EmmDev 2017-06-30 [Lessons from Samuel] Conforming

Conforming

But the people refused to listen to Samuel. "No!" they said. "We want a king over us. 20 Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles." 21 When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the LORD. 22 The LORD answered, "Listen to them and give them a king."      (1Samuel8:19-22)

Romans 12:2 says "...don't conform to the standards of this world..." JB Philips translated it as: "don't let the world squeeze you into its mould." Jesus talked about the wide and the narrow way... The narrow way is hard while the wide is easy and many find it.

Israel wanted the wide way....

They wanted to look like everyone else. They wanted to fit in. They wanted to be accepted.

Peer pressure is a powerful force that works at the level of individuals, but also in groups and here we see a fledgling nation succumb to its pressure.

The bizarre thing is the sacrifices people will make to fit in:

• People go through a painful process to get a tattoo that in a few years time may be an embarrassment.
• People wear overly expensive and uncomfortable clothes and shoes just to be seen as cool.
• People get into debt, just to have a car or house that others will admire.

But the great tragedy in today's passage is that Israel will choose to be subject to the whims, foibles and greed of imperfect human kings rather than be the subjects of a faithful, merciful and loving God whose patience and kindness is revealed in the latitude He allows them, by granting them their wish because, although He knows that their choice will have unpleasant consequences, He will not violate their freedom. (He does repeatedly warn them and urge them to make the better choice...)

We have choices everyday. Peer pressure is present in our social circles and media, in our norms and values and at individual, group and national level. God's Word guides and informs us. The Holy Spirit whispers into our hearts. But the choice remains ours.

How will you choose today?

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I'll be taking a break from writing EmmDevs for the school holidays. I will resume on 25th July. I hope these last few weeks from Samuel have been helpful and interesting.

EmmDev 2017-06-29 [Lessons from Samuel] Power...

Power...

Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who were asking him for a king. 11 He said, "This is what the king who will reign over you will do: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. 12 Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. 13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14 He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. 15 He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. 16 Your menservants and maidservants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use. 17 He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. 18 When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the LORD will not answer you in that day."      (1Samuel8:10-18)

The Israelites wanted an earthly king to reign over them.

Samuel warns them about the dangers of earthly, structural power. He warns them that an earthly king will not only create societal order, organise military power and establish economic structure, but he will do it for himself.

• Sons and Daughters will run in front of the king's chariot.
• The Israelites will plow and tend the king's fields
• They will be heavily taxed and this will all go into the hands of the growing number of the king's attendants
• They will become the king's slaves

Recently we have seen the "gravy train" that many politicians have climbed on to and even more recently we have learned of corporate CEO's who earn anything from fifty times to five hundred times as much as the lowest paid worker in their companies.

It seems that earthly power comes with the endless need for more...

The Israelites wanted a king.
Samuel warned them that kings are corruptible.

Some people would argue that one needs leaders and that they are worthy of good remuneration and that this creates a pyramid of jobs and services that result in a situation where people are able to "find their niche" and "play their part" in the economy.
What their argument does not consider is that power corrupts.
The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

Samuel warns Israel that this will be the nature of the monarchy.
By the time of Israel's third king, Solomon, taxation was already so high that the advisors advise his successor Rehoboam to reduce the taxes. Rehoboam refuses and the kingdom is torn in two after only 3 kings.

But it's not monarchy that is the problem.
Jeremiah disturbed the power base of the false prophets.
Jesus disturbed the theological power base of the Pharisees.
Luther disturbed the power base of the church hierarchy.
It is power that is problematic... and we should take heed...

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EmmDev 2017-06-28 [Lessons from Samuel] Visible

Visible

So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. 5 They said to him, "You are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have." 6 But when they said, "Give us a king to lead us," this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD. 7 And the LORD told him: "Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. 8 As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. 9 Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will do."      (1Samuel8:4-9)

When Moses stayed too long on Mount Sinai, the Israelites forced Aaron to make them a Golden Calf to worship. When Samuel's frailty became obvious, the Israelites asked him to appoint an earthly king to rule over them.

