Samuel begins to hear the word of the Lord. His first message is a tough one to deliver.
1 Samuel 3: The LORD Calls Samuel
1 Now the young man Samuel was ministering to the LORD under Eli. And the word of the LORD was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision.
2 At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his own place.
3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was.
4 Then the LORD called Samuel, and he said, "Here I am!"
5 and ran to Eli and said, "Here I am, for you called me." But he said, "I did not call; lie down again." So he went and lay down.
6 And the LORD called again, "Samuel!" and Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, "Here I am, for you called me." But he said, "I did not call, my son; lie down again."
7 Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, and the word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him.
8 And the LORD called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli and said, "Here I am, for you called me." Then Eli perceived that the LORD was calling the young man.
9 Therefore Eli said to Samuel, "Go, lie down, and if he calls you, you shall say, 'Speak, LORD, for your servant hears.'" So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
10 And the LORD came and stood, calling as at other times, "Samuel! Samuel!" And Samuel said, "Speak, for your servant hears."
11 Then the LORD said to Samuel, "Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel at which the two ears of everyone who hears it will tingle.
12 On that day I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end.
13 And I declare to him that I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them.
14 Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever."
15 Samuel lay until morning; then he opened the doors of the house of the LORD. And Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli.
16 But Eli called Samuel and said, "Samuel, my son." And he said, "Here I am."
17 And Eli said, "What was it that he told you? Do not hide it from me. May God do so to you and more also if you hide anything from me of all that he told you."
18 So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. And he said, "It is the LORD. Let him do what seems good to him."
19 And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground.
20 And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established as a prophet of the LORD.
21 And the LORD appeared again at Shiloh, for the LORD revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the LORD.
1 Samuel 4: The Philistines Capture the Ark
1 And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out to battle against the Philistines. They encamped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines encamped at Aphek.
2 The Philistines drew up in line against Israel, and when the battle spread, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men on the field of battle.
3 And when the troops came to the camp, the elders of Israel said, "Why has the LORD defeated us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD here from Shiloh, that it may come among us and save us from the power of our enemies."
4 So the people sent to Shiloh and brought from there the ark of the covenant of the LORD of hosts, who is enthroned on the cherubim. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.
5 As soon as the ark of the covenant of the LORD came into the camp, all Israel gave a mighty shout, so that the earth resounded.
6 And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shouting, they said, "What does this great shouting in the camp of the Hebrews mean?" And when they learned that the ark of the LORD had come to the camp,
7 the Philistines were afraid, for they said, "A god has come into the camp." And they said, "Woe to us! For nothing like this has happened before.
8 Woe to us! Who can deliver us from the power of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with every sort of plague in the wilderness.
9 Take courage, and be men, O Philistines, lest you become slaves to the Hebrews as they have been to you; be men and fight."
10 So the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, and they fled, every man to his home. And there was a very great slaughter, for there fell of Israel thirty thousand foot soldiers.
11 And the ark of God was captured, and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.
The Death of Eli
12 A man of Benjamin ran from the battle line and came to Shiloh the same day, with his clothes torn and with dirt on his head.
13 When he arrived, Eli was sitting on his seat by the road watching, for his heart trembled for the ark of God. And when the man came into the city and told the news, all the city cried out.
14 When Eli heard the sound of the outcry, he said, "What is this uproar?" Then the man hurried and came and told Eli.
15 Now Eli was ninety-eight years old and his eyes were set so that he could not see.
16 And the man said to Eli, "I am he who has come from the battle; I fled from the battle today." And he said, "How did it go, my son?"
17 He who brought the news answered and said, "Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has also been a great defeat among the people. Your two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been captured."
18 As soon as he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell over backward from his seat by the side of the gate, and his neck was broken and he died, for the man was old and heavy. He had judged Israel forty years.
19 Now his daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant, about to give birth. And when she heard the news that the ark of God was captured, and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed and gave birth, for her pains came upon her.
20 And about the time of her death the women attending her said to her, "Do not be afraid, for you have borne a son." But she did not answer or pay attention.
21 And she named the child Ichabod, saying, "The glory has departed from Israel!" because the ark of God had been captured and because of her father-in-law and her husband.
