Monday, October 31, 2022
Bible Study Sunday afternoon.
Hi folks here is the next study in our Fascinating Lives Study led by Zwingli.
I look forward to seeing you on Sunday.
Fascinating Lives Bible Study 1 Samuel 1,2,3 Samuel and Eli
Samuel: The Boy Who Heard God's Voice
Imagine for the next few moments that you are a child again, a child in
Sunday school. You're about seven years old and, as usual, your mind is
drifting and wandering from one thing to another. You're busy. You're fidgety.
You're not thinking much about what the teacher has on her mind. And then,
suddenly, something catches your eye. The teacher brings in a series of
posters, large pictures, each one depicting a story out of the Scriptures. She
asks you to name the story by just looking at the picture.
Got it? OK. Play along with me as I hold up the pictures, and let's see how
well you do in a class of seven- to eight-year-old children in Sunday school.
The first large poster shows a young man standing beside a fresh grave. He
has blood on his clothing, a knife in his hand, and a guilty look on his face.
He's speaking toward the sky with a shrug. What story is this?
Cain and Abel? Good. One for one.
Second, a series of black clouds darkens the top of the poster; the sea is
turbulent with no hint of land anywhere in the distance. In the center of the
picture you see a very large, crudely constructed bargelike boat. Through the
window of the vessel, you see a monkey sitting on a giraffe's head.
Yeah, I know. That one is easy. You immediately said Noah and the ark.
You're right. Very good.
Here's a third. A mother is standing waist deep in a muddy river. She's
placing her baby into a little handmade, reed basket. A small girl looks on
with a worried face.
That's not much to go on, but you might have recognized the story of how
the mother of Moses saved him from certain death. With the help of her
daughter, she floated him down the Nile so that the daughter of Pharaoh
would discover and adopt him. Another magnificent story out of the
Scriptures.
I have one more. It's a young boy in bed, sitting up like something has just
pulled him from his dreams. He is trying to wake up. His face reflects a
mixture of confusion and concentration. He has his head slightly tilted as
though he's trying to hear something.
I love stories. Especially those about humble beginnings. Stories that tell
you what a lowly, unknown person was like before he or she became great or
how an underdog got the best of some bully or how a huge company started in
someone's garage. And every story has a setting—or at least it should. A
story without context is like a diamond without a mounting. The stone may be
beautiful lying loose on a table, but when it's carefully mounted in the right
setting it can dazzle you with its brilliance and sparkling beauty.
We need to understand the setting of the little boy who was awakened from
his sleep. When we do, the significance of the story takes on a deeper
meaning.
ISRAEL'S DARK SETTING
The setting is Israel before the glory days of King David. There has been
a long period—a couple hundred years—of intermittent warfare, cycles of
events during which Israel would suffer invasion followed by famine; then a
judge would emerge and win a temporary peace. During the peace, the
people would sin, and the cycle would kick in again. Another invasion
followed by defeat, resulting in yet another famine, growing more severe
each time. This story takes place during a lull in the violence, a restful
season of relative peace. Days were unusually quiet and uneventful.
My grandfather used to take me fishing down near Palacios, in the South
Texas area not too many miles from Matagorda Bay, which led into the Gulf
of Mexico. Every once in a while, we'd find ourselves in the middle of what
he called a "slick." If you fish, you know what that's like. It's a patch of
water so glassy smooth you can flip a penny into the water and count the
ripples. It's quiet, calm, and windless. Politically and socially, this time in
Hebrew history is like a "slick" after a long stretch of recurring turbulence.
The people of Israel have settled back into a lax lifestyle that could be
described as downright complacent. Their attitude toward God and His
vision for them as a nation has become indifferent, a little ho-hum, boring.
Their leader, the high priest, is Eli, an old man whose eyesight has begun to
grow dim. Unless something changes, he will turn the reins of leadership
over to his two rebellious sons, Hophni and Phinehas, who helped him
minister in the tabernacle, which was the place of worship during this period
of Israel's history.
There's more to the setting, so bear with me. A few years earlier, a woman
named Hannah was a regular visitor to the temple. She spent most of her time
in prayer, begging God for the gift of a son. She vowed to the Lord that if He
would grant her request, she would give the boy back to Him. The Lord
finally gave her a son, whom she named him Samuel. Appropriately, the
name means "asked of God." Soon after he was weaned, she fulfilled her
promise and placed Samuel in the care of Eli, the aging, almost blind, high
priest of Israel. Eli was responsible for Samuel's welfare and education. He
was tutoring him in spiritual things, preparing him for a lifetime of service to
God.
Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the LORD before Eli. And word from the LORD was rare in those days, visions were infrequent. 1 SAMUEL 3:1
The whole land of Israel, stuck in a political and spiritual "slick," was
half asleep, yawning its way from one day to the next. God is silent. No one
has visions, except maybe a few charlatans (sounds a little like today,
doesn't it?). Meanwhile Samuel, still a young lad, carries out his duties for
the Lord under the watchful eye of Eli, a preoccupied, doting, grandfather
type who's very kind and gentle with him. So much for the setting.
A CHILD CONVICTS THE JUDGE
Whenever a story begins with a very placid, ultra-calm setting, you can
usually expect something to change soon:
It happened at that time as Eli was lying down in his place (now his eyesight had begun to grow dim and he could not see well), and the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the LORD where the ark of God was, that the LORD called Samuel; and he said, "Here I am." 1 SAMUEL 3:2–4
Everything in the tabernacle revolved around the Most Holy Place. This
was where the sacred, laserlike brilliance of God's presence hovered over
the ark of the covenant—a place so holy it was dangerous to mere humans.
So a thick curtain divided it from the rest of the inner chamber where the
implements of worship were located. One of the special fixtures of this holy
area was a menorah, which, according to the Law of Moses, was never to go
out. To keep the lamp supplied with oil around the clock, the priests would
take turns sleeping near the Most Holy Place to be sure it burned perpetually.
Eli and Samuel were probably taking their turn sleeping in the tabernacle
to keep the lamp lit. They slept in little rooms or closets near that special
area of God's presence. It was when Samuel heard a voice call his name that
he sat up in his little pallet and called back, "Yes?" No one answered, so . . .
He ran to Eli and said, "Here I am, for you called me." But he said, "I did not call, lie down again." So he went and lay down. 1 SAMUEL 3:5
You can't always tell from Scripture whether God's voice is audible or
"heard" by some other means. When Saul (later Paul) was on the road to
Damascus, he heard the voice of the resurrected Jesus talking to him in a
vision, and the sound could be heard by his entourage. It was audible. In
Genesis 6, God spoke to Noah and gave him specific instructions. We might
assume that the voice was audible—that is, he heard spoken words with his
ears—but the Lord may have "spoken" to him mind to mind. We don't know
for sure. God's voice to Daniel sounded like thunder, but centuries earlier to
Elijah, He spoke with "a noiseless sound." In Samuel's case, God spoke in
such a way that Samuel literally heard His voice. He spoke with the voice of
a normal, Hebrew man so that the boy thought it was Eli calling to him from
the other room.
Back in the late 1970s, my aging father lived in our home and needed help
on occasion. Our bedroom was upstairs, his was downstairs, and I remember
hearing the sound of his voice winding its way through the darkness,
penetrating my dreams, pulling me out of my sleep. As I awoke, I went to see
what he needed. If you're a parent, you've experienced that with a child. So
it makes sense that Samuel would scamper off to Eli's room to see what the
old man needed. "Here I am."
Eli probably thought Samuel had been dreaming, so he sent him back to bed.
The LORD called yet again, "Samuel!" So Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, "Here I am, for you called me." But he answered, "I did not call, my son, lie down again." Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, nor had the word of the LORD yet been revealed to him. 1 SAMUEL 3:6–7; emphasis added
The last sentence represents the storyteller's clarifying comment to the
reader, who already knew of Samuel as a powerful prophet of God. It's the
author's way of saying that this occurred before the Lord had initiated a
personal relationship with the boy. Keep this in mind, as it will become an
important part of the story as it unfolds.
By the way, in the Old Testament, having a personal relationship with the
Lord in the way we have come to know it by the new covenant and the
indwelling Holy Spirit was a rare and truly awesome privilege. I think we
take this privilege far too lightly!
Remember the opening verse of chapter 3 said, "And word from the LORD
was rare in those days, visions were infrequent." Because Samuel and God
weren't yet on speaking terms, everything the boy knew of the Lord came
through Eli, not by personal experience. Before people had the Scriptures,
the Lord would break the silence and speak audibly to a prophet or give
direction from some supernatural source. But it had never happened to
Samuel. He was not only inexperienced, he was confused. He did the only
thing a little, confused boy knew to do; he ran to Eli:
So the LORD called Samuel again for the third time. And he arose and went to Eli and said, "Here I am, for you called me." Then Eli discerned that the LORD was calling the boy. 1 SAMUEL 3:8
I'm intrigued by the word "discerned" here. The Hebrew word involves a
heavy element of skill—wisdom by experience. You can't take a course in
college to learn discernment. It comes only through the passage of time as
you apply yourself to discovery by trial and error. Eli had never heard the
voice of the Lord himself, and God's revelation in this way hadn't occurred
for a very long time; yet he was discerning of the Lord's ways. He had come
to know God well. By the third time around, it became clear to him that this
had to be the Lord's voice. I appreciate his counsel to Samuel:
And Eli said to Samuel, "Go lie down, and it shall be if He calls you, that you shall say, 'Speak, LORD, for Your servant is listening.'" So Samuel went and lay down in his place. 1 SAMUEL 3:9
Just imagine. You're a young person working for someone who has years
of experience in the ways of God and that person you greatly respect says,
"That's God's voice. If you hear it again, you listen. Stay sensitive to what
God has to say." This must have been strange for a small boy to hear, but he
obeyed without hesitation.
