The Altar and the Crown

1 Samuel 8

1 Peter 1:16 (NKJV) “Be holy, for I am holy.”

Romans 12:2 (NKJV) And do not be conformed to this world.

A soldier escaped the battle and ran into Shiloh with dust on his head and his clothes torn. Everyone knew that this meant tragedy, and the city was immediately in an uproar. Somebody took the man directly to Eli. Eli was old, he had judged Israel for forty years, and now he listened to the news he dreaded. His two sons were dead, and the Ark of the Covenant was in the Philistines’ possession. The boy Samuel had told Eli that this would happen. Eli fell off his stool at the news that the Ark had been captured and broke his neck.

Samuel was still a boy, so he went back home to Ramah, where his father and mother were. For twenty years, the Ark did not return to the tabernacle in Shiloh, nor did the people seek God. When Samuel was about thirty years old, he became judge of Israel, but he did not return to Shiloh. He made Ramah his home base for his entire life. 1 Samuel 7:15-17 sums this up.

1 Samuel 7:15–17 (NKJV) ¹⁵And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. ¹⁶He went from year to year on a circuit to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah, and judged Israel in all those places. ¹⁷But he always returned to Ramah, for his home was there. There he judged Israel, and there he built an altar to the Lord.

Samuel did not keep his governing activities in one place but traveled in a circuit. However, at his home base, he built an altar. Building an altar signaled a serious commitment to seek the Lord. 

Abraham built an altar at Bethel.

Genesis 12:7 (NKJV) Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants, I will give this land.” And there he built an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him.

Isaac built an altar.

Genesis 26:25 (NKJV) So he built an altar there and called on the name of the Lord, and he pitched his tent there; and there Isaac’s servants dug a well.

Jacob built an altar.

Genesis 35:7 (NKJV) And he built an altar there and called the place El Bethel, because there God appeared to him when he fled from the face of his brother.

The significance of these altars is that each one made a habit of worshiping the Lord in the place where they lived. They established a place of worship.

Be careful. God allowed this before the establishment of the nation.     However, in Deuteronomy 12, the Lord says they were not to offer their burnt offerings in every place they saw, but only in the location the Lord chose to make His name dwell. In Samuel’s day, the people had strayed so far that the tabernacle and place of worship were not functioning. One of the problems of the days of the judges was that everyone did what was right in their own eyes, deliberately disobeying the command of the Lord. This kind of deliberate disobedience still happens today. After all, I don’t need to go to church to be a Christian. Nonsense! That is just an excuse for doing things your own way. God’s word says, “Do not forsake the gathering of yourselves together.” (Hebrews 10:25) Consider what happened to Israel when every man did what was right in their own eyes. It resulted in disaster, and this is why Samuel started by making Ramah a place of worship. He did it because there was no regular gathering place. Samuel established the school of the prophets in hopes of re-establishing public worship in Israel.

Samuel also traveled in a circuit every year, teaching, judging, and leading Israel, all in an effort to turn the people’s hearts back to God. When Samuel was old, he could no longer travel extensively, so he made his sons judges to carry on their father’s work. However, they made their base of operations in Beersheba. Beersheba was probably fifty or sixty miles from Ramah and their father. This would have been a three or four-day journey on foot.

They did not follow the ways of their father. 1 Samuel 8:3 tells us they turned aside after dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice. Like the nation, they turned away from the Lord as soon as they were out from under the judge. These boys rejected God. They did not worship the Lord. There was no altar in their lives.

1 Samuel 8:4-6 tells us:

1 Samuel 8:4–5 (NKJV) ⁴Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, ⁵and said to him, “Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.”

On the surface, it looks like they wanted a king because Samuel’s sons were not like Samuel, but this was not the case. Samuel’s sons were at the southern border of the nation. They were too far away from Jerusalem and the north to make much difference to those living in those regions. No, the real reason they wanted to have a king is found in the last sentence of the passage. “Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.” Quite simply put, they wanted to be like everyone else. They were not concerned about justice as much as they were concerned with prosperity and power. They saw the nations around them gain wealth and power by their kings’ conquests and wanted a piece of that action. And they wanted secure borders. The Philistines were encroaching upon their borders on one side (1 Samuel 13:3-5), and Nahash, the Ammonite, was threatening on the east (1 Samuel 11:1). The Israelites showed their true desires when they said:

1 Samuel 8:19–20 (NKJV) ¹⁹“No, but we will have a king over us, ²⁰that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.”

