1 Samuel

I have been particularly excited about preaching this particular section of 1 Samuel since we've begun the series.

And that's because when I was younger, a friend of our family's who was an artist gave me this picture,

which was his summary of basically the chapter.

Obviously, my name being Samuel, it was his gift to me.

I could see Tarshi questioning the artistic credibility of this with that facial expression,

but he's famous and you're not.

But I will equally accept a gift from you if it's a summary of a chapter of the Bible.

Let me pray and we're going to get stuck into this chapter.

Father God, we do thank you for your word.

We thank you that you give it to us so that we might know you.

And God, we ask that as you speak tonight that you would help us to listen,

that you would help us to recognize the things that we do or the ways that we approach your word

that maybe prevent us from hearing what it is you have to say.

And I pray that the result will be that as we hear you speak, we will see you clearly and we will live accordingly.

Amen.

Have you ever had a one-sided conversation?

I have a gift which some of you have heard about before and if you're really lucky have seen in action.

Basically, that gift is when the television is on, nothing else exists.

When I was a teenager or maybe just out of high school, so maybe I can't claim youthful ignorance,

but I was dating a girl and we were having a conversation as you do.

This was before you could sit on Facebook all the time and do that sort of stuff.

So we were actually on the phone and I was watching TV and a really, really significant thing came on.

It was an ad or an infomercial or something, something equally life-changing.

And I got sort of really involved in this ad and then at the end of the ad, the show came back on.

I noticed that I was holding a phone to my ear, but there was no one there,

so I put it down and just continued watching the show.

It turned out that my girlfriend at the time had been chatting away and pouring out her heart.

I got in a fair bit of trouble off the back of that.

But a one-sided conversation doesn't really work.

It's necessary that there is two people both giving, both talking, both communicating.

But as we open this chapter of 1 Samuel, it kind of feels like Israel and God are having a one-sided conversation.

The word of the Lord is rare.

There's not many visions.

And we've got to be careful not to let that slip past easily.

We need to remember that this chapter is happening within a historical context.

And if you've missed what we've been looking at throughout this series,

basically God's agenda throughout human history is that he wants a relationship with his people.

That's what he's doing in creation.

That's why there's priests.

That's why there was a tent for them to meet at.

And God's word, which is particularly rare, is a way of just referring to what God has revealed of himself.

His word, if you like, is not so much word as in sit or run or jump or whatever.

It's the stuff that he has shown of himself for us to know.

And it's essential, if people are going to know him, that they get his word, that they get what he reveals of himself.

And so into that context, with a God who wants a relationship and people who want that relationship back,

God is being strangely quiet.

Don't you think?

God's agenda is, I want to know people.

And then we hear at the beginning of this chapter,

in those days, the word of the Lord is rare and there's not many visions.

Now, it's not that he's completely silent,

because just last week when we were looking in chapter 2,

he delivered his word that Eli was about to be judged,

because he'd failed to restrain his sons.

But his word is still rare.

And when it does come, it's almost like people don't want to listen.

They don't want to hear it.

And the problem's not with God.

It's with the priests.

It's where we were last week.

Their job, they're supposed to be the ones who hear God's word and then pass it on.

They're the representatives.

But of course, the problem with that is,

the priests, Hophni and Phinehas, don't even know God.

So they haven't got much hope of introducing God to everyone else,

or teaching everyone else about God.

Now, look at verse 7.

Samuel did not yet know the Lord.

Samuel has been living at the temple.

This is God's house, if you like.

Samuel has been training as a priest.

He's been under Eli's leadership.

And when God actually speaks to him,

like audibly speaks to him,

Samuel doesn't know what's going on.

Because he doesn't yet know the Lord.

He doesn't yet know God's word.

The priests in Israel, the priests of God's people,

have failed so significantly

that a priest in training

doesn't even know who God is.

Doesn't even have a relationship with God.

He hasn't even yet heard the word of the Lord.

That is the whole priestly responsibility,

to bring the word of the Lord to the people.

And yet one of their own in training

doesn't know what the word of the Lord is.

Now, we need to put that in a bit of context.

So last week in chapter 2,

we saw that Samuel is already ministering before the Lord.