Trusting in an invisible God is hard...

We tend to be very focused on what we can see, hear, and touch. So the Israelites constantly worshipped idols (even idols that stood in the house and could be bumped over by playing children - see Isaiah's sarcastic description in Isaiah 40:18-20)

The alternative to idols is to put our trust in human leaders. Good leaders remind us that they are not God and point us toward the one true God. Bad leaders tend to eclipse God (like the moon tries to eclipse the sun) but it never lasts long. They also demand luxury and status as a right and privilege of their position.

Israel asked for a king. They wanted an earthly symbol of power, security and prosperity. They wanted to be like other nations. They wanted to be a monarchy (a nation governed by a king) rather than a Theocracy (where God is King). When there were negotiations between nations, they didn't want Samuel, an old dusty prophet to represent them as a nation who were led by an invisible God. They wanted to be sophisticated and organised, led by an impressive monarch who headed up a well-oiled national machine.

Samuel is angry at their request. God makes it clear to him: "Samuel, this is not about them rejecting you, but about them rejecting me."

At the heart of the matter is faith.
Are you willing to keep trusting in a God who keeps Himself invisible - or do you have "idols" and "monarchs" who have taken God's place?

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EmmDev 2017-06-23 [Lessons from Samuel] PK's

PK's

When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as judges for Israel. 2 The name of his firstborn was Joel and the name of his second was Abijah, and they served at Beersheba. 3 But his sons did not walk in his ways. They turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes and perverted justice. 4 So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. 5 They said to him, "You are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have."      (1Samuel8:1-5)

A "PK" is a Preacher's Kid.
People expect PK's to be holy and righteous, but often they are not. Sometimes they're a bit naughty and sometimes they rebel completely.

Modern day explanations for this are that preachers often neglect their children for the sake of the congregation, that the pressure of living in the pastoral family fishbowl (where there is little privacy) is too much or that the expectations on children of ministers are too high. One of my colleagues cheekily said: "My children are naughty because they play with the children of the congregation."

While one could spend time on the "why's", the sobering truth is that children of pious Christ followers (not only PKs) rebel.

We've seen three priestly families in our journey through the book of Samuel - two have rebellious sons, and one seems to have done well:

• Eli and his sons, Hophni and Phineas
• Abinadab and his son Eleazar who look after the ark for 20 years.
• Samuel and his sons Joel and Abijah

Eli's sons were gluttons, womanisers and disrespectful of God. On the whole, Eli was a good man, but it seems he succumbed to gluttony and lost the respect of his sons. Eli's compromises seem to have multiplied in his sons.

We don't know much about Abinadab and his son Eleazar, but Eleazar becomes the priest and serves without incident for 20 years. We could argue that Eleazar was a priest but not a priest's kid and this was a first generation priestly family while the other two are second generation priests.

Samuel's sons also rebelled, but we find no failures in Samuel. In fact, when we get to the point of anointing Israel's first king, Samuel will challenge the Israelites to show in any way where he had failed in his duty and there are no claims at all.

So, statistically speaking, in three families there is a 66% chance of things going wrong and then it's also not always the parents' fault. This is sobering.

When our kids go off the rails, the consequences are dire. Eli lost credibility in the eyes of Israel. In Samuel's case the priesthood lost credibility and led to the monarchy being introduced in Israel.

Take time to pray for the PK's you know. Pray that their hearts stay close to the Lord.
Pray also for the kids of fellow-believers who the Lord lays on your hearts...

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EmmDev 2017-06-22 [Lessons from Samuel] Mementoes

Mementoes

Samuel took a stone and placed it between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer saying, "Up to here the Lord has helped us."      (1Samuel7:12)

mementoes: n. pl. mementos or mementoes. A reminder of the past; a keepsake. (From www.thefreedictionary.com )

We have photo collages on our walls to remember what God has done for us as a family. I have a rock on my desk that has the words: "Thank you for forgiveness". I have pictures on my wall drawn by young Caleb in church. I have verses from the new year service at my desk. There's a cross on my bookcase and I often have photos from holidays as my computer screen wallpaper. I have a colourful bracelet on my rucksack that reminds me to PUSH (Pray Until Something Happens).