Their request does not seem like a bad thing on the surface, but Samuel was upset and prayed about it. Read what the Lord said in response.

1 Samuel 8:7–8 (NKJV) ⁷And the Lord said to Samuel, “Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them. ⁸According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt, even to this day—with which they have forsaken Me and served other gods—so they are doing to you also.

The Lord said, “They have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.”

The Lord was not deceived by their reference to Samuel’s sons. The nation was rejecting the Lord, just as they had done so consistently. They saw what the world had to offer, and they wanted it.

The Bible warns us about doing the same thing. It says:

Romans 12:2 (NKJV) And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

“Do not be conformed” is a warning because this is the temptation we all face. But we are to be different from the world. We are called to be different from the world, as was Israel. Israel was called and set apart to be holy.

Leviticus 11:44 (NKJV) For I am the LORD your God. You shall therefore consecrate yourselves, and you shall be holy; for I am holy.

God had called them and set them apart to be a holy nation. They were to be a witness to the rest of the world that there is but one God. I have pointed this out previously, but it bears repeating. Isaiah 43:10 says:

Isaiah 43:10 (NKJV) “You are My witnesses,” says the Lord,

 “And My servant whom I have chosen,

That you may know and believe Me,

And understand that I am He.

Before Me there was no God formed,

Nor shall there be after Me.”

However, Israel rejected God, and so God said:

Ezekiel 36:23 (NKJV) And I will sanctify My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; and the nations shall know that I am the Lord,” says the Lord God, “when I am hallowed in you before their eyes.”

Romans 2:24 quotes this when it says:

Romans 2:24 (NKJV) For “the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you,” as it is written.

God called them and promised to bless them if they walked in His ways, but they rejected God and did not fulfill their calling to be witnesses.

We are faced with the same choice they were. Israel chose to be conformed to the world. They wanted to gain what the world had to offer, and many of us want the same thing. I fear lest any of us hear the words, “Depart from me, I never knew you.”

Matthew 7:21–23 (NKJV) ²¹“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. ²²Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ ²³And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

Romans 12:2 does not give its warning for no reason. Conforming to the world is a great temptation. This is why the instructions of Romans 12:1 are so vital.

Romans 12:1 (NKJV) I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

The Lord, through the Apostle, pleads with us, saying, “I beseech you.” Some translations say, “I beg you,” and others say, “I urge you.” God has every right to command obedience, but He chooses to appeal to us. This appeal is based on His mercies. Mercy means not giving one the punishment or penalty he deserves. God is merciful in that we are not destroyed for our unbelief and deliberate acts of disobedience toward Him. Instead of punishing us, God gave His only Son so that we can receive eternal life through faith in Him. This is why Romans 12:1 says that presenting our bodies as living sacrifices is our reasonable service. Another word that can be used in place of “reasonable” here is “logical.” Logically, we should give ourselves to Him since He gave His only Son for us. We were dead in our trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1).

Colossians 2:13 (NKJV) And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses.

The Israelites wanted a king to rule over them. And God said:

1 Samuel 8:7 (NKJV) And the Lord said to Samuel, “Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them.

The issue is the same in the lives of all people. Who will rule over our lives? Will God be king, or will I be king? God went to great lengths to make a nation of His own. He singled out a common man and made Him into a nation. The Lord delivered that nation from slavery in Egypt. He gave them a land with fields and homes that they had not labored for. And still, they rejected Him as king. Are you any different? He gave His Son so that you can live. Have you rejected Him? Will you have Him to be your king?

God does not ask you to build an altar like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But He does ask you to worship in Spirit and in truth. He does ask you to present your body as a living sacrifice.

Where is the altar that you have built in your life?

Do you worship God every day, seeking to know and obey Him?

Have you chosen the crown, to be the ruler of your own life, or the altar, letting God rule over you?