He's already growing in the presence of the Lord.

He's already growing in favor with the Lord.

Yet at the same time,

we've just read in chapter 3,

he did not know him.

How can he be in his presence,

be growing in his favor,

but not know him?

The key word comes in verse 7.

It's revealed.

Look at verse 7 again.

Samuel did not yet know the Lord.

The word of the Lord

had not yet been revealed to him.

Now, in spite of the fact that Samuel's in the right place,

he's at the temple,

he's where God's going to speak if he does,

in spite of the fact that he's being trained personally

by God's priest,

the word of the Lord has not yet been revealed to him.

So Samuel's learnt all the right moves.

He's learnt about the sacrifices and the prayers.

He's learnt about what things he's supposed to wear.

But the priests have failed to show him,

this priest in training,

that everything he does,

points to God.

Everything is trying to teach him something about God.

God gave them this whole tent

and this sacrificial system

as a means of revealing himself.

That's the whole point of it.

And the priests are there to maintain it,

to oversee it,

to ensure that it's continuing.

And so they're like a conduit,

if you like,

of God's revelation.

But the priests that we've got at this point in Samuel

are not a conduit,

they've become a barrier.

It's almost like a mirror has been installed backwards.

The whole function of a mirror is for light particles

to hit it and bounce back so that you can see something

that you couldn't see before.

But if you flip that mirror around,

it's completely non-functional.

It's still a mirror,

but the light particles hit it and stop.

You don't see anything extra.

See,

the priestly system is supposed to show people

God that they can't see,

that they can't just approach and know for themselves.

But it's like they've flipped it around backwards

and what was supposed to help

is now blocking their vision

of something that they need to see

if they're going to know God.

And God hasn't yet dealt with that barrier.

He's about to,

but so long as these priests stand there as a barrier,

Samuel does not and will not know the Lord.

He's in the right place,

but with the barrier there,

he cannot know the Lord.

God hasn't revealed himself yet,

at least not directly.

And for Samuel to know God,

in fact,

for anyone to know God,

God has to take the initiative to reveal himself.

You can't take hold of God by force.

God has to come and introduce himself to you.

I was wasting some time last night,

actually,

in front of the television

and just the fantastic show,

The Bachelor,

was giving an encore episode,

Bachelor Australia.

Now,

for anyone who hasn't had the opportunity

to waste some time watching this show,

let me give you the basic premise.

There's some guy who apparently used to be

a topless waiter,

and apparently that's really appealing.

And then there's 20 girls

fighting for his affection.

And it's just,

it's comical to watch.

These girls are sitting there

and they're devastated

because they haven't had their chance

to get some time with this guy.

I'm like,

there's 20 of you,

that's the whole point.

But every single one of them

is getting really emotional

and really catty,

and, you know,

the word above,

catty.

They're getting very aggressive

towards one another

because they want their chance

to get to know this guy.

And you watch them scheming.

And so the guy will come in

and pick the girl

he wants to talk to,

and he'll take them for a walk

off to the other side of the house

and they'll sit down and talk.

And the other girls

kind of try and sneak in

and hover

as if somehow

they can force their way in

to having a conversation

with this guy.

And it just keeps not working.

And these girls are left awkwardly

kind of standing next

to a conversation

that's happening

just trying to hope

they can get into it.

And it's like

the bachelor's sitting there

and he's like,

hi.

Just keeps talking to the girl

that he wants to talk to

because he has all the power

in this scenario.

It's all about

who he wants to get to know.

If he doesn't want to get to know,

you don't get your flower,

you go home

and you've made an idiot

of yourself on TV

and that's all that you've gained.

But in a relationship like that,

one person has the power

and it's all about

his initiative.

And it's not exactly the same,

but on some level,

God has all the power

when it comes to relating to him.

No matter how clever you are,

no matter how,

what ways you invent

to come and start

a relationship with God,

actually it only begins

if he chooses

to reveal himself to you.

And so Samuel's

in the right place.

Samuel's training as a priest.

Samuel's doing

all the right things.

But until God reveals himself,

Samuel will just continue

going through the motions

without ever actually

having a relationship.

