Hand of God

 DEVOTION

1^ST SAMUEL

HAND OF GOD

1 Sam 6:1-12

6:1 When the ark of the LORD had been in Philistine territory seven months, 2 the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners and said, "What shall we do with the ark of the LORD? Tell us how we should send it back to its place." 3 They answered, "If you return the ark of the god of Israel, do not send it away empty, but by all means send a guilt offering to him. Then you will be healed, and you will know why his hand has not been lifted from you." 4 The Philistines asked, "What guilt offering should we send to him?" They replied, "Five gold tumors and five gold rats, according to the number of the Philistine rulers, because the same plague has struck both you and your rulers. 5 Make models of the tumors and of the rats that are destroying the country, and pay honor to Israel's god. Perhaps he will lift his hand from you and your gods and your land. 6 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? 7 "Now then, get a new cart ready, with two cows that have calved and have never been yoked. Hitch the cows to the cart, but take their calves away and pen them up. 8 Take the ark of the LORD and put it on the cart, and in a chest beside it put the gold objects you are sending back to him as a guilt offering. Send it on its way, 9 but keep watching it. If it goes up to its own territory, toward Beth Shemesh, then the LORD has brought this great disaster on us. But if it does not, then we will know that it was not his hand that struck us and that it happened to us by chance." 10 So they did this. They took two such cows and hitched them to the cart and penned up their calves. 11 They placed the ark of the LORD on the cart and along with it the chest containing the gold rats and the models of the tumors. 12 Then the cows went straight up toward Beth Shemesh, keeping on the road and lowing all the way; they did not turn to the right or to the left. The rulers of the Philistines followed them as far as the border of Beth Shemesh.

NIV

We cannot be sure what a model of a tumor looked like, yet they fashioned models of tumors and rats from gold to send with the ark of God back to the people of Israel. Interestingly, they call it the ark of the god of Israel; however, they referred to their god with a capital letter, Dagon. Is it any wonder the heavy hand of God was upon them? We had already considered how disrespectful they were to the LORD, but now, to put it on a cart, even a new cart, and have it pulled by two cows, even ones that had never been yoked before, was not fitting for the ark of God. However, the Philistines did not know any rules about the ark, so at least they showed some respect by using a new cart and those cows. Of course, the cows went straight away to the place they were supposed to go, showing the Philistines that the God of Israel had authority over all his creation, even the animals, directing them toward Beth Shemesh. At least now the Philistines knew the God of Israel was more powerful than their man-made god Dagon. We will see more about this ark of God within the city of Beth Shemesh, but for now, let us, once again, remind ourselves that we are children of the Most High God, the maker of heaven and earth. We know because we have accepted his grace, his provision for our redemption and salvation, Jesus Christ, crucified, shedding his blood for the forgiveness of our sins, that we live within the love of God. He watches over us, protects us, provides for us, heals us, directs our paths, and has sent the Holy Spirit to lead us into all his truth. We no longer have any knowledge of where the ark of God is, or whether it still exists hidden for all time, but because we live under the new covenant of grace, we only need Jesus. Although we cannot see him, we have the knowledge of his reality, a record by eyewitnesses who walked with him and talked with him, learning from him about the kingdom of God. Our faith has substance, even if we cannot see it with our physical eyes. We can see it within our spirit, because the Spirit reveals it to us. Let us give all the glory, honor, and praise that is due our God, lifting our hearts and our hands before him in worship. At the same time, we can also still our hearts, releasing all anxiety, worry, stress, fear, or any other negative feeling, knowing that He is God. As we worship the Lord our God, we have the peace of Christ within us. How wonderful a life in Christ is, as we revere our Almighty God. We do not live under his heavy hand, as the Philistines did, for we have taken Jesus’s yoke upon us, for his yoke is easy and his burden is light.  

Respect

 DEVOTION

1^ST SAMUEL

RESPECT

1 Sam 5:6-12

6 The LORD's hand was heavy upon the people of Ashdod and its vicinity; he brought devastation upon them and afflicted them with tumors.   7 When the men of Ashdod saw what was happening, they said, "The ark of the god of Israel must not stay here with us, because his hand is heavy upon us and upon Dagon our god." 8 So they called together all the rulers of the Philistines and asked them, "What shall we do with the ark of the god of Israel?" They answered, "Have the ark of the god of Israel moved to Gath." So they moved the ark of the God of Israel. 9 But after they had moved it, the LORD's hand was against that city, throwing it into a great panic. He afflicted the people of the city, both young and old, with an outbreak of tumors.   10 So they sent the ark of God to Ekron. As the ark of God was entering Ekron, the people of Ekron cried out, "They have brought the ark of the god of Israel around to us to kill us and our people." 11 So they called together all the rulers of the Philistines and said, "Send the ark of the god of Israel away; let it go back to its own place, or it will kill us and our people." For death had filled the city with panic; God's hand was very heavy upon it. 12 Those who did not die were afflicted with tumors, and the outcry of the city went up to heaven.

NIV

This is how it shall be if you disrespect the LORD, the God of Israel, who established this ark of God for the people of Israel. However, because the Philistines worship other gods, idols made by their own hands, when they captured this ark of the Israelites' God, they did not give the ark or God the due respect he should have, so he inflicted the people of Ashdod and its vicinity with tumors. The Hebrew, the Septuagint, and the Vulgate read as He inflected them with tumors, and rats appeared in their land, and death and destruction were throughout the city. The same thing happened to Gath and Ekron after they moved the ark of God to each of those cities. It was so devastating that they wanted the ark of God to return to Israel. Disrespecting the Lord can bring destruction upon people and we see that throughout our current culture. People of the world have made so many things their god, unless they come to their senses and return to their creator, they are doomed to destruction. Some disrespect him so much that they developed an alternate beginning of the universe and life, one of their own desire to fit their own narrative, so they need no authority in their lives. Their hearts are bent toward evil all the time. We can understand why they think and act like that, and although we should be concerned about their destruction, we also should ponder whether we in the household of faith show any disrespect to our God. We know when we visit some of the great Basilicas throughout Europe, we enter with a reverence of silence, perhaps a whisper of awe at the greatness of it, but we also see it as a place built to worship the Lord God Almighty, with all the respect that is due him. There are some of the older catholic churches in this country that have that same sense of those old Basilicas, and the people enter in silence with reverence, and even in their more modern sanctuaries, it is the same. However, in many of our evangelical and fundamental churches, we may have lost that awe and respect for God. We enter our sanctuaries with visiting with each other, even some laughter and loudness. It may be true, it is just a building where we meet together to sing a few songs about God, and hear a message from the scriptures, but are we really being respectful to the almighty God who formed us from the dust and breathed life into us, and who came to die for us, so that we would not experience destruction, but have everlasting life, when we come into his house to gather in his name and worship him? Do we really believe this sanctuary we come into is holy ground that we are standing on? Do we truly believe that surely the presence of the Lord is in this place? Do we honestly believe we bring the sacrifice of praise within the sanctuary of God? Jesus called the temple a house of prayer when he cast out the merchants, those who made it a den of robbers. Maybe we should be entering our sanctuary with more respect for our God. It may be fine to greet one another in quietness, then maybe we should reflect in prayer before our worship begins. Just a thought to ponder about respect. 

God's Power

 DEVOTION

1^ST SAMUEL

GOD’S POWER

1 Samuel 5:1-8

5:1 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. 5 That is why to this day neither the priests of Dagon nor any others who enter Dagon's temple at Ashdod step on the threshold. 6 The LORD's hand was heavy upon the people of Ashdod and its vicinity; he brought devastation upon them and afflicted them with tumors.   7 When the men of Ashdod saw what was happening, they said, "The ark of the god of Israel must not stay here with us, because his hand is heavy upon us and upon Dagon our god." 8 So they called together all the rulers of the Philistines and asked them, "What shall we do with the ark of the god of Israel?"