Samuel: The Last Judge

1 Samuel 7

Hebrews 3:12 (NKJV) Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God.

Israel, also known as “the Children of Israel,” was chosen by God to be a witness.

God chose Abraham. From Abraham’s descendants, God chose Isaac, and from Isaacs two sons, God chose Jacob, whose name He changed to Israel. It is this Jacob from whom the nation gets its name, “Israel.” God’s purpose in His choice is summed up in the words of Isaiah 43:10.

Isaiah 43:10 (NKJV) “You are My witnesses,” says the Lord, “And My servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe Me, and understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, Nor shall there be after Me.

In this passage, God says, “You are My witnesses.” This is why God chose them. In Genesis 12, when God chose Abraham, He said to Abraham, “And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12:3) The blessing that came through Abraham is the knowledge that the Lord is God, and there is no other. The blessing of Abraham is Jesus, the Messiah, the Anointed One, the Living Word.

When God chose Abraham, he was but one man, and his wife. To build a nation, God moved Abraham’s descendant, Jacob, and his children to Egypt. The four hundred years Israel spent in Egypt were the years of slavery. Then God sent Moses to deliver Israel from Egypt, and Israel spent forty years in the wilderness. These were the years of wandering. After Moses, Joshua led Israel in the conquest of Canaan. These were the years of conquest. After Joshua, Israel was led by a series of what are called “judges.” The years of the judges were three hundred twenty. This word “judges” is not referring to a person who conducts a court and oversees trials. These “judges” were those who led Israel after Joshua until Israel’s monarchy was established when Saul became king.

The timeline of Israel up to the monarchy looks something like this:

Abraham - Jacob	Slavery	Wilderness	Conquest	Judges	United Kingdom
215 years	430 years	40 years	31 years	320 years	98 years

 

  

We are looking at the life of Samuel, who was the last of the judges and the first of the prophets. He served as a prophet during Saul’s reign and was the prophet who anointed both Saul and David as King over Israel. Some of the judges who led Israel before Samuel were: Othniel, Ehud, Deborah, Gideon, Jephthah, and Samson. These are the most well known. Samson is probably the most famous, with Deborah and Gideon not being far behind. 

To understand Samuel in his historical context, it is important to understand the times of the judges. These three hundred twenty years were characterized by what we call the cycle of the judges. It was a repeating circle. At the end of Joshua’s life, Israel was walking with the Lord. But when Joshua died, the people left the Lord and started serving the gods of the land, chiefly Baal and Ashtoreth. This turning away and idolatry angered the Lord, so He turned Israel over to raiders and foreign powers who oppressed and abused the people. Because of their suffering, the people would cry out to the Lord for deliverance, and the Lord would raise up a judge to deliver them. As long as the judge lived, the people remained faithful to the Lord, but when the judge died, the people quickly turned away from the Lord to serve the Baals and Ashtoreths. This turning away started the whole cycle over again. Othniel, Ehud, Deborah, Gideon, Jephthah, and Samson were famous because they delivered Israel from their oppressors when the people sought the Lord to save them from their suffering.

Samuel was the last of these judges. He was born in answer to his mother’s prayers and she dedicated him to serve the Lord from the time of his birth. We see the wickedness that Israel had fallen into in the sons of Eli, the high priest. Because of this wickedness, the word of the Lord was rare until Samuel came along. According to the word of the Lord, Eli and his sons died while Samuel was still a boy. 

The account of Eli’s death and the following twenty years can be found in 1 Samuel 4-6. The Philistines invaded Israel, and Israel was losing the battle. In hopes that it would turn the tide of battle, the Ark of the Lord was carried into the fight accompanied by Eli’s two sons. This resulted in disaster. The Ark was captured, and Eli’s two sons were killed. When a messenger brought this news to Eli, Eli fell off his chair, and his neck was broken because he was very old and very fat. 

The account of the next twenty years of Israel’s history is summed up in the words of Eli’s daughter-in-law.

1 Samuel 4:22 (NKJV) And she said, “The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured.”

For twenty years, while Samuel was growing up to be probably around thirty years old, the Ark of the Covenant was not in its proper place in the Tabernacle of the Lord. 1 Samuel 7:2 tells us that at length, the people of Israel lamented after the Lord.