These mementos are signposts and pointers that remind me of God's goodness and His providence.

Why?
Because I easily forget or take these things for granted.

After many years of being far from God, the Israelites, under Samuel's leadership, had returned to the Lord. When the Philistines decided to attack the Israelites in the middle of their act of repentance, God thundered out against the Philistines throwing them into disarray and confusion leaving the Israelites to do the "mopping up" of their fleeing enemy.

Along the way Samuel erects a stone, "Ebenezer: Up to here the Lord has helped us."

I imagine families travelling between Mizpah and Shen and pausing at Samuel's stone pillar. "What happened here Dad?" asks one of the children, and the whole story gets told and families are reminded that the God who brought us this far will continue to go with us.

It is worth celebrating milestones, victories and breakthroughs - especially if it allows us the opportunity to acknowledge and praise the God who has brought us "up to here."

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EmmDev 2017-06-21 [Lessons from Samuel] Trust

Trust

When the Philistines heard that Israel had assembled at Mizpah, the rulers of the Philistines came up to attack them. And when the Israelites heard of it, they were afraid because of the Philistines. 8 They said to Samuel, "Do not stop crying out to the LORD our God for us, that he may rescue us from the hand of the Philistines." 9 Then Samuel took a suckling lamb and offered it up as a whole burnt offering to the LORD. He cried out to the LORD on Israel's behalf, and the LORD answered him. 10 While Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to engage Israel in battle. But that day the LORD thundered with loud thunder against the Philistines and threw them into such a panic that they were routed before the Israelites.      (1Samuel7:7-10)

Twenty years after they had superstitiously and disastrously carried the Ark of the Covenant into battle against the Philistines, the Israelites were learning humility and learning to trust God.

Unfortunately for the Philistines, twenty years had caused them to forget the chaos which the Ark, which represented Almighty God's presence, had wrought in their midst. They thought they could attack Israel and Israel's God again.

When they heard of the Israelites gathering at Mizpah for worship, they decided to take advantage of the situation as the men would have been far from their homes and would only be lightly armed. It was a cowardly and evil act.

The Israelites are afraid. But this time they don't take the ark into battle - they don't resort to manipulation - but instead, they ask Samuel to cry out to God for them. They put their trust in God.

And God answers them! He goes out against the Philistines and utterly defeats them.

There is a subtle but important shift here.
Twenty years previously the Israelites had presumed that God must rescue them and they used the Ark as a remote control or even a hostage to "coerce" God to save them. But their hearts were far from God and God allowed the Ark to be captured to teach them not to presume or manipulate.

Now, they ask Samuel to ask God to rescue them. They are not demanding or coercing, they're simply trusting in God. And God reveals His great glory and power!

We can learn a lot from this...

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EmmDev 2017-06-20 [Lessons from Samuel] Humility

Humility

So the men of Kiriath Jearim came and took up the ark of the LORD. They took it to Abinadab's house on the hill and consecrated Eleazar his son to guard the ark of the LORD. 2 It was a long time, twenty years in all, that the ark remained at Kiriath Jearim, and all the people of Israel mourned and sought after the LORD. 3 And Samuel said to the whole house of Israel, "If you are returning to the LORD with all your hearts, then rid yourselves of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths and commit yourselves to the LORD and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines." 4 So the Israelites put away their Baals and Ashtoreths, and served the LORD only.      (1Samuel7:1-4)

Last week we looked at the extremes of fundamentalism (the Israelites using the Ark as a good luck charm - thus trying to manipulate God) and liberalism (the Philistines treating the ark as a trophy - thereby ignoring God's power and glory. The Israelites also treated the ark as a curiosity, sacrificing Philistine cows burnt on Philistine wood and opening up the ark like a tourist attraction).