Then the LORD came and stood and called as at other times, "Samuel! Samuel!" And Samuel said, "Speak, for Your servant is listening." 1 SAMUEL 3:10
As a child in Sunday school, I remember seeing Bible story posters on the
walls of the classroom. Invariably, one of them was Samuel, lying in bed,
propped up on one elbow, tilting his head slightly as he strained to hear
something. The artist had drawn everything so perfectly I could almost hear
the voice of God . . . but the story for me ended there.
I used to wonder, well, what did He say? Why did He wake him three
times? What was so important? Unfortunately, the message God gave to
Samuel was one of the most severe warnings He had ever issued—so severe
that my Sunday school teachers probably felt like a child ought not hear it. In
the silence of his bedchamber, Samuel heard these frightening words of
warning:
The LORD said to Samuel, "Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel at which both ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. In that day I will carry out against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. For I have told him that I am about to judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knew, because his sons brought a curse on themselves and he did not rebuke them. Therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever." 1 SAMUEL 3:11–14
The message was a huge burden for little Samuel, but, tragically, it was not
something Eli hadn't already heard. God had pulled Eli aside on previous
occasions and told him about his wayward sons. In the previous chapter, we
read:
Then a man of God came to Eli and said to him, "Thus says the LORD, 'Did I not indeed reveal Myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt in bondage to Pharaoh's house? Did I not choose them from all the tribes of Israel to be My priests, to go up to My altar, to burn incense, to carry an ephod before Me; and did I not give to the house of your father all the fire offerings of the sons of Israel? Why do you kick at My sacrifice and at My offering which I have commanded in My dwelling, and honor your sons above Me, by making yourselves fat with the choicest of every offering of My people Israel?' Therefore the LORD God of Israel declares, 'I did indeed say that your house and the house of your father should walk before Me forever'; but now the LORD declares, 'Far be it from Me—for those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me will be lightly esteemed. Behold, the days are coming when I will break your
strength and the strength of your father's house so that there will not be an old man in your house. You will see the distress of My dwelling, in spite of all the good that I do for Israel; and an old man will not be in your house forever.'" 1 SAMUEL 2:27–32
THE SIN OF ELI
If you're not familiar with the backstory, you may be wondering, what is
this all about? The short answer is this: two extremely wicked sons, Hophni and Phinehas.
Eli was a great preacher, a fine priest. As the high priest, he was
responsible, once each year, to enter the Most Holy Place and offer an
atoning sacrifice on behalf of the nation. No one else had that privilege. He
judged, he instructed the people in matters of worship, he gave counsel, he
devoted his entire life to serving in the tabernacle of God and ministering to
the needs of His people. But he was a passive, inactive father who indulged
his sons. Those boys of his were a piece of work!
Now the sons of Eli were worthless men; they did not know the LORD and the custom of the priests with the people. 1 SAMUEL 2:12–13; emphasis added
The author used similar words with little Samuel, but with a very different
emphasis. The word translated "know" (yada) is the same, but the context
makes an enormous difference. Samuel didn't know the Lord due to youthful
ignorance. Hophni and Phinehas didn't know the Lord because they were
willful, carnal reprobates. Morally, they were hollow, spiritual losers! Yet
they had been anointed priests. The following is one example of how they
would abuse their positions:
Also, before they burned the fat, the priest's servant would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, "Give the priest meat for roasting, as he will not take boiled meat from you, only raw." If the man said to him, "They must surely burn the fat first, and then take as much as you desire," then he would say, "No, but you shall give it to me now; and if not, I will take it by force." Thus the sin of the young men was very great before the LORD, for the men despised the offering of the LORD. 1 SAMUEL 2:15–18
According to the Law of Moses, they were to burn the fat as an offering
and take whatever didn't burn from the altar. In this way, they were to
receive only what the Lord provided. Eli's worthless sons defied God's
instructions and reserved the choicest cuts of meat for their dinner table.
That's bad . . . but it only gets worse. Much worse.