1 Samuel 7:2 (NKJV) So it was that the ark remained in Kirjath Jearim a long time; it was there twenty years. And all the house of Israel lamented after the Lord.

At this point, Samuel’s ministry as the judge of Israel began. 1 Samuel 7:3 marks the beginning of his service.

1 Samuel 7:3 (NKJV) Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, “If you return to the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths from among you, and prepare your hearts for the Lord, and serve Him only; and He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.”

The rest of 1 Samuel 7 details Samuel’s work as judge. The Lord subdued the Philistines, so they no longer harassed Israel, and He gave them peace and prosperity. 1 Samuel 7:15 sums up those years.

1 Samuel 7:15 (NKJV) And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life.

At the beginning of his ministry, Samuel confronted Israel about their relationship with God. Consistent with the cycle of the judges, Israel had turned her back on God. Look again at 1 Samuel 7:3.

1 Samuel 7:3 (NKJV) Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, “If you return to the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths from among you, and prepare your hearts for the Lord, and serve Him only; and He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.”

The words “If you return” imply they had left. And consistent with the times of the judges, they were serving foreign gods and Ashtoreths.

As the last of the judges, Samuel faced the challenge that every judge had faced. Israel had turned away from the Lord and started serving other gods.

What was the attraction of these other gods? Why did the people turn to them so quickly?

I will attempt a brief answer to these questions. Baal and Ashtoreth worship came as a pair. Baal was the Canaanite word for master, and the god, Baal, represented power, prosperity, and fertility. Ashtoreth was the god of sex. The worship of Baal and Ashtoreth involved all kinds of sensual dancing and immorality.

The significance of the people bowing to these gods is that they were seeking power, money, and sex. These are the things that people have pursued since we were kicked out of the Garden of Eden. 1 John 2 speaks of these things as “what the world has to offer.”

1 John 2:16 (NKJV) For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.

“The lust of the flesh” = sex

“The lust of the eyes” = money

“The boastful pride of life” = power

Americans bow to these gods. Ashtoreth worship takes place as we watch sex scenes played out in front of us on our screens. Baal worship takes place as we buy the latest iPhone and get caught up in the commercial side of Christmas. Our enemy, the devil, must celebrate as we focus on our power and what we want to be done in the Church rather than on the Kingdom of God and telling people the good news about Jesus.

The New Testament warns us to be on guard against falling away this way. Hebrews 3:12-13 says:

Hebrews 3:12–13 (NKJV) ¹²Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; ¹³but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.

In this passage from Hebrews, we see the root of our turning - unbelief.

We are warned to beware, take heed, or see to it because, as human beings, we have a weakness in this area. Jesus died for our sins, but one judgment remains.

John 3:18 (NKJV) He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

Unbelief sends people to hell. Hebrews 3:12 tells us unbelief is evil. It calls it “an evil heart of unbelief.”

Israel followed the cycle of the judges throughout her history. Eventually, she was destroyed. In 70 A.D., the temple and nation were destroyed because of her unbelief and turning away.

As horrible as this is, the judges were able to turn the nation back to God. Othniel, Ehud, Deborah, Gideon, Jephthah, and Samson all lived at different times. In other words, each one single-handedly turned the nation around. Samuel, at approximately thirty years of age, turned Israel around without anyone to help him. Actually, none of these was alone; God was with them.

What did Samuel do? Let’s look.

1 Samuel 7:3 (NKJV) Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, “If you return to the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths from among you, and prepare your hearts for the Lord, and serve Him only; and He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.”

Do you see what Samuel did? He spoke the truth about the Baals and Ashtoreths, and he spoke the word of God. 

One man talking straight and faithful to the word of God turned around a nation. Do we need to name Martin Luther, Abraham Lincoln, or any of the other great people of history?

Consider how Hebrews 3:13 tells us to deal with our evil, unbelieving hearts.

Hebrews 3:12–13 (NKJV) ¹²Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; ¹³but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.

