1 & 2 Samuel (Program #6) – The History Concerning Samuel (4)

Throughout history the ark of the covenant was crucial to the nation of Israel. The Bible tells us that after the tabernacle was completed in Exodus 40, and the ark was placed in the holy of holies, then the cloud covered the tent of meeting and the glory of Jehovah filled the tabernacle. From that moment on the presence of the Lord was associated with the ark. Whenever Jehovah desire to move on the earth, the ark led the way. In battle as long as Israel was following the Lord, Jehovah leads and the ark was present they knew God was with them and they prevailed. However in the waning years of the ironic priesthood, not only the people in general but even the priest themselves no longer had a heart for the Lord and for His needs. Rather all of their attention were focused on their own needs, their own desire and their own security. And when in this situation they tried to use the ark in a superstitious way. Not only did the ark seem to lose its’ miraculous power but Jehovah allowed it to be taken by Philistines and and separated from the tabernacle. And the result as spoken in 1 Samuel chapter 4:22 was the greatest tragedy, for “the glory has departed from Israel, for the Ark of God has been taken”

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1 & 2 Samuel (Program #5) – The History Concerning Samuel (3)

The situation in Israel was degraded and even the priesthood was waning but Jehovah reacted as He often reacted to the failures of Israel by raising up one person who would be according to His own heart. The young boy Samuel, son of Elkanah and Hannah had already been consecrated to the Lord.  But the child’s up bringing also had a deep impact upon him for he witnessed the corruption of the sons of Eli firsthand. And he watched, as the priest Eli failed to rule over his two evil sons even as they usurped the ark of the covenant and allowed to be taken captive by Israel’s enemies. As a result the glory of Jehovah departed from the tabernacle and from Israel. But what he had witnessed left a deep impression upon Samuel and was used by Jehovah to produce in him one who faithfully restored the testimony to Israel and whom the Lord ultimately used to turn the age.

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1 & 2 Samuel (Program #4) – The History Concerning Samuel (2)

In the days of the Old Testament priest Eli, the priesthood among God’s people Israel was waning and has become stale.  The situation was deteriorating and yet God desire to move on the earth even to change the age.  But rather than doing something miraculous from the heavens God did what He has always done when He desires to go further with His purpose and move on the earth. He found persons that would  co-operate with Him, that would be one with Him.  In this instance, He found a weak and fragile and suffering sister among His people, named Hannah. Her co-operation was to pray a prayer that matched God’s need and God’s desire.  And from this prayer came a son, Samuel whom the Lord’s used not only to turn that age but ultimately to bring in David and help to bring forth Christ. In God’s move He always limits Himself to work and co-operation with man.

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1 & 2 Samuel (Program #3) – The History Concerning Samuel (1)

Throughout history, whenever God has desire to move on earth to carry out His purpose He has always require the co-operation of man. Perhaps the situation is so degraded that He can only find a handful or may be even only one person who would co-operate fully with Him. But even one person, sufficiently one with God and willing to co-operate with Him can provide Him a way to move on earth to carry out His eternal purpose and even to change the age.  Samuel was such a person one with God and one who co-operated with Him fully and enabling Him to change the age in that time.  But even the origin of Samuel demonstrates God’s desire even His need to work in and through man to carry out His move. We’ll consider Samuel’s origin in today’s program

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1 & 2 Samuel (Program #2) – An Introductory Word

To really understand the Bible you might think that it takes great intellect or years of training and Biblical education.  Well, this surely may be helpful, but according to the Bible itself  what is most needed is what the apostle Paul prayed for in his letter to the Ephesians chapter 1:17 “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the full knowledge of Him.”

What we need most is our spirit and our spirit becoming a spirit of wisdom and revelation. We need such a spirit to see what’s revealed in the two Old Testament books of 1 & 2 Samuel.  Samuel begins with the story of a godly woman praying desperately to Jehovah that He would give her a son.  and in this story we began to see again how God’s economy is the central focus of the entire Bible.

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1 & 2 Samuel (Program #1) – An Introductory Word

The Bible is the divine revelation, the word revelation according to the Greek means to uncovered or unveil something that had been hidden or concealed. Though the Bible contains teachings and truths on many levels, fundamentally this book conveys God’s eternal purpose that which God Himself desire in His heart in the eternity past above all else and planned even before He laid the foundations of the earth and the universe. Surely for us to see such a divine and eternal purpose we need more than our merely mental faculties. We need what the apostle Paul prayed for, so earnestly in his epistle to the Ephesians believers. He prayed that “the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory may give to you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the full knowledge of Him.”  Welcome to our first life study from the book of 1 Samuel.

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