Now Eli was very old; and he heard all that his sons were doing to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who served at the doorway of the tent of meeting. 1 SAMUEL 2:22
Along with their audacious disrespect for the sacrifices of God, they were
perverse men who took sexual advantage of the women who came to
worship. And they did so without shame, right there in the house of God. And
Eli knew it! You would think that a genuine man of God like Eli would be
outraged. Remember, he also served as Israel's judge, meaning that his
responsibility was to carry out justice on behalf of God. These sons of
shameless lust should have been carried to the edge of town and stoned to
death. Instead, they receive a mild scolding. How pathetic is that ?
He said to them, "Why do you do such things, the evil things that I hear from all these people? No, my sons; for the report is not good which I hear the LORD's people circulating. If one man sins against another, God will mediate for him; but if a man sins against the LORD, who can intercede for him?" But they would not listen to the voice of their father, for the LORD desired to put them to death. 1 SAMUEL 2:23–25
Meanwhile . . . "Now the boy Samuel was growing in stature and in favor
both with the LORD and with men" (1 Samuel 2:26).
As difficult as it is to imagine, Samuel was raised in this environment, but
apparently knew little about it. While Hophni and Phinehas turned the
tabernacle into a chamber of unbridled lust, Eli kept one hand over Samuel's
eyes and the other over his own. God's patience finally reached its end. He
was through talking to Eli about it. Instead He would place His final word of
judgment on the lips of an innocent little boy:
In that day I will carry out against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. For I have told him that I am about to judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knew, because his sons brought a curse on themselves and he did not rebuke them. Therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever. 1 SAMUEL 3:12–14;
COMPLACENCY IS THE ENEMY OF OBEDIENCE
Eli's behavior reflected his times. Politically, socially, and spiritually,
the nation existed in a sluggish, lazy complacency. He folded his arms and
thought, Well, I just can't do a thing with these boys of mine. Hophni and
Phinehas have been rebellious all their lives, and I'm so busy. I've got so
many things to take care of, surely God will understand.
No, God won't understand! His anger has risen to such a level that He
awakens this young boy in the tender years of childhood to tell him, "This
warning I am giving you so you will know what is going to happen."
So Samuel lay down until morning. Then he opened the doors of the house of the LORD. But Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli. Then Eli called Samuel and said, "Samuel, my son." And he said, "Here I am." He said, "What is the word that He spoke to you? Please do not hide it from me. May God do so to you, and more also, if you hide anything from me of all the words that He spoke to you." So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. And he said, "It is the LORD; let Him do what seems good to Him." 1 SAMUEL 3:15–19
Just as Eli requested, Samuel told him everything that the Lord had said.
He hid nothing from him. I am amazed by Eli's response. He says, in effect,
"Well, that's the way it goes. The Lord knows what He's doing." How much
better if he had finally taken the Lord's warning seriously. How much better
if he had stood to his feet and said, "That's it. I've heard enough. I'm doing
exactly what God says in the Law. I'm taking these boys to the elders of the
city so justice might be carried out! The years of my own negligence and the
years of evil in the tabernacle end now. When I die, I will die in obedience."
That's not Eli's style. He did the same on this day as he had been doing
throughout the years. Nothing.
ANY FAMILY CAN DISINTEGRATE; NONE IS IMMUNE
God has preserved for us fascinating stories to leave us with enduring
lessons. Fathers in particular need to take heed. It has been my observation
that Eli's paralysis of leadership is not uncommon . . . even among those in
ministry. As a father whose vocation is service to the Lord, I have made it my
intentional mission to avoid the failure of Eli. While I have been far from
perfect, I've worked hard not to be passive.
To avoid his fate, each one of us today must recognize that our family
could very easily end up like Eli's. We must recognize that any family can
come unraveled—an elder's family, a pastor's family, a missionary family
whose father walks with God and pours his heart into a church, rich, poor,
healthy, strained . . . any family. The warning signs are often evident. From
Eli's family we can detect no less than four.
FIRST, DISINTEGRATING FAMILIES HAVE PARENTS WHO ARE PREOCCUPIED WITH AN
OCCUPATION TO THE EXCLUSION OF FAMILY NEEDS.
Eli was a busy priest. He was a respected judge. He was engaged in serving the public. We can be reasonably sure that if he weren't, God would have mentioned it in His warning. Public ministry wasn't his weakness. The problem was that he failed to give his boys the kind of attention he gave Samuel. His sons were slowly eroding into a lifestyle of cynicism and skepticism and Eli not only overlooked it, but he failed to discipline them. Yet he did his job well.
Alexander Whyte, one of Scotland's most insightful writers of yesteryear, points out his observations with eloquence:
Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not the Lord. Impossible! you would protest, if it were not in the Bible. But just because it is in the Bible, we are compelled to ask ourselves how it could possibly come about that the sons of such a sacred man as Eli was could ever become sons of Belial.
