Nothing to say, yet
Transcription
In this information, we learn about the story of Hannah and how she made a vow to the Lord to give her son back to him. We also learn about Eli, the priest, and his sons who were wicked and disregarded the Lord's ways. The sons were treating the Lord's offerings with contempt. Samuel, the son of Elkanah and Hannah, grew up in the presence of the Lord and was faithful. Eli's sons slept with the women who served at the Tent of Meeting. Eli was rebuked by a man of God for honoring his sons more than the Lord. The prophet foretold that Eli's sons would die and the priesthood would be taken away from his descendants. Samuel had an experience of being called by the Lord. The Ark of the Covenant was captured by the Philistines, but they faced problems and sent it back to the Israelites. Some men of Beth Shemesh looked into the Ark and were struck down by the Lord. I am Julie Caleo, your host, and thanks so much for taking time out of your busy schedules to tune in with me today. If by chance you want to contact me, you can do that at theab.bc.pc at gmail.com. Today we are covering the second half of chapter 2 through chapter 7 of 1 Samuel. Yesterday we focused on Hannah who was barren until she made a vow to the Lord that if he would give her a son, then she would give him back to the Lord. He did and she did. Chapter 2 ended with Hannah's prayer, or if you like musicals like I do, Hannah's song unto the Lord which praised him for fighting for her and she declared that the Lord lifts up the lowly and brings down the proud. Dr. Betts said this is the theme of the whole book of 1 Samuel. This leads us to the second half of chapter 2 because the priest Eli had two sons who were also priests and they were prideful and disregarded the ways of the Lord. Verse 12 tells us that they were wicked men who had no regard for the Lord. Verses 13-16 describes some of their wicked behavior. We learned in the Pentateuch or the first five scrolls of the Bible that since the priests were not allowed to inherit land, only designated cities and surrounding pastor lands, and because their inheritance was the Lord, since they worked at the tabernacle in service of the Lord, they were allowed to eat part of the sacrifices given. But the Lord gave specific instructions, especially found in Leviticus, with all the various offerings and sacrifices. And one rule was that the fat and the blood belonged to the Lord. That is why in 1 Samuel chapter 2 verse 15, which says but even before the fat was burned, the servant of the priest would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, give the priest some meat to roast. He won't accept boiled meat from you, but only raw. Even if the people wanted to do it the godly way, they said, give it or we'll take it by force. Verse 17 tells us the sin of the young men was very great in the Lord's sight, for they were treating the Lord's offering with contempt, and these are the priests. Remember this is during the end times of judges, where people did what was right in their own eyes. Now that we know about Ruth and Boaz and Naomi, plus Elkanah and Hannah, we could say most people did what was right in their own eyes, but God always, always, always had a remnant of faithful people. Then verse 18 starts with but. Here we have another faithful person, Samuel, the son of Elkanah and Hannah, who dedicated him to the work of the Lord. They came annually for the sacrifices, and Hannah brought him a new robe each year. Eli blessed them to have more children, and the Lord was gracious and allowed Hannah to have three more sons and two daughters. Meanwhile the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the Lord. Now this section contrasts Eli's sons and their ungodliness and Samuel's calling and his faithfulness. Verses 22-25 tell us that Eli's sons slept with the women who served at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. These women are mentioned briefly in Exodus chapter 38 verse 8 which says, Moreover he made the laver of bronze with its base of bronze from the mirrors of the serving women who served at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting. Now nowhere in scripture does it say what they actually did to serve the Lord. If you remember in the New Testament when Mary and Joseph brought baby Jesus to be circumcised in Luke chapter 2 verses 36-38, it tells us that Anna was a prophetess and she never left the Temple but worshipped night and day, fasting and praying. Eli rebuked his sons for their wicked behavior and said, 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? The thing that is so ironic is that these were the priests, they were to be the mediators between God and man. Again verse 26 we see the contrast, and the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor with the Lord and with men. The rest of chapter 2 explained a man of God came to Eli, as I've said before he is unnamed to us but the Lord knows his name. Verse 29b is key, he speaks for the Lord and says, Why do you honor your sons more than me, by fattening yourselves on the choice parts of every offering made by my people Israel? Then we get a bit of what is called the retribution principle. The Lord said in verse 30b, Those who honor me I will honor, but those who despise me will be disdained. The prophet foretold Eli that his sons would die on the same day and the priesthood would be taken away from Eli's descendants and given to another. In chapter 3 we have Samuel's experience in calling from the Lord. Verse 1 tells us that the word of the Lord was rare and there were not many visions. One of Samuel's jobs was to lie down in the tabernacle's holy place and make sure that the lamp of God never went out. One evening he heard Samuel, he thought it was Eli, so he went to him and said, Here I am, you called me? Eli said, No, go back and lie down. This happened a second time. Verse 7 tells us, Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord. The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. On the third time the Lord spoke to Samuel, Eli realized it was the Lord and he told him, Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. Samuel did just that and then the Lord came and stood there and called, Samuel, Samuel. There are a few other men so far in scripture where the Lord called them by their name twice. Genesis chapter 22 verse 11, Abraham, Abraham, he replied, Here I am. In Genesis chapter 46 verse 2, right before Jacob left the promised land to go