Month: July 2023

1 Samuel 3:19, 21 And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground….For the Lord revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the Lord.

As Samuel grew up physically, so he grew spiritually in the Lord. This was the response generated in him by the Word and the Spirit. Samuel’s growth was similar to what was said about Jesus: “And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man [Luke 2:52].” Physical growth happens naturally to all human children. Spiritual growth does not always happen unless we are paying attention to God and His Word.

Samuel knew the Lord, heard His voice, listened to Him, and spoke forth God’s Word. God was with him and he did not speak the Word in vain. Growing up in the Lord is a natural, nay, supernatural, occurrence for every baptized believer who spends time with God in His Word. Growth is our response to God’s dealing with us and His working in us. Fruit is produced in those who abide in Jesus. Just like we don’t make our bodies grow, neither do we make our souls grow. Healthy souls grow strong when we feed on God’s Word. And the Word accomplishes the purpose for which it is sent.

We may feed and water, but God gives the increase. We don’t know how and we don’t see it, like the seed growing secretly, but growth happens for those who continue in My Word. 1 Peter 3:18: “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

1 Samuel 3:1, 10 And the child Samuel ministered unto the Lord before Eli. And the word of the Lord was precious in those days; there was no open vision….And the Lord came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak, for thy servant heareth.

As a young boy, probably a teenager, Samuel served the Lord at the tabernacle at Shiloh under the High Priest, Eli. What his serving entailed is not told us, but it probably had something to do with the priestly functions of bringing the people to God.

The prophetic function of receiving the word of the Lord and speaking it to the people was rare in those days: there were no called prophets. One night the Lord called to Samuel in an audible voice three times, but he thought it was Eli. And, Eli, though inexperienced in hearing from God, wisely told Samuel that it was the Lord after calling a third time. Samuel did not yet know the voice of the Lord.

This time he responded in faith: “Speak, Lord, for I am listening.” Then the Lord proceeded to give him a word of prophecy. God began to use Samuel as a prophet to speak forth His Word. It all began with his willingness to hear.

Speak, for thy servant heareth is a worthwhile prayer all of us to pray before entering the church for God’s Service to us. There are numerous commands in Scripture, “Hear!” Preparation and readiness to listen is our response. And the Spirit opens the ears and the heart.

1 Samuel 2:17 Wherefore the sin of the young men was very great before the Lord: for men abhorred the offering of the Lord.

Eli, the High Priest, could not control the sinful behavior of his sons. They acted as priests for the people, but they abused their position by skimming off the offerings for themselves and abusing the young women. The response of Hophni and Phinehas to their privileged position was sinful and abhorrent before the Lord. Stealing and adultery is always sinful, but it is especially abhorrent for trusted men of God.

Their behavior is set in contrast to the upright behavior of the young Samuel. Samuel even heard from the Lord to become a prophet of bad news: Eli’s sons would perish. Eli bears the guilt in this case, for God says, “His sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not.” Samuel went on to become a great prophet and priest for the people, while Hophni and Phinehas died in battle and Eli died when he heard the news. Our response to God makes a great difference in our lives!

1 Samuel 2:1 And Hannah prayed, and said, My heart rejoiceth in the Lord, mine horn is exalted in the Lord; my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies, because I rejoice in thy salvation.

It is good, right, salutary, and natural to respond to God showing up in our lives in answer to prayer by praying, thanking, and rejoicing. Hannah had received from the Lord the gift of a son, in answer to prayer. God not only gave her a son, but thereafter blessed her with five more children. God is more than good!

God gets involved in our lives. He sent His Son into our world, our lives, our history, to bring life and salvation. He also gets involved in our daily lives on an ongoing basis by answering our prayers and meeting our needs. Our faith response is always one of thanks, praise, and rejoicing. The joy of the Lord from God entering our lives is almost inexpressible; yet God gives us ways to express the joy in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.

So Hannah found a way to express inner joy in the Song of Hannah inspired by the Spirit of God in this chapter. Mary copied some of the Song in her expression of praise and joy, in the the so-called Magnificat of Luke 1. So Miriam, Deborah, Simeon, angels, and others saints have responded with poetic joy to God’s inexpressible gifts and great victories over the enemies.