What! not know the Lord, and they born and brought up within the very precincts of the
Lord's house! Were not the first sounds they heard the praises of God in His sanctuary? Were not the first sights they saw their father in his robes beside the altar with all the tables, and the bread, and the sacrifices, and the incense round about him?1
That causes me to stop and think about my now-adult children. They have
seen me serving communion, they have seen me preaching for years in a
pulpit, they have seen me studying Scripture at home, they have seen me
singing hymns with great passion and volume! Sunday after Sunday they
observed me involved in tasks of ministry. And throughout the week they
heard the stories. They were with us in prayer around the table. While all of
that is good, it would grieve me if that's all they knew of their father. If they
didn't know any part of my personal life like they know of my involvement in
ministry, I would be crushed. And to make matters worse, they would not
imbibe my love for Christ. That's exactly the way it was with Hophni and
Phinehas. Oh, I can't prove it from a Bible verse, but the signs are
everywhere to anyone paying attention.
Whyte continues this way:
And yet, there it is in black and white; there it is in blood and tears—"The sons of Eli knew not the Lord."
Let me think. Let me consider well how, conceivably, it could come about that Hophni and Phinehas could be born and brought up at Shiloh and not know the Lord. Well, for one thing, their father was never at home. What with judging all Israel, Eli never saw his children till they were in their beds. "What mean ye by this ordinance?" all the other children in Israel asked at their fathers as they came up to the temple. And all the way up and all the way down again those fathers took their inquiring children by the hand and told them all about Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and Joseph, and Moses, and Aaron, and the exodus, and the wilderness, and the conquest, and the yearly Passover. Hophni and Phinehas were the only children in all Israel who saw the temple every day and paid no attention to it.
And, then, every father and mother knows this, how the years run away, and how their
children grow up, till all of a sudden they are as tall as themselves. And very much faster than our tallest children did Eli's children grow up. All things, indeed, were banded against Eli; the very early ripeness of his sons was against Eli. He thought he would one day have time but it was his lifelong regret that he had never had time. And, what with one thing, and what with another; what with their father's preoccupation and their own evil hearts; the two young men were already sons of Belial when they should still have been little children.2
The temptation of any child of vocational Christian ministers is to see the
work of the ministry as just another thing, just another religious occupation.
Breaking through the wall of "public religion" must be the intense
responsibility of the parent-minister if his or her children are to understand
that this isn't a business, a slick profession, or an entertainment arena where
Mommy or Daddy puts on a performance.
The key word is authenticity. Not perfection, understand, for no one gets it
right all the time. But being real. Admit your faults, own them completely,
ask for forgiveness, be quick to give it, allow children plenty of room to fail,
and let them see you live your life behind the scenes with love, grace, and
humor. All of that takes time and effort, both of which will cost you
productivity on the job. Consider it a priceless, permanent investment.
SECOND, DISINTEGRATING FAMILIES HAVE PARENTS WHO REFUSE TO FACE THE SEVERITY OF THEIR CHILDREN'S ACTIONS.
Eli knew how horrible his sons had become, yet he did nothing! I've seen parents in such denial that they cannot bring themselves to admit that their child has a serious problem with drugs or pornography or sexual promiscuity or stealing—behavior that most any other normal person would consider a red flag. Yet they act as though the crisis will resolve itself if given a little patience.
I've seen too many disintegrating families miss the warning signs, so I have even less reason to doubt the wisdom of Proverbs 19:18. Read these words in several different translations:
Discipline your children while there is hope. If you don't, you will ruin their lives. (NLT)
Discipline your children while they are young enough to learn. If you don't, you are helping them to destroy themselves. (TEV)
Discipline your children while you still have the chance; indulging them destroys them. (MSG)
If you have children who are young, you have children who are
impressionable. That's the time to make your most important investment in
them. To wait until they're as tall as you, you will have already allowed them
to self-destruct.
If your children are nearly adults, take responsibility for your part in their
poor choices, then do whatever is necessary to save them. Because you've
waited so long, there are few options that don't have grave consequences in
the short term. So consider the long term, and do what you must. I repeat: It is
never too late to start doing what is right.
THIRD, DISINTEGRATING FAMILIES FAIL TO RESPOND QUICKLY AND THOROUGHLY TO THE WARNINGS OF OTHERS.
Listen to their teachers. They may seem biased
against your child, but they rarely are. Take the early reports seriously, and
get involved soon. Listen to your pastor or your youth leader. Listen to the
uniformed officer with a badge who comes to your door.
Don't be so quick to jump to your child's defense. At least take time to
hear the report in full. Ask direct, hard questions to be sure you have the
whole picture. Then take time to reflect on what you have heard. If it
resonates, causing you to think that it might be accurate, then dig deeper and
go to whatever measure is necessary to make certain you have it resolved.
