Tag: Samuel

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1 Samuel Devotionals

A God who is to be honored

Saul

I’m in serious trouble,” replied Saul…”God has turned away from me. He doesn’t answer me anymore, either through the prophets or in dreams…”

Samuel answered… “You did not obey the Lord…” (1 Samuel 28:15, 18)

Father, you are not a genie to do my bidding. You are not a God who can be manipulated.

You are a God who is to be honored and obeyed.

Saul never learned that. He closed his ears and, more importantly, his heart to you.

And so in the end, you stopped speaking to him.

Let me never get to that point. Help me to always have a soft heart and open ears to you.

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1 Samuel Devotionals

A house on sand?

1 Samuel

As I read this passage, something interesting struck me. Samuel’s ministry ended it the same way it began: with a message of judgment.

The first message was one of judgment on the high priest Eli. The second was a message of judgment against Saul.

Why were they judged? Because as Jesus would later teach, they had built their lives on sand.

In Eli’s case, he was judged because he honored his sons more than God. His sons were also priests, but they committed horrid sins.

Eli knew of it, but refused to do anything about it. And so when the storm came, Israel was defeated by the Philistines and Eli and his sons died.

In Saul’s case, time and again he refused to listen to God and just did things his own way. So when the storm came, he too died in a battle with the Philistines.

How about you? What are you building your life on? Are you building it on sand, making decisions based on your own wisdom?

Or are you building it on rock, trusting God and obeying his Word?

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1 Samuel Devotionals

Barely seeing

1 Samuel

Yes, I know I wrote on this fairly recently. But sometimes the 3 different Bible-reading plans I’m using overlap, and today happened to bring me back here.

It struck me even more strongly today than it did the last time.

In those days the word of the Lord was rare…

One day Eli, whose eyesight was failing, was lying in his usual place. (1 Samuel 3:1-2)

Today I was thinking, “How often do I hear the Lord speaking to me? How is my spiritual eyesight? Do I see as clearly as I think I do?”

I think I can say I definitely have been hearing God better than I did a year or two ago. At least, I have been sensing his leading in my life.

I see changes in how I use my time, the things I read, and in how I’m making more of an effort to reach out and touch people that God has put in my path.

That said…

I don’t spend nearly enough time praying. That is probably the weakest area of my spiritual life right now. Taking the time to pray. And listen.

So when I’m asked my opinion on things or a crisis hits, I really wonder how much I’m a conduit for God’s Spirit, and how much I’m operating on my own wisdom.

“The word of the Lord was rare.”

I can remember two times in my life when God spoke as clear as day. Where he clearly broke into my life and intervened.

There are still times when I sense his gentle leading, or his subtle direction. That’s what I mean when I say I have been hearing from him better lately.

I’ve also been seeing new things in his Word, and learning new things, so in that sense I have been hearing his voice.

And when I sin, of course, the Holy Spirit is always right there to prick my heart.

But outright, clear as crystal speaking..life-changing stuff. Only twice in my life.

No, I didn’t hear a voice out loud from heaven. But thoughts came into my mind that clearly did not come from me. I haven’t had that in perhaps over 20 years.

That’s what I need more of. That’s what I long for.

Lord, as you did with Samuel thousands of years ago, come and stand by my side. Speak. And give me ears to hear. I long to hear your voice. I hunger for it. I thirst for it.

Increase that hunger and thirst for you in me. And then fill it. Give me full spiritual eyesight. To see what you see. To see your will. To see you. In Jesus’ name, amen.

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1 Samuel Devotionals

Blind and deaf

Samuel and Eli

Sometimes, you can see some sharp irony in the Bible. I think this is one of those cases.

It says in 1 Samuel 3:1,

In those days the word of the Lord was rare and prophetic visions were not widespread.

This was in the time of the judges, when “everyone did whatever he wanted.” (Judges 21:25).

When you look at chapter 2, you see this extended even to the priests. Little wonder that God refused to speak.

In verse 2, you see the irony. Eli, the high priest, had failing eyesight. But he was not only losing his physical eyesight; he was losing his spiritual eyesight.

Why?

Because Eli failed to truly honor God in his life. Instead, he honored his sons above God.

His sons blatantly sinned both against God and the people, and Eli refused to remove them from the priesthood.

As a result, God was about to take the priesthood from them all. (1 Samuel 2:29-36; 3:11-14)

On the other hand, you had Samuel. Again you have some irony here: the priest who could not see gives insight to Samuel on how to see.

When Eli realized God was calling Samuel, he told him,

If he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’ (1 Samuel 3:9)

You then have the picture of the Lord standing by Samuel’s side, calling him. At which point, Samuel did as Eli told him to. He said, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.”

How often does the Lord stand by our side calling us, but we can’t perceive him? We can’t perceive him because we cling to our sin, shutting our eyes and ears to him.

If we do this for too long, God will eventually stop talking to us.

Jesus said,

For this people’s heart has grown callous;
their ears are hard of hearing,
and they have shut their eyes;

otherwise they might see with their eyes,
and hear with their ears, and
understand with their hearts,
and turn back—

and I would heal them. (Matthew 13:15)

When God calls you, who will you be? Eli, who clings to his sin, refuses to listen, and becomes blind and deaf?

Or Samuel, who when his Lord calls, says, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening”?