In this passage, it says to “exhort one another.” This is another way of saying, “speak the truth.” Need I remind us that the Bible says to “speak the truth in love?” (Ephesians 4:15) When we use the Bible to demand submission, we are using the word of God in the worship of our own power. Speaking the truth in love means that we are trying to build one another up. The first thing each one of us must do is deal with our unbelief. This is done with God’s help in confession and repentance. If we have dealt thoroughly with our unbelief, we can prayerfully and humbly speak the truth to our neighbors.

The Word of the Lord

1 Samuel 3

1 Samuel 2:12 (NKJV): Now the sons of Eli were corrupt; they did not know the Lord.

Eli was from the house and lineage of Aaron, the one chosen by God to be the Priest and spiritual leader of His people. The priesthood passed down for generations through the line of Aaron. These priests were responsible for leading Israel, and there was no king or governor. Israel was a theocracy, a nation ruled by God. Therefore, the Priests were the leaders that the people looked to for guidance in all matters, political and religious. There was no separation of church and state.

The Scriptures’ indictment of the sons of Eli begins with their corruption. The word that this word “corrupt” was translated from is most often translated “worthless one.”

As leaders, these sons of Eli were indeed “worthless ones.”

1 Samuel 2:13-17 explains how Eli’s sons defiled the sacrifices the people were making to the Lord. At the passing of their father, they would be the leaders and judges of Israel. However, they demonstrated by their behavior that they were utterly unfit for the job. Although they were to lead the people in worship, the Scriptures tell us that they did not know the Lord.

Eli addressed this issue with his boys. 1 Samuel 2:22-25 is enlightening as to the behavior of Eli’s sons and the consequences of it.

1 Samuel 2:22–25 (NKJV): ²²Now Eli was very old; and he heard everything his sons did to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. ²³So he said to them, “Why do you do such things? For I hear of your evil dealings from all the people. ²⁴No, my sons! For it is not a good report that I hear. You make the Lord’s people transgress. ²⁵If one man sins against another, God will judge him. But if a man sins against the Lord, who will intercede for him?” Nevertheless they did not heed the voice of their father, because the Lord desired to kill them.

Eli was telling his boys that they were stepping over a line that should not be crossed. They despised the things of God. They treated these things as if they had no meaning and used them for their own advantage and advancement. They took advantage of the people who they were to protect and shepherd. Look at how Eli pleads with them in verse twenty-five. “If one man sins against another, God will judge him. But if a man sins against the Lord, who will intercede for him?”

However, Eli’s sons would not listen. Verse twenty-five tells us why they would not listen. “Nevertheless they did not heed the voice of their father, because the Lord desired to kill them.”

For the person or nation that deliberately chooses to despise the Lord, there comes the point of no return. The Bible has a word for these people. It calls them mockers. 

Proverbs 21:24 (NIV): The proud and arrogant person—“Mocker” is his name—behaves with insolent fury.

The word insolence fits. According to Webster, it means: insultingly contemptuous in speech or conduct. And then there is the word “fury.” According to Dictionary.com, fury means: violence; vehemence; fierceness. Putting these two words together -- the mocker pursues insulting contemptuous speech and conduct with fierce energy. This conduct is generally directed towards God, and God puts up with it for a time. God warns the mocker and gives them time to repent. In 1 Samuel 2 and 3, God warns Eli about the coming fate of his household. Twice they were warned, but they were mockers and contemptuously dismissed the warnings.

Later in Israel’s history, Solomon warned:

Proverbs 29:1 (NKJV): He who is often rebuked, and hardens his neck, will suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.

Rebukes are given for the purpose of correction. The intent is that a person realizes that his actions are wrong, and he needs to change what he is doing. The word repent means to see that one’s direction is wrong and turn around and go in the opposite direction. The first message Jesus preached was “Repent.” 

Dare we talk about sin at this point? Every person finds himself in conflict with God over sin. We do not want to admit the serious nature of our rebellion. We do not see that our behavior and attitudes are evil. We make mistakes, for sure, but our intentions are not evil. We are not vile or corrupt like Eli’s sons. The truth of the matter is that we all are sinners in rebellion against God and our hearts are just as corrupt as Eli’s sons’ hearts were. Read Romans 3:10-18 to understand God’s perspective on sin.

