I Samuel 1
I Samuel 2
I Samuel 3-4:18
I Samuel 4:19-7:2
I Samuel 7:3-8
More of I Samuel
 
 
 
 
 
 

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In I Samuel 1, we meet Elkanah, a godly descendant of Levi, who lived in the hill country of Ephraim.  Because of his place of residence, he was known as an Ephraimite.  Remember, the tribe of Levi (Levites) were chosen by God to serve as priests.

In accordance with Israelite law and to fulfill God’s commands, Elkanah took his family and went to Shiloh (Shiloh was set up as the religious center in Joshua 18:1, during which time the tabernacle and ark of the covenant were moved to Shiloh.) three times a year to worship and sacrifice to the Lord.  In Exodus 23:14, The Lord told the Israelites, “Three times a year, you are to celebrate a festival to me.” These feasts were 1) Passover 2) Feast of Weeks 3) Feast of Tabernacles.   In Deuteronomy 12:5-7, the Lord told the Israelites, “You are to seek the place the Lord your God will choose from among all your tribes to put His name there for His dwelling – To that place you must go; there bring your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, what you have vowed to give and your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks.  There, in the presence of the Lord your God, you and your families shall eat and shall rejoice in everything you have put your hand to because the Lord your God has blessed you.”  Elkanah knew and obeyed the commands of God.

Elkahah had two wives; Peninnah and Hannah.  Peninnah had been blessed with children, but Hannah had not.  Because Hannah was unable to have children, Peninnah would provoke and tease her; the outward appearance of success during these Bible days was by the number of children you were able to produce to continue the line of descendants for your husband.  Hannah dealt with feelings of low self-esteem because of her barrenness.   On their trips into Shiloh, Hannah would weep and not eat, becoming downhearted and discouraged.  She shared her hurt and sadness with Elkanah who loved and tried to comfort her, but her grief was deeply felt and she found little comfort in his words. 

Do you remember a point in your life when you decided you could no longer handle life alone and you needed help?  I remember vividly one Sunday when I poured out my heart and concerns to the Lord, and literally gave my burden to Him to carry.  An indescribable peace washed over me that bathed me in His love and filled me with knowledge that He would carry the burden and that I could trust Him to see things through.  As I got up from my prayer, my heart was overflowing with praise and thanksgiving to Him.

Hannah had a similar experience.  Her grief of being childless was heavy.  While she was in the temple in Shiloh, “Hannah wept much and prayed to the Lord.”  Hannah was “deeply troubled and she poured out her soul to the Lord.”  Like pouring water from a pitcher, she poured out every drop of grief until there was no more in her heart.  She prayed to her God, making an offering to Him that would touch His heart - She offered her first fruits back to Him.  She prayed, “O Lord Almighty, if only you will look upon your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget me, but give me a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life.”

Psalm 62:8 “Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to Him, for God is our refuge.”  Hannah poured out her heart and God covered her with His grace.  I Timothy 1:14 “The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly.” 

Eli the priest blessed her, but what was the real reason for her joy?  God sent Eli to offer encouragement to Hannah.  We all need an encourager; one who will build us up.  Peninnah had tortured Hannah and torn down her self-esteem; Eli encouraged her and gave her a word from the Lord, giving Hannah hope.  II Timothy 2:22 teaches that we are to pursue those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart; those who are God’s children can build us up.  In I Samuel 1:18 Hannah said to Eli, “May your servant find favor in your eyes.”  Then she went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast. 

Pour it out; all of it.
And after the emotions and heart have all emptied, 
Allow God to fill you with His love and comfort and promises.
Read His word, talk to Him.
Find a godly person to encourage you, 
Find hope in God, 
He will give you an uplifted face.

