2nd Evangelical Free Church

Blogging through Samuel: Acting before praying: what a mistake!

1 Samuel 13

Although Saul led well for a while, the pressure from enemies began to increase. Israel was up against the Philistines again and they were a much more formidable opponent than were the Ammonites. Saul waited to do battle so that Samuel could come to Gilgal and offer a sacrifice to insure the Lord’s blessing. He grew impatient waiting and became fearful because some of the Israelite warriors were deserting the army because out of fear. So he offered the sacrifice himself without Samuel. 

Samuel became angry because Saul had failed. He had trusted in his own judgment rather than in the word of the Lord. Saul's punishment may appear excessive, but we must recall that as the king of Israel his disobedience to the Lord was a sinful act of insubordination that threatened the whole nation and set a bad example for each to follow. Saul failed to understand his place in God’s kingdom as well as his responsibility to obey the Lord. He assumed authority that was not his. For this reason God did not establish a dynasty for him. In addition the army fell apart anyway.

Often we take action when we should really be waiting on the Lord. We act as if we are in control and that God must follow us we where lead, must fulfill our plans. In fact, before any undertaking or decision major or minor, we must seek His will first by praying for guidance. This is because we are His servants, agents of His Kingdom and we are called to do His will. Everything we do and say has consequences for us and for His kingdom.

 

Blogging through Samuel: Prophets to the nation.

1 Samuel 12

Samuel emerged as the first great prophet, on a par with Moses. He, like Moses, was the spiritual leader of the people, the mediator between them and the Lord. He thus had authority to chastise and warn them about the dangers of disobedience. Like Moses, he effected a miracle, rain in the dry season. This was designed to put the fear of God into the Israelites so they would respect Yahweh and His prophet and never forget that the King they had requested was the Lord’s servant. Samuel’s words and actions established the office of the prophet to serve in conjunction with office of king. The prophet served as spokesman for the Lord, spiritual guide to the King, and the religious leader of the nation. 

Samuel’s words reminded the people of Israel that Yahweh had remained faithful to them in the past, even though they had not. In our nation today we need to realize this as well. The United States has been and continues to be blessed as well as used by the Lord in special ways even though faithlessness and immorality are on the rise. Despite what politicians and the media say about the separation of church and state, the church is to serve as God’s prophet and never tire of warning America’s leaders of the dangers of state sanctioned sin and injustice. This job is one of tho

 

Blogging through Samuel: Called to do the dirty work.

1 Samuel 11

Saul had not yet received any instructions from the Lord or Samuel to do anything. The fact that he, the anointed king, was plowing again like the common farmer he was, illustrates his humility. But when he heard the news about what the Ammonites were threatening to do, he was aroused to action and rallied the whole nation to battle. The response of the Israelites represented their greatest show of military strength since the time of Joshua. Consequently they surprised the arrogant and self-confident Ammonites and utterly defeated them. Saul’s victory assured the people that the Lord’s favor was on him.

In our day many leaders, ministers, indeed many people feel that certain tasks are beneath them. Many think they are too important to do the daily dirty work, cleaning, laundry, shopping, cooking. They usually hire some one to do it for them so they can pursue their careers or indulge in their leisure activities. And then too many families expect the mother or wife to handle all those chores while husbands and children can relax.. Yet Jesus, God incarnate, the king of the universe, the creator and sustainer of all life did not think it beneath His place to wash dirty feet or, more importantly, to die a horrible death for undeserving and ungrateful sinners.  

If we were honest we all, from time to time, think certain tasks are beneath our dignity. Yet if we love our fellow man, our spouse, our kids and parents we should be willing to follow the example of Christ and willingly serve them even if it means cleaning up their messes. And this means everyone who calls himself or herself by the name of Christ. 

 

Blogging through Samuel: Praising God!

1 Samuel 10

Samuel anointed Saul with oil to symbolize his consecration to the service of the Lord. The oil symbolized God's Spirit who endowed Saul with delegated authority as well as the divine abilities he needed to carry out the work of King. Saul knew from the Spiritual empowerment that he was God’s special representative, a great responsibility. As God’s servant he was bound to uphold the law of the Lord and to live under it. To confirm that the Lord had chosen him and was with him, Samuel gave Saul three signs. The signs strengthened Saul's confidence in God's ability to enable him to lead the people. 