In Ezra’s day the returned exiles responded to the reading of God’s Word with shouts of joy. Nehemiah said, “The joy of the Lord is your strength.” Thankfully, the spirit within us can, and does, rejoice continually, for the Lord never ceases being actively involved in our lives with answers, with power and love, with inner peace, and with abiding joy. Philippians 4:4: “Rejoice in the Lord always.” All the time, in every circumstance, for the Lord is always good. The joy is in the Lord, not in us, not in the world, not even in our feelings, though our emotions will be affected by the response of faith. Whether we feel like it or not, the joy of the Lord is deep, abiding, and never changes. God is always good. Rejoice!

1 Samuel 1:27-28 For this child I prayed; and the Lord hath given me my petition which I asked of him: Therefore also I have lent him to the Lord; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the Lord. And he worshipped the Lord there.

Hannah enjoyed the miraculous gift of the baby boy, Samuel. She kept him at home until he was weaned, probably 4 or 5 years old. Then out of grateful devotion and thanksgiving to God she gave him up to the service of the Lord. She brought him to the tabernacle at Shiloh to learn and serve under the High Priest, Eli. Hannah lent Samuel to the Lord. Lend here does not mean loan for a while and then get him back. It is a grant, not a loan. He was given for “as long as he lived.”

Overpowering thankfulness moved her to give up her most prized possession and hand him over to the Lord. The lesson is clear for us, but virtually impossible. How can we let go to God what is most precious to us? “Give it to God” is pious advice, but hard to do, even to give Him our problems; but it is even harder to give up that which is most precious to us. Only by the power of the Holy Spirit can this be done. In our minds we are willing to give anything to the Lord and His service; we evidence our grant by giving of our time, talent, and treasure to the Lord.

1 Samuel 1:10, 15, 16, 20 And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the Lord, and wept sore….I am a woman of sorrowful spirit, but have poured out my soul before the Lord….Out of the abundance of my complaint and grief have I spoken hitherto….She bare a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, because I have asked him of the Lord.

Hannah, the second wife of Elkanah, was barren with no children, while Penninah, the other wife had children. Barrenness was regarded as a terrible curse in those days, especially in competition with another wife. Hannah was grieved and bitter, but she believed God and turned to the Lord in her sorrow. She prayed and wept and poured out her soul unto the Lord.

This is a good definition of prayer: pour your heart out. Give to the Lord what you are thinking and feeling. The father knows what you need before you ask him, but He wants us to ask, so that our faith will make the connection between our need, us, and God. Asking deepens our relationship with God. Pouring your heart out grows out of faith and grows our faith.

The simple cliche, “Let go and let God,” is not so simple, but profound, and very hard to do. We need the help and presence of the Holy Spirit to believe it. “Faith comes by hearing the word of Christ.” We respond to our problems and situations by praying our troubled soul before the Lord. We make the connection and God hears, and cares.

Bitterness, sorrow, complaint, and grief are often companions of ours, but we also have a friend in Jesus. “O what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.” What a Friend!

God answered her prayer and gave her a son. Hannah knew this was God’s gift and miraculous answer, and not a coincidence. She named the boy Samuel, which means, “Asked of God.” She acknowledged the Lord’s answer and gave thanks. Samuel grew up to be a blessing, a prophet, and true man of God.

Ruth 4:10 Moreover Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon, have I purchased to be my wife, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance, that the name of the dead be not cut off from among his brethren, and from the gate of his place: ye are witnesses this day.

The faith response of Boaz was to show kindness to Ruth the Gentile: he purchased her to be his wife. He became a kinsman redeemer for Mahlon, her dead husband, thereby saving his name and inheritance. Because of his kindness Ruth (and Naomi, too) was lifted out of poverty and hopelessness. He gave her an inheritance and a name. And even more: Ruth became the great-grandmother of David and an ancestress of the promised Messiah and Savior.

Jesus, out of unimaginable kindness, became the family redeemer for us. He lifted us out of poverty and destitution. He purchased us with His own blood. He married us and brought us into the family of God as His beautiful Bride. He gave us a name and an inheritance, eternal life. “Through His poverty we became rich.” The Word of God paints two pictures of our Redemption and Salvation: we are on the one hand children of God and brothers of Jesus, and on the other hand, the married bride of Christ. It’s a beautiful picture, whichever way we look at it. We will never meet anybody as kind as our Redeemer. Therefore, we respond with kindness to each other. It’s a natural family trait.

