God Does a Thing
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Notes
Transcript
A. Rapport for the time
At the darkest times in our life God is doing a work that only he can see but is perfect. That is how we find Israel.
B. Reading of the text
C. Review of the text
25 In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
Israel, God’s chosen people, have chosen to lead themselves.
Most believe Samuel is around 12 years old in this passage.
—When God appears to Samuel, he redirects his life to a new form of service. Although the chapter does not contain all of the elements characteristic of a prophetic call (for instance, Samuel raises no objection on the grounds of personal inadequacy), such a call is in fact what occurs as the Lord patiently initiates Samuel into his new role as a divine spokesman. This is a heavy burden to lay on young shoulders, because from the start Samuel must announce God’s word in very difficult circumstances.
D. Relevance of the text
I. Preparing the Heart
I. Preparing the Heart
1 Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli. And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision.
2 At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his own 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.
Samuel is being raised in view of the Lord and guided by him to prepare him for what is ahead that he has no knowledge.
11 Then Elkanah went home to Ramah. And the boy was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli the priest.
18 Samuel was ministering before the Lord, a boy clothed with a linen ephod.
21 Indeed the Lord visited Hannah, and she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. And the boy Samuel grew in the presence of the Lord.
26 Now the boy Samuel continued to grow both in stature and in favor with the Lord and also with man.
1b—rare word of God..no visions
We should understand this to be part of the Judgment of God upon the people of Israel.
9 Her gates have sunk into the ground; he has ruined and broken her bars; her king and princes are among the nations; the law is no more, and her prophets find no vision from the Lord.
God would do this to Israel later in 760 BC by the mouth of Amos
11 “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord God, “when I will send a famine on the land— not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord.
12 They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east; they shall run to and fro, to seek the word of the Lord, but they shall not find it.
God’s people should understand more than any that when they turn away from God they will feel alone but understand this is a reflection of the sinful hearts of man and a God that is Just.
vs 3 Lamp had not gone out yet
This is to indicate the time that all this occurs. The Lamp of God is a 7-branched menorah place in the tabernacle before the curtain that is the entrance to the Most Holy Place.
20 “You shall command the people of Israel that they bring to you pure beaten olive oil for the light, that a lamp may regularly be set up to burn.
21 In the tent of meeting, outside the veil that is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall tend it from evening to morning before the Lord. It shall be a statute forever to be observed throughout their generations by the people of Israel.
1 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
2 “Command the people of Israel to bring you pure oil from beaten olives for the lamp, that a light may be kept burning regularly.
3 Outside the veil of the testimony, in the tent of meeting, Aaron shall arrange it from evening to morning before the Lord regularly. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations.
4 He shall arrange the lamps on the lampstand of pure gold before the Lord regularly.
Not long before dawn—this would suggest that we are just before dawn when all this is happening as the lamp was lit all night until morning.
1 Samuel—Looking for a Leader Young Samuel (v. 3)
On the other hand, in the darkness represented by God’s silence and Eli’s blindness, the news that God’s lamp “had not yet gone out” suggests that God had not yet abandoned his people. There was still hope.
Samuel sleeps in the temple of God just outside the most holy place that represents God among his people. Inside this Holy place that was separated by a curtain(a very large curtain when we get to the temple) is the Ark of God which:
1 Samuel—Looking for a Leader Young Samuel (v. 3)
The ark was a gold-plated wooden box that contained the two stone tablets of the Law with the engraved words, “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me”
What a place to grow up a servant of God. This is not normal in anyway. Samuel is close to the very presence of God himself which enables us to understand the rest of the passage as God speaks to this young man because he is called by God and has been designed to serve God.
What an amazing testimony that we all share in Christ.
Unbeliever—believer
T.S.
II. Perceiving the voice
II. Perceiving the voice
4 Then the Lord called Samuel, and he said, “Here I am!”
5 and ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” So he went and lay down.
6 And the Lord called again, “Samuel!” and Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.”
7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.
8 And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy.
9 Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down, and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.’ ” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
Eli’s patience towards Samuel
Samuel desire to serve Eli and ultimately the Lord
vs 7 shows us the importance of Context
Samuel did not know the Lord—now after what we know of Hophni and Phinehas this would seem strange
12 Now the sons of Eli were worthless men. They did not know the Lord.
In context we know that Samuel has been growing the Lord and has been his servant but the relationship between Samuel and God changed in a moment because God determined it was time for the change to happen. Samuel would be a prophet of God’s and Priest and the last of the judges but it all began in this moment when God comes to Samuel.
I think we need to make it clear once again that Samuel is the beneficiary of God’s grace towards him just like you and I. Samuel is being acted upon by God and raise up for a purpose. God has called Samuel, Samuel did not call himself.
Three occasions that God comes to Samuel but he will even change the way he comes to him starting in verse 10.
III. Perfect timing
III. Perfect timing
10 And the Lord came and stood, calling as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant hears.”
11 Then the Lord said to Samuel, “Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel at which the two ears of everyone who hears it will tingle.
12 On that day I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end.
13 And I declare to him that I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them.
14 Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.”
the Lord came and stood…What? Did you realize that before in this passage? This is not what I remember from the story in any way. It has always been he called out to Samuel and Samuel responds with here I am...
Expository Commentor:
“The Lord came” implies that previously Samuel had been aware of a voice originating some distance off, but now there is a visible presence beside him, though there is no hint as to what form it takes. This is the only place in Scripture where “stood”(“took his stand” or “presented himself”) has God as its subject.
This is a one time event—the time for God to use Samuel as HIS servant had come. According to God’s timing.
Love vs. 11
English Standard Version Chapter 3
11 Then the LORD said to Samuel, “Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel at which the two ears of everyone who hears it will tingle
Behold--
God is going to do a thing in Israel!!!
The judgement upon the house of Eli is not just upon his house. This judgement will reach all of israel and affect everyone.
Expository commentary:
“Although its primary impact will be on Eli, because of his central role in the life of the nation, it will affect all of the people. Its impact will include the defeat of Israel in battle, the death of Eli’s sons and Eli himself, the capture of the ark of God, and also—unmentioned in the narrative but implied by it—the devastation of Shiloh.
Ears will tingle…this is a declaration of frightening judgement
12 therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Behold, I am bringing upon Jerusalem and Judah such disaster that the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle.
3 You shall say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, O kings of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I am bringing such disaster upon this place that the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle.
Vs. 13—what Eli’s and Hophni and Phineas had been charged with By God
vs. 14—the promises of God and Judgement of God are assured. When God says something it is done.
There was not turning back and could be no repentance from the house of Eli. That had blasphemed God and would incur the wrath of God. There was no sacrifice that could be made the time had come for Judgement.
Blaspheming God results in death
27 “If one person sins unintentionally, he shall offer a female goat a year old for a sin offering.
28 And the priest shall make atonement before the Lord for the person who makes a mistake, when he sins unintentionally, to make atonement for him, and he shall be forgiven.
29 You shall have one law for him who does anything unintentionally, for him who is native among the people of Israel and for the stranger who sojourns among them.
30 But the person who does anything with a high hand, whether he is native or a sojourner, reviles the Lord, and that person shall be cut off from among his people.
31 Because he has despised the word of the Lord and has broken his commandment, that person shall be utterly cut off; his iniquity shall be on him.”
13 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
14 “Bring out of the camp the one who cursed, and let all who heard him lay their hands on his head, and let all the congregation stone him.
15 And speak to the people of Israel, saying, Whoever curses his God shall bear his sin.
16 Whoever blasphemes the name of the Lord shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall stone him. The sojourner as well as the native, when he blasphemes the Name, shall be put to death.