1 Samuel 3:19-21 (ESV)
And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established as a prophet of the LORD. And the LORD appeared again at Shiloh, for the LORD revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the LORD.
The contrast in the first five chapters of 1 Samuel is obvious. On the one hand you have the priest, Eli and his two son’s Hophni and Phinehas. These three were supposed to be the spiritual strength, eyes and guides for Israel. On the other side you have a barren woman, Hannah, who prayed deeply for a son and was given Samuel. She was so dedicated to God and trusting of God that she dedicated Samuel, at a very young age, to serve God for the rest of his life. Samuel didn’t get the choice to do college career day or visit the trades or take an assessment to see what career he would “like” to have for his life. No, his other simply took him to Eli and said, “Here is my son, I dedicated him to the Lord, to serve in the Tabernacle.” This was an amazing contrast to Eli, who allowed his sons to steal from the offerings and partook of their pillaging of the people’s worshipping himself. Eli vs Hannah. Hophni and Phinehas vs Samuel. In the end, God killed Eli, Hophni and Phinehas for their disobedience and their neglect of being true guides to Israel. In the end, Samuel, as we can see by the above passage, grows to become the spiritual leader of the nation. God has complete control over His people and those who are leaders. God does not have a hit and miss approach. Eli failed to lead. So, God replaced him with a child. Eli’s two sons failed to lead. So, God replaced them with a child. We never have to worry if God will, in the end, set things right. God might delay to make the corrections, but He will not ignore bad leadership.
No comments:
Post a Comment