Romans 3:10–18 (NKJV): ¹⁰As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one; ¹¹There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. ¹²They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one.” ¹³“Their throat is an open tomb; With their tongues they have practiced deceit”; “The poison of asps is under their lips”; ¹⁴“Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.” ¹⁵“Their feet are swift to shed blood; ¹⁶Destruction and misery are in their ways; ¹⁷And the way of peace they have not known.” ¹⁸“There is no fear of God before their eyes.” 

Repentance is the first step in salvation. If a person desires eternal life, a relationship with God, and eternal happiness, then the problem of sin must be dealt with. I see the idea of sin scoffed at, and some that deny they are sinners. We are so smart that we do not even know how to take our sin seriously. We have redefined sin to suit our tastes and rejected what God says about sin in His word.

Eli’s sons are an early example of what happens to those who will not repent even after multiple rebukes. The nation of Israel is a later example of what happens to those who will not repent after numerous rebukes. They suffered through defeat and exile at the hands of the Babylonians. 2 Chronicles 36:16 tells us:

2 Chronicles 36:16 (NKJV): But they mocked the messengers of God, despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against His people, till there was no remedy.

Let us pray that none of us suffers the wrath of the Lord.

Because Eli’s sons were godless, and they were in charge of worship, the people’s relationship with God suffered. 1 Samuel 3:1 tells us:

1 Samuel 3:1 (NKJV): And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no widespread revelation.

The people were starved for the word of the Lord. Their connection to the Lord was cut off because Eli’s sons did not know the Lord. God gave Eli’s family time by not immediately wiping them out. Instead, He gave them time to repent. True to form, they scoffed at the warnings.

What a contrast Samuel was! From the time he was a little boy, Samuel served in the temple. The Scriptures show the difference in 1 Samuel 2:18.

1 Samuel 2:18 (NKJV): But Samuel ministered before the Lord, even as a child, wearing a linen ephod. 

Samuel had the same teacher that Eli’s boys had — Eli. But Samuel was completely different. Even as a child, Samuel served. Serve is just another word for minister. This is the opposite of the mocker. Samuel was humble and was not too proud to serve. God loves a humble, teachable heart that trembles at His word. Look at where we meet Samuel in chapter 3.

1 Samuel 3:15 (NKJV): So Samuel lay down until morning, and opened the doors of the house of the Lord.

Here we have a young boy who is the first one up in the morning and is opening the doors of the house of the Lord. I imagine Eli’s sons had been partying too much the night before to get up early. But this young boy was serving, getting up before everyone else to get started at the work of the Lord.

This is the person the Lord chose to speak to. And when the Lord spoke to Samuel, Samuel took it to heart.

The word of the Lord was rare because those to whom it was entrusted scoffed at it. But Samuel was a faithful servant, not a mocker. He received the word of the Lord with the respect it deserved. This characterized Samuel’s life and ministry. He had the utmost respect for God’s word.

Next, we have the account of Samuel learning to know the voice of the Lord. The Lord came and stood by Samuel and called. Samuel thought it was Eli. Eli was old and mostly blind, and he was very fat, so he needed someone to wait on him, especially at night. Did Eli’s boys do this? No, Samuel did. Samuel’s bed was close by so that he was quickly at the old man’s side, saying, “You called?” Once again, we see how completely different Samuel’s attitude was. He responded immediately to the word of his teacher. He did not mock the old man’s weakness, nor did he complain, nor was he put out by being called upon. Three times the call was repeated, and each time Samuel immediately went to Eli. Finally, Eli realized what was happening and told Samuel to say, “Speak Lord, for your servant hears.”

And with that, the word of the Lord was once again heard in Israel. As a prophet, Samuel’s first job was to let his teacher and mentor know that God had decided to kill his sons and remove his family from their hereditary position. When Samuel had done this, we are told:

1 Samuel 3:19–20 (NKJV): ¹⁹So Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. ²⁰And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel had been established as a prophet of the Lord.

And so began the ministry of one of the great men of God in the Bible. He led Israel for many years; he established a school for prophets (preachers), and he anointed Saul and David.