22 And she said, "The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured."
Things to think about…
1. Young Samuel experiences firsthand what it is to hear and discern the Lord’s voice, 1 Sam 3:1-10. The canon (our bible) is closed and we have the full counsel of God in our 66 books of the bible. Do you think the Lord can still speak directly to His people as He did to Samuel? If so, does it have the same weight and authority as the scriptures? Of course it does not. He speaks to us through the context of His revealed Word, via His Spirit. Any word we get that contradicts the revealed Word of God is simply not from God. In saying that, may we all hear from the Lord just as young Samuel did.
2. Samuel quickly learns that to be a faithful prophet of God means that the message is often difficult to deliver, 1 Sam 3:11-21. In this case he must tell Eli, a man who is like a father to him, that his family is under the judgement of God because he did not discipline his sons and regarded them more than the Lord’s holiness. Samuel is described here as a young man – perhaps in his early teens. Sometimes tough words need to be spoken to close friends and family even by the very young, simply because they are words from the Lord. But as we know, “out of the mouth of children and nursing infants, You have ordained praise”, Mt 21:16.
3. In 1Sam 4:1-10 we see that the Ark of the Covenant has no influence or effect when the people of God have no regard for the presence of the Lord. Where there is sin in the camp, especially at the highest levels of spiritual leadership, God will not act as a magic good luck charm. Ancient Israel thought the ark would make a difference, it didn’t. The Lord’s presence was clearly there, the earth shook at the shout of Israel, even frightening the Philistines, vs 5. I believe even at this point the Lord could have delivered Israel if there was genuine repentance by Eli’s wicked sons. Israel and Eli had tolerated the moral rebellion of these men. The Lord’s presence was clearly there but was departing. The Lord would judge Israel by the hands of the Philistines.
4. Eli’s corrupt sons Hophni and Phinehas were with the ark when it was captured. They both die as prophesied. A modern equivalent is for people who call themselves Christians and yet live like the world….or worse. There is no power of God and no influence of the Holy Spirit over their lives. It is interesting hearing the testimony of answered prayer regarding the disappearance of Russian rockets, tanks running out of fuel and bullets off their targets from the praying Ukrainians. It is a shame this is not the case with all of them. May the Lord continue to be their defender and continue to answer our prayers for deliverance and peace. We have heard the same testimony from rockets that have been fired into Israel. The Lord is the defender of His people. While there may be sorrow in the night, joy comes in the morning, Ps 30:5.
5. Eli’s death is both tragic and sobering, 1Sam 4:18. It seems however that Phinehas’s pregnant wife and Eli were both more concerned over the loss of the Ark of the Covenant than the loss of their husband and son respectively, vs 20, 22. It’s as if they knew judgement would come upon these godless men. But what do know is that “The glory has departed from Israel” – Ichabod. This name will never be over the door of any church that names the name of Christ and preaches the gospel!
Vision statement for CBC
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Life groups off over this week. Prepare your hearts for the Easter services.
Prayer Points
1. Keep praying for Anna as she recovers from her operation
2. Easter services – pray for messages and visitors
3. New members course – 3 weeks after Easter weekend
4. Pray for Israel/Gaza, Ukraine wars.
5. New people as they settle in
6. New Life group in Karana Downs. One starting soon in Fernvale/Lowood
7. Those that haven’t come to church for a while to return.
8. Revival over our city.
9. Finances to cover our needs
10. Pray for PlayPatch, Kids church, Creche and Kids Hope at Karalee State school.
11. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to increase.
Praise Points
1. Praise God for new people.
2. PlayPatch keeps seeing new people every week.
3. The Lord’s grace over our lives and country
4. Café, music, kids church, admin, sound and technical team every week
5. Joy, peace and grace we see at CBC. Thankyou Lord
Announcements
1. Easter services. Good Friday 18th Apr 9:00am and Easter Sunday 20th Apr – 9:30am
2. Ministries this week. Life group, Kids@Church, Kids Hope - Karalee.
3. PlayPatch 1-5yos, Fridays 9:30am at church.
4. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
5. Tune in again this week on our YouTube page. Subscribe to the CBC channel Chuwar Baptist YouTube channel.
Catechism questions for April...
Q. 31. Can anyone go to heaven with this sinful nature? A. No - our hearts must be changed before we can be fit for heaven.