Without being impulsive in your reaction, don't be like Eli. He didn't listen
to the man of God who came to him (see 1 Samuel 2:27), and he later paid
dearly for his negligence.
FOURTH, DISINTEGRATING FAMILIES RATIONALIZE WRONG BEHAVIOR, AND THEREBY BECOME PART OF THE PROBLEM.
Eli participated in his sons' behavior. We know this because Eli got fat on the food his boys had stolen from the altar. Read again 1 Samuel 2:29 and try to imagine the scene God paints for Eli:
Why do you kick at My sacrifice and My offering which I have commanded in My dwelling place, and honor your sons more than Me, to make yourselves fat with the best of all the offerings of Israel My people? (emphasis added)
Eli rationalized and excused the sins of his sons while eating meat that had
been stolen from the altar. As for Samuel, the boy who heard God's voice, the closing words of this episode tell us that the sleepy, spiritual indifference that had lulled Israel into complacency was about to come to a screeching halt. Samuel would rouse the nation from its slumber and call it to action:
Thus Samuel grew and the LORD was with him and let none of his words fail. All Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the LORD. And the LORD appeared again at Shiloh, because the LORD revealed Himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the LORD. 1 SAMUEL 3:19–21
A man of action was on the scene, and Israel's spiritual drift was about to end. Even as a little boy, he not only heard the Lord, but he obeyed His voice.
DO SOMETHING . . . GET INVOLVED
As you ponder all of this, especially as you evaluate the condition of your
family, remember that hearing the truth isn't enough. Action is essential. Only
on the rarest occasions does the Lord bless someone for merely listening to
Him. Faith is an action. That means His blessings almost always lie on the
other side of obedience. According to Scripture, knowledge alone merely
puffs up, but with action comes humility (1 Corinthians 8:1). Besides,
problems like those of Eli do not solve themselves. They multiply and
intensify with the passing of time. If the willful acts of rebellion and carnal
conflicts that you permit in your family are never resolved, they become
unwelcome wedding gifts when your children choose to marry.
If you have reached the conclusion that your family is in danger, choose to
do something rather than nothing. Refuse to be like Eli. In the end, after
achieving public success in ministry, God considered Eli a failure at home . .. and judged him for it. Don't go there.
Questions
- Why do you think pastors kids have a reputation for rebellion?
- History is His story. Why is this an important way to understand all history?
3. God had abandoned Shiloh. Jeremiah 7:11-15, 23- 26.
Has this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, I myself have seen it, declares the LORD.12 Go now to my place that was in Shiloh, where I made my name dwell at first, and see what I did to it because of the evil of my people Israel.13 And now, because you have done all these things, declares the LORD, and when I spoke to you persistently you did not listen, and when I called you, you did not answer,14 therefore I will do to the house that is called by my name, and in which you trust, and to the place that I gave to you and to your fathers, as I did to Shiloh.15 And I will cast you out of my sight, as I cast out all your kinsmen, all the offspring of Ephraim.
23 But this command I gave them: 'Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people. And walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.'24 But they did not obey or incline their ear, but walked in their own counsels and the stubbornness of their evil hearts, and went backward and not forward.25 From the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt to this day, I have persistently sent all my servants the prophets to them, day after day.26 Yet they did not listen to me or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck. They did worse than their fathers.
Is it possible for God to abandon a church?
4. Why is it significant that God called the boy by name?
5. What were the problems with Eli's sons?
6. Proverbs 22:6. Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. What does this mean?
- With older children, what do you need to do to help them realise the reality of a walk with Christ?
- Deuteronomy 6 gives insight into effective teaching of Children of all ages. Describe these insights.
"Now this is the commandment, the statutes and the rules that the LORD your God commanded me to teach you, that you may do them in the land to which you are going over, to possess it,2 that you may fear the LORD your God, you and your son and your son's son, by keeping all his statutes and his commandments, which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be long.3 Hear therefore, O Israel, and be careful to do them, that it may go well with you, and that you may multiply greatly, as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey."
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
10 "And when the LORD your God brings you into the land that he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you---with great and good cities that you did not build,11 and houses full of all good things that you did not fill, and cisterns that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant---and when you eat and are full,12 then take care lest you forget the LORD, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.13 It is the LORD your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve and by his name you shall swear.14 You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are around you---15 for the LORD your God in your midst is a jealous God---lest the anger of the LORD your God be kindled against you, and he destroy you from off the face of the earth.
Saturday, October 29, 2022
Romans 10:8-17 Acts 4:1-19 The Evidences Of A Church On Fire
During 1998 the Newcastle Baptist Tabernacle experiencd a break and enter by three teenagers under 18 years old. Looking for money to buy drugs, the hoodlums found none, so they torched the church. I was rung and went down to the building. They had burned out my office and then this area on the screen. $200,000 damage. The church was on fire. I stood near the steps with a key to let the firemen into the building past the security grills. There was a detective. "First time I've ever seen you in church." " First time I'd seen the church on fire."
