Thursday Thought -- September 15, 2011

Good Morning Friends,

Israel wanted a king like the nations around them.  And God granted their desire and chose a king for them.  He chose for king a man who would be what they thought a king should be, impressive to look upon and from a respected family.  “There was a Benjamite, a man of standing, whose name was Kish son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah of Benjamin.  He had a son named Saul, an impressive young man without equal among the Israelites-a head taller than any of the others.” (1 Samuel 9:1-2)

But Saul had other characteristics that fitted him more fully to be king than his impressive stature or his respected family.  Saul was a humble young man.  When told that all the desire of Israel is turned to him Saul answered, “But am I not a Benjamite, from the smallest tribe of Israel, and is not my clan the least of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin?  Why do you say such a thing to me?” (1 Samuel 9:21)  Saul did not consider himself to be king material, he did not consider himself, his family, or his tribe worthy of that kind of honor.  He did not expect to be chosen for such a task.

Although surely Saul knew that Israel was asking for a king, he was not seeking to be chosen for the position.  In fact, Samuel had to convince Saul that God had chosen him through signs.  As Saul left Samuel, the prophet predicted three specific things that would happen as Saul traveled back toward his home.  The Bible records, “and all these signs were fulfilled that day.” (1 Samuel 9:9)

Still Saul was hesitant to accept the position he was being called into.  When the ceremony to select a king was held at Mizpah and all Israel had gathered there, the tribe of Benjamin was chosen, then Saul’s clan was chosen from among the tribe, and finally Saul was chosen from among his clan.  But when they sought Saul he could not be found until Samuel told them, “He has hidden himself among the baggage.” (1 Samuel 9:22)

Humble and hesitant, yet Saul was finally willing to accept what God had chosen and he was anointed king that day.  The people rejoiced, “Long live the king!”  (1 Samuel 9:24)  He was the kind of king they desired.

Saul would have great difficulty as king.  Though he started humble, he would grow arrogant as king.  Though he began with hesitancy, he would cling tenaciously to his crown.  He started well, but he would forget that it was God’s choice that made him king, not his worthiness.

His, by Grace,

Steve

Wednesday Thought -- September 14, 2011

Good Morning Friends,

“All the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah.  They said to him, ‘You are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.’  But when they said, ‘Give us a king to lead us,’ this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD.  And the LORD told him:  ‘Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king.  As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you.  Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will do.’"  (1 Samuel 8:4-9)

The nations around Israel each had a king to lead them.  But Israel was different.  They relied upon a judge for leadership, a judge appointed by God to lead them.  Now that Samuel was growing old and would soon be replaced by his sons, Israel grew tired of the kind of leadership they had.  They wanted to be like the nations around them.  They, too, wanted a king.

One of the reasons they wanted a king was because Samuel’s sons were not honest men who served out of a desire to help the people.  They served for what they could get out of it, not what they could give.  Israel didn’t want Samuel’s sons as judges over them.  But it really wasn’t about Samuel’s sons.  It was about Israel’s unwillingness to trust the Lord.  They did not trust the Lord to deal with Samuel’s sons.  They did not trust the Lord to raise other leadership, new leaders who would follow Him and lead as Samuel had led.

God understood what was at the heart of Israel’s request for a king.  He understood that they were turning their backs on Him.

Sometimes the grass looks greener on the other side of the fence.  It did for Israel.  They thought the leadership of the nations around them looked better than the leadership God provided for them.  They wanted what the other nations had.  And God granted their request.  What Israel didn’t realize was the price they would pay for a king!  There was a high price that would be paid by them for not following the Lord.

The same choice is always set before us.  We can follow the Lord, trusting His will and His direction and following it.  Or, we can follow the ways of the world.  They may seem better, more profitable to us.  But when we reject the Lord for the ways of the world, there is a high price that will have to be paid.  That price will be paid in what that decision does to our lives, in the lives of our children, and in the lives of others around us.

God will allow us to make that choice, just as He did Israel. 

His, by Grace,

Steve

Tuesday Thought -- September 13, 2011

Good Morning Friends,

There is an old hymn that contains a strange phrase in it.  It says, “Here I raise mine Ebenezer.”  It’s a phrase that comes out of 1 Samuel 7.

“Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen.  He named it Ebenezer, saying, ‘Thus far has the LORD helped us.’  So the Philistines were subdued and did not invade Israelite territory again.” (1 Samuel 7:12-13)

Ebenezer literally means “stone of help.”  It was a memorial marker that Samuel erected to remind the Israelites of the deliverance the Lord had provided them.  The Philistines had come to attack the Israelites while Israel was gathered to worship the Lord and thank Him for the return of the Ark of the Covenant.  But the plan of Philistines was thwarted by the intervention of God.  The Philistines never got the opportunity to attack, God threw them into a panic and Israel was able to defeat them soundly that day.