But thankfully,

God is about to remove

the barrier.

Verse 4.

Then the Lord called Samuel.

We can't underestimate this.

It's just a few words,

but we've just heard

in verse 1,

the word of the Lord

is rare.

We know that we've got

three dodgy priests

standing in the way

and making it really difficult

for Israel to know God.

And God punches through

and breaks the drought,

not with Eli,

the most senior priest,

not with Hophni,

not with Phinehas,

but with Samuel.

He bypasses the dodgy,

failing priesthood

and calls a new one instead.

I mean,

look at Samuel in this story.

Even as someone who doesn't

know the Lord yet,

he's ready to listen.

He's eager to obey,

unlike everyone else.

Eli is asleep in his usual place.

Now, we don't know exactly

where that usual place is.

It doesn't say.

It just says Eli is in his usual place.

But we do know that Eli's

usual place for sleeping

and Samuel's usual place

for sleeping are different.

Because each time Samuel hears his voice,

he has to get up and run

to get to where Eli is

and say,

Eli, you called me.

So we don't know exactly,

but it's in a different place.

But where's Samuel?

Samuel is in the house of the Lord.

Samuel is sleeping where the ark is.

Samuel is where God is.

Now, the ark,

if you're not familiar with that,

is basically a fancy box.

It's a pretty big box.

It's covered in gold.

It's something that Israel

carried with them as they went.

And inside this box

was the tablets of stone

from when God gave

the commandments to Moses.

So this is significant

for their history

because those tablets

represent God's covenant

or God's contract,

if you like,

with Israel.

This was in writing

that God had chosen them.

This is God's way

of committing to them.

And so they carried it around.

It mattered to them.

And it represented

this box and the stuff

that was in it,

God being present

with his people.

So this was in the middle.

This was the centerpiece

of the tent

that Samuel works at.

And this tent

was in the centerpiece

of the country

that Israel had control of.

It was everything to them

because it was God with them.

And so if you wanted

to meet God,

if you wanted to talk to God,

if you wanted to interact

with God,

you did it in the house

of the Lord

where the ark was.

And so Samuel,

at least,

out of all the other priests,

is in the right location

to hear from God.

He's actually there.

If God's going to speak,

Samuel's going to be

the first one to hear it.

Now, that's not to say

God is limited to a room

or a box.

It's not to say

there is a specific country

we need to go

if we want to hear from God.

But it is important

that Samuel is the only one

we find

in the right location

to hear from God.

This was the place

God had told them

he would be.

It was the place

that he had chosen

to limit his dwelling

for them.

And if and when

he does speak,

Samuel is at least

ready to hear.

Now,

I wonder,

for those of us

who call ourselves Christians,

I wonder if we're waiting

for God to speak

into some circumstances

in our life.

I wonder if there's answers

that we're after,

if there's direction

that we want.

But we're kind of like Eli

and we're just in our usual place.

We're not actually going

to look

in the obvious place

where God has said

he's going to be

and he's going to speak.

We sit there going,

God,

I really want to know

what your will is

for my life

with our Bibles closed.

Being in the right location

matters.

But as well as being

in the right place

at the right time,

Samuel's attitude matters.

He sits under authority here

almost before he even

recognizes who the authority is.

He sits under the imperfect

authority of Eli

who we know is already

getting judged by God.

I mean,

after Samuel hears

his name called out,

what's his response?

Verse 4,

have a look.

The Lord called Samuel,

Samuel answered,

here I am.

And then he ran to Eli

and said,

here I am,

you called me.

Samuel's ready to do

whatever is required of him.

He's ready to go.

He's eager.

He doesn't say,

shh,

I'm trying to sleep.

He doesn't say,

temple will be open again

tomorrow about nine

if you can come back then.

Even in the confusion

of running to Eli

three times.

I mean,

can you imagine?

He gets up,

he hears a voice,

goes to Eli,

no,

it wasn't me.

He goes to bed,

what was that?

Again,

runs to Eli

over and over and over

but every time

he says,

here I am.

What do you need?

I'm ready,

I'm willing.

And then finally

when Eli figures out

what's going on,

sends Samuel back

and how does Samuel

respond to hearing from God

knowing that it's God

the very first time?