“Thou shall have no other gods before me” is exactly what was going on when they put the ark of God next to a false idol. The Philistines had no idea about the power of God, but they were about to find out. This Dagon was nothing but an idol made by the hands of men, and as an idol, it was an inanimate object incapable of movement. Yet, in the morning, there it was, face down in front of the ark of God. The power of God is over all the earth. He caused Mt Sinai to tremble in front of all Israel. He rained fire from heaven on Sodom and Gomorrah. The power of the Most High God, who created all things, could move an idol made by man, causing it to worship before the ark of God. This is our guiding principle. We should never be too invested in any material things of this world, for anything that we have made is still subject to the Lord God Almighty's power. He can, if he desires, cause anything to be laid to the ground. He can, if he wishes, cause an earthquake to level a whole city, or bring about some other disaster upon the wicked. God demonstrates his mighty power every day if we are looking. We are indeed supposed to tend the garden, so to speak, that is, we should be respectful of the creation of God that he put us to live in. Yet, we also must understand that he is the one who sustains the earth and, in fact, sustains our lives. Maybe we get a little lazy about  His majestic power and sovereign control or authority over all things. Maybe we put too much value on things, even on our homes, or dare we think even on the building we label as the church. Some churches have become so invested in their building and all the fancy things within that, maybe they have missed the mark. Is God impressed with the mega churches with their fine things? Who do we worship, the idols of our things or our buildings, or do we worship the living God who dwells within all the universe? We do not think it matters how fancy or comfortable we make our church. What matters is that we fall face down before the presence of God. Of course, we do not actually lie prostrate during our worship services in the sanctuary of God. But we do wonder how respectful we are of his presence upon us. Because God caused an idol to fall down before him, even break it apart, we should take note of his power in our lives, and he is our God, who cares for us. Let us bow our hearts in full worship as we live each day, appreciating our very breath as he sustains us, and when we enter his house, let us bow before God Almighty, respecting God’s power.

 

Overwhelmed

 DEVOTION

1^ST SAMUEL

OVERWHELMED

1 Samuel 4:12-22

12 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. 19 His daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant and near the time of delivery. When she heard the news that the ark of God had been captured and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she went into labor and gave birth, but was overcome by her labor pains. 20 As she was dying, the women attending her said, "Don't despair; you have given birth to a son." But she did not respond or pay any attention. 21 She named the boy Ichabod, saying, "The glory has departed from Israel"-because of the capture of the ark of God and the deaths of her father-in-law and her husband. 22 She said, "The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured."

NIV

The most horrible of horrors that could have happened at that time was that the ark of God had been captured by the Philistines.  Although it was a terrible thing for the Israelites, we will see that it is the most horrible of things for the Philistines. However, our story here is about Eli, as this was also the last time we heard about him. He was the one who thought Hannah was drunk when she was praying to be able to bear a son, and she promised she would give him to the LORD. Samuel grew up under the tutelage of Eli the priest, who served before the ark of God and whose two sons died the same day because they offered unauthorized fire before the LORD. Eli's house would never have a man who lived to old age. Now he is in his late nineties, old, blind, and fat. When he heard the news that the ark of the Covenant had been captured, he fell backwards, broke his neck, and died. Eli could not bear to hear of what happened to the most scared thing of Israel Because of what happened, as we will see, to the Philistine cities wherever they took the ark of God, we know it most definitely was the place God used to represent his presence with the people, even though it was just a box. It was meaningful to the people, and Eli was so overwhelmed by the ark being gone, he fell backwards off his chair and died. We wonder if we are overwhelmed at all because of the presence of the Lord being with us. Are we just living a ho-hum Christian life, doing what we think is the right thing, or going through the motions of religious activities, but having no intense, overwhelming response to the dwelling of the Holy Spirit within us? He brings so much into our being, his fruit, gifts, and power, and the evidence of all those should give us that intense sense, and our response would include an abundance of worship, almost as if we would be falling face down before the throne of God. Of course, we may not appear that way throughout our daily responsibilities; however, we would think that when we enter the sanctuary of the Lord in church, we would reflect our reverence for his presence among us, or within us. Still, because the Spirit is always with us, we should be reflecting those fruits, gifts, and power in our lives daily. That might just be overwhelming to experience all that every day, but then God has been, is, and will ever be a God who is gentle and loving to each of us, and yet His glory is overwhelming. 

The Box

 DEVOITON

1^ST SAMUEL

THE BOX

1 Samuel 4:1-11

:1 And Samuel's word came to all Israel. Now the Israelites went out to fight against the Philistines. The Israelites camped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines at Aphek. 2 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. 3 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. 5 When the ark of the LORD's covenant came into the camp, all Israel raised such a great shout that the ground shook. 6 Hearing the uproar, the Philistines asked, "What's all this shouting in the Hebrew camp?" When they learned that the ark of the LORD had come into the camp, 7 the Philistines were afraid. "A god has come into the camp," they said. "We're in trouble! Nothing like this has happened before. 8 Woe to us! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? They are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the desert. 9 Be strong, Philistines! Be men, or you will be subject to the Hebrews, as they have been to you. Be men, and fight!" 10 So the Philistines fought, and the Israelites were defeated and every man fled to his tent. The slaughter was very great; Israel lost thirty thousand foot soldiers. 11 The ark of God was captured, and Eli's two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

NIV

We wonder why the Israelites believed that God was present in the Ark of the Covenant. It did indeed symbolize his presence in the tabernacle; however, because the Philistines captured the ark of the covenant, it was nothing more than a wooden box covered with gold, with layers of dried blood on its cover. Our modern movies have made the ark something awe-inspiring, with one movie depicting men who found it, opening it, and the fury of God spewing forth like lightning, killing all who looked upon it. However, God Almighty, the creator of heaven and earth, cannot be contained within a box, even one he designed and gave Moses instructions as to how it was to be built. This should give us the clue as to how we must perceive the living God. We cannot put Him in a box. That is to say that we cannot predetermine how God will respond or his actions by deciding the ways God works. Of course, we have the complete scriptures that reveal who God is, and we have records of how he intervened in the lives of many people, especially the whole tribe of Israel. We might decide or expect how God will respond to certain actions or prayers we offer. However, that too is putting God in a box. Although we do have records of how he acted in various ways, and his word is recorded for all time, we can never expect the Lord God Almighty to act following how we perceive him to act. We may quote part of his word, using that as a trap, so to speak, expecting him to do something in a certain way that he may have done before, but again, that would be putting the Lord Almighty who formed us from the dust and breathed life into us, in a box. Let us firmly establish in our hearts and minds, He is the Almighty Sovereign of the Universe, who was, is, and will forever be, and He cannot be contained in a box, even that Ark of the Covenant. The ark represented his covenant with Israel; however, we have the Holy Spirit, who is not just a representative of God, but is God dwelling within us. Yet, we cannot contain the Spirit although he is in us. We can quench him, not allowing him full access to our inner being, but, as Jesus told us to learn from him, that he is gentle and humble of heart, we know the Spirit will not force his ways upon us, but once we submit to the will of God, all heaven and earth will fall away and we will be filled with the power of God, through the working of the Holy Spirt in us the through us, for God almighty will never be contained in any of our constructed ideas, or the box we made for him. 

Ears to Hear

 DEVOTION

1^ST SAMUEL

EARS TO HEAR

1 Sam 3:11-21

11 And the LORD said to Samuel: "See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make the ears of everyone who hears of it tingle. 12 At that time I will carry out against Eli everything I spoke against his family — from beginning to end. 13 For I told him that I would judge his family forever because of the sin he knew about; his sons made themselves contemptible, and he failed to restrain them. 14 Therefore, I swore to the house of Eli, 'The guilt of Eli's house will never be atoned for by sacrifice or offering.'" 15 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." 19 The LORD was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of his words fall to the ground. 20 And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba recognized that Samuel was attested as a prophet of the LORD. 21 The LORD continued to appear at Shiloh, and there he revealed himself to Samuel through his word.