When church catches fire people turn up who you'd never expect to turn up.
On the day of Pentecost the church was a church ablaze. In the early part of the book of acts growth was recorded as by Additions, later on it by multiplications. by AD 70 it is believed that half of population of Jerusalem came to know the Lord, maybe 100,000.
It was like a bush fire…jumping from tree top to tree top.
A church on fire.
In 1515, Pope Leo X granted a plenary indulgence intended to finance the construction of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. It would apply to almost any sin, including adultery and theft. "As soon as a coin in the coffer rings / the soul from purgatory springs." He had preached as early as 1514 against the abuse of indulgences and the way they cheapened grace rather than requiring true repentance.[15] Luther became especially concerned in 1517
"When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, 'Repent,' he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance." In the first few theses Luther develops the idea of repentance as the Christian's inner struggle with sin rather than the external system of sacramental confession.[21] Theses 5–7 then state that the pope can only release people from the punishments he has administered himself or through the church's system of penance, not the guilt of sin.
During the period of the Reformation, evangelical churches became churches on fire.
How can we be a church on fire here in the Penrith region?
My favourite television show was The Crocodile Hunter. Amazingly, the show became the most significant television show worldwide!
Listen to what the lecturer in Evangelism from South Eastern Baptist Seminary says; "It has been a long time since I was as excited about a television show as I am about The Crocodile Hunter. Whenever I speak to young people, I ask how many of them know who the Crocodile Hunter is. The response is telling. Nearly every one of them knows who he is. The show's star, Steve Irwin, has jumped from "just another host" of a little known program on a USA smaller market cable network, to the host of primetime specials on network television and an occasional appearance on movies and commercials. Steve Irwin's incredible rise in popularity can teach us some things. The enthusiasm of young people from age 5 to 25 for the show is obvious. They know his sayings: "She's a beauty!" (I have to admit even a snake lover like me has a hard time calling a salt water crocodile beautiful!) If a particular python attempts to bite him, you will hear him say, "Oh, you're being grumpy, mate!" "Danger! Danger! Danger!" is another of his popular sayings." Believe it or not, I think Steve Irwin's rise — from a man running a zoo in Queensland to an internationally known figure — can teach us some things about how to make an impact on this culture.
If we would be a Church on Fire:
- We Must Serve The Right Master
Acts 4: "By what power or by what name did you do this?"8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, "Rulers of the people and elders,9 if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed,10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead---by him this man is standing before you well.11 This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."
1. Be Real 13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.
Steve Irwin was real. His videography is inferior to what you see in National Geographic specials, but no one cares! We live in a society today where reality is in, and synthetic is out. Look at the popularity of shows like Survivor, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, and Traitors and all the rest (except the real love boat.. I heard it sank, or love island…yuck!
Everyday people rather than phony Hollywood actors. The primary way The Crocodile Hunter grew was to reach the masses not through marketing but through reaching those who are sick and tired of slick approaches to push a product. This culture wants real, not slick.
The best way to witness in this postmodern, increasingly radically unchurched culture is to be just like the early believers. They did not make an impression by their background, or their position, but by their genuine, obvious, and deep love for Jesus. Acts 4:13 gives one of many examples of this:
Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant, they marveled; and they realized that they had been with Jesus.
The most remarkable aspect of the early believers was that they were unremarkable. That, and they were real. And they had had a real experience with Jesus. Remember how Moses' face shone whenever he went into the tabernacle to speak with the Lord?
Is there something about you that says you have been with Jesus? Are you really serving the right Master? Or are you trying to serve yourself and Him. Who is more important to you really? Are you really His?
Be Passionate He is the Cornerstone
Be passionate. Have you ever seen anyone so incredibly zealous for a bunch of lizards and snakes? On several occasions he has said, "I would give my life to save this crocodile!" Now that is passion! Oh, that we as believers would have such a passion for Jesus, who is of infinitely greater value than a reptile! Our lost culture desperately needs people who will live for Jesus with a passion. Great movements of God in history, from the disciples in the book of Acts, from the First Great Awakening in the C17th to the Jesus Movement, have been led by people ablaze with a passion for God.
Now I would have to admit, I find his passion a little strange, but we as believers have Someone that motivates us to a real passion.
Be Passionate if you really love Him He will rub off on you.
We Have Someone to Be Passionate About!
Ps 118:22 The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone;
23 the LORD has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.