Verse 10,

the Lord came

and stood there

calling as at the other time

Samuel,

Samuel.

Then Samuel said,

speak for your servant

is listening.

His first response

to the word of God

is I am your servant.

He hasn't even seen

what it looks like

to serve God.

His only model

is three dodgy priests

who use their position

for power

and for abusing women,

forgetting food,

and his first response

to God

when he speaks

is I am willing,

use me.

But calling yourself

God's servant

and actually serving him

are two pretty

different things.

Again,

if you follow Jesus

I'm sure

that you would say

you're ready to obey him.

I'm sure you would say

that your agenda

is to do

what he would have you do.

But do you ever

come to God's word

with a bit of an attitude

of I'm going to see

what it says

before I commit

to doing it?

Do you actually

approach God's word

every time

before God speaks

to you

and say

I'm your servant

just tell me

which way to go?

Or do you open

the Bible

do you come to church

thinking

I'm going to hear

what God has to say

and then I'll consider

whether or not

I think that's the best

thing for me?

When you open

the Bible

and God says

I want you to be

generous

with the things

I've given you

is there a part

of you that goes

not this week

I'm really keen

on a pair of shoes?

Is there a part

of you that goes

let me just have a look

at my situation

my finances

and I'll think about it?

When God calls you

to purity

sexually

do you hear that

and you go

I understand why

but God

I'm just in this

great relationship

me and this girl

we just

we make each other

so happy

physically

it's just great

so I hear what

you're saying

but not for me

right now

or when you open

the Bible

and God calls you

to sacrifice

for Him

calls you

to put Him

first

calls you

to forsake

everything else

in your life

and love Him

more than anything else

do you hear that

and go

God

whatever you need

or do you go

God

just let me think

about whether or not

I'm actually in for that

calling yourself

a servant of God

saying you are following Him

saying you love Him

and actually doing it

are two very

different things

and I wonder

will Samuel still be so eager

when he hears the message

that God's got for him

I mean imagine this

this is Samuel's first

assignment

as a prophet

this is the first message

that God

gives him

listen to it

verse 11

the Lord said to Samuel

see I'm about to do

something in Israel

that will make the ears

of everyone who hears

about it tingle

at that time

I will carry out

against Eli

everything I spoke

against his family

from beginning to end

for I told him

that I will judge

his family forever

because of the sin

he knew about

his sons

blasphemed God

and he failed

to restrain them

therefore I swore

to the house of Eli

the guilt of Eli's house

will never be atoned for

by sacrifice

or offering

Samuel lay down

until morning

and then opened

the doors

of the house

of the Lord

he was afraid

to tell Eli

the vision

this is the moment

of truth

in this chapter

God has broken in

God has spoken

God has called Samuel

and the first message

Samuel gets

is basically this

go and tell

the man who raised you

go and tell

your father figure

Eli even calls

Samuel his son

in this passage

go and tell

that guy

that God

is about to judge him

and there is no hope

for forgiveness

I mean did you catch

that in verse 14

the guilt of Eli's house

will never

be atoned for

judgment is definite

Samuel's not giving

a message to Eli

hoping that Eli

will turn around

and fix his life

and come back to God

Samuel is telling

his father figure

that God's judgment

is coming

and it cannot

be escaped

no wonder

Samuel was scared

this is his first

word from the Lord

and he has to go

to somebody

he cares for

and tell them

that they

will face

the judgment

of God

but this is

the moment

of truth

is it just

lip service

from Samuel

that he's a servant

of God

is it just lip service

that he loves him

that he wants

to follow him

or will he bear

the weight

of speaking

God's word

no matter

what it costs

him personally

look at verse 15

Samuel lay down

until morning

and then he opened

the doors

of the house

of the Lord

he was afraid

to tell Eli

the vision

but Eli

called him

and said

Samuel my son

Samuel answered

again

here I am

what was it

he said to you

Eli asked

do not hide

it from me

may God

deal with you

be it ever

so severely

if you hide

from me

anything

he told

you

so Samuel

told him

everything

hiding nothing

from him

then Eli

said

he is the Lord

let him do

what is good

in his eyes

the Lord

