Samuel
– A Lifetime
Serving God
·
Samuel
"grew in favor with the Lord", despite what was going on around him
(like…)
·
Samuel
was a prophet (3:20). He passed the test in Deut. 18:21-22. But something
happened…
·
Verse
1 of chapter 4 is fuzzy. Did this "word" originate with God or
Samuel? Or either?
·
A
step back: look at Judges 13:1. These are the consequences of sin.
·
"Why?"
(4:3) The elders recognized the defeat in verse 2 was due more to God's
displeasure
·
Think
of the theme of the Book of Samuel. The story of two kings, and Samuel in the
midst of it all, Samuel's unique childhood (but not that of Saul and David).
What does this battle mean?
·
Rather
than assess the situation prayerfully, the elders of Israel make a foolish
decision. (Where is Samuel in all this?)
·
They
treat the Ark like a spiritual rabbit's foot. If we just trot it out we win.
They knew the power of it (see Joshua 3 & 6)
·
But
that is not what the Ark is. (See Exod. 25:17-22, II Sam. 6:2, Psalms 80:1) Not
only that, look who is accompanying the Ark (4:4). Like with the sacrifices,
it's not the ritual, it's our hearts
·
The
appearance of the Ark did stir up the Philistines (4:6-9). But not the way the
Israelites had hoped for (e.g. Josh. 10:10, I Sam. 14:15-23, II Kings 19:35)
·
The
phrase "the ark of God was captured" appears 5 times. It is the
central theme of this narrative. Remember the importance of the Ark to the
Israelites.
·
The
news reached Eli, our last glimpse of this now old man (4:18) A sad end, as he
heard of the death of his sons, and that the Ark was captured.
·
Eli's
daughter-in-law (who must have endured a lot) died shortly after giving birth
to a son, whom she named Ichabod, which means 'No Glory'.
·
Israel
has seen better days…
·
Where
did Israel go wrong in all this?
·
It
is ironic that the Ark did have a terrible effect on the Philistines (Chapter
5)
#1) We must always evaluate the
advice we receive in light of God's revealed truth in Scripture
#2) The moment to confess our
sins is when we violate God's directives, not after we try to fix it ourselves
#3) A life of sin not only
affects our own relationship with God, but it impacts those around us
#4) It is never too late to cry
out to the Lord for help and restoration
For
next week, read I Samuel 7:1-17