When they returned home, in the course of time, Hannah conceived and had a son, named Samuel.  This was Hannah’s firstborn.  Because Elkanah obeyed the laws of the Lord, I believe he and Hannah prepared Samuel for his role at the temple and taught him the laws of God and I believe they prepared him for his commitment to live and work as a priest in the temple.  Deuteronomy 11:18 teaches, “Fix my words in your hearts and minds; teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road; when you lie down and when you get up.” They taught Samuel about God, prepared him for service and for worship; and Hannah prepared her heart to present this child back to God for service.  In Deuteronomy 12:5-7, The Lord told the Israelites they were to bring to Him “special gifts” and what they had “vowed to give”.

After Samuel was weaned (probably around three years old), Hannah honored her commitment to the Lord and took him to the tabernacle so that he could train for the priesthood under Eli.  Hannah said to Eli, “For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition which I asked of Him.  Therefore I also have lent him to the Lord, as long as he lives he shall be lent to the Lord.”  I Samuel 1:28.  At the beginning of our reading, Hannah gave her heart, troubles and trust to the Lord (her “special gift”).  After Samuel was born, she brought to the Lord “what she vowed to give” (her son, Samuel).  Hannah honored and obeyed the Law and the Word of her God. 

Hannah came from a line of descendants who had and would sacrifice their sons for God’s service; Abraham was willing to sacrifice Isaac in order to be obedient to God; Jochebed placed Moses in the riverbank in order to save him and he was later adopted by Pharaoh’s daughter and led the enslaved Israelites out of Egypt.   Abraham, Jochebed and Hannah all placed their sons on the “Altar of Obedience” and God used the lives of their children to greatly change the history of Israel.  God honors sacrifices made to Him in the right heart and attitude. These sacrifices were great – sacrifices of the heart – sacrifices that required great trust and faith in the Lord.  When we are able to trust God with our most precious gifts, we will see changes occurring in all areas of our lives. 

How about you?  Has God asked you to present yourself or your children as living offerings back to him?  What has He asked you to place on the altar of obedience? 
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In Chapter 2, the words of Hannah’s prayer demonstrate her experience and knowledge of God that brought her into an intimate relationship with Him, and her prayer is one of praise, worship and thankfulness. Hannah placed God as the first priority in her life, and she raised Samuel to honor and respect God, and to understand who He is. 

On the contrary, Eli’s sons were priests by trade, but not by calling and not by heart.  Their hearts were evil, their priestly duties were performed for selfish reasons rather than to encourage the worship of God; their ways were wicked in the sight of the Lord.  Eli had opportunities to correct his sons, but chose to allow his sons to carry out their priestly assignments in ungodly and unlawful ways, turning his head to what was taking place, and allowing his sons to become a stumbling block for the Israelites. He made the mistake of placing the desires of his sons above the law of God.  Hannah must have known about Eli's evil sons, and yet she placed her faith in God to train up Samuel in the ways of the Lord.

Don’t be guilty of placing your children in a higher position in your life than you place God; you should always obey what the Lord asks you to do, regardless. Children are a precious gift from the Lord – they are an inheritance from God and a reward from Him,  (Psalm 127:3) but He should come first place in your heart and mind and spirit.  He should direct your path and guide your life and decisions.  Jesus taught in Matthew 10:37-39 that we are to love our families, but that our commitment to Him is even more important than our families are; God should be our first priority. 

When Hannah left Samuel at the temple to minister before the Lord, she left with joy in her heart, for her trust in the Lord was tremendous.  Hannah and Samuel remained close; each year, she returned and brought him a linen ephod (a long vest made of linen and worn by all priests) (I Samuel 2:19) and in Samuel’s older years, he returned to Ramah (Hannah’s hometown) to live (I Samuel 15:34).  God blessed Hannah’s obedience in dedicating Samuel to His service - Samuel became a great prophet and priest, and he was the greatest of the judges who ruled Israel.  God also blessed Hannah with five more children (three sons and two daughters). (I Samuel 2:21).