NIV

We can only believe the word of the LORD came to Samuel in an audible voice as he revealed his judgment on the house of Eli. Although Samuel did not want to tell Eli what the LORD would do, Eli told him he could not without the word of the LORD, so Samuel told him everything. Eli's response is our first lesson to ponder. What Eli heard was not the best news about the fate of his descendants; however, Eli still submitted to the will of the LORD, affirming the absolute sovereignty of God, and that Eli was content with the LORD doing whatever was right in His eyes. It makes us wonder how willing we are to submit to the absolute authority of the Lord over our lives, especially if we are going through a rough patch or having some physical difficulties. We wonder how much of our prayer is like that of Israel, always crying out to the Lord, asking for his deliverance, or have we come to a place where we know the Lord has already delivered us from the penalty of death, and in fact, death itself, and we are content with our lot in life, whatsoever it is. The second lesson comes from the statement that the LORD was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of his words fall to the ground. This means that whatever Samuel spoke, it was received as from the LORD, or whatever predictions or prophetic words Samuel uttered, the LORD fulfilled, as Samuel first heard from the LORD. All of Israel attested that Samuel was a prophet of the LORD. We would believe that we are not a prophet of the Lord; however, that does not preclude having a prophetic word from the Lord. God is still able to reveal his will, which, of course, he has already done through the written record of his word. He has revealed through the vision he gave John of what is yet to happen, a prophecy of what is to come. In addition, because we have the Spirit dwelling within us, who reveals all the truth of God to us, we can be assured of what the Lord has done, is doing, and will do, both in our lives and in the world. The Lord is always ready to reveal himself to us if we have ears to hear and eyes to see. That may be one of the difficult areas in our lives, to have ears to hear, or a spirit who is willing to listen to the word of the Lord without any of our preconceived notions, or prejudices about the meaning of his word. What we need is to watch and listen as the Lord continues to reveal himself to us and through us, and then others can attest that we are children of God. Let us always have an open spirit and ears to hear what the Lord has to say. As Samuel had a good reputation for being a prophet of the Lord, we should always have a good reputation for being a child of God, and we have ears to hear. 

Listening

 DEVOTION

1^ST SAMUEL

LISTENING

1 Samuel 3:1-10

3:1 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." 7 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."

NIV

It is time for Samuel to begin to come into his own. He had been under the tutelage of Eli; however, the LORD is not pleased with Eli because he did not restrain his sons from contempt for the command of the LORD about offering unauthorized fire before Him. The LORD promised Eli that not one of his descendants would become an old man, but all would die in the prime of their lives. However, Samuel was dedicated to the LORD even before he was conceived, as Hannah had made a promise to the LORD if He would open her womb. Here, we see the LORD calling Samuel for the first time, but Samuel had not yet heard the voice of God, thinking it was actually Eli. Three times this happened until Eli realized it was the LORD calling Samuel and told him how to answer. This is where we learn our lesson for life. When the LORD called his name, “Samuel! Samuel!” Samuel responded, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” The Lord  always wants to speak to us, and He can speak in various ways. First, through His word, second, through the inspiration of the Spirit within us, and thirdly, by His audible voice. It is possible He could use another person through either a prophetic message, or a word of wisdom or knowledge; however, as with Samuel, the Lord spoke directly to him. We believe the key to the LORD calling to Samuel was that he was in the tabernacle where the ark of the LORD was. Samuel was in the presence of God when he heard the LORD’s voice. That should be a clue for us if we want to hear the voice of the Lord. Of course, we should always be in the presence of our Lord, even if we are not in the sanctuary of the church. We have heard and used that vernacular of asking the people of God if they have prepared themselves to meet with the living God at the beginning of a worship service in church. However, we are living with the Holy Spirit dwelling, or tabernacling within us, which means we are always in His presence or He is always present with us. Still, could we get so distracted by the busyness of our own daily lives that we miss listening to his voice? There is so much noise everywhere throughout our daily activities, it might be difficult to hear His still, small voice within our spirits. Even if he spoke out in a clear verbal word to us, we might not recognize him, because we are too invested in our own sounds. One key would be to spend some alone time early in the morning before our day takes off in a multitude of directions, beginning with worship and listening for his inspiration through His word, or the Spirit, or even from hearing his voice. Although we should always be listening for however He speaks to us, His words are more important than all other words. “Speak, Lord, your servant is listening!” 

Continue To Grow

DEVOTION

 1^ST SAMUEL

CONTINUE TO GROW

1 Samuel 2:26-36

26 And the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor with the LORD and with men.

27 Now a man of God came to Eli and said to him, "This is what the LORD says: 'Did I not clearly reveal myself to your father's house when they were in Egypt under Pharaoh? 28 I chose your father out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up to my altar, to burn incense, and to wear an ephod in my presence. I also gave your father's house all the offerings made with fire by the Israelites. 29 Why do you scorn my sacrifice and offering that I prescribed for my dwelling? Why do you honor your sons more than me by fattening yourselves on the choice parts of every offering made by my people Israel?' 30 "Therefore the LORD, the God of Israel, declares: 'I promised that your house and your father's house would minister before me forever.' But now the LORD declares: 'Far be it from me! Those who honor me I will honor, but those who despise me will be disdained. 31 The time is coming when I will cut short your strength and the strength of your father's house, so that there will not be an old man in your family line 32 and you will see distress in my dwelling. Although good will be done to Israel, in your family line there will never be an old man. 33 Every one of you that I do not cut off from my altar will be spared only to blind your eyes with tears and to grieve your heart, and all your descendants will die in the prime of life. 34 "'And what happens to your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, will be a sign to you — they will both die on the same day. 35 I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who will do according to what is in my heart and mind. I will firmly establish his house, and he will minister before my anointed one always. 36 Then everyone left in your family line will come and bow down before him for a piece of silver and a crust of bread and plead, "Appoint me to some priestly office so I can have food to eat."'"

NIV

Although this was a judgment upon Eli and his descendants by a man of God who spoke for God, there is also a mighty comparison that is shown to us. First, we notice that the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor with the LORD and with men. This should be our story as well. Although the word "stature" is used in this translation, the Hebrew word actually means to grow up or become great, so perhaps "stature" implies becoming great. We may not have become great, but we have grown up, and the question is whether we have grown in favor with the Lord and men. There is something to be said about having a good reputation among people, both the people of God and of the world. Being in favor, or having a good reputation among the body of Christ, would or should give us some influence to assist people in their walk with Jesus. We are told to build each other up, but if our reputation is marred or stained in some way, we would think our fellow believers would accept our counsel. When it comes to the people of the world, a good reputation would enable us to be a witness to the truth of God. However, if we were just the same as they are, then what kind of reputation would we have? However important our reputation or favor among men is, being in favor with God is everything. We know our growing in favor with God is not based on a merit system where it depends on how much we do, or the number or significance of our good deeds,  but solely on our faith in Jesus as our Lord and Savior. It is God who reconciled us to himself through the death of his Son. In fact, even our faith is a gift of God. This is made clear to us in the letter to the Romans, when we are told not to think more highly of ourselves than we should, but to think of ourselves with sober judgement in accordance with the measure of faith God has given us. Because we know that God does not show favoritism, we believe we each are given the same measure of faith, but just as with everything, we must use it for it to grow, as in growing in stature and in favor with God and men. We cannot stay as infants in the Lord, just happy to be saved, and never take the yoke of Jesus upon us and learn from him, for he is gentle and humble of heart. We need to grow up, we need to continually be in the state of transformation becoming more and more like Jesus, but then that is also the work of the Holy Spirit within us, so not much depends on us, but it all depends on God so he receives all the honor and glory in our lives. Still, things do depend on us as well, one of which is to continue to grow. 

The Sin

 DEVOTION

1^ST SAMUEL

THE SIN

1 Samuel 2:22-25

22 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.

NIV

First, we must deal with or consider the difference between sinning against our fellow believer and sinning against the Lord. We would think all sin is ultimately against God, but from this passage, it would seem we can commit an offence against someone without it being a moral issue against God. Let us consider what type of offence we might commit against another person. Would that be something like gossip, speaking out of anger, or perhaps showing off, being prideful or boastful, thus causing pain to another or making them think more highly of themselves because they are not prideful or boastful? In this narrative, it would appear the sons of Eli committed adultery, although we are not told whether the women who served at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting were married or single. However, these women who were in service to God could have been women set apart for God, as the modern-day nuns in the catholic church would be set apart, remaining chaste. If this were the case, then the sons of Eli sinned against the Lord, and no one could mediate for them, and thus God put them to death for their evil deeds. On the other hand, when we commit some offence against our fellow believers, we can resolve the matter before the Lord. We can go in the name of the Lord, seeking forgiveness for offending our brother or sister in the Lord. What is troublesome is that if we are the offended, two scenarios may be true. First, being offended may be a result of our thinking more highly of ourselves, rather than living humbly before God and man. If someone said something, or the way they said something, their tone or inflection of voice that hurt our feelings, then our feelings are self-centered, almost prideful. The other scenario would be if someone asks us to forgive them, and we hold back our forgiveness, but instead make sure they know how wrong they were, we would be in grave danger, for if we do not forgive others, God will not forgive us. However, if we live in humility and seek forgiveness, and give forgiveness, or we make every effort to live in peace, or harmony with all others, then God will empower us to live following his word. He will mediate between us, so we are in fellowship with each other. Let us be careful about those areas in life that would be considered sinning against God, whatever they might entail. But also let us make every effort not to sin against each other. 