to Egypt, and God spoke to Israel in a vision at night and said, Jacob, Jacob, here I am, he replied. The third time was in Exodus chapter 3 verse 4, when the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, Moses, Moses, and Moses said, Here I am. After Samuel said, Speak, for your servant is listening, the Lord told Samuel he would judge Eli for not restraining his sons. And then in verse 14b, the Lord said, The guilt of Eli's house will never be atoned for by sacrifice or offering. Ladies, the Bible is clear, Old and New Testament, that not everyone is forgiven and atoned for, but only those who believe in the Lord. The next morning Samuel was afraid to tell Eli, but he made him tell the truth, so Samuel told him everything. Verses 19 through chapter 4 verse 1, we see that the Lord had placed his hand on Samuel and all that he declared came true, which is a sign of a prophet of God. Verse 20 says, And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba recognized that Samuel was attested as a prophet of the Lord. Dan was the most northern part of Israel and Beersheba was the most southern part of Israel, which means that all of Israel saw Samuel as a prophet of the Lord. We also see then in verse 21 that the Lord revealed himself to Samuel through his word. Then chapter 4 says that Samuel's word came to all Israel. Samuel is the mediator of the Lord to his people. Now chapters 4 through 7 tell us how the nation of Israel was still trying to take land. They fought the Philistines and lost, so they decided to go to Shiloh and get the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord Almighty who is enthroned between the cherubim. Eli's two sons went with the Ark. This time they lost again, but even worse, the Ark of the Lord was captured by the Philistines. An unnamed man from the tribe of Benjamin came and told Eli because Eli was worried about the Ark of God. The Benjamite told Eli that his sons are dead, and then when he told them that the Ark was captured, Eli fell backwards and broke his neck and died. Verse 18b tells us that Eli led or judged Israel for 40 years. We then learn in chapter 5 that the Lord can take care of himself. First, the Philistines took the Ark to their city of Ashtod and placed it next to their god Dagon. That next morning, Dagon was facedown in the ground before the Ark of the Lord. They put him back up, and the next day, again he was facedown in the ground before the Ark of the Lord, and his head and hands had been broken off and were lying on the threshold. Not only that, but the Lord afflicted the people with tumors, so the people wanted the Ark of God to move somewhere else. Place number 2 was the Philistine city of Gad. The plagues of tumors happened there. They wanted the Ark gone, so the people sent it to Akron, a third city, and they cried out because they did not want the punishment of God brought upon them, so they suggested to send it back to the Israelites. Chapter 6 tells how they sent it back. They knew enough to know they should not give it back empty-handed, so they made five gold tumors and five gold wraths, which represented the five main Philistine towns and the plagues the Lord brought. Then verse 6 has the Philistines saying, Why do you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh did? When he treated them harshly, did they not send the Israelites out so they could go on their way? The Philistines remembered that the Lord rescued Israel from Egypt. They wanted to make sure it was a God thing, so they made a cart, made a chest for the gold objects. They had two cows, which were new mothers, and they kept the babies at home, and then they sent off the Ark. Verse 12 tells us the cows loathed all the way, but they still went straight to the Israelites. When the Ark came to Beth Shemesh, there were harvesters in the land, and they saw it. They chopped up the wood, made a sacrifice with the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord. The Philistines were looking on, recognized it truly was a God thing, and they went home. We see, though, that some of the Jews did not honor the Lord either, and they looked into the Ark, which was not allowed. They weren't even to touch it, and the Lord struck down some of the men of Beth Shemesh for their disrespect of the Lord. This brought the fear of the Lord to the Jews, and they sent for Jews from Kiriath-Jerim to come and take the Ark in chapter 7. They consecrated Eleazar to guard the Ark of the Lord. The Ark stayed there for 20 years, chapter 7, verse 2. This brought a renewal of commitment to the Lord. Samuel told them that they needed to get rid of their false gods and idols and serve the Lord. Samuel called the people to come to Mishpah, so he could intercede for them. The Philistines heard about it, and they came to fight them, which frightened the Jews, and they pleaded with Samuel to intercede for them, and he did, and the Lord answered him. Verse 10 tells us that while Samuel was sacrificing, the Lord thundered, and the Philistines were pushed back. Verse 13 tells us the Philistines were subdued and did not invade Israelite territory again. Throughout Samuel's lifetime, the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines. Verse 15 tells us that Samuel was also a judge, and every year he went on a circuit from Bethel to Gilgal to Mishpah. Then verse 17, but he always went back to Ramah, where his home was, and there he also judged Israel, and he built an altar there to the Lord. Every year he went home. So ladies, let me ask you, do you know the Lord, or do you just know of him? The whole purpose of the Old Testament law was he wanted to make himself known to his people. As Dr. Bett said all the time in Old Testament class, the Israelites never spoke badly about the law because it revealed who God was and what he expected of his people. They did not have to guess as the other religions did. If you confess to know the Lord, then let me ask you, do you honor someone else more than the Lord, like Eli? If you are a Christian, do you understand that God has revealed himself to us, not so that we can do our own thing. We are not just called to go to church on Sunday and that's it. We are called to serve the Lord with our lives. Can you say like Samuel, speak Lord, for your servant is listening. Prayer is also about listening. If you have heard his voice today, let's not harden our hearts, instead let's be women who hear from the Lord and obey. Until next time, and thanks so much for listening.