God’s hand and blessings were on Samuel’s life, and Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor with the Lord and with men, because God was grooming Samuel to become a prophet and judge over Israel; a prophet who would do what was according to God’s heart and mind (I Samuel 2:35).  Eli could not change the hearts of his sons, nor was Eli willing to correct his sons, but the Lord blessed Israel with Samuel, who was pure of heart and desired to learn the ways of the Lord and to serve Him.  Samuel was exposed to Eli’s wicked sons and their disregard for the Lord, yet the Bible says that Samuel “grew up in the presence of the Lord”; Samuel chose to honor and obey the Lord.  By being among wicked ‘priests’ while growing up, he saw firsthand the pain caused to the Lord and to His people by evil.

Samuel’s choice to serve God had been instilled in him since birth, and he knew that his life was to be of service to the Lord.  Are you instilling these values in your children?  Deuteronomy 6:5 says that we are to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.  These commandments that I give you are to be upon your hearts.  Impress them on your children.  Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”  Then when your children are faced with tough decisions, they will remember how to choose right from wrong because of the teachings they have received at home.  They will remember to choose the way of the Lord if they are taught at an early age.

In I Samuel 2:13, we read about Eli’s sons disregarding the sacrifice of the Lord.  How did their actions disregard the word of the Lord?   In Leviticus 3:1-5, the fellowship offering is explained, the Israelites were to bring a sacrifice made to the Lord by fire; all the fat was to be removed, then the meat would be placed on the altar before the Lord.  This offering symbolized peace with God.  After the offering was made, part of the offering could be eaten by the person presenting it and part of the offering was to be shared with the priests.  These offerings were made by the Israelites to show honor and respect to God, and to seek forgiveness for sins. 

Eli’s sons disregarded the sacrifice by taking more meat from the pot than was due them.  They ate meat before the fat was burned off, which was against God’s law (Leviticus 3:3-5).  They took their part of the sacrifice before the sacrifice had been offered to God on the altar, thus treating God’s offering with contempt.  To further explain their wickedness, we read that they slept with the women who served at the Tent of the Meeting.   When their father, Eli, spoke to them about their wickedness, they ignored him, and Eli did not take action to correct their behavior.  (In Leviticus 10:3, Aaron’s sons were careless about following the laws for sacrifices, and they were destroyed with a blast of fire.  Performing the sacrifices was an act of obedience.  Doing them correctly showed respect for God.)

Eli’s sons went through the rituals of sacrifices and offerings made to the Lord, but they did not honor the Lord in doing so.  In making sacrifices to the Lord, the people were to remember their sin and to seek forgiveness.  Giving of ourselves to God should not be taken lightly and we should never mock one who has given their life as an offering to the Lord.  Because Jesus Christ died for our sins, we are no longer required to make animal sacrifices to God.  The sacrifices that God desires are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart (Psalm 51:17).  He wants us to seek His forgiveness for our sins, and to ask Him to live in our hearts and to direct our path.  Then, and only then, are we able to have His divine presence in our hearts and lives.  The sacrifice we are required to make today is to give Him our spirits, our lives, and to ask Him to live inside our hearts.  That sacrifice is harder to make today than it would be to give an animal sacrifice, because the sacrifice of our lives requires so much more of who we are – it requires our all, our everything.  So many of us would rather give money to the church than give ourselves to the Lord, but money given to the church will not pay the price for our sins.  Jesus has already done that.  All we need to do is humble ourselves and ask Him to forgive us and to live within us.

The sons of Eli were false priests, serving in the role of priest for selfish reasons and for the material “blessings” only, not for spiritual purposes.  Jesus warned us about false prophets, and how to discern who those false prophets are.  If you are following a spiritual leader who does not obey God’s laws or their lifestyle is contrary to what the Lord teaches us, beware.  Open your Bibles, read the scripture and commit them to your heart, so that when false teachers come along, you will know that they are false.  If you fall into the web of a false teacher, it is your own fault for not knowing the Word of God.  God’s chosen servants will be known by their fruit, by the people they lead to the Lord, by the lives that are changed by observing their teachings. 