 

The ability to prophesy was probably the most convincing of these signs for it enabled Saul to sing God’s praises and proclaim His great majesty and awesome holiness while under the supernatural influence and control of the Holy Spirit. 

What occurs here gives us deep insight into the sign gifts of the Spirit such as speaking in tongues and prophetic utterances, an insight which many contemporary Pentecostal and charismatic churches, leaders and groups ignore. The Spirit grants the gifts of utterance and tongues for the purpose of glorifying God, not exalting a human being. And we see that these gifts are a form of praise and worship, not some secret encoded message for believers to decipher. 

 

Blogging through Samuel: The paradox of church leadership.

1 Samuel 9

Although the Israelites asked Samuel to appoint a king like the nations, the Lord allowed him to pick one whom He had chosen. From the details of this chapter we can see that Saul possessed many of the characteristics that mark a great leader. For one thing, he was charismatic: he inspired others with his commanding presence. He was one to whom people could look up to, both literally and figuratively. He was tall, well built and good looking. He was a reliable and trustworthy worker who would carry out any task to completion because he possessed great perseverance. He cared about others and respected his elders. He was also very humble since he did not push himself forward. 

When we look for a leader, whether it is in politics, business or the church, often we consider primarily the person’s outward appearance and charisma. Usually we look for a person who will rally and inspire us to the task, someone who can speak with dynamic eloquence and fire, someone with ambition and drive. The main characteristic the Lord desires in a leader is that he or she be a follower. A godly leader must be humble and submissive to the Lord’s will. Such a person is the one who will not get in God’s way. That leader will lead others into faithful service by hard work and example not cajolery. 

 

Blogging through Samuel: Why want what the world wants?

1 Samuel 8

Samuel was surprised by the people’s request for a king even though having a king was not inherently sinful. The Lord Himself had made provisions for one (Deut. 17:14-20). In fact Israel needed a strong leader like Samuel but he was getting on in years. His sons, whom he had appointed as judges, were corrupt and hypocritical. They were incapable of keeping order, rallying the nation for battle, defending against enemies or administering the law of God.

The Lord was offended by the request because the people did not ask for a godly leader, but one like the other nations had. Their request did not exalt the Lord but demonstrated an exceptional lack of faith. Their eyes and hearts were set upon worldly ways and not on God. A king would be there to lead and wage war. A king would be a lot easier to obey than the Lord for the Lord was too strict with them. 

This serves to remind us that in our world there are many things that are morally neutral, even good and helpful for us. Yet if we seek them out with selfish motives or forget our obligation to use them to honor the Lord and to help others, we make what is good into something that is evil. We may desire a better job, a new computer, a nice house, video games, or money and such desires may be wrong and sinful if they are self-centered, that is, we want them for our own pleasure or as a means to exalt ourselves. If we place them all at the Lord’s disposal we can use them to exalt Him.

 

Blogging through Samuel: Ebenezer: The Lord is my helper.

1 Samuel 7

After the Ark was returned, Israel experienced revival. This revival began because the loss of the Ark made the Israelites feel helpless, exposed and vulnerable. In their time of crisis, they turned back to the Lord. Samuel led the revival with his godly wisdom and preaching. He pointed out their sins of apostasy and immorality and led them to repentance and true worship of Yahweh. His prayers and leadership in worship were crucial to their defeat of the Philistines. When the enemy attacked, the Israelites had renewed confidence and faith in the Lord. They knew that He alone was their salvation.

The name Ebenezer is a good one to name a child. This name acknowledges total trust in the Lord. It means that the Lord is the one who helps, the Lord is the one who accomplishes the victory. He alone saves us from sin and judgment. We Christians often forget this especially in America. We rely on military might and diplomacy to try and achieve victory. We trust in government and law to establish morality, harmony and stability. We assume that our wealth and possessions will keep us safe. We believe that our medical doctors and scientists can solve all our ills and problems. Yet all these systems are doomed to fail because they are unable to effect permanent change within the hearts of men. If we place our faith in the Lord, He will never fail us.

 

Blogging through Samuel: Worship for the right reasons.