The death of the 70 men who had opened the ark shook the Israelites badly and they make appropriate arrangements for the ark to be looked after respectfully - consecrating Eleazar to look after it.

It takes 20 years (!) for the Israelites to digest the recent events...
This seems like a long time, but here are some factors to consider...

• The word of the Lord had been rare.
• The failure of Eli's sons had been great and their influence far-reaching - this is demonstrated in the disrespect shown by the men who opened up the ark to look-see.
• Samuel was still growing up and his influence and teaching would have needed time to gain traction

But when the time is right, Israel is suitably repentant and ready to listen and learn. They are ready for a big step...

And so Samuel calls them to a sacred assembly and urges them to put their fake gods behind them so that they can serve only God. And this is what they do.

Sometimes time and quiet is what we need to yearn after God and begin to seek Him again. This will mean humbling ourselves and realising our need of Him.

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EmmDev 2017-06-15 [Lessons from Samuel] Pendulum

Pendulum

But God struck down some of the men of Beth Shemesh, putting seventy of them to death because they had looked into the ark of the LORD. The people mourned because of the heavy blow the LORD had dealt them, 20 and the men of Beth Shemesh asked, "Who can stand in the presence of the LORD, this holy God? To whom will the ark go up from here?"      (1Samuel6:19 -20)

When the ark was returned to Israel by driverless cart, it arrived at the border-town of Beth Shemesh. The Israelites rejoiced at the return of the Ark and offered up a sacrifice. But the sacrifice cost them nothing, because they sacrificed the two Philistine cows and used the Philistine cart for firewood.

Then curiosity got the better of them and they opened up the ark to see what was inside.

This illustrates the pendulum swing that we often go through when it comes to the things of God:

On the right-hand side of the pendulum swing, the Israelites started with seeing the Ark as more than a symbol of God's presence, but as something that bound Him to act to defend His symbol. It was with this idea that they took the ark into battle as a "remote control" to "force" God to fight for them.

Then, after the ark was captured and then returned, the Israelites swung to the far left, to a place where the ark was treated as even less than a symbol of God's presence and could be opened up for curiosity.

These two sides of the pendulum could be described as fundamentalism on the right and liberalism on the left. Fundamentalists focus so much on symbols that they forget about the God the symbols point to. While they appear to be deeply religious and respectful, fundamentalists are guilty of obsessing on symbols to the extent that their picture of God shrinks and they attempt to control God by their devotion to the symbols.

Liberalism emphasises the human mind and its "right" to have curiosity satisfied and mysteries explained. There is little room for the miraculous and forces greater than rationalism. While they appear to be open-minded and free-thinking, liberals are self-referencing and self-justified and they disrespect forces and mysteries greater than themselves with great arrogance.

Both ends of the pendulum can have tragic results.

Between the extremes of liberalism and fundamentalism we must find middle ground - I believe this middle ground is humility.
We'll look at this more next week...

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EmmDev 2017-06-14 [Lessons from Samuel] Presumption

Presumption

After the Philistines had captured the ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. 2 Then they carried the ark into Dagon's temple and set it beside Dagon. 3 When the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the LORD! They took Dagon and put him back in his place. 4 But the following morning when they rose, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the LORD! His head and hands had been broken off and were lying on the threshold; only his body remained.      (1Samuel5:1-4)

In the previous chapter after Eli dies, there is the sad account of his daughter-in-law, the wife of Phineas, giving birth to a son and, just before she dies in labour, she calls her son "Ichabod" which means "the glory of the Lord has departed." (This was because the Philistines had captured the Ark of the Covenant.)

On the flip side, the Philistines put the Ark of the Covenant (A gold covered box containing the tablets of the Ten Commandments and Aaron's rod which had budded) inside the temple of their god Dagon as a trophy of battle.

Both the Israelites and the Philistines were guilty of gross presumption:

• The Israelites presumed that God's presence was tied up in the box and that whoever had the box "had" God. They treated the Ark like a remote control. They also presumed that losing the box meant that all was lost.
• The Philistines presumed too. They presumed that their victory and capturing of the box meant that Israel's God was "done and dusted". They put the box at the feet of a statue of Dagon their god as a symbol of his victory.