Because of the wickedness of Eli’s sons, and because Eli honored his sons more than he honored God, a man of God came to speak to Eli and foretold that his sons would both die on the same day.  Eli was a descendant of Levi, the priestly tribe of Israel (Jacob).  God had promised that “the priesthood was theirs (Levites) by a lasting ordinance”, (a descendant of that tribe would minister before the Lord forever), but this promise was conditioned upon the obedience of the priests.  In years to come, Eli’s line of priesthood ended, and the house of David became the priestly line.  (I Kings 2:26,27)

Eli's sons would be destroyed by God because of their disobedience, mockery and irreverence toward God.  Hannah's son would become one of Israel's greatest prophets and judges because of his heart to serve and obey God.  Who will you honor?  Man or God?
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Hearing from God during these times was rare, because there wasn’t anyone who would listen to Him.  Remember, “In those days, Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit” (Judges 21:25).  Everyone was their own authority and acted on his own opinions of right and wrong, leaving God out of every aspect of life.  This is the kind of world that Samuel was to grow up in.  But Samuel grew up in stature and favor with the Lord and with men.  God had a plan for Samuel’s life, and ‘no plan of God’s can be thwarted’,* not even by evil surroundings, a priest without a backbone, and desecration of the Lord’s temple.  *Job 42:2.

I Samuel 3:7 tells us “Samuel did not yet know the Lord.  The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.”  The Lord was watching over Samuel, guiding his life, and waiting until the right time to reveal Himself to Samuel.  God was preparing Samuel to be a prophet and priest over Israel, and would personally train Samuel to be His prophet- in His timing and in His way.

One night as Samuel was lying down, he heard a voice call to him and he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, you called me.”  But Eli said, “I didn’t call you, go back and lie down.”  Samuel went back to lay down and heard the voice again; he went to Eli and was told ‘I didn’t call you, go back and lie down’.   The third time Samuel heard his name called, he ran to Eli, and Eli realized that the Lord was calling Samuel.  He told the boy, “If he calls you again, say, ‘speak Lord, for your servant is listening.’   Samuel didn’t ask questions of Eli, but waited to hear from the Lord again.  The fourth time that the Lord called Samuel, he answered, “Speak for your servant is listening.”    The Lord had a message for Eli, and He wanted young Samuel to deliver the message.  Samuel was able to hear the voice of God because his heart was pure. 

Why didn’t the Lord just speak directly to Eli?  When there is sin in our lives, it’s hard for God to get through – we cover our sin with pride and hide behind ourselves, not wanting to admit that we have sinned and seek forgiveness.  Even though we are taught that God knows all things, we think that if we don’t voice our sins to Him then we can somehow hide them from Him; after all, admitting wrongdoing is a very humbling act.  Eli had covered the sins of his sons for a long time, and he was too proud to admit the sin and seek forgiveness.  Besides, admitting their sin would indicate that he didn’t train them properly and that would indicate that he had failed in his role of father and priest.  Because of the sin covering his life, God couldn’t get through to Eli. 

The first time God sent this message to Eli was through a prophet  (1 Samuel 2:26-27) The message was that  Eli honored his sons above God and since he had not honored his duties as priest, his house (family) would be destroyed.  This was a warning for Eli to discipline his sons and to bring them into line with God’s laws and requirements of the duties of a priest.  Eli disregarded the first warning and failed to correct them.  The second time God sent the message to Eli, He spoke directly to the young boy, Samuel (“I will judge Eli’s family forever because of the sin he knew about, his sons made themselves contemptible and he failed to restrain them.”) 

Eli asked Samuel about the vision, and Samuel told him everything the Lord had said.  Eli’s answer, “He is the Lord, let Him do what is good in His eyes.”  Again, Eli chose to accept the punishment from God rather than correct his sons. 

