First Samuel 1-3

God’s message to me: Listen for the voice of the Lord. Most of what God has to say to us can be found in the pages of the bible. Most, but not all. God did not tell us how to recognize profits and how to test spirits to know if they speak the truth just so we could decide neither existed anymore and we didn’t have to listen. God still speaks to us and, through the Holy Spirit, is more direct with Christians than He was with His people in the Old Testament. Learning to listen for His instruction and understanding how to recognize it is an important step of growth in our Christian life. I’ll add a supplemental entry on some basic principles.

Promises: God lifts up the lowly who look to Him for help. He strikes down the haughty who afflict others without cause and defy His commands.

Commands: Do not cause others to stumble and to sin by your actions.

Timeless principles: God can chose people from the most unlikely places. Samuel was not of the tribe of Levi and he wasn’t a descendant of Aaron. He was given to the high priest by a family from one of the sons of Joseph as an adopted son to serve the Lord. God raised him up to take the place of the priestly line which had become to corrupt to serve.

How can I apply what I’ve learned: Look carefully for where God is working. You may find His handiwork in the most unlikely places. I heard people on the radio complain about the TV series KINGS. They think it’s propaganda leading to a one world government, a dictatorship, or something similar. They don’t see that, like Touched by an Angel, Promised Land, Second Noah and others, it is an attempt to tell the truths of the bible through entertainment. Whether it can stay on track or even on the air is questionable. Many shows based in Christian values are run off the air despite good ratings and others are corrupted to teach false doctrine.

Even something like Star Wars can teach lessons we should know. George Lucas was said to be quite upset when Ronald Reagan pointed out that his movie had created the environment the president used to overcome communism. It was a reminder that evil exists and must be overcome. It was a hopeful message of the ability of good to triumph.

more to learn for in-depth study: Samuel was an Ephraimite. His tribe was one of the sons of Joseph. He was not bound by law to be in service because the Tribe of Levi had been dedicated to serve the Lord in place of the first born. His mother vowed to make him a Nazirite in service to God for his entire life if she could have a child. His name means Heard by God. Notice also that a basic principle of prayer is demonstrated. The chief priest blessed Hannah and said, “may God grant your request.” Christ also mentioned agreement in prayer. Two or more agreeing before God for a prayer request will cause the request to be granted. Prayer is not meant to be solitary. Often it becomes a solo practice but whenever possible you should share the request and pray with someone.

The sons of Eli were abusive and unruly, ignoring the Law of God and causing people to hate going to the temple because of their abuse. The Evil they did was beyond contempt and would turn the stomachs of many who read of it. Samuel ministered as a priest from childhood and did so in accordance with the law as a priest should. God swore to kill both Eli’s sons in one day and raise up a faithful priest to lead so that the Israelites would not be driven to sin by the evil they encountered at the tabernacle.

Eli had not restrained his sons. He did not prevent them from interfering in the sacrifice. Because he treated them better than the sacrifice and showed more honor to them than to God, his house was cursed. He was still the high priest and so he was able to perceive the Lord was calling to Samuel in the night.

Eli knew the Lord wouldn’t call the boy in vain and asked him the next day to reveal what the Lord had said. Samuel knew it was a curse against the old man and didn’t want to tell him for fear of hurting him but, Eli insisted and Samuel told all. Eli replied by saying, “He is the Lord, let Him do what seems good to Him.” It was a wise and true saying worthy of the high priest. It also showed Eli understood his mistakes.

tomorrow: First Samuel 4-7