Grow Up

 DEVOTION

1^ST SAMUEL

GROW UP

1 Samuel 2:18-21

18 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.

NIV

Eli blessed in a prophetic way, which is also a form of prayer, as he spoke to God and on God's behalf, when he blessed Hannah, asking that the LORD be gracious to her and give her more children. Of course, the LORD was gracious to her. However, our story here is about Samuel as he grew up in the presence of the LORD. At some point in our lives, when we come to Jesus, we become a new creature, a baby in Christ, so to speak. Our lives have been renewed as we were born again, or born from above. Before accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we did not know the truth of God. Maybe some grow up with some form of a religious background, while some were totally without ever reading the bible, or knowing anything about the Lord. Nevertheless, the moment of rebirth, we are new and must grow in our knowledge of the truth of God. It is possible, as we have known several people who have read the bible, gained some knowledge of some scriptures, but have no relationship with the Father and with Jesus, and have never experienced the baptism of the Holy Spirit. However, the truth is we might grow in our knowledge of the scriptures in our humanity, but we can not grow up in our walk, or our lives, becoming a mature follower of Jesus without being in the presence of the Lord. If we are not in the presence of the Lord, we cannot grow up. But what does it mean to grow up in the presence of the Lord? Is God not everywhere, or always present? Yet, we know what it is to grow up in our humanity without ever acknowledging or experiencing his presence. When we are born again, we begin to learn about the Lord, growing in our knowledge, but it is this experience of the sense of his presence that empowers us to grow up. Knowledge is necessary, but sensing his presence, the experience of being filled with his Spirit, gives us growth in our lives. Let us always be aware as we continue to grow in his presence. 

Contempt

 DEVOTION

1^ST SAMUEL

 CONTEMPT

1 Sam 2:11-17

11 Then Elkanah went home to Ramah, but the boy ministered before the LORD under Eli the priest. 12 Eli's sons were wicked men; they had no regard for the LORD. 13 Now it was the practice of the priests with the people that whenever anyone offered a sacrifice and while the meat was being boiled, the servant of the priest would come with a three-pronged fork in his hand. 14 He would plunge it into the pan or kettle or caldron or pot, and the priest would take for himself whatever the fork brought up. This is how they treated all the Israelites who came to Shiloh. 15 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." 16 If the man said to him, "Let the fat be burned up first, and then take whatever you want," the servant would then answer, "No, hand it over now; if you don't, I'll take it by force." 17 This sin of the young men was very great in the LORD's sight, for they were treating the LORD's offering with contempt.

NIV

We would think that the priest Eli would have raised Godly sons. Perhaps when they were young, they followed their father’s faith, but as men, they became wicked and had no regard for the LORD. We could focus on how some children who were raised in a Godly home walk away, having no regard for the LORD. This account is how they mistreat those who come to make offerings before the LORD, by wanting the meat first, before the fat is boiled off. The ending statement is where we could find a lesson. It was a very great sin, not just a normal run-of-the-mill sin, but a very great sin in the LORD’s sight, for they were treating the LORD’s offering with contempt. We no longer offer any kind of meat or fat portions as an offering to the Lord, for all sacrifices were completed when Jesus became the sacrifice for all sin. Therefore, there are two ways we could see this as a lesson. First, how do we treat the sacrifice Jesus made for us? We would think or hope we do not show any contempt for His act of sacrifice, taking our place, shedding his blood for the forgiveness of our sins. We would hope we live humbly before God, being reverent, and setting ourselves apart to him every day. Yet, we wonder how much of our daily lives revolve around the Lord. Do we get so involved with our daily chores, whatever they are, that we seem to ignore the Lord’s presence? We would think that because the Holy Spirit dwells within us, we would never ignore the presence of the Lord, but do we get distracted by our own desires, or wants, or by some temptation presented before us? Just pondering, so we should remember to always acknowledge his presence in us. Secondly, we could see this contempt for the Lord’s offering in how we treat ourselves. We are to offer ourselves as a living sacrifice to the Lord, which is our spiritual act of worship. Then, because we are the offering, how do we treat ourselves? Do we mistreat ourselves? This could be seen as our bodies, as some would believe. This would mean we would never be harmful to our bodies. Again, some would believe this to mean we should not smoke or drink alcoholic drinks, but never say much about being a glutton, overeating, becoming unhealthy obese. As true as that might be, perhaps this mistreatment of ourselves should not focus as much on the physical as we do, but more on the spiritual. Because presenting ourselves as a living sacrifice is our spiritual act of worship, we would think it matters how we treat our spirit, or spiritual life. Something to ponder, do we treat our spirit with contempt, feeding it rightly or wrongly? Something to ponder. 

Faithful or Guilty

 DEVOTION

1^ST SAMUEL

 FAITHFUL  OR GUILTY

1 Samuel 2:8-10

"For the foundations of the earth are the LORD's; upon them he has set the world. 9 He will guard the feet of his saints, but the wicked will be silenced in darkness.

"It is not by strength that one prevails; 10 those who oppose the LORD will be shattered. He will thunder against them from heaven; the LORD will judge the ends of the earth.

"He will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed."

NIV

The last three stanzas of Hannah's song or prayer have prophetic references to Jesus. Although these first words were part of a verse we last dealt with, we included them here because they provide a springboard to the absolute creative power of the LORD, and we know that all things were created by Jesus, and without Him, nothing would have been created. In fact, Jesus is the image of the invisible God, and all things both in heaven and on earth were made by him and for him. Hannah understood because of the power of the Spirit inspiring these words. The LORD is the all-powerful, all-sovereign, and all-knowing who gave us life to be in fellowship with him. This was the main reason God made Adam and breathed life into him. God wanted a man to be his companion, so to speak. It is not that God needed anything, for he is God and has always been the triune God, three person who could be one with each other, yet He decided to create a world just to put a man who they created in their own image to have a relationship with, koinonia, to be one with Him. After all those years have passed and our time on the earth has come, and because we have been born again or from above, and are in Christ, the Lord will guard our feet, or footstep, or the path he has laid out before us. Because the wicked will be silenced in darkness, and our feet are guarded, we have another comparison between the righteous and the wicked. What we should consider is the reason they are wicked and we are the saints. The two Hebrew words mean the guilty and the faithful. The guilty are those who sin against God, while the faithful are those who have accepted his grace, Jesus, and live under his guardianship. Of course, this also means we walk with Him and talk with him along life’s narrow way,  as Adam first did in the garden. What does walking with Jesus look like? It is certainly different than having Jesus walk with us. Our focus is walking with him, going where he leads us, not expecting him to bless the path we lead, although He will guard, or keep, or watch over our steps, but it is because we are the faithful and we have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back, no turning back. It comes down to who is faithful and who is guilty.

 

 

Going Up or Down

 DEVOTION

1^ST SAMUEL

GOING UP OR DOWN

1 Samuel 2:6-8

6 "The LORD brings death and makes alive; he brings down to the grave and raises up. 7 The LORD sends poverty and wealth; he humbles and he exalts. 8 He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; he seats them with princes and has them inherit a throne of honor.