God came to Israel’s help and Samuel didn’t want the people of Israel ever to forget that.

Are there any Ebenezer’s in your life?  Certainly there have been times when God has come to your help.  Are there any markers that remind you of those times when God has helped you?

Our memories are so poor.  We so easily and quickly forget when God has come to our aid.  Next time He does, raise an Ebenezer, establish a marker that will remind you of it.

His, by Grace,

Steve

Monday Thought -- September 12, 2011

Good Morning Friends,

The Philistines had captured the Ark of the Covenant in the battle against Israel.  That was a great victory for them.  They had defeated the God of Israel, proving that their god (Dagon) was stronger than Israel’s God.  At least that’s what they thought!  The capture of the Ark was God’s discipline upon Israel, but He also used it as an opportunity to reveal Himself and His power to the Philistines, although they didn’t listen.

They took the Ark to Ashdod and put it in the temple of Dagon and each morning that it was there they found the idol to Dagon fallen on its face before the Ark.  On the second morning the idol had not only fallen on its face but its head and hands had broken off. (1 Samuel 5:4)  The people of Ashdod were afflicted with tumors and under great distress.  Instead of ridding themselves of their idols and turning to worship the Lord God, the Philistines removed the Ark from Ashdod took it to the city of Gath.

In Gath the story was much the same.  The whole city was thrown into a panic (1 Samuel 5:9).  The men and women of Gath, both young and old were also afflicted with tumors. God was demonstrating His power.  But, again, the people of Gath did not bow down to worship the Lord God.  Instead, they sent the Ark away from Gath to the city of Ekron.

As the Ark was entering Ekron the people cried out, “They have brought the Ark of the God of Israel around to us to kill us and our people.” (1 Samuel 5:10)  That city, too, was filled with panic and its people afflicted with tumors and death.  Again, they responded not with worship, but with a desire to get rid of the Ark.

In the end, the Philistines wanted to get rid of the Ark and sent gifts of gold with it as an offering of appeasement to the Lord.  They recognized that God was not pleased with them and wanted to assuage their guilt before Him.  When they removed the Ark from their own territory they used a final test to be sure it was the God of Israel who had afflicted them and not just chance.  They put the Ark upon a cart attached to two cows and allowed it to go on its own.  They believed that if it went directly to Israel, then the God of Israel was returning His Ark to His people and He had been responsible for their affliction.  And sure enough, as soon as they released the Ark it headed straight toward Israel. (1 Samuel 6:12)

What a season of grace that was for the Philistines.  It seemed like affliction, but it was really grace!  God was giving them an opportunity to recognize His power.  He demonstrated Himself more powerful than their idols.  He revealed Himself to the Philistines.  They could have submitted themselves to Him in worship.  Instead, they chose to ignore what He was revealing and send Him away!  They missed their great opportunity!

How many times in our own lives have we missed God’s grace and turned our back on Him?

His, by Grace,

Steve

Friday Thought -- September 9, 2011

Good Morning Friends,

“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.  At that time I will carry out against Eli everything I spoke against his family-from beginning to end.  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.  Therefore, I swore to the house of Eli, ‘The guilt of Eli's house will never be atoned for by sacrifice or offering.’'"  (1 Samuel 3:11-14)

The story of Eli and his sons, Hophni and Phinehas, is a sad one.  Eli was a good man who loved the Lord.  He did a good job of instructing Samuel and helping him to grow into a man who loved and served the Lord.  But Eli did not do the same with his sons.  Hophni and Phinehas became unrestrained men.  They stole from the offerings brought to the Lord and were sexually immoral.  God told Samuel that Eli had failed to restrain them.  He tried when they were grown men, but it was too late.  He failed to teach them and discipline them when they were young boys and the result was disastrous for them and for all Israel.

Israel went to war against the Philistines and lost the first battle.  They prepared to do battle again and wanted it to be different.  Hoping that God’s presence would make a difference, they brought the Ark of the Covenant, the symbol of God’s presence from its place at Shiloh to the battlefield.  Hophni and Phinehas came with the Ark and Eli, by now a very old man, remained at home.

The Ark did not have the desired effect.  The Philistines defeated Israel again, killed many Israelites, including Hophni and Phinehas, and captured the Ark.  When news of the death of his sons and the capture of the Ark reached Eli, he fell off his chair in distress, broke his neck and died.