During this time, Israel’s major enemy, the Philistines, began pressing inland against the Israelites, trying to gain more land, and so the Israelites prepared to fight.  They left Shiloh (the worship center) and camped at Ebenezer.  As the battle spread, the Philistines killed 4,000 Israelites.

The elders of Israel must have remembered how God gave victory to Joshua when he and his men carried the Ark of the Covenant into battle with them.  They said, “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.”  They needed a “good luck token” to carry with them into battle, they did not seek the help of God. 

Let’s have a recap of the Ark of the Covenant so that we can understand how God was dishonored in the action of taking the Ark into battle:
The “Ark” was a chest made of wood.  On top was the atonement cover, which had a cherub on both sides, with wings spread upward, facing each other and looking toward the cover.  The Lord told Moses, “There, above the cover and between the two cherubim, I will meet with you and give you all my commands for the Israelites.” 

The “Covenant” is a relationship of love and loyalty between the Lord and His people.  It was the promise of the Israelites to “do all that the Lord has commanded” when He gave the Ten Commandments to Moses.  They entered into God’s covenant – to obey and observe carefully all the commandments of the covenant, and to “Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.”  Deuteronomy 6:5.   The Ten Commandments were kept inside the Ark.

 The Ark of the Covenant was kept in the “Most Holy Place”, a room in the tabernacle that was separated from the Holy Place with a curtain.  The High Priest could enter the Most Holy Place once a year, on the Day of Atonement, to atone for the sins of all the people.  (Remember that at the death of Jesus, the curtain in the temple was torn from top to bottom?  This was the curtain that separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place, allowing all people complete access to the Father, rather than having to go through a priest for the forgiveness of sin.) 

Perhaps Eli never taught his sons the meaning and significance of these laws.  It’s like telling your children not to play with guns, and not explaining why you have forbidden them to do so.  If left on their own to figure it out, they may experiment to see what happens.  It’s better to explain things and enforce the rules that you have set, bringing about punishment if the rules are broken - all in order to protect human life.  Eli’s sons experimented with everything that interested them, and they broke the laws and commandments without punishment or correction from Eli.  They hurt many people by their actions and lack of respect, and in the end, God would judge them for their evildoing.  Lev 22:9 “The priests are to keep my requirements so that they do not become guilty and die for treating them with contempt.  I am the Lord, who makes them holy.” 

Back to the story:
Hophni and Phinehas returned to Shiloh and retrieved the Ark of the Covenant from the Most Holy Place, thus desecrating the room by unlawfully entering it and removing the Ark.  Did Eli know that the Ark of the Covenant had been unlawfully removed from the Most Holy Place?  In 1 Samuel 4:13, we read that Eli was in Shiloh, sitting by the side of the road, watching, because his heart feared for the Ark of God.  He knew that his sons had broken God’s laws and taken it, and he allowed them to carry the ark into battle.  Can’t you see Eli giving up and giving in to the evil of his sons because it was harder to correct them than it was to let them have their way?  Sometimes, as parents, we must take the unpopular action of stepping into our children’s affairs and bringing a complete halt to their actions, especially when what they are doing is deliberately and openly in opposition with the ways of the Lord. 

Eli was the judge, the high priest of Israel during this time – He could have prayed and asked the Lord to go with the Israelites into battle and to deliver them; rather, he allowed his own self-sufficiency and belief in his sons to control the situation.  I guess he wasn’t talking to the Lord either.  His backbone had disappeared years earlier and he didn’t stand up or speak up for what was right. He sat idly by while his sons broke the laws of God. 

When Hophni and Phinehas brought the Ark back to the Israelite camp, a great shout went out because the people thought the presence of the Ark would bring victory.  When they took the Ark into battle with them, the Ark was captured, Israel lost 30,000 soldiers, and Eli’s two sons died according to the prophecy recorded in I Samuel 2:34, “Hophni and Phinehas will both die on the same day.”  When the messenger told Eli that the Ark of the Covenant had been captured, he fell backward, broke his neck, and died, fulfilling God’s word spoken in Leviticus 22:9, “The priests are to keep my requirements so that they do not become guilty and die for treating them with contempt.”