NIV

In this stanza of Hannah’s song, we see another set of comparisons. The first is the matter of life and death, encompassing two distinct areas: one for the dead and one for the living. Interestingly, in Hebrew, the meaning is, the Lord kills, to die, to have one executed, and sends down to Sheol. This is the place of the underworld, Hades, the place of no return. This place is not, as some have invented, a temporary holding place where souls can be brought back from, or sent beyond. However, the lesson is that God is the giver of life and has the only authority to take life. In other words, we live and die by the authority of God. This could be seen in two ways. First, all people are given life by the will of God, as he created Adam and Eve to fill the earth. We believe every person on the face of the planet that has ever lived, is living, and will live, is knit together in their mother’s womb, by the will of God. All mankind is his creation; however, he also gave us the ability to choose to listen to him or ignore him, which we call free will. Therefore, we have the choice between being brought down to the grave, Sheol, or being raptured, being raised up. Because we have accepted his provision for eternal life, Jesus, we not only have been given life, but have been made alive, which is without the opposite, death. Second, he determines who is poor and who is rich. It is possible that those who do not have great wealth may not be able to handle wealth without becoming so prideful that a fall is imminent, while others use their wealth for the benefit of others. It all boils down to God having the ultimate authority over our lives. He is the one who humbles us, and he is the one who exalts us; we cannot do that. Although we are told to humble ourselves before him. However, our accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior is an act of humility as we recognize our sinful state and our need to be redeemed. Without accepting Jesus, we are doomed to Sheol, the place of no return. As we are humbled by knowing our sinful state, accepting Jesus, God exalts us, raises us up, and gives us eternal life. He raised up our needy state, our covering ourselves in ashes, which has a deep spiritual significance. It often represents themes of repentance, mourning, humility, and mortality. We can see Old Testament men putting on sackcloth and ashes, humbling themselves before the LORD. The point again is the proud will be brought down while the humble will be raised up to sit with princes, and inherit honor before our LORD. Let us always know our pitiful condition, and live humbly accepting his grace. God alone has the authority over up or down, but he always allows us to choose which. Because we are in Jesus, we are going up, rather than down. 

The Comparison

 DEVOTION

1 SAMUEL

THE COMPARISON

1 Sam 2:4-5

4 "The bows of the warriors are broken, but those who stumbled are armed with strength. 5 Those who were full hire themselves out for food, but those who were hungry hunger no more. She who was barren has borne seven children, but she who has had many sons pines away.

NIV

One more Stanza of the song of Hannah, which has many prophetic statements. This is thought by some to be against various armies, such as the Philistines, Nebuchadnezzar, the Greeks, and enemies of the Messiah. Whether that is true or not, we cannot find a particular fulfillment, although there are some general fulfillments of the fall of some of those, and others, the scholar of old has thought. Still, when we consider these words, we see some comparisons. The strong are broken, while the weak are given strength. Those who labor diligently for the substances of life find themselves slaves to their needs, while those who hunger for God are hungry no more, for he supplies every need. Then the comparison between herself and Peninnah. The strong may represent those who are in the world, or even those in the assembly of the righteous who look to their own strength, and are proud of their success and accomplishments. They will find the Lord is not pleased with their pridefulness, and a fall is their future, a broken bow. However, the Lord lifts up those who stumble or the humble who have no bows, no pride, no self-righteousness, or strength. Those who seek only the righteousness of God, Jesus, will find strength in Him to do all that He calls them to do, as the Spirit will empower them in many ways. This is exactly what happened between Peninnah and Hannah when Peninnah had all those sons and Hannah was barren, going before the LORD with a broken and humble heart. She was lifted up and bore a man of God, a prophet, who performed many miracles by the power of God. What we learn from this stanza is to remain humble before the Lord, singing from within, “It is the cry of my heart to follow you, Lord, and to be close to you". We learn here to always seek His righteousness first, knowing he is all we need. Alone, we are weak, but Jesus has sent us the Holy Spirit to empower us just as the LORD did for Samuel. Let us constantly rely on the Lord and the Spirit, and we will see what the Lord has done. 

Father knows best

 DEVOTION

1 SAMUEL

FATHER KNOWS BEST

1 Sam 2:3

3 "Do not keep talking so proudly or let your mouth speak such arrogance, for the LORD is a God who knows, and by him deeds are weighed.

NIV

·         We are still taking one stanza of Hannah's song at a time, for each phrase is chock-full of truths, or as we have noted before, little golden nuggets worth consideration of something of value. Of course, the whole scripture, which this is part of, is of great value, for it is God-breathed words spoken and recorded by people of faith as they were inspired by God. Here, Hannah sings about the proud and how their mouths are full of arrogant speech. She may have been thinking of the arrogance of Peninnah, who constantly provoked Hannah about her barrenness while she bore children for their husband. We are aware of the arrogant talk of the people of the world, who trust in their own works, think they do not need God, or even refuse to acknowledge God.  But the deeper truth here is about us believers being arrogant, thinking we are more important than we ought to be. It is also about how we boast about our accomplishments in the church. We have witnessed such arrogance, such pride regarding the size of their church, or all the ministries of the church. We can see this prideful speech even in those who are supposed to be ministers for the Lord. It would seem there is a need to impress other people as to how much we know, or do. Yet, when it comes to our Lord God, he already knows everything about each of us, and he is the one who measures out our labor. It can be seen that he weighs our good deeds, that is, he measures how much we do, and the value of what we do. We might think some of our good deeds are really good to do, and of course, as seen by others, but God is the one who determines, weighs out our deeds, and what he wants us to do. It would seem that deeds are weighted by God is synonymous with judging our deeds, but the Hebrew word translated as weighted has the first meaning of regulated, balanced, as thought of leveling out. This gives us the idea that God, who knows everything, measures out equal deeds for all of us, so that we are all receiving the same measure of deeds for the advancement of His kingdom. This coincides perfectly with the idea of us all being a part of the body, and the mouth should not be proud because it needs the hands to feed it, or any part thinking it is more important than any other. We are all part of the body of Christ, each with the same measured out deeds, interdependent on each other. Jesus said that he came not to be served but to serve, and that is how our lives should reflect him. It is not just about when we are in church, however, that is a good place to see if we are the servant or if we want to be served. Do we want to be lifted up, or lift up others? Do we want to be built up, or do we want to build up others? Do we want to have value, or see others as having value? Solomon said it best, “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” There are many times the Lord has spoken about the humble. Through James, he tells us, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble”. Let us seek the Lord and follow the path he has laid out before us, doing that which he has weighed out for us, serving as he directs.  For He knows that which we do not, because Father knows best. 

The Rock

 DEVOTION

1 SAMUEL

THE ROCK

1 Sam 2:2

"There is no one holy like the LORD; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.

How can there ever be anyone as Holy as the LORD? How can there ever be anyone besides him? He is the Rock of our Salvation. Jesus has been referred to as the spiritual Rock. We sing that song about our hope is built on nothing less, with the refrain, “ On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand: all other ground is sinking sand; all other ground is sinking sand”. However, we wonder if we believe that is only for our salvation, or if it also includes how we live our daily lives. We have known some believers who seem to build their lives on their own talents, skills, education, and career paths, and boast in their accomplishments. Is that building our hope on nothing less, or on something less than Jesus? We know this may appear judgmental, but it is a concern when we hear Christians boasting about their successes, or how much they do for the kingdom of God, almost building a resume of “Good deeds”. When Hannah sings the words, “There is no one holy like the LORD”, we have to come to terms with the fact that no matter how much we try, even striving to obey, “Be holy as I am holy”, we will never accomplish that this side of heaven. Understanding the pure holiness of God should humble us beyond measure. In some sense, we are not even worthy to pray, but we live under the grace of God because of the Rock of Ages, Jesus, who is the cornerstone of our lives. If we try to build our lives on our own, planning our own careers or paths, then we are bound to build a non-straight building or life. It will crumble because it is not built starting from the cornerstone, Jesus. Of course, those who reject Jesus will build a life that is unlevel and crooked, that ultimately will crumble. However, when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we begin to build a new life, for we are new creatures in Christ. This new life is build on the Solid Rock, the one whom there is no one else that comes close to being like him. We believe this would mean every aspect of our lives, where we live, work, relax, and worship, is all built on the Rock. Let us always go to our holy God before making any decision in life.

 

Rejoicing and Boasting

 DEVOTION

1 SAMUEL

REJOICING AND BOASTING

1 Sam 2:1

2:1 Then Hannah prayed and said: "My heart rejoices in the LORD; in the LORD my horn is lifted high. My mouth boasts over my enemies, for I delight in your deliverance.