At about the same time, Phinehas’s wife gave birth to a son and died in childbirth.  As she was dying, she gave the son the name Ichabod, which means “there is no glory.”  She said, “The glory has departed from Israel, for the Ark of God has been captured.” (1 Samuel 4:21-22)

All this because Hophni and Phinehas, who were to become the priests of Israel when their father died, were unrestrained and wicked.  Eli had succeeded as a priest, but failed as a father.  God punished Israel for the failure of its leaders.  God withdrew His presence from them in punishment.

Two things come to mind from this sad story:

1. You can do great things for God, but if you overlook the work God wants you to do in your own family, you will be a failure.

2. Everything rises and falls on leadership!  The fate of Israel was determined by the quality of those who led the nation.

His, by Grace,

Steve

Thursday Thought -- September 8, 2011

Good Morning Friends,

“Then the LORD called Samuel.  Samuel answered, ‘Here I am.’  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.  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.’  Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD:  The word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him.  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.  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.   The LORD came and stood there, calling as at the other times, ‘Samuel!  Samuel!’  Then Samuel said, ‘Speak, for your servant is listening.’”  (1 Samuel 3:4-10)

God spoke to Samuel as clearly as He has ever spoken to anyone.  Few of us have had the kind of experience Samuel had, to hear the audible voice of the Lord and to have the Lord directly bring a message to us.  Yet, even with that kind of clarity it took Eli’s spiritual wisdom to be able to discern that it was the Lord.  Samuel didn’t recognize God’s voice and would have missed the message without Eli’s help.  There are several truths that come from this story:

1.    Hearing the voice of the Lord when He speaks requires spiritual discernment that only comes with spiritual maturity.  Samuel didn’t have it, but fortunately Eli did.  If we ever hope to be able to discern the voice of the Lord among the other loud and clamoring voices around us we must move toward spiritual maturity.

2.    Spiritually wise counsel helps when we are trying to discern God’s voice and His will.  You may not be living with a priest, but there is great value in having some spiritually wise friends who can help you discern God’s voice and His will when it is unclear to you or to test your understanding when you think you have heard His direction.

3.    God does speak to people.  He spoke to Samuel, and Samuel is not an isolated example.  Samuel is one of the many men and women in the Bible to whom God clearly communicated His message and His will.  There is no reason for us to assume that God has ceased speaking to people.  In fact, there is every reason to believe God speaks just as clearly today as ever.

4.    Finally, God desires the same kind of response that we see in Samuel when he finally recognizes it is God speaking.  Samuel followed Eli’s instructions and responded to the Lord, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”  God is looking for men and women who will listen to His voice and follow His will.  Perhaps the reason so few hear His voice today is that God finds so few hearts that are ready to respond obediently to His direction.

His, by Grace,

Steve

Wednesday Thought -- September 7, 2011

Good Morning Friends,

The young boy Samuel was left at the temple by his mother to serve under the priest, Eli.  He served well and took what he did seriously.  The Bible says of him, “And the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor with the LORD and with men.” (1 Samuel 2:26)

That statement is very similar to the one made about Jesus as He grew from a boy toward manhood.  Luke records, “And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.” (Luke 2:52)

All parents want their children to grow physically in a natural way.  It would be a sad thing for a small child to remain small all of her life.  We have the same expectations of emotional and mental growth, too.  We expect our children to be emotionally immature when they are young, but not to stay that way through their whole lives.  We expect our children to struggle to learn the basic facts about language and math and science and every other subject.  No child is born with all of that knowledge, it comes from experience and study.  We want our children to grow and learn throughout life.

The same principle applies in a person’s spiritual life, too.  Samuel loved the Lord even as a small child.  He was taught to do that by his mother.  But Samuel’s love for the Lord, his knowledge of the Lord, and his commitment to the Lord did not stay at the level which his mother taught him as a young boy.  As he served in the temple under Eli, Samuel learned more about the Lord and developed a deeper love for and commitment to Him.  Even Jesus experienced that same kind of growth.  It is what God desires of those who come into a relationship with Him.  It is what He expects!

Spiritual immaturity is a fine state for those who are new in their relationship with Jesus.  But spiritual immaturity should be a temporary state that is gradually removed as we continue in our relationship with the Lord.  Spiritual growth is the natural state and should be all through our lives in Christ.

So, you may be growing physically, emotionally and mentally, but the most important question is:  Are you growing spiritually?

His, by Grace,

Steve