But everyone is in for a rude awakening...!

The statue of Dagon collapses before the ark and, when they put it back on its stand, it collapses again, with the head and hands broken off. Dagon is basically rendered powerless before God.

In the rest of the chapter we see the Philistines passing the Ark like a hot-potato from one city to another until it has been to all five Philistine strongholds and has caused illness and pandemonium wherever it goes. After seven desperate months the Philistines place the ark and gifts of gold tribute on a cart and yoke two new calved cows who have never been yoked and these cows leave their calves behind and dociley pull the cart all the way to the nearest Israelite town.

The lesson is clear:
The Ark is not a remote control for God, but it is a powerful symbol of His independent presence. It is a reminder of His majesty and power and a reminder that He is king above all. The fact that things happen around the ark, without anyone "wielding" it reminds us that God can work independently of human intervention. A remote needs a human hand to "wield" it, but the Ark doesn't - The Lion of Judah is not a tame lion.

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EmmDev 2017-06-13 [Lessons from Samuel] Compromise

Compromise

That same day a Benjamite ran from the battle line and went to Shiloh, his clothes torn and dust on his head. 13 When he arrived, there was Eli sitting on his chair by the side of the road, watching, because his heart feared for the ark of God. When the man entered the town and told what had happened, the whole town sent up a cry. 14 Eli heard the outcry and asked, "What is the meaning of this uproar?" The man hurried over to Eli, 15 who was ninety-eight years old and whose eyes were set so that he could not see. 16 He told Eli, "I have just come from the battle line; I fled from it this very day." Eli asked, "What happened, my son?" 17 The man who brought the news replied, "Israel fled before the Philistines, and the army has suffered heavy losses. Also your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been captured." 18 When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell backward off his chair by the side of the gate. His neck was broken and he died, for he was an old man and heavy. He had led Israel forty years.      (1Samuel4:12-18)

Did you get it?

He fell of his chair and broke his neck because he was an old man and heavy.

This is the sad conclusion of the life of Eli who had been the high priest and judge of Israel for forty years.

Eli is a tragic mixture of devotion and complacency.
At times he could get it so right and at times he could get it so wrong.

He got it right when he realised that God wanted to bless Hannah,
he got it right when he realised that God was speaking to Samuel and
he got it right when he mentored Samuel in the ways of the Lord.

But he got it so wrong with his sons...
He didn't stop his sons from taking the ark into battle.
He didn't stop his sons' immoral behaviour.
He didn't heed the multiple warnings God sent him.
He didn't act against his sons' gluttony.

In fact, it would seem that he participated in their gluttony...
As the boys forcibly took the choice fatty cuts from the temple offerings, it would seem that Eli partook and benefited from their gluttony, for he was an old man and heavy.

This is the tragic price of compromise.
The small "exceptions" become regular habits which add up and accumulate and before we know it we've justified them and they are part of our lives.

I imagine Eli being offered some of the choice meat his sons had "grabbed" and saying to himself: "I work hard and this is a thankless task, this is just a little treat." But the treat became a habit and the habit became an entitlement and the entitlement became the lard of years of compromise.

Our compromises may look different, but the dangers are the same.
Let us learn the significant lessons Eli has to teach us.

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EmmDev 2017-06-09 [Lessons from Samuel] Manipulative

Manipulative

Now the Israelites went out to fight against the Philistines... The Philistines deployed their forces to meet Israel, and as the battle spread, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand of them on the battlefield. When the soldiers returned to camp, the elders of Israel asked, "Why did the LORD bring defeat upon us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the LORD's covenant from Shiloh, so that it may go with us and save us from the hand of our enemies." 4 So the people sent men to Shiloh, and they brought back the ark of the covenant of the LORD Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim. And Eli's two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.      (1Samuel4:1-4)

This sad, but sobering story, which powerfully illustrates how easily we human beings treat God as a "supplier of services" or "vendor of blessings". The danger is that we only turn to Him when we need help and we slip our religious coins into the slot and pull the levers of our desires and expect God to deliver.