NIV

Although this is a prayer of Hannah, it is also a song, as it is divided into eight stanzas and is prophetic. As we work through it, we will see that Hannah uses a word in Hebrew that means 'Messiah'.  She also makes comparisons between the righteous and the wicked, the humble and the proud, the poor and the rich. This first stanza is all about her heart rejoicing in the LORD. Strangely, she rejoices that her horn is lifted up, but looking into this word, it is used mainly as the horn of an altar, but can also be applied as strength, which would make sense. She was downcast, weakened by the constant provocation of Peninnah, and now, because the LORD opened her womb and she bore a son, she is renewed in her strength. Her character, or personality, has been restored, and she is a mother. We cannot be sure if it is appropriate for her to boast over her enemies, because she delights in the LORD’s deliverance. However, this is one of those prophetic phrases that speaks of our mouths boasting over Satan, the enemy of our souls, because the Lord delivered us from death. However, the Hebrew word translated as boasting carries, making my mouth large, concept, which could mean that she testifies to the greatness of the LORD over the weakness of the enemy because of his salvation. Paul did not boast about his fleshly, or human, accomplishments, but his boasting, his making his mouth large, his testimony was all about the power of God. In fact, Paul, if he boasted about himself, it was his weakness. This is where we come into this story. We should be careful not to boast about any of our human accomplishments or deeds, as that would be lifting ourselves up. Hannah was boasting in the power of the LORD, giving her a son, whom she dedicated to the LORD’s service. She rejoiced, as we know we should rejoice, and I’ll say it again, rejoice always, rejoice for we have experienced the Lord’s salvation. Can we get bogged down in life’s worries, or just the business of life itself? It is possible that we can get so entangled with our daily wants, desires, goals, or envies, jealousies, hurts, physical, or emotional, along with many other personal or self-centered feelings, that we forget how great our salvation is. It does not matter how much we have or do in this world, even in our Christian walk, for all of it is temporary, whereas our salvation is eternal. Let’s rejoice in the Lord, delighting in our deliverance, in the work of the Lord, for he and he alone is worthy of our rejoicing and boasting.

Worship and Watch

 DEVOTION

JUDGES

WORSHIP AND WATCH

1 Samuel 1:19-28

19 Early the next morning they arose and worshiped before the LORD and then went back to their home at Ramah. Elkanah lay with Hannah his wife, and the LORD remembered her. 20 So in the course of time Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, "Because I asked the LORD for him." 21 When the man Elkanah went up with all his family to offer the annual sacrifice to the LORD and to fulfill his vow, 22 Hannah did not go. She said to her husband, "After the boy is weaned, I will take him and present him before the LORD, and he will live there always." 23 "Do what seems best to you," Elkanah her husband told her. "Stay here until you have weaned him; only may the LORD make good his word." So the woman stayed at home and nursed her son until she had weaned him. 24 After he was weaned, she took the boy with her, young as he was, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the LORD at Shiloh. 25 When they had slaughtered the bull, they brought the boy to Eli, 26 and she said to him, "As surely as you live, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the LORD. 27 I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him. 28 So now I give him to the LORD. For his whole life he will be given over to the LORD." And he worshiped the LORD there.

NIV

Once again, we are faced with several truths, or little nuggets of gold, within this continued story of Hannah. First, we noticed they were up early in the morning and worshiped the Lord before returning home to Ramah. There is always a good time to worship the Lord; in fact, it has been said our whole lives should be a worship of God. However, after the day begins and we get engaged in our daily activities, we should spend the first moments of our day in full, uninterrupted worship of our Lord. Our days can become so full of many distractions that we might just think we are living as Christians, even reading a portion of scripture each day, but never get around to worshiping the Lord. This is why the early morning is a wonderful time to worship the Lord, before anything else fills our day. The Hebrew word used here for worship means to prostrate, bow down, especially reflective before God. Here again, this could mean taking up a physical position, bowing down, either face down on the floor, or kneeling; however, most importantly, is bowing our heart. No matter our physical limitations that could restrict us from lying face down, or even kneeling, we can bow low our hearts, submitting ourselves, sacrificing ourselves as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, which is our  spiritual worship. Second, we look at the fact that God remembered Hannah. It is not that God would ever forget her, or us, for that matter, but it is a phrase that demonstrates how pleased the Lord was with her spiritual act of worship, her sincere, genuine pouring her soul out before him. His remembering Hannah showed up miraculously, as he had closed her womb, he now opened it. A woman who was not able to conceive did so because of the LORD. We wonder if we put too much faith in the medical profession, even thinking they are the hand of God at work fixing some problem with our bodies, rather than spending time pouring out our souls before the Lord, seeking our needs directly from his hand. Of course, Hannah’s husband lay with her as a normal method used to conceive another life. But it was her womb going from closed to open that happened only through the direct intervention of the LORD. Let us worship first, foremost, and see what God can do. We might sum it up with worship and watch.

From the Heart

 DEVOTION

1 SAMUEL

FROM THE HEART

1 Sam 1:9-18

9 Once when they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah stood up. Now Eli the priest was sitting on a chair by the doorpost of the LORD's temple.   10 In bitterness of soul Hannah wept much and prayed to the LORD. 11 And she made a vow, saying, "O LORD Almighty, if you will only look upon your servant's misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the LORD for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head." 12 As she kept on praying to the LORD, Eli observed her mouth. 13 Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk 14 and said to her, "How long will you keep on getting drunk? Get rid of your wine." 15 "Not so, my lord," Hannah replied, "I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the LORD. 16 Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief." 17 Eli answered, "Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him." 18 She said, "May your servant find favor in your eyes." Then she went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast.

NIV

As this story continues to unfold regarding Hannah, who will become the mother of Samuel, we uncover several truths to consider. First, Hannah was so desperate and distraught because of Peninnah's constant provocation that she went with a bitterness of soul and wept before the Lord. However, she made a vow before the LORD, which we now know we should not do. Jesus made that clear about not making an oath or not to swear or vow at all, by heaven, because it is God’s throne, or by earth, for it is his footstool. We are also not to swear, make an oath to God by Jerusalem, or by our own head, or even one hair on our head. Yet, before it seemed alright to vow to the LORD and he accepted her vow, he held her to the vow she made. Hannah had to follow through without fail if God honored her promise. The second truth is also in the prayer of Hannah. She prayed with earnestness of heart, pouring out her soul before the LORD with great anguish and grief. We come back to earlier thoughts about our prayers and if we pray too casually, without pouring out our soul, or having any anguish or grief. Do we just go through the actions of prayer, just using the spiritual words we think God likes to hear, or maybe others expect us to say? We might even use those fancy words to make us look spiritual in front of others when we pray in public, much like the Pharisees did. If we learn anything here, it is our need to pour out our souls before the Lord. Even if we may not have any anguish or grief, but simply because we are always in need of a closer walk with Jesus, and overcoming our selfish thoughts. The third truth we should ponder is that when Eli responded to Hannah’s truth of her prayer, he blessed her, telling her to go in peace, and may God grant her what she asked for. Hannah went from pouring out her soul, with great anguish and grief, to going away with Shalom, peace. She went from downcast to no longer being downcast. This is what happens when we spend time with the Lord, pouring out our soul, being completely transparent with our Lord, even though he already knows our need, he knows our thoughts and words before we think them and speak them. It is our heart that our Lord sees and examines. We do not need fancy words, or even pray scripture, as some believe is the way to pray. We only need to speak from our circumcised hearts, exposing our most tender, inner being, our heart before our Lord, and when we do this, we can move forward with Shalom. Jesus promised that he would give us his peace. This Greek word, eireenee, is in the same vein as Shalom, peace, harmony, tranquility, and that means with God.

 

 

Conflict and Pain

 DEVOTION

1 SAMUEL

CONFLICT AND PAIN

1 Sam 1:1-8

1:1 There was a certain man from Ramathaim, a Zuphite from the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Elkanah son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. 2 He had two wives; one was called Hannah and the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none. 3 Year after year this man went up from his town to worship and sacrifice to the LORD Almighty at Shiloh, where Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, were priests of the LORD. 4 Whenever the day came for Elkanah to sacrifice, he would give portions of the meat to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters. 5 But to Hannah he gave a double portion because he loved her, and the LORD had closed her womb. 6 And because the LORD had closed her womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her. 7 This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the LORD, her rival provoked her till she wept and would not eat. 8 Elkanah her husband would say to her, "Hannah, why are you weeping? Why don't you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don't I mean more to you than ten sons?"