1 Samuel 6

Those dull-witted Philistines finally realized the Ark was the cause of their troubles. They offered gold as if that would appease Yahweh and concocted a plan to get rid of the Ark. Their actions betray deep rooted superstitions as well as religious pride. They mounted the Ark on a cart drawn by two oxen who had calves. They separated the calves from their mothers to see if the cows would go to them as they should by instinct. But if they went in the opposite direction to an Israelite town, this would prove that Yahweh, the Lord God, of Israel was more powerful than Dagon and was the cause of their misfortunes. Although the cows move without hesitation to the Israelite town, that still did not convince the Philistines of the vanity of worshipping a powerless god.

The town of Beth Shemesh belonged to the Levites. They rejoiced at the return of the Ark because it symbolized the Lord’s presence. They worshipped Yahweh with appropriate sacrifices. However, some of them showed disrespect and irreverence toward the Lord and were severely punished. This demonstrates that the Lord demands that those who approach Him must be holy and set apart. Those who approach him with pride, selfish curiosity, a sense of entitlement or  casual familiarity show disrespect for His holiness.      

Those who know me know that I have often remarked that many contemporary worship songs are “Jesus, my boyfriend” songs. By this I mean that they get so familiar with the Lord that they seem romantic, maudlin, irreverent and impertinent. There is a point where we cross the boundary of respect and awe and treat God with too much informality. We may want to tell God how much we love Him, but worship is not about us at all. It’s about Him and what He has done for us. In worship we tell Him how great He is and why.  

 

Blogging through 1 Samuel: Slow witted humanity.

1 Samuel 5

Although Israel suffered its worst defeat ever resulting in the capture of the Ark of the Lord, God was not defeated. He continued to wage war on His enemies. The Philistines put the Ark in Dagon’s temple as a trophy to signify the superiority of their god over Yahweh. Yet Yahweh showed them He was Almighty by revealing the impotence of Dagon. Then He punished the Philistines for their disrespect and immorality with a plague of tumors in the groin area. This affliction was similar to Bubonic plague for it appears to have been spread by flea-infested rodents who also attacked the grain, another slap at Dagon who was god of the harvest.

Yahweh showed the Philistines in no uncertain terms that He is the Lord God Almighty. Yet they failed to acknowledge or believe this. The first time the statue fell they should have been alerted because they had to pick Dagon up off the floor. Though he was supposed to be a god, he was obviously unable to help himself. The second time they began to suspect the Ark because the statue was destroyed. But not even the plague of emerods caused them to see the Lord and turn to Him in repentance.

The Philistines are like so many people who refuse to acknowledge the existence of God despite the overwhelming evidence. They refuse to turn to Him in the darkest of trials, preferring instead either to curse at Him or to blame “mother nature” or random chance. In the same way many people refuse to believe in Jesus as Savior despite the fact that His crucifixion reveals that God is a God who judges sin with love but also with justice and severity.

Blogging through Samuel: Ichabod: The Glory of the Lord has departed.

1 Samuel 4

The loss of the Ark of the Covenant to the Philistines marks the nadir of Israel’s spiritual descent into apostasy. God allowed this to happen because of the grievous sins of the people. They did not even begin to think that their behavior, their sinfulness had led to their initial defeat. Rather than admit their faults, repent and turn to God, they devised an easier though fatal plan to solve their problem. They would use the Ark of the Lord. They apparently viewed the ark as an idol, a magical device or charm that would ensure victory. This was a view shared by the pagan Philistines. This was perhaps the greatest incident of apostasy for it equated that which was holy unto the Lord with what was not. Because of this, the Lord allowed Israel to suffer its greatest loss. 

One lesson this chapter teaches us is to never name a child Ichabod. The name is a curse: the glory of the Lord has departed. Sadly, many mainstream Protestant and even evangelical churches can be called Ichabod because they have exchanged the truth of the Lord for lies thought up by the heart of man, for political correctness, popularity and fame. Many proclaim universal salvation while maintaining that the sins of homosexuality, fornication, and abortion are not sins at all, but rights granted to humanity by God. In the case of evangelicals  we compromise the gospel in exchange for larger crowds and money. Yet if we who are Christians accept the values and ways of the world, if we compromise with sin, if we do not speak up for what is right, if we do not protect the rights of the unborn, we too will be called Ichabod.