Ruth 3:10 And he said, Blessed be thou of the Lord, my daughter; for thou hast shewed more kindness in the latter end than at the beginning, inasmuch as thou followest not young men, whether rich or poor.

The story of Ruth shows the fruit of the Spirit in faithful believers: Naomi’s faith, Ruth’s faithfulness, and Boaz’ kindness. The whole story of Ruth reveals the providence of God and how He accomplishes His purpose through the instruments of human beings, who become faithful and kind through faith in the promise. God blessed Naomi and Ruth by providentially providing a kinsman redeemer with the result that the seed of Ruth would bear David and Jesus. This Plan of a Savior was worked out through the faith, faithfulness, and kindness of the actors through whom the Spirit worked His will. His will is that “all may be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.”

The Lord worked in Ruth the faith to believe and serve a foreign god, who was the only true God. Ruth could not know that her faithfulness would bear such fruit as the Savior of the world, but her choices produced an eternal destiny far beyond her imagination. We also do not know the future, and even eternal, consequences of our present choices and decisions when led by the Spirit.

The nearest relative of a deceased man could marry the widow and lift her out of a life of poverty, but he could choose not to. However, Boaz, out of love and kindness, chose to redeem Ruth (and also blessed Naomi). Jesus Christ is our family redeemer, who chose out of love to come earth to redeem us from sin, poverty, and hopelessness, and to purchase us with His blood. Jesus in this way married us to be His own possession, bring us into God’s family, and grace us with an eternal inheritance. We are so grateful that we will love Him forever.

Ruth 2:7, 12 And she said, I pray you, let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves: so she came and hath continued even from the morning until now, that she tarried a little in the house….The Lord recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust.

Times were tough for the two widows, Naomi and Ruth, since there was no man in the house. Life is hard, and especially for widows in those days, but Ruth responded by working hard with little rest. She took the initiative to provide for herself and her mother-in-law by gleaning and gathering grain in the harvest fields, picking up the stray grains that the harvesters dropped. It was back-breaking work for just a little bread. She was poor, but she was not too lazy to work as a gleaner nor too proud or embarrassed to accept the charity of someone else.

If she had not been willing to work hard she would not have had the opportunity to meet the kindly relative, Boaz. He would change her life and give her the honor of becoming the ancestor of King David and of Christ the Savior of the world. The Lord rewarded her richly.

In fact, we can see the providence of God and His guiding hand in this whole story. He guided Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz to accomplish His will and get a good result. Ruth gets credit for her response to hard times, not complaining but working, but God gets the glory for directing events to bring about a happy ending. “The humble shall be exalted.” Ruth believed the God of Israel and humbly lived out her commitment to Naomi and her God.

Testing, trials, and hard times come to all of us, but our response of faithfulness to the Lord sees us through to the end, to the glory of God. Trust the promise; the reward is worth it.

Ruth 1:16-17 And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge; thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: Where thou diest will I die, and there will I be buried: the Lord do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me.

Naomi, a faithful Israelite, had sojourned in Moab to escape a famine. There her husband and two sons died. But as she was going back to her land, her daughter-in-law, Ruth, clung to her and would not go back to Moab. Ruth and Naomi’s love for each other compelled her to respond with this classic vow of commitment. These words are often used in wedding ceremonies, wherein the couple makes this kind of vow to each other.

So strong was their love that Ruth was willing to leave behind her country, her family, her heritage, her culture, her gods, her familiar way of life, everything, in order to be faithfully committed to her mother-in-law. This kind of loyal pledge was almost miraculous, so strong was their love.

This kind of vow was made by Peter and all the Apostles. This kind of exclusive commitment is made by all faithful followers of Jesus. We are willing to forsake everything for the sake of Christ. We are strongly tempted by the world to follow its ways, but we say, “No, Jesus is with me, and I am with Jesus.” This kind of faith commitment is a miracle worked by the Holy Spirit through the Gospel. The Word and the Spirit convinces us of the incomprehensible and unconquerable Love of God in Christ. Love compels commitment.