NIV

Although we are familiar with the story and much of Samuel's life, we have never worked through it as a devotion. It is always beneficial when examining the life of a prophet to begin with his mother. Once again, we do not judge Elkanah for having two wives, as this was very normal in those days. However, as in many cases where there has been more than one wife, there always seems to be some kind of conflict. Jealousy or pride may well play a major role in the relationship of the multiple wives. We cannot even imagine what went on in Solomon's home with hundreds of wives. Here we have Peninnah having many sons and daughters, but Hannan was barren. Of course, the reason was that the Lord closed her womb. It wasn’t as though she was not trying, as we know her husband loved her. But this provoking of Peninnah is our lesson. She must have been proud of the fact that she could bear Elkanah so many sons, heirs to his land and possessions, while Hannan bore him not even one son. Here is where we come into the story. In life, each of us is born into a family, not of our choice, but of God’s choice. We each have varied personalities that can be formed by our family environment, but at the same time mostly formed by the hand of God, as he is the one who knits us together in our mother’s womb. Nevertheless, as we reach our age of independence, we have such varied areas of interest that we become very different in our lives. Some become highly educated, others become very wealthy, and others learn skills or develop talents in the arts. To enumerate all aspects of how different each life is would take books, not just a thought to ponder. These varied levels of life invade the church because we all found the Lord and have that one common thread in life. Over the years, we have witnessed multiple responses to the different levels of success in the world and in the church. Even in ministry, we have found pastors who have large, even mega churches, while some have churches with less than a hundred. We have seen some denominations distinguish between levels or titles, such as priest, bishop, cardinal, and pope in the catholic faith. Others save the title of ordained for those who have higher educational levels. But the point is what goes on in each local church. We believe no one provokes another in any area of church life. The fact is, we are all coming together from wide life experiences and successes. Hannan felt inferior because she could not bear children while Peninnah was fertile and successfully produced heirs for her husband. We cannot allow the fact that some have been given more than others to influence true koinonia, Christian fellowship, communion with each other. Sadly, we have witnessed pridefulness and jealousy within the community of faith. If we lived in humility, it would be a wonderful church, and our lives would be without any stress or inappropriate feelings that are not included in loving our neighbor as ourselves. Maybe that is idealistic, but it is biblical. When we see how this conflict between Hannah and Peninnah occurred because of pride that caused emotional pain, we would hope this kind of division or conflict does not invade the church. Being humble is not as easy as it seems; we want others to know our successes or experiences that are better than theirs, which is prideful. How can we combat this human nature that seems to override the nature of Christ? We know our transformation into the fullness of Christ is a process, but to live with so much invested in our human nature will cause both pridefulness and envy or jealousy in the church. Let us make every effort to live in peace and harmony with each other. 

Reconciliation

 DEVOTION

JUDGES

RECONCILIATION

Judges 21

21:1 The men of Israel had taken an oath at Mizpah: "Not one of us will give his daughter in marriage to a Benjamite." 2 The people went to Bethel, where they sat before God until evening, raising their voices and weeping bitterly. 3 "O LORD, the God of Israel," they cried, "why has this happened to Israel? Why should one tribe be missing from Israel today?" 4 Early the next day the people built an altar and presented burnt offerings and fellowship offerings.  5 Then the Israelites asked, "Who from all the tribes of Israel has failed to assemble before the LORD?" For they had taken a solemn oath that anyone who failed to assemble before the LORD at Mizpah should certainly be put to death. 6 Now the Israelites grieved for their brothers, the Benjamites. "Today one tribe is cut off from Israel," they said. 7 "How can we provide wives for those who are left, since we have taken an oath by the LORD not to give them any of our daughters in marriage?" 8 Then they asked, "Which one of the tribes of Israel failed to assemble before the LORD at Mizpah?" They discovered that no one from Jabesh Gilead had come to the camp for the assembly. 9 For when they counted the people, they found that none of the people of Jabesh Gilead were there. 10 So the assembly sent twelve thousand fighting men with instructions to go to Jabesh Gilead and put to the sword those living there, including the women and children. 11 "This is what you are to do," they said. "Kill every male and every woman who is not a virgin." 12 They found among the people living in Jabesh Gilead four hundred young women who had never slept with a man, and they took them to the camp at Shiloh in Canaan. 13 Then the whole assembly sent an offer of peace to the Benjamites at the rock of Rimmon. 14 So the Benjamites returned at that time and were given the women of Jabesh Gilead who had been spared. But there were not enough for all of them. 15 The people grieved for Benjamin, because the LORD had made a gap in the tribes of Israel. 16 And the elders of the assembly said, "With the women of Benjamin destroyed, how shall we provide wives for the men who are left? 17 The Benjamite survivors must have heirs," they said, "so that a tribe of Israel will not be wiped out. 18 We can't give them our daughters as wives, since we Israelites have taken this oath: 'Cursed be anyone who gives a wife to a Benjamite.' 19 But look, there is the annual festival of the LORD in Shiloh, to the north of Bethel, and east of the road that goes from Bethel to Shechem, and to the south of Lebonah." 20 So they instructed the Benjamites, saying, "Go and hide in the vineyards 21 and watch. When the girls of Shiloh come out to join in the dancing, then rush from the vineyards and each of you seize a wife from the girls of Shiloh and go to the land of Benjamin. 22 When their fathers or brothers complain to us, we will say to them, 'Do us a kindness by helping them, because we did not get wives for them during the war, and you are innocent, since you did not give your daughters to them.'" 23 So that is what the Benjamites did. While the girls were dancing, each man caught one and carried her off to be his wife. Then they returned to their inheritance and rebuilt the towns and settled in them. 24 At that time the Israelites left that place and went home to their tribes and clans, each to his own inheritance. 25 In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit.

NIV

The end of this story has come, and we need to have the complete ending, as it gives us the story of reconciliation after war. There is also the story of brotherhood among the twelve tribes of Israel. Even though the very ending statement of the entire story of Judges, that is repeated several times,” in those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit”, we still see that Israel wept before the LORD because one tribe was missing from the assembly. Even though, because of an oath before the LORD, they had to put to death the missing tribe, they still felt that Benjamin should be part of Israel with an inheritance. They devised a plan that worked, and reconciliation was achieved. This was an action plan to have the tribe of Benjamin once again be among Israel. It is more than just being sorry for their actions of revenge against the men of Gibeah or even telling those men of Benjamin who had left Gilead and gone into hiding that they were sorry. It is about making restitution through action, taking the initiative to achieve reconciliation. This should serve us as a Godly lesson when there is a disruption in the assembly of believers. We would think that anything that would cause any friction within a local church would not happen, yet we have witnessed various disturbances that ended up unresolved, unreconciled, and left with an unhealed rift that caused an everlasting sense of unforgiveness. We know that as believers, followers of Jesus, we must always forgive if we have been hurt in some way. Jesus forgave those who got him crucified by the Romans, asking the Father to forgive them because they were ignorant, or did not know, did not have the knowledge of what they did. Jesus wanted them restored, to reconcile them to the Father; in fact, his actions on that cross were what reconciled us to the Father and the Father to us. No longer are we subject to his wrath, but through the actions of Jesus, we are now subject to His grace. If we are followers of Jesus, then it is we to take action, making the first step to resolve and restore any brokenness in koinonia, true fellowship, and communion with each other. Even if we think we are the ones hurt, we should not take the higher ground and demand an apology or act in a non-Christlike manner. This horrible story all started with a few men with evil intent, and it caused tens of thousands of men to lose their lives, and a rift in Israel for a long time. Fortunately, reconciliation occurred. We should not allow this kind of long-standing rift in fellowship to happen, which can also apply in marriage. Let us learn to be the one who takes that initiative to reconciliation. 