This is what Israel does here. They are defeated by the Philistines and instead of taking the route of humility and repentance, they take the route of manipulation:
"Let's take God's Ark into battle - He'll defend His ark and we'll have the victory." (The movie "Raiders of the Lost Ark" has a similar theme.) Eli's sons, Hophni and Phineas are there too: this is their moment as bearers/wielders of the ark - if God gave them victory, the sons would be the heroes of the day.

The story unfolds tragically. The arrival of the ark in the Israelite camp gets the soldiers so hyped up that they believe their own plan. They shout and cheer so loudly that the Philistines hear it. But the Philistines are not filled with holy fear (which would have been the case if the Israelites were inspired by God's glory instead of their own hype) instead they are filled with grim determination - they say to each other: "Be strong, Philistines! Be men, or you will be subject to the Hebrews, as they have been to you. Be men, and fight!"

And so the battle commences and the Israelites are defeated, the Ark is captured and Eli's boys die in battle.

It is a devastating setback.
But it was the result of presumption, hubris and manipulation.
Did you notice the irony in the text?: "and they brought back the ark of the covenant of the LORD Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim"
The Israelites saw the Ark as the remote control for God.
They had to learn that the God of Israel - the Lion of Judah - is not a tame lion.
He doesn't bow down to our will but we must bow down to His.

This weekend we will celebrate Trinity Sunday. We think of the Father who created a Universe that astronomers tell us is still expanding. We worship the Son who faced the cross and defeated sin, death and Satan. We serve the Holy Spirit whose power took the gospel from eleven frightened disciples to the ends of the earth.

He is not a lucky rabbit's foot or a good luck charm.
He is not at our bidding but we should be at His.
He is God and we are not...

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EmmDev 2017-06-08 [Lessons from Samuel] Tested

Tested

Samuel lay down until morning and then opened the doors of the house of the LORD. He was afraid to tell Eli the vision, 16 but Eli called him and said, "Samuel, my son." Samuel answered, "Here I am." 17 "What was it he said to you?" Eli asked. "Do not hide it from me. May God deal with you, be it ever so severely, if you hide from me anything he told you." 18 So Samuel told him everything, hiding nothing from him. Then Eli said, "He is the LORD; let him do what is good in his eyes.       (1Samuel3:16-18)

God called Samuel and Samuel listened.
It would be lovely to be able to say that Samuel's first message from the Lord was a warm fuzzy feel-good message, but it wasn't. It was a tough critique and pronouncement of judgment on Eli and his sons.

It meant that Samuel would have to speak out against Eli who had taken him in, nurtured him and mentored him. This must have been tough: the little clues that we have in the Biblical text suggest that there was a close relationship between Eli and Samuel.

And so Samuel was afraid.
The learner had to enlighten to the teacher.
The youngster had to confront to the elder.
The inexperienced had to condemn the experienced.

Eli, to his credit, recognises the strain Samuel is under and instructs Samuel to "spit it out". This prompting helps Samuel and "told him everything, hiding nothing from him" - no soft-soaping, no editing, no compromising.

Samuel faces the critical test - does he respect God more than he respects people?
The passage tells us that he does.

Eli, unfortunately, responds to the revelation with passive resignation rather than radical repentance. He fails his test. Sadly, this signals the end of his family's significance and the certainty of their decline and demise. It is a sad moment.

The text goes on to tell us that "The LORD was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba recognized that Samuel was attested as a prophet of the LORD." (1Sam.3:19-20)

When God speaks to us, the test will often follow. Will we take the first step, and will we be completely faithful?

Thankfully, just as in Samuel's case, God will provide people and circumstances to prompt us and get us going.

Also, unfortunately, people don't always respond as we hope they would....