Though the Ark of the Covenant had been captured and the High Priest had died, the Lord was still at work in Israel.  He continued to appear at Shiloh and there he revealed himself to Samuel through his Word, and Samuel’s word came to all Israel.  God was in the process of raising up a young boy who would listen to His words and who would become a prophet and judge with the heart and mind of God.  And God’s plan continued.
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“The glory has departed from Israel, for the Ark of God has been captured.”

Carrying the Ark of the Covenant into battle didn’t save the Israelites, yet the Philistines believed that in capturing the Ark they would receive good fortune.  After all, the Philistines worshipped many gods and wanted to add the god of Israel to their collection, to make sure that all their bases were covered.

The mighty God of Israel was not to be captured and placed in a box.  Remember the Ark of the Covenant was where God would meet with Moses and between the cherubim on the covering is where God’s glory (presence) would descend.  When the Ark was removed from the Most High Place and carried into battle and then captured by the Philistines, the glory of the Lord did leave Israel.  Did God’s glory accompany the Ark to Philistine territory?  The “glory” of God is His “presence”, and His presence and judgment did go into Philistine territory, but not His blessing.  Why would God’s blessing not go to the Philistines while the Ark was in their possession?

The Lord, the Holy One of Israel, made a covenant with Abraham that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars; this promise carried down to his son, Isaac, and to his son, Jacob who was later renamed by God “Israel”.  The Lord led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt by his servant, Moses, who was given the laws and Ten Commandments for the Israelite nation.  The Israelites had a history with their God, learning to live by His laws and statutes.  They had been through judges and prophets and had obeyed and disobeyed the word of God.  God had chosen the Israelites to be the peoples through whom a Savior would be born.  Though not always obedient, the children of Israel knew their God and His power.  They knew of the miracles He had performed and they knew of His character and nature.  God is faithful and remained true to His promise to Abraham.  Nothing can thwart God’s plans, not even the capturing of the Ark of the Covenant.

God brought judgment on the towns where the Ark was housed.  In Ashdod, the Ark was placed next to a statute of Dagon, the chief god of the Philistines whom they believed sent rain and plentiful harvest.  The next morning, Dagon was face down on the ground before the Ark, as if he were worshipping the one true God of Israel.  The Lord brought devastation to the people of Ashdod and they suffered with tumors.  Realizing that this was an act of the God of Israel, the Philistines moved the Ark to the town of Gath.  Again, the Lord’s hand was against the townspeople in Gath so the ark was moved to Ekron where the same plagues occurred.  Finally, the Philistines decided to return the Ark to the Israelites so that they could be saved from the heavy hand of the Lord.

The Ark was with the Philistines for a period of seven months before being returned to Israel.  Though they knew nothing else about this God, they were convinced of His power.

When the Ark was returned to Israel, the Philistines included gifts to go with the Ark to pay honor to Israel’s god.  They didn’t know about the offerings God required of the Israelites, but they gave gifts thinking this would remove or lessen God’s judgment on them for taking the Ark.  They were seeking to buy back the good favor of Israel’s God.  It’s ironical that the Philistines gave God gifts of golden tumors and rats, as those were the plagues He had given them for their disobedience.  That’s ALL they knew of God, so they kept with their limited knowledge of Him in giving these gifts.   He gave them rats and tumors, so they gave Him back golden rats and tumors. 

Though we may have limited knowledge of God, we can come to know Him more and more by talking to Him, reading the Bible, meditating and thinking on what we have read.  There is no reason why our understanding of the character of God should be limited.  When we seek Him, if our hearts are indeed interested in knowing Him more, He will reveal Himself to us, and our knowledge of Him will grow.