was with Samuel

as he grew up

and he let

none of Samuel's

words fall

to the ground

and all Israel

from Dan

to Beersheba

recognized

that Samuel

was attested

as a prophet

of the Lord

the Lord

continued

to appear

at Shiloh

and there

he revealed

himself to Samuel

through his word

Samuel's faithfulness

in those few verses

there shows

that the situation

has changed

the beginning

of the chapter

we have dodgy

priests

we have a fairly

silent God

and now

they have a prophet

things are about

to be different

for Israel

Samuel is growing

up as somebody

who now knows

God

as somebody

who will speak

God's word

even if it costs

him personally

and it tells us

that God is with him

and God empowers

him

so that the words

he speaks

are effective

but the really

exciting and important

thing in this whole

chapter comes there

in the last verse

we open the chapter

with a quiet God

not many visions

and Samuel

not even knowing

the Lord

and everything

that comes with that

all the problems

now we get to the end

we have the Lord

continuing to appear

at Shiloh

we have God

revealing himself

to Samuel

in a way that

Samuel can pass

the message on

we've got a God

speaking again

a God who wants

to be known

a God who has

pushed over the

barrier of dodgy

priests

and is making

himself available

to his people

now it's tempting

given the focus

on Samuel

in this story

and given the book

is called

One Samuel

to think

that the key

thing to take away

is wow

thank God for Samuel

what a great guy

he's better than

those dodgy priests

we had before

he's the saviour

he's fixed everything

but look again

the big change

both in Samuel

and in all of Israel

is there

the difference between

verse 1 and verse 21

look at them

verse 1

in those days

the word of the Lord

was rare

verse 21

there he revealed

himself to Samuel

through his word

the thing that

changes in this

passage

is not so much

Samuel

it's the word

of the Lord

it's God's word

that makes a

difference to people

it's God revealing

himself

that changes

circumstances

that changes

attitudes

I mean if you

take God's word

out of this chapter

you've still got

Samuel

but he doesn't

know God

nothing changes

you just get

another generation

of dodgy priests

no matter how hard

they try

who can't do the

job that they're

supposed to do

I mean without

God's word

Samuel is useless

he's pointless

I mean he can open

the doors of the

temple

that was one of his

jobs

he can probably tidy

up around the place

but as a priest

he's about as useful

as a comb is

to a bald person

he can't actually

fulfill the function

that he needs to

as a priest

he can't point

people to God

he can't hand on

the revelation

that God has

entrusted to him

God's word

is what matters

God himself

is what matters

and only as God

reveals himself

can Israel

come to know him

now for Israel

at this point

in history

God reveals

God's revelation

of himself

is kind of limited

there's just a

small number of

people that he's

working through

there's a very

specific system

with the tent

and the sacrifice

and all that

and now it was

still sufficient

to define their

whole existence

as a nation

they revolved

around who God

had shown himself

to be

but we get

so much more

than they had

let me read to you

a couple of verses

out of Hebrews

Hebrews 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1

it says

in the past

in the past

God spoke to

our ancestors

through the prophets

at many times

and in various ways

but in these last days

he has spoken to us

by his son

whom he appointed

heir of all things

and through whom

he also made the universe

the son is the radiance

of God's glory

and the exact

representation

of his being

sustaining all things

by his powerful word

after he had provided

purification for sins

he sat down

at the right hand

of the majesty

in heaven

God used to speak

in bursts

he used to have

the odd revelation

the odd special event

where he would show himself

with fire

or with thunder

or with whatever it was

but now

in Jesus

God has blurted

it all out

there's no more secrets

there's nothing more

he has given us

everything that we need

to know

Jesus is

the word of God

the word that Israel

so desperately

wanted to know more of

we get it all

in Jesus

he is God

on display

he is the window

the mirror

into the glory

of God

Jesus came

so that we could know

the God of heaven

Jesus has sacrificed

himself

so that we can be

forgiven

so that the temple

and the sacrifices

that we read about

in 1 Samuel

and all through

the Old Testament

can be replaced

by a group

of forgiven people