If there is one thing we learn from all this, it is that we must never scoff at the word of the Lord. The Lord gives his word to help us, to strengthen us, to cause us to stand. His word is given for our correction. If we heed His word, we will live. But if we do not heed His word, we can be sure we will eventually be destroyed beyond remedy.

Do not scoff at the idea of sin. Do not mock God and His word. Consider carefully these words from 2 Peter.

2 Peter 3:1–7 (NKJV): ¹Beloved, I now write to you this second epistle (in both of which I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder), ²that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior, ³knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, ⁴and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.” ⁵For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, ⁶by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. ⁷But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

We must seek the Lord

Eli’s family did not.

Samuel did.

The Lord revealed Himself to Samuel.

The Desires of the Heart

 

1 Samuel 1

Hannah faced an unwinnable battle. Her obstacle was beyond her ability to change or influence. She could not have children. Her own body was the source of her misery. And, as if that were not enough, her human rival mercilessly needled and persecuted her. Ephesians 6:10 tells us:

Ephesians 6:12 (NKJV) For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

Hannah was a woman of God. Her human rival was not her real enemy. Her true enemy was the same one who is our enemy today. This enemy is the one who attacked Job, stirred up David to sin, and tempted our Lord in the wilderness. He is called the accuser of the brethren. “Accuser” or “Adversary” is the meaning of his name.

The Hebrew word שָׂטָן (satan) means to oppose, obstruct, or accuse. The Greek term (σατάν, satan) literally means “adversary.” In the New Testament, it refers to a title or a name—(the) Satan. The term שָׂטָן (satan) is rendered as diabolos in the Septuagint.1

Our enemy, the devil, or Satan, seeks to destroy us. However, he has no power over us. 

1 John 4:4 (NKJV) You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 

While the devil has no power over us, the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. God gave Satan permission to attack Job. Jesus told Peter:

Luke 22:31 (NKJV) “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat.”

God grants this permission because as Hebrews 12 tells us:

Hebrews 12:6 (NKJV) For whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.

The Father tells us to rejoice in our trials. He says much about suffering in His word. 1 Peter 1:6-7 teaches us that the testing of our faith purifies us as gold is purified in the crucible.

1 Peter 1:6–7 (NKJV) ⁶In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, ⁷that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

I cannot think of one of God’s servants who did not go through the crucible of suffering. Indeed, Hebrews 12:6 says, “...every son whom He receives.”

1 Samuel 1 introduces us to a Hannah overcome with sorrow. 1 Samuel 1:10 says of her:

1 Samuel 1:10 (NKJV) And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the Lord and wept in anguish.

Hannah’s battle was unwinnable. Nothing she did would change the fact that she could not have children. We all have an unwinnable battle. Nothing we do can change the fact that we have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Nothing we do can change the fact that the wages of sin is death. There is just one wage - death. Sorrow and grief over this unwinnable battle drove many of us to seek God for deliverance. However, God allows many unwinnable battles in our lives.

• How was Abraham to produce an heir?
• How were the disciples to feed the vast crowd?
• How was a young shepherd boy to save his sheep from bears and lions?

It is time to learn a secret of prayer from Hannah. 1 Samuel 1:13 says:

1 Samuel 1:13 (NKJV) Now Hannah spoke in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard.

Let your requests be made known to God. (Philippians 4:6). Hannah did not need to move her lips. She spoke in her heart. God hears the cry of the heart. When the Pharisees prayed, they spoke many great sounding words, and Jesus said their prayers were for show and were not heard by God.

The first thing the crucible did was to shape Hannah into a God-seeker, a person whose heart’s desire and pursuit is God, Himself.

A second, more subtle change the crucible wrought was it made Hannah selfless. It burnt away the dross of seeking her own benefit. Hannah did not keep the child for herself but gave the child to God. In addition, in her praise, written in chapter two, she shows she was seeking the good of her people Israel, and the introduction of the KING. Consider verse ten of chapter two.

1 Samuel 2:10 (NKJV) The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken in pieces; From heaven He will thunder against them. The Lord will judge the ends of the earth. “He will give strength to His king, And exalt the horn of His anointed.”

This woman was looking forward and hastening the coming of the Messiah and the establishing of His kingdom. Again, she did not keep the child for herself but gave him to the Lord as his servant forever.