The Ark was returned to Israel, to an area of Beth Shemesh.  Some of the men looked inside the Ark of the Lord and God struck 70 of them dead.  In Numbers 4:20, God warned the Israelites not to look at the sacred sanctuary objects; He gave this rule to protect them from His power.  God couldn’t allow the people to disregard or disrespect His presence or His laws as the sons of Eli had done, so He killed them to teach the entire nation of Israel to look to Him, not to the sin of these men.

The Ark was then moved to Kiriath Jearim to the home of Abinadab; Eleazer was set apart to guard the Ark of the Lord.  The Ark remained at Kiriath Jearim for twenty years, and the glory of the Lord was still apart from Israel.  “And all the people of Israel mourned and sought after the Lord” during this 20 year period of time.   But were they seeking after Him with sincerity of heart or were they seeking after Him for the good fortune that He brought to their land?  What do you think?  How could their hearts and minds be turned around to truly seek the Lord their God?

Remember that in I Samuel 3, we learned that hearing from God during those days was rare because no one would listen; except now the boy named Samuel was listening to and obeying God, continuing to grow in stature and in favor with the Lord.  At the end of this twenty year period, Samuel was an adult, ready to lead the nation of Israel.
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Who will rule over my heart?  Will it be the Lord God or will it be a human person or a material possession?  Each of us face that question daily as we choose whether to allow God to lead our lives. 

In our reading from I Samuel 7-8, Israel is at a crossroads.  They must decide who will rule over their hearts.  Our reading in I Samuel says that “All the people of Israel mourned and sought after the Lord.”  The glory (presence) of God had departed Israel when the Ark of the Covenant had been taken into battle then captured by the Philistines.  Though the Ark was returned to the Israelites, it was housed in a place called Kiriath Jearim and watched over by Eleazer, where it stayed for 20 years.  During this 20-year period, as the people mourned and sought after God, they also continued to worship their foreign gods, Baal and the Ashtoreths.  Baal was regarded as the god of thunder and rain, Ashtoreth was regarded as a goddess of love and war.  The Canaanites believed that by the intimate union of Baal and Ashtoreth, the earth would be rejuvenated and made fertile.  The Israelites had long before adopted customs and ways of the nations around them, which included worshipping their gods.

Samuel told the Israelites that in order to return to the Lord, they must rid themselves of these false gods and idols and turn their hearts toward the Lord; then and only then would He deliver them from enemy hands.  The Israelites did as Samuel directed and worshipped the Lord ONLY.  The children of Israel confessed their sins and Samuel interceded with the Lord for the forgiveness of the Israelites.   I Samuel 7:6 states that they drew water and poured it out before the Lord.  This symbolized repentance from sin, turning from idols and their determination to obey God alone.

In order to give our lives to the Lord, He requires that we turn our hearts toward Him  When we first come to Him, we aren’t pure and our lives aren’t expected to be without flaw.  Once we give our hearts to the Lord, He will begin to reveal areas to us, ever so gently, that need to be changed or surrendered, and He will teach us a better way – His way.

During Samuel’s lifetime, the people turned their hearts to the Lord, and the Lord’s hand was on Israel, protecting them from the Philistines.

As Samuel grew old, the people asked to be like other nations and have a king rule over them.  They no longer wanted to be ruled by judges.  They wanted laws, an army and human rules in the place of God. They wanted to run the nation through human strength, even though only God’s strength could make them flourish in the land of Canaan.  They preferred obedience to a human king rather than obedience to an unseen God.  The Israelites were a community of people that God wanted to lead, but their weaknesses and flesh continued to lead them into sin and wickedness.  Historically, when godly judges led them, they would follow God; but once the godly judge died, the people would turn back to their wicked ways.  They were unwilling to learn how to walk with God on their own; they needed the guidance of a human king.  They wanted a person that they could put their trust and faith in rather than in an unseen God. 

Being a Christian is a challenge because we can not see or physically hear our God; we must spend time with Him alone in order to recognize and hear His voice and to know His guidance, and many times we do not want to stop what we’re doing long enough to develop that relationship.  This was the same with the Israelites. They would rather have someone tell them what to do in a vocal tone rather than take time to learn the voice and ways of God.  They took the easy way out, allowing someone else to be in charge of their destiny. 

