”
No word is hidden from God. You may whisper, but your whisper is amplified before Him. God’s knowledge is so deep that nothing can be concealed. Scripture says:
Psalm 139:4
“Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether.”
Here we can see that God's knowledge is not only limited through the things he see, but also he knows the things you thought he will not see, may it be good or evil, God's knows everything, He knows each and every fiber of spiritual, physical, conscience, and thoughts of men.
C. Peninnah’s Arrogance Brought Her Shame
Here we see how Peninnah’s pride and arrogance were ultimately brought to shame. Notice the phrase in verse 3:
“By Him actions are weighed.”
Every action was seen and recorded by God, and He judged righteously.
Peninnah’s heart was filled with pride because she has many children. John Gill comments that such hard speech, proud expressions, and arrogant attitudes—as reflected in ancient Jewish writings (Targum)—may lead to blasphemy. Gill writes: “Let not arrogancy come out of your mouth; arrogating to themselves, and to their merits, what they enjoyed… when all come from the Lord… The Targum renders the word by reproaches, or blasphemies…”(Gill continues by noting that God knows all thoughts, intentions, expressions, and will judge every hard and proud word.)² After Hannah gave birth to Samuel, we did not see any recorded words coming from Peninah, and we don't even know what happened to her, but one thing is for sure. God saw, heard, and knew her arrogance, and the truth is this, God hates her evil deeds.
Application
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God is a righteous Judge (Psalm 7:11). He knows every detail of our hearts. His judgment is pure, and He will not leave the guilty unpunished. Therefore, whatever hidden sin, arrogance, or harsh speech lies in us—repent. Do not let it consume you, or it will destroy you.
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Be mindful of every word that comes out of your mouth. Instead of speaking negatively about others, let our words be filled with encouragement, compassion, forgiveness, and love—not slander, gossip, harshness, or lies (Colossians 3:12–14).
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Speaking negatively about others brings no benefit to you or to the church. It only leads to more sin—and sin carries consequences under a Holy and Righteous God.
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For those who have been wounded by harsh words, respond like Hannah. Do not seek revenge, but cast your burdens upon the Lord (1 Peter 5:7). God, who is just, compassionate, and all-knowing, will comfort you and will avenge in His perfect time (Romans 12:19).
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Let us all remember, that God’s enemy was already put into shame when The Eternal Son of God rose up from the grave. They mocked Christ thinking that He could not save Himself from death (Luke 23:25), however, when Christ rose again after 3 days, they were all put to shame. They may cover it up with different stories and lies, but in God’s eyes their arrogance is not hidden(Matthew 28:11-15). Christ death and resurrection put His enemies into shame and total defeat (1Cor 15). Gotquestions.org has a good answer on the question “what does it mean that the last enemy will be destroyed?(1 Cor 15:26)” and I will end it here, and I quote:
“The defeat of death by the God of life proves the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead. Death can only be destroyed by the resurrection of both the wicked and the righteous, who will die no more. If there is no resurrection, then death will still rule and people will be subject to it. The fact that death will be destroyed assures us of the resurrection. “When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory’” (1 Corinthians 15:54; cf. Isaiah 25:8).”³
Reference:
¹Jason Meyer Think of yourself less, https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/think-of-yourself-less
²John Gil, https://biblehub.com/commentaries/1_samuel/2-3.htm