Isa 28:16 So this is what the Sovereign LORD says: "See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who trusts will never be dismayed. 17 I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the plumb line; hail will sweep away your refuge, the lie, and water will overflow your hiding place.
CORNERSTONE A stone placed at the corner, or the intersecting angle, where two walls of a building come together. In biblical times, buildings were often made of cut, squared stone. By uniting two intersecting walls, a cornerstone helped align the whole building and tie it together.
This chief cornerstone, Jesus Christ, is the foundation of the church, because "there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12) and in Him "the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord" (Eph 2:21). All who believe in Jesus find a solid Rock on which to build their lives.
The Old Testament passages were understood by the rabbis to be Messianic, and were properly so applied by the New Testament writers.
If we would be a Church on Fire:
- We Must Send The Right Message.
He Saves! "For the Scripture says, "Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame."12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him.13 For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." Romans 10:11-13
By Grace
Through Faith
In Christ alone
Acts 4:12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."
Do we really make it clear how people are really saved? There is salvation in none other than Jesus. Now that is unpopular to be said in Australia. I heard on a Current Affair a church being roasted for preaching that there is a literal hell and people need to get saved.
Nut We must send the right message:
Because No One Else Has Been Appointed
God appointed Jesus before anyone rejected Him.
Because No Other Sacrifice Is Sufficient
He is the only eternal sacrifice (Rom. 3:25 and Eph. 1:7).
Because No Other Power Is Equal To Bring About A New Creation
Because No Other Way Has Been Provided
Salvation is not of works. It is not our righteousness that matters.
Righteousness must be internal not just external.
Because No Other Door Opens Into Life
All other doors open into death.
Because No One Else Has Power Over Death
Because No One Else Has A Place Like He Has
If we would be a Church on Fire:
3. We Must Speak With The Right Motivation
A. There was a compassion about what they spoke of.
To stop a Christian from speaking about Jesus is like telling: The wind to stop blowing * The sun to stop shining * The rain to stop falling * The flowers to stop blooming * The grass to quit growing "We can't help but speak."
B. There was a compulsion
Jeremiah said, "Thy word was like a burning fire shutup in my bowels."
Paul said, "Woe is me if I preach not the gospel."
Because He's told me to do it and there is something in me that compels me to share the gospel.
That Means We Will Take Risks
Steve Irwin took risks to get the job done. No, that is inaccurate. He loved risks. He was crazy! Why do we say he is crazy? Because he took risks just to get the job done of having some spectacular footage. Do you think that his goal was just to put some nice or not so nice animals on film? I think he wanted other people to see the film. In fact I think he wanted everyone in the world to see his footage. I don't think Steve Irwin is as dumb as he looks. I think he has weighed the risks against the goal quite adequately. Obviously his goal is to be the most known man in the world. Maybe he looked at the other most known men in the world. Do you remember the name Evel Kneivel? That name became synonymous with daring stunts. Risks! He weighed the risks against the goal. To get the job done of being the most known man in the world.
Steve Irwin's first show that put him on the map concerned his adventure to capture the ten most venomous snakes in the world with his bare hands. It seems he spent his life trying to get as close to being a crocodile dinner as possible. He would not be happy unless he were chasing down a wild pig by foot, or grabbing a king brown with his bare hands, or jumping in a river on the back of an crocodile. He made sacrifices to save animals. Oh that we would make sacrifices for the salvation of the lost! Could God even use a Crocodile Hunter to spur us to take risks to reach the unchurched at any cost?
We have a greater goal.
The goal is that the forgiveness of sins and eternal life that is found in the Lord Jesus should be made known right around the world. Every person needs to know. Eternal life and eternal destruction ride in the balances.
Acts 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
The risk of losing a friend. Be real Be Passionate take risks!
New Testament Words Describing Evangelism
Witnessing martureo Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
Talking laleo Acts 4:1 And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them,
Evangelizing euangelizo Acts 8:4 Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word.
Announcing kerusso Acts 8:5 Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ.
HCSB Acts 8:4 So those who were scattered went on their way proclaiming the message of good news.
5 Philip went down to a city in Samaria and preached the Messiah to them
Confusing suncheo Acts 9:22 But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ.
Explaining dianoigo Acts 17: 2 And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, "This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ." 4 And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women.
Demonstrating paratithemai Acts 17:3
Preaching katangello Acts 17:3
Persuading peitho Acts 17:4 2 Cor. 5:11 Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others.
Teaching didasko Matt. 28:20 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
Discipling matheteuo Matt. 28:19
Reasoning dialegomai Acts 18:4 And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks.
Discussing suzeteo Acts 6:9 Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and disputed with Stephen.
Declaring gnorizo 1 Cor. 15:1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel
Winning kerdaino 1 Pet. 3:1 Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives,
Proving sumbibazo Acts 9:22