Our self discipline is weak if we are not willing to take the time needed to get to know our God personally and intimately.  When we ask God to lead us, we must be willing to turn from the world’s standards and values and walk according to what He directs in the Bible.  We must be willing to obey all the laws of God, even if we are inconvenienced, and even when we have to wait for Him to work things out. 

Oswald Chambers stated, in the book titled Abandoned to God, “In reading I Samuel 8, it struck me that on any dilemma produced by providential circumstances, the temptation is to yield to ordinary common sense rather than wait on God to fulfill His purpose.  God’s orders come to us through haphazard.”

This means that sometimes our common sense may direct us in one direction, but if we listen to the voice of God, He may tell us to wait on Him because He’s putting together something even better for us.  The Israelites chose a king to rule over them because that’s what other nations did, and they thought a king would be able to unite them, make them stronger, fight their battles and enable them to conquer more land . In actuality, God taught them in Deuteronomy 28 that if they obeyed Him, the blessing of obedience would include all of these things their hearts desired.  Rather, they chose human leadership.

Who will rule over my heart?  Will it be the Lord God or will it be a human person or a material possession?  Each of us face that question each day as we choose whether to allow God to lead our lives.  Sometimes following God simply means that we will choose to do the right things, like throw our trash in the proper place rather than littering, or drive the speed limit rather than speeding, simple things that are clearly choices of obeying or disobeying rules and laws.  In doing the right things on ordinary days in ordinary situations, we are building our ability to do the right thing in more trying situations and learning to obey laws and rules set by government and man.  Other days, God may give us a specific thing to do, such as calling to check on a friend or praying with someone in pain.  As we obediently act on these things, we are building our trust and faith in the Lord, because we come to see and learn how His directions are always right.

At this point of history for the Israelites, they chose to go with their common sense rather than faith.  Faith is not a feeling and it requires more of a man than being able to SEE what is ahead.

For instance, living by faith – trusting in a God that you cannot see, learning to hear and listen to His voice, learning to wait on Him until He prompts you to speak or to act, requires a close and intimate relationship with the God of Heaven and Earth.  It requires that you slow down and get to know His voice, His character, His ways.  It requires a continuous discipline to be still in His presence; it requires a stillness in your inner being so that you can learn to hear His voice.  It takes a conscious effort to come to a point in your life where you know God intimately.  Then and only then will you be able to walk by faith in peace.  Learning to walk by faith is a process, and the more you do it, the more comfortable you are in knowing that God is faithful and that He will always lead you in the right and best direction.

Living by common sense is so much easier, not better for us, but easier.  We trust our own instincts – we think things through and we act or react based on what we know because of past experience, because of advice given by others, or because of reasoning.  We have something that we feel is concrete that we can hold onto which is our ability to control situations or to know what will happen next.  We like to plan for our own future and work to make those plans happen.

In the situation with Israel, they had “tried” to walk with the Lord for many years and when they had a godly person leading them, such as Samuel, they were able to follow the Lord because they had someone that took the time to know God, to build a relationship with Him, and to communicate with God.  Then that leader would relay the information to the people and they would trust in their leader and follow God based on what their leader told them.  This leader would, in the meantime, try to teach the Israelites how to walk with God.  But the nations around them had a king.    And since Israel had fallen into the trap of worshipping the gods of the other nations, they had also fallen into the trap of longing to be like other nations around them.  And they longed for a king.

Common sense told them that a king would rule their nation, form armies and protect them from their enemies, provide for their needs and protect them.  Rather than live by faith, they opted to live by sight and have a king, a man, to meet these needs.    Faith living, after all, requires effort and work and time.  How many of us really want to put time into building a relationship with God?  It just doesn’t seem to have immediate results and it requires work.   So, who will rule your heart?  God or man?
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