May 8- When God Gets Silent

May 8, 2011

Scripture Readings:
I Samuel 2:22-4:22; John 5:24-47;
Psalm 106:1-12; Proverbs 14:30-31

There are times when silence is the loudest voice.  
~Leroy Brownlow

I Samuel 2:22-4:22

Have you ever had someone give you the silent treatment?  It is so irritating.  When my sisters and I were young, one way we would get back at each other if we were fighting was to give each other the silent treatment. Today, we see that during the times of the judges in Israel,  God uses the silent treatment. The people are very rarely getting a word from God.  Israel's tendency to rely on idols and false gods has caused the One True God to stop communicating. Today that changes.  God begins to speak to Samuel.

Eli the High Priest is aware that his two evil sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are up to no good. In addition to stealing sacrificed meat that was meant for the Lord, they are sleeping with women who work as attendants at the Tabernacle entrance.  Eli has been a lenient, derelict father.  This results in bad consequences for the whole family.  Eli tries to reason with his grown sons and convince them to stop sinning, but it is too late.  It would have been better to have disciplined them strongly when they were young.  They won't listen to a word that the old man has to say.  The Bible gives us further insight.  It says that they wouldn't listen because the Lord had already decided to put them to death.  Yikes.  Not a good position in which to be.  Do you realize that decision you make in life can bring this kind of judgment from God?

Samuel is just the opposite.  He is humble, kind, teachable, and loyal.  Remember what his mother was like.  She was a godly woman.  Parents can make all the difference in how their children turn out.  We will see this clearly in the books of the kings of Israel. 

Eli is given warnings by a prophet of God that Eli has put honoring his sons above honoring God.  He is also rebuked for getting obese on the peoples' offerings.  Whoa.  Harsh rebuke.  Eli really is huge.  We learn later that he is very fat.  He has lived an indulgent life.  He is a man of God, but he is a severely flawed one.  Through the prophet, Eli is told that his family will die and that God will raise up a faithful prophet in their place.  This is a picture that can have application in our day.  Ministries who promote themselves as instruments of God need to take notice.  God is watching.  If our present day ministries have people running them who are getting rich off of people's dedicated gifts to God, the Lord will take note and judge that action.  High administrative costs in Christian ministries appears to not be a good thing according to this example in the Bible.  Ministries must be warying of becoming too fat.

The next scene is a beautiful picture of God reaching out to those who love Him.  Samuel is asleep when he hears his name being called.  He goes to Eli believing the old man has called him.  Eli says to go back to sleep.  This is repeated two more times before Eli realizes that Samuel is getting a word from the Lord.  I love that Samuel tells the Lord, "Yes, your servant is listening."  Do you say this to God as you pray?  It would be wise for you and me to remember that we are His servants.  We should always be listening for His truth and His will as we read His Word.

God tells Samuel his plan to destroy Eli's family.  The next day, Samuel reluctantly tells Eli God's message.  Eli responds with humility to the judgment that God is going to bring upon his family.  This is how we know that Eli is a man of God, even though he has screwed up badly.

The judgment of Eli's family is tied to a flawed attempt to beat the Philistines by carrying the Ark of the Covenant into battle against the Philistine army.  The superstitious ploy does not work.  Hophni and Phinehas die carrying the Ark. The Ark is captured by the Philistines and taken away.  When Eli learns that the Ark has left Israel, he falls backwards, perhaps from a heart attack, breaks his neck and dies.  Tragic end.  Their disobedience has led to death and the capture of the Ark.

Do you realize that the decisions that you make have consequences?  If you have children, it behooves you to train them in the ways of God. Samuel is a picture of righteousness.  Eli's boys are a picture of unrighteousness.

John 5:24-47

Jesus continues to teach about his relationship with the Father.  Let's keep listing the truths and listening to his voice:

• If you listen to Jesus, because the Father sent him, you will have eternal life.
• You will not be condemned if you believe in Jesus and God the Father.
• You will pass immediately from death to life.  Anyone who has died in belief has already passed from death to life.
• The dead who listen to Jesus' voice will rise from the dead and live.
• God is the source of life and He has granted the Son to have the source of life in him.
• God the Father has given His Son the authority to judge all of mankind because he is the Son of Man.
• Those who have done good will rise to eternal life with God.
• Those who have done evil will rise to judgment.
• Jesus does not make these decisions alone.  He consults God the Father.
• He judges as he is told.
• His judgments are absolutely just, because they are in accordance with what God the Father wants.
• Jesus' teachings and miracles witness to his divine nature.
• The Scriptures point to Jesus. -vs. 39
• You (religious teachers) refuse to come to me to get eternal life.
• Moses will accuse you (religious teachers) in front of God the Father, because Moses was writing about me (Jesus).

This is really good stuff.  If you can wrap your head around this, you can understand Christianity. What do you think about all that Christ is saying?

Psalm 106:1-12

This is a continuation of story of Israel and God's deliverance.  Verse 12 says, "Then at last his people believed his promises.  Then they finally sang his praise."

Proverbs 14:30-31

A relaxed attitude lengthens your life.  They have proven this scientifically.  You are insulting God if you mistreat the poor.  You honor God if you help the poor.

What did you notice today?

Blessings,

Jubilee Gal

Kathy Fullerton
© 2011