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EmmDev 2017-06-07 [Lessons from Samuel] Attention

Attention

Then Samuel said, "Speak, for your servant is listening."      (1Samuel3:10)

God speaks:
In creation, in His bountiful provision, in the doors He has opened and closed in your life, in the needs and heartaches you can touch, in the voices of caring people around you, in His Word preached and read, in your hunger and thirst for righteousness, in the good desires that well up in your soul, in the depths of the still small voice...

God speaks, woos, whispers, commands, calls, warns, beckons and pleads...

                              Are... you.... listening... ? ?  ?   ?    ?

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EmmDev 2017-06-06 [Lessons from Samuel] Listening

Listening

The boy Samuel ministered before the LORD under Eli. In those days the word of the LORD was rare; there were not many visions. 2 One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. 3 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. 4 Then the LORD called Samuel. Samuel answered, "Here I am." 5 And he ran to Eli and said, "Here I am; you called me." But Eli said, "I did not call; go back and lie down." So he went and lay down. 6 Again the LORD called, "Samuel!" And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, "Here I am; you called me." "My son," Eli said, "I did not call; go back and lie down." Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD: The word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him. 8 The LORD called Samuel a third time, and Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, "Here I am; you called me." Then Eli realized that the LORD was calling the boy. 9 So Eli told Samuel, "Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, 'Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.' " So Samuel went and lay down in his place. 10 The LORD came and stood there, calling as at the other times, "Samuel! Samuel!" Then Samuel said, "Speak, for your servant is listening."      (1Samuel3:7-10)

There are very few people who don't know this lovely story. But there are some key facts that are important to understanding this story, some of which are often neglected...

1. The Word of the Lord was rare. This was because people's hearts were far from God. The book of Judges reveals an up-and-down cycle of faithfulness and unfaithfulness to God and concludes with this sad comment: "In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit" (Jud21:25). In view of this chronic disobedience and unfaithfulness God had left the Israelites to their own devices. Reaching out to them through Samuel is an act of pure Divine Grace.
2. Samuel did not yet know the Lord. This is quite a thought. He had been an answer to prayer. He had grown up in the Lord's service and in the Lord's presence but he had not yet come to an intimate personal encounter with God. Samuel did not recognise the Lord's voice.
3. Samuel needed to respond - God seeks dialogue with us - He calls and waits for us to answer. Notice how patient God is - He calls three times, allowing Samuel to "get it" without overwhelming him.
4. Eli's gracious wisdom. Eli makes many mistakes - especially as a dad - but he is a good mentor to Samuel. When Eli realised that God was speaking to Samuel, he could easily have tried to insert himself into the situation: "It's God speaking Samuel, let me come with you and help you understand..." But Eli has mastered one of the toughest principles of mentoring: Be willing to accept that the student may surpass the master.

There are some implications from these facts:

1. When God's word is rare, it is often because society is far from God. In mercy, He still chooses to speak, but he looks for quiet, devout and faithful people. In this world it is the Hannahs and Elkanahs and their children who will encounter God's whispers. Godly families are a great gift to society.
2. There is no substitute for a personal relationship and encounter with God.
3. When God speaks, we should respond: Humbly and submissively. Far too often we don't listen well. Far too often we don't let God finish speaking. Samuel could have rushed to Eli: "God is speaking to me! He's saying my name! How cool is that?" But Samuel listened to all that God had to say...
4. Like Eli we need to let others grow as God determines their growth.

Closing thought:
Do you think you would recognise if God spoke to you now?
Would you be able to slow down and listen?

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EmmDev 2017-06-02 [Lessons from Samuel] Hardened

Hardened

Now Eli, who was very old, heard about everything his sons were doing to all Israel and how they slept with the women who served at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. 23 So he said to them, "Why do you do such things? I hear from all the people about these wicked deeds of yours. 24 No, my sons; it is not a good report that I hear spreading among the LORD's people. 25 If a man sins against another man, God may mediate for him; but if a man sins against the LORD, who will intercede for him?" His sons, however, did not listen to their father's rebuke, for it was the LORD's will to put them to death.      (1Samuel2:22-25)

The author of Samuel alternates between Eli and sons on the one hand and Samuel and his family on the other hand. This pendulum swing takes us from Eli's greedy sons grabbing fatty portions of meat to Samuel and his devout and blessed family and now back to Eli's sexually immoral sons and Eli's inability to get them to change their ways.