1 Samuel 1:22 (NKJV) “I will take him, that he may appear before the Lord and remain there forever.”

One often hears, “Our trials serve to make us bitter or better.” Our trials expose the desires of our hearts, whether they be for good or evil.

God gave Hannah the desire of her heart. He gave her the son she had been praying for. She now faced an even greater trial. She had made a promise. She said she would give the child to the Lord. Now she had to follow through. 

We are all tested by our blessings. When we receive money, do we use it for ourselves, or do we use it to benefit others? Do we practice hospitality, using what God has given us to bless others? When we have a healthy body, do we use it to find pleasure or to serve others?

When Abraham was blessed with his long-awaited heir, he had to choose between God and his son. When David was faced with Goliath, he had to put his life on the line. 

Think with me of the challenge each one of these faced. Abraham had no additional child of promise. Isaac was all he had. David was anointed as the next king, but as he stood facing Goliath, he only had one life to give. And Hannah, Hannah had not been able to have any children, and now she was faced with giving up the only child she had.

Our blessings are more difficult tests than our trials, because our hearts are drawn to the gifts instead of the giver. Sadly, not many of us pass this test. God blesses us, and we selfishly build bigger barns to hoard the excess. We do not seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. We do not set our hearts on things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father. We tend to ask how much we should give to the Lord when the question is, how do we give it all to the Lord?

Look at what happened when Hannah surrendered all that she had to the Lord.

Samuel was the child she prayed for. He was her heart’s desire, and she gave him to the Lord. She did not know that she would ever have another child. The one she had was a miracle! But look:

1 Samuel 2:21 (NKJV) And the Lord visited Hannah, so that she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters.

We must first surrender to the Lord before we can receive His blessing. It is said that gifts cannot be received by clenched fists. One must first let go of what one is holding to hold something else. When we surrender our heart’s desire to the Lord, He can loan it to us, not to possess but to hold for a short time. Then we discover it was never really ours to begin with. 

Before Abraham could receive many descendants, he had to let go of the one he had. Before the widow of Zarephath could receive oil and flour sufficient to last through the drought, she had to surrender what little she had. Before the crowd could be fed, the little food available had to be surrendered to Jesus.

We do not surrender our money to get more money. We surrender our money to see God’s purpose fulfilled. That is the true blessing. 

When Hannah surrendered her son, she did not do it to receive more children. Her praise was that God would “give strength to His king, and exalt the horn of His anointed.” 

God used Samuel in the most incredible way. He was the last judge of Israel. He led Israel through one of the most significant transitions they would ever make. He did it without conflict, upheaval, and civil war. Not only was he the last judge, but he was also the first prophet. As the first prophet, he anointed the first two kings of Israel. He is the one who had the privilege of anointing David, through whom the Messiah would come.

Interestingly enough, Samuel really had no say in all of this. It was his mother’s decision to surrender him to the Lord. It was his mother’s prayers that brought about his birth. His mother dedicated him to the Lord. His mother said he would be a Nazarite. Did you know that Samuel’s hair was never cut as long as he lived? His mother decided that. 

1 Samuel 1:11 (NKJV) Then she made a vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head.”

Samuel was a great man of God, and he was a great man of God because his mother was a great woman of God. His mother made his Nazarite vow for him. However, and this is important, Samuel willingly surrendered himself to the plans and purposes of God. He abandoned cutting his hair, drinking wine, and pursuing his own life to pursue God. He came by it honestly. He learned it from his mother.

I hope you catch the significance of this. The world and especially our children are watching. They know and can see what is truly important to us. We can tell them they ought to follow Christ all we want, but our words are meaningless if we do not follow Christ ourselves. The world knows that many churches are after the same measures of success and money that they are. Why would they want what we have if we are no different?

We have an unwinnable battle before us. We must reach our generation for Christ. What is impossible for man is possible for God. The only way to overcome the unwinnable battle we have before us is to surrender what little we have to the Lord. 

 1 The Lexham Bible Dictionary, Copyright 2016. Lexham Press, 1313 Commercial St., Bellingham, WA 98225