He Does What He Says

 DEVOTION

JUDGES

HE DOES WHAT HE SAYS

Judges 20:29-48

29 Then Israel set an ambush around Gibeah. 30 They went up against the Benjamites on the third day and took up positions against Gibeah as they had done before. 31 The Benjamites came out to meet them and were drawn away from the city. They began to inflict casualties on the Israelites as before, so that about thirty men fell in the open field and on the roads — the one leading to Bethel and the other to Gibeah. 32 While the Benjamites were saying, "We are defeating them as before," the Israelites were saying, "Let's retreat and draw them away from the city to the roads." 33 All the men of Israel moved from their places and took up positions at Baal Tamar, and the Israelite ambush charged out of its place on the west of Gibeah.   34 Then ten thousand of Israel's finest men made a frontal attack on Gibeah. The fighting was so heavy that the Benjamites did not realize how near disaster was. 35 The LORD defeated Benjamin before Israel, and on that day the Israelites struck down 25,100 Benjamites, all armed with swords. 36 Then the Benjamites saw that they were beaten. Now the men of Israel had given way before Benjamin, because they relied on the ambush they had set near Gibeah. 37 The men who had been in ambush made a sudden dash into Gibeah, spread out and put the whole city to the sword. 38 The men of Israel had arranged with the ambush that they should send up a great cloud of smoke from the city, 39 and then the men of Israel would turn in the battle. The Benjamites had begun to inflict casualties on the men of Israel (about thirty), and they said, "We are defeating them as in the first battle." 40 But when the column of smoke began to rise from the city, the Benjamites turned and saw the smoke of the whole city going up into the sky. 41 Then the men of Israel turned on them, and the men of Benjamin were terrified, because they realized that disaster had come upon them. 42 So they fled before the Israelites in the direction of the desert, but they could not escape the battle. And the men of Israel who came out of the towns cut them down there. 43 They surrounded the Benjamites, chased them and easily overran them in the vicinity of Gibeah on the east. 44 Eighteen thousand Benjamites fell, all of them valiant fighters. 45 As they turned and fled toward the desert to the rock of Rimmon, the Israelites cut down five thousand men along the roads. They kept pressing after the Benjamites as far as Gidom and struck down two thousand more. 46 On that day twenty-five thousand Benjamite swordsmen fell, all of them valiant fighters. 47 But six hundred men turned and fled into the desert to the rock of Rimmon, where they stayed four months. 48 The men of Israel went back to Benjamin and put all the towns to the sword, including the animals and everything else they found. All the towns they came across they set on fire. NIV

Once the Israelites made a substantial inquiry of the LORD, and He told them He would give the Benjamites into their hands, it happened. Without recounting the attack, which may have been a little unusual for battles of that time, with the ambush instead of a complete frontal assault by all warriors, the lesson for us is twofold. First, it is in seeking the face of God with all our being. After seeing how Israel wept before the LORD and made offerings, seeking his counsel regarding what they were to do, we wonder how sincere our prayers are. Have we lost some fervor in our seeking the Lord? Are we just going through the motions of prayer without actually expecting the Lord to answer or do anything about our need? We have heard some believers use many words in their prayer, but words are just words if they are only words. We look at David’s psalms, some of which are great supplications, deep requests for his help, even asking why he is so long in helping him. We look at some of the men of faith and how they fell before the presence of the LORD. Perhaps we need to be more sincere, more engaged with our Lord than as casual as it seems we are in prayer. The second part of this twofold lesson is that the Lord will always do what he said he would do when we seek him. He told Israel that he would give the Benjamites into their hands, and he did. They believed him and went out expecting the victory. Once again, we wonder when we sing, “Victory in Jesus,” are we only thinking of victory over death, and forgetting about the other victories over other battles in life we face. When we see some of those media mogul preachers, healers, either sling their jacket and people fall over, or laugh until people find laughter, or whatever gimmick they use to make the watching audience think this is how God reacts to their antics, we might get a skewed view of prayer or having a relationship with the Lord. When we want to get a true picture, we can go directly to his word and find all the answers to how we pray, and how God answers. Let is live as people of faith and believe that if we ask, he will answer. We have heard many believers say that God may say, “No”, “Maybe”, “Not yet”, or some other answer than “Yes”. God said that if we, his people, would listen to him and follow his ways, he would subdue our enemies, or what difficulties we face. Years ago, there was a commercial that said, “When E.F. Hutton speaks, people listen”. We know that God speaks, and we should be listening. 

Show Me The Way

 DEVOTION

JUDGES

SHOW ME THE WAY

Judges 20:12-28

12 The tribes of Israel sent men throughout the tribe of Benjamin, saying, "What about this awful crime that was committed among you? 13 Now surrender those wicked men of Gibeah so that we may put them to death and purge the evil from Israel." But the Benjamites would not listen to their fellow Israelites. 14 From their towns they came together at Gibeah to fight against the Israelites. 15 At once the Benjamites mobilized twenty-six thousand swordsmen from their towns, in addition to seven hundred chosen men from those living in Gibeah. 16 Among all these soldiers there were seven hundred chosen men who were left-handed, each of whom could sling a stone at a hair and not miss. 17 Israel, apart from Benjamin, mustered four hundred thousand swordsmen, all of them fighting men. 18 The Israelites went up to Bethel and inquired of God. They said, "Who of us shall go first to fight against the Benjamites?" The LORD replied, "Judah shall go first." 19 The next morning the Israelites got up and pitched camp near Gibeah. 20 The men of Israel went out to fight the Benjamites and took up battle positions against them at Gibeah. 21 The Benjamites came out of Gibeah and cut down twenty-two thousand Israelites on the battlefield that day. 22 But the men of Israel encouraged one another and again took up their positions where they had stationed themselves the first day. 23 The Israelites went up and wept before the LORD until evening, and they inquired of the LORD. They said, "Shall we go up again to battle against the Benjamites, our brothers?" The LORD answered, "Go up against them." 24 Then the Israelites drew near to Benjamin the second day. 25 This time, when the Benjamites came out from Gibeah to oppose them, they cut down another eighteen thousand Israelites, all of them armed with swords. 26 Then the Israelites, all the people, went up to Bethel, and there they sat weeping before the LORD. They fasted that day until evening and presented burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to the LORD. 27 And the Israelites inquired of the LORD. (In those days the ark of the covenant of God was there, 28 with Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, ministering before it.) They asked, "Shall we go up again to battle with Benjamin our brother, or not?" The LORD responded, "Go, for tomorrow I will give them into your hands."

NIV

Wonders will never cease, as Israel has now made an inquiry of the LORD. However, their request is not whether they should go fight against the Benjamites, but who should go first. It was not until the Benjamites cut down forty thousand men of Israel in two days of battle that the Israelites wept and fasted before the LORD and presented offerings. Because the ark of the covenant of God was at Bethel, we must know the presence of the LORD was there in some way. Was there still a pillar of fire standing over the tabernacle? How did Phinehas, son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, minister before the ark? Was it the same way that his father and grandfather did? Aaron was installed as the first priest by his brother Moses after he constructed the tabernacle exactly as the LORD instructed. The LORD answered their inquiry and told them he would give the Benjamites into their hands. How did the LORD speak to them? How did they know it was the LORD who told them the next battle they would win? This leads us into the same situation in life. First, do we only inquire of the Lord when things are not going the way we think or plan them to go? Second, when we find ourselves in a difficult spot, do we weep and fast before the Lord, presenting our offering before Him. Of course, we do not offer grain or burnt offerings, but only ourselves as living sacrifices. Thirdly, how do we know when the Lord answers us, and in what form is his answer? We do not have the ark of the covenant of God, or the tabernacle, or the temple to represent the presence of the Lord, nor do we have a pillar of fire showing us where the Lord is present. However, we are now the temple of the Holy Spirit, who came with what appeared as tongues of fire on the disciples that day in Jerusalem. Then we would believe we have the presence of the Lord within us, and He leads us into all truth. However, this would also imply that we are always listening to that small, gentle voice within, leading us in the way we should go. We think Israel may have made their first mistake by deciding for themselves, making their own verdict against the men of Gibeah. Plus, from the account the Levite told them, they did not have all the truth. We should be careful not to make the same mistake, deciding our path and then asking the Lord to help us along our way when we encounter an obstacle. We should seek first His kingdom, which implies that before we do or decide to do anything, including every aspect of our lives, we should inquire of the Lord, “Show me the way?”