gathering around

God's word

in scripture

Jesus has come

to take away

the barriers

to make the access

easy

to make the access

possible

everything you would

ever need to know

about God

is found in Jesus

he is the full

revelation of God

he is the answer

to every prayer

and desire

of your heart

he is God's

full

and final answer

to whatever it is

that you need

to ask him

sometimes I think

we have selective

hearing

we hear

what it is

that we want

to hear

what if God

is already

speaking to us

and we are just

not listening

what if

we are so

convinced

that there is

a specific

answer

that we want

from God

that we refuse

to hear

the one

that he is

giving to us

what if

you are like

me

and God

is speaking

down the phone

and you are

distracted

by something

trivial

and unimportant

I know it

doesn't feel

trivial

or unimportant

but what if

God is speaking

to you

and you are

just

not listening

here is why

all this stuff

matters

here is why

this matters

when you go

to work

tomorrow

when you go

to uni

when you go

to school

here is why

this matters

when you have

a fight

with your

friends

when you are

overwhelmed

with stress

when you can't

afford your

bills

when you are

wrestling

with a big

decision

about your

future

or a job

or a career

as you cry

out to God

searching for

his answer

wanting him

to speak

to you

wanting him

to be specific

about your

circumstance

and your

situation

God's word

which changes

everything

has already

been spoken

to you

in Jesus

that is

God's answer

to unemployment

to singleness

to heartache

to sickness

Jesus is

God's word

to you

Jesus is

the best

answer that

God has

for your

situation

he's the

answer to

the questions

that you're

asking

Jesus

will give

you the

vision

of God

which is

firmer

than the

foundation

that you're

standing on

now

Jesus

will give

you the

vision

of God

that can

allow you

to pray

like Hannah

did

when she

still didn't

have any

kids

remember

she'd had

her one

she'd given

him back

she's still

a childless

woman

and she

prays

I rejoice

in my

God

because there

is no

one like

him

in Jesus

God looks

in your

situation

and says

I love

you

in Jesus

God says

never will

I leave

you

never will

I forsake

you

in Jesus

God says

in everything

you're going

through

I'm working

for your

good

not just

some vague

idea of

good

your good

in Jesus

God says

I'm sufficient

when you're

weak

when you're

struggling

when you're

suffering

and in

Jesus

God says

someday

soon

I'm going

to fix

it all

someday

soon

I'm going

to right

every wrong

I'm going

to wipe

every tear

I'm going

to end

all the

pain

God is

not silent

anymore

God has

spoken

decisively

and fully

in his

son

the question

for you

isn't

what will

God say

in my

situation

the question

is

are you

listening

to what

he is

saying

in Jesus

because

Jesus

changes

everything

he changes

barrenness

for Hannah

he changes

unemployment

he changes

sickness

he changes

death

Jesus

is God's

word to

you

in your

situation

whatever

that situation

is

the question

is

are you

listening

let's

pray

father

god

we want

to

admit

that we

take for

granted

that you

have

given

us

free

access

to

your

word

we want

to admit

that we

waste

so much

time

and

opportunity

that you

have

given

us

to have

you

speak

into

our

lives

we

want

to

admit

that we

distract

ourselves

with our

own

desires

or with

what we

think

the

answers

should

be

and we

want to

admit

that sometimes

we just

don't listen

to the

better

answers

that you

have

offered

us

in your

son

God

God I

want to

pray for

all of

us

in this

room

whether

we're

wrestling

with

stress

loss

plenty

whatever

it is

that is

in our

situation

right now

show us

how Jesus

changes

that

show us

how Jesus

redefines

that

God I

want to

pray for

people who

are hurting

right now

that you

would open

their ears

to hear

that you

love them

in Jesus

for those

who feel

sufficient in

themselves

open their

ears to

hear that

they need

you

and that

Jesus is

the only

way that

we can

know you

and we

can call

you our

heavenly

father

God I

want to

pray that

we would

be people

who are

so firmly

fixed on

what you

have done

for us

in sending

your son

so focused

on his

death and

his resurrection

in our

place

that our

lives would

also speak

your word

to the

world around

us

may people

hear of

your love

because of

the hope

and the

foundation

that we

have

father speak

to us

your servants

for we

are listening

amen