Once again, the sin of the sons is serious:

• They are sleeping with the women who serve at the temple. These poor women would have had no choice and are left defiled as they serve the Lord.
• These actions have not been secret, the people have come to hear of them.
• People have been talking about it to such an extent that Eli their father comes to hear of it.
• Eli makes it clear - they are not only sinning toward the women - they are sinning against God.

Such is the arrogance of Eli's sons that their hearts are so hard.

Our passage contains a difficult statement: "His sons, however, did not listen to their father's rebuke, for it was the LORD's will to put them to death."

There are two ways to interpret this passage:
The first interpretation is that God wanted to put them to death and so He caused them not to listen to their father's rebuke. This makes God the causal factor in their sin. Some argue that Pharaoh's heart was similarly hardened. But this interpretation should be rejected.

The other interpretation is that God's decision to put them to death is simply based in His knowledge of their hard hearts. In the verses that follow in the remainder of this chapter, we will see pendulum keep swinging: On the positive side we're told that Samuel "continued to grow in stature and in favor with the LORD and with men." Then back on the negative side we're told that a prophet visits Eli and rebukes him for his failure with his sons and foretells the death of the sons who have continued their sin in spite of numerous warnings and Samuel's devout example.

Although God's decision is that they should die, the opportunities to repent keep coming^ - unfortunately sometimes there are none so blind as those who will not see...
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^ We see this same phenomenon in Pharaoh who is given TEN opportunities to let God's people go and he chooses evil every time. God "hardens" his heart by giving him numerous opportunities to do the right thing.

Furthermore, in Isaiah 6, the prophet is called to "make the hearts of the people callous..." but when you look at Isaiah's message it is overwhelmingly a call to repent and a message of hope. And so, once again, God "hardens" a heart by exposing it repeatedly to grace. When repeatedly offered grace is rejected then the person's heart is shown to be hard and we understand why judgment has to fall.

This is what hardening is: a gracious and compassionate God repeatedly offers people a chance to encounter forgiveness and grace and repeated rejections of this grace make it clear that the person has made their choice.

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EmmDev 2017-06-01 [Lessons from Samuel] Blessing

Blessing

But Samuel was ministering before the LORD--a boy wearing a linen ephod. 19 Each year his mother made him a little robe and took it to him when she went up with her husband to offer the annual sacrifice. 20 Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, saying, "May the LORD give you children by this woman to take the place of the one she prayed for and gave to the LORD." Then they would go home. 21 And the LORD was gracious to Hannah; she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the LORD.      (1Samuel2:19-21)

In stark contrast to Eli's wicked sons is Samuel.
He's growing up in a life of ministry and service.
His family are devout and supportive of him.
His mom, who was barren, now has another three sons and two daughters.
And Samuel is growing up in the Lord's presence.

All of this is blessing that flows from God's love and providence. Hannah struggles with being barren, but she clings to her belief that God is good. Elkanah struggles with his wife's heartache, but in his steadfast devotion to God and, in the tender love and support he shows to Hannah, he reveals the Father-heart of God. Israel is without a spiritual leader and Eli, who is this strange mixture of cynicism and faith, instinctively responds to God's initiative to give Israel a spiritual leader who hears God's voice.

God's love and providence are portrayed beautifully in this story: Love for a family that bore the sadness of barrenness and providence for a nation who needed to hear God's voice.

Imagine the picture: A joyful and growing family making the annual pilgrimage to worship and to see the miracle child who is growing in God's service. Imagine a proud mom presenting the next little robe to her special son. Look at the son, beautifully content in the presence of the Lord and realising God is at work. Imagine the laughter and love of the family together, the sadness of parting and yet the deep contentment of knowing that God is at work.

Struggle, heartache, calling out to God, sacrifice, dedication, miracles, family and calling.
Mix all of it together - It is a picture of blessing.

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