The beginnings and foundation of the “faith of
Samuel” was the faith of his mother. She
was the one who dealt with the LORD in giving Samuel to the service of the
tabernacle (called the temple at this point in Israel’s history, e.g.
3:3). That in itself tells us something
about Samuel’s faith: he accepted this, understanding that just because someone
else made the decision did not mean that it was not God’s decision as
well. Anyone who would serve God must
come to grips with their upbringing. We
don’t choose our parents, and our main duty is to submit to them. In our day we are sadly and foolishly
obsessed with determining the failings of our parents that have made our lives
to difficult. Not so with Samuel, And it
is the beginning of his legacy of faith.
Thus, we see that Samuel “ministered” to the LORD before Eli (2:11,18; 3:1). He was serving the LORD by serving Eli. This is not the normal term for a slave (ebed, over 800x in OT, used by Samuel when he answered God in 3:9,10). Rather, “ministered” was used of Joseph (Gen. 39:4 serving Potipher; 40:4 serving the captain of the guard), Joshua (Ex. 24:13 serving Moses), Aaron and his sons as priests (Ez. 28:35), the Levites serving the priests (Num. 1:50), and Moses, ‘the servant of the LORD’ (Josh. 1:1). Samuel’s faith was expressed in ministering as the slave of the LORD. He was not known for “original” thoughts. First, he did as Eli commanded. Then, he served God as a “prophet” (3:20), and the message of a prophet was given to him specifically by God. We see this servant’s faith in Samuel when to Eli he says, “Here I am” (3:5,6,8) and when to the LORD he says “Speak LORD, for Your servant hears” (v9-10).
There are two other expressions of the “faith of Samuel” in 3:7. These things were not true of Samuel at the time, but they became true of him:
· He knew the LORD. This is not just the blessing of the New Covenant. It was always God’s intention to have a relationship with His servants. Notice that God instigated this: Now the LORD came and stood and called as at other times (3:10). As to others in the times of the Judges, God came to men as the “Angel of the LORD,” that special pre-incarnate appearance of God the Son (e.g. Jud. 6:12; 13:3). Notice that He called Samuel by name, twice (3:10). Paul had it right in Gal. 4:9: …you have known God, or rather are known by God. God must reach out to the sinful man for this relationship to become reality. But once He has done this, then it becomes our heart’s desire to “know Christ” (Phil. 3:10) and to grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ (2 Pt. 3:18).
· The word of the LORD was revealed to him. This began at that same time, when God revealed to Samuel what He was going to bring upon Eli and his house (3:11-14). Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he reveals His secret unto His servants the prophets (Amos 3:7). Because Samuel was faithful to preach the word of the LORD, the LORD let none of his words fall to the ground (3:19). In 3:1 the word of the LORD was rare in those days; there was no widespread revelation. In 3:21-4:1 the LORD revealed Himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the LORD. And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Again, I am reminded of Paul, in Gal. 1:16, that in His grace God revealed His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles.
This is the legacy of faith left by Samuel, the significant prophet who is God’s man in the transition from the Judges to the Kings!
No comments:
Post a Comment