Samuel
– A Lifetime
Serving God
·
Samuel
was born at a troubled time in Israel's history. Judges says "everyone did
as he saw fit". Israel had forgotten the warnings of Joshua and Moses.
·
At
the end of his life, Joshua told the Hebrews what they needed to do to survive.
He told them to throw away foreign gods and choose the One True God. (Josh.
24:14,15)
·
The
people listened, but in only one generation, the Israelites had abandoned God's
ways. Note the progression:
i.
Joshua's
generation - People served the Lord (Judges 2:7)
ii.
The
next generation - They failed to teach their children (Judges 2:10)
iii.
The
next generation - They did evil in the sight of the Lord (Judges 2:11)
·
How
did that happen? How did godly people forget to teach the next generation?
·
How
did that happen in our country? Between the 1940s and now, especially starting
in the 1960s, this country moved away from God. Why did we forget so quickly?
·
"Be
Careful to Obey" (6:3) Why? So it would go well for you…
·
"Love
the Lord Your God" (6:4-6) Note the total involvement, a conscious
commitment
·
"Impress
Them on Your Children" (6:6-9) Children will not figure it out on their own…
·
"Be
Careful that You Do Not Forget the Lord" (6:10-11) The Promised Land
waiting for the Hebrews would already have cities, water, crops, livelihoods
waiting for them. They wouldn't have to do all the building from scratch. But
they were to remember that it was God who gave them all this. Sadly, there were
also foreign gods already waiting for them…
·
Joshua
practiced what he preached. First, he followed God's law faithfully (Josh. 1:7)
·
As
Moses said, Joshua followed God with all his heart and soul (Josh. 1:8)
·
These
godly leaders led by example, The people responded. In America, did we forget
to lead by example? Did we forget to make a complete commitment to what is
right?
·
For
the next 300 years, the Israelites repeated a tragic pattern. They sinned, and
suffered at the hands of their enemies. They cried out, God sent judges to show
them they way. They responded for a time, and then "did evil in the sight
of the Lord" again (Judges 3:12)
#1) It is God's will that the
men and women who lead His people model God-fearing lives. (See Exod. 18:21,
Deut. 1:13, and I Tim. 3:1-3.)
#2) Having God-fearing leaders
does not guarantee that God's people will always do God's will.
#3) People chosen to lead - even
by God Himself - do not always remain faithful and free from sin.
#4) It only takes one generation
for degeneration to take place among God's people.
For
next week, read I Samuel 1:1-20
