Samuel

God Wants Your Ears to Tingle

“The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’ Then Samuel said, ‘Speak, for your servant is listening.’ And the Lord said to Samuel: ‘See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make the ears of everyone who hears about it tingle.’ ” – 1 Samuel 3:10,11 Our topic for today is the wonderful story of the prophet Samuel. It begins with this profound statement by the author: “And the word of the Lord was precious in those days; there was no open vision.” What does this mean? Simply put, everyone wanted to hear from God. They wanted to see what He was doing, but they were unable to hear, see, or feel it. They wanted to experience something but they were disconnected from Him.  Samuel’s mother, Hannah, has a miracle pregnancy and as a result, commits him to the Lord as

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The Irritating Perfection of God’s Timing

“He came to the sheep pens along the way; a cave was there, and Saul went in to relieve himself. David and his men were far back in the cave. The men said, ‘This is the day the Lord spoke of when he said to you, ‘I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.’ Then David crept up unnoticed and cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. Afterward, David was conscience-stricken for having cut off a corner of his robe. He said to his men, ‘The Lord forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, or lay my hand on him; for he is the anointed of the Lord.’” – 1 Samuel 24:3-6 We looked at King David yesterday, his call from God, and how things got tougher for him after his anointing. I want to

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Simple is Strong

“David said to Saul, ‘Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.’ Saul replied, ‘You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.’” – 1 Samuel 17:32,33 We’ve looked in quite some detail at Goliath, so today, I want to introduce you to David, the other half of the famous fighting duo. Strangely enough, the young shepherd arrived at the Isrealites’ battleground to bring food to his brothers, and he had no intention of taking on the giant himself. However, upon hearing that King Saul was offering wealth and his daughter’s hand in marriage to any man brave enough to face him, he immediately decided to “give it a shot.” His undaunted courage caused his brother Eliab to lash out in anger

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Anointed to Serve

“Now the Spirit of the Lord had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him. Saul’s attendants said to him, ‘See, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you. Let our lord command his servants here to search for someone who can play the lyre. He will play when the evil spirit from God comes on you, and you will feel better.’” – 1 Samuel 16:14,15 Right after Samuel met David, the Lord confirmed to the prophet that he was the one who would be king, and without wasting a minute, he anointed the young man. While he wouldn’t take the throne for many years, at the moment he was chosen, the Holy Spirit came upon David and he was filled with God’s presence. Interestingly, at the same time, the Holy Spirit left Saul, and almost immediately, the king was tormented by a demon. Desperate for

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God Sees the Heart

“But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.’” – 1 Samuel 16:7 Yesterday, we learned about Saul and how, though he had all the worldly makings of a king, he was given over to arrogance that compromised his ability to lead. In fact, so upset was the Lord with his failure to govern justly that He decided a new ruler needed to be chosen. Once again, Samuel was appointed to find the right person for the job, so he headed over to the house of Jesse, who happened to have eight fine sons. When he arrived at their home, Jesse’s family nervously greeted the great man of God, wondering if he had come in peace.

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Authenticity Over Appearance

“So all the people went to Gilgal and made Saul king in the presence of the Lord. There they sacrificed fellowship offerings before the Lord, and Saul and all the Israelites held a great celebration.” – 1 Samuel 11:15 Today, I want to begin talking about the story of David and Goliath, which happens to be one of the most famous and taught passages in the Bible. However, contrary to popular belief, I don’t think this tale is a miracle story as much as it is a moral story. That said, before we dive into learning about the characters in the account, here’s some important historical background. Though they were under the Lordship of Almighty God, the Jews wanted a king so as to be more like the other nations of the earth — they desired to have a human figurehead to represent them. Commissioned to appoint their first ruler,

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