Introduction
The motto of the Genevan reformation was "Post tenebras lux!" After darkness, light! This motto was reference to the thousand years of darkness that preceded the Reformation, particularly the darkness caused by the absence of the Word of God in the Church. When the Word of God was once again unleashed in the Church, a revival of Pentecostal proportion took place all over Europe.
The proclamation of the Word of God was central to the Genevan reformers. If we just take a look at their preaching schedule, we see that that was the case.
"Each Sunday there is to be a sermon at Saint Pierre and Saint Gervais at break of day, and at the usual hour [nine o'clock]…. At midday, there is to be catechism, that is, instruction of little children in all three churches…. At three o'clock second sermon…. Besides…, on working days there will be a sermon at Saint Pierre three times a week, on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday." The Ecclesiastical Ordinances for the Church of Geneva (1541)
Israel was going through a period of darkness (think of these early chapters in 1 Samuel as being part of the book of Judges). Every one was doing what was right is his/her own eyes. The Lord hadn't spoken for a while. As matter of fact, there had not been a proper prophet since Moses. But things are about to change with the rise of Samuel. We are considering today the return of the Word to Israel as Samuel becomes the established prophet of Israel. As the Word of the Lord returns, Israel will experience an unprecedented revival in the years to come.
I. National Revival Began at a Single Home, 2:18-21.
A. In this last record of Elkanah and Hannah, we are left with the impression that this was a family to whom the Lord was very important.
1. They trained little Samuel to serve the Lord.
2. They were faithful in attending the public worship of the Lord.
3. They provided for the ministry of the Lord (a little ephod every year).
B. We won't hear about them anymore in the rest of 1 Samuel, but their impact in the history of redemption will be heard loudly and clearly in Samuel's ministry.
C. Let me encourage you parents to be faithful to the Lord in the raising of your children because more often than not revival begins through godly parents raising children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
1. Example # 1 – Jonathan Edwards in 1st Great Awakening.
2. Example # 2 – Asahel Nettleton in 2nd Great Awakening.
II. When God Doesn't Speak, the People Perish, 1-7.
A. There had not been a bona fide prophet since Moses.
B. There was no one regularly proclaiming the Word of the Lord in Israel, 1.
1. There had been a judge here and there who occasionally would speak on behalf of God, but nothing regular.
2. That is why it was so surprising that a man of God showed up from nowhere to speak on God's behalf to Eli regarding his sons and himself, 2:22-36.
3. Throughout the OT, when God withheld his Word from his people, it was as a judgment for their not wanting to receive his Word.
Amos 8:11-12 – "Behold, the days are coming," says the Lord God, "That I will send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord. They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east; they shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the Lord, but shall not find it.
a. It wasn't that the people were eager to hear from the Lord and he was refusing to speak to them.
b. God was giving them the desire of their hearts.
c. We will talk more about this in the afternoon service, but this continues to be God's way of dealing with us.
1) You consistently and constantly reject his Word and he will eventually give you what you want – a life without his Word.
2) The problem is that once you get a life without his Word, you quickly find out that that is not what you really want.
3) At that point it might be too late.
4. Without revelation from God, the Church perishes.
Pro. 29:18 – Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; but happy is he who keeps the law.
C. God spoke to Samuel so that he could speak through Samuel, 2-7.
1. Such an important thing happened in a non-descriptive night, 2-3.
a. Several times in these few chapters Eli is described as blind or near blind, and as severely overweight.
1) It is likely that the blindness was a complication from type 2 diabetes.
2) But more than being physically blind, Eli was spiritually blind.
3) The Lord in his mercy is about to remove a spiritually blind religious leader and replace him with one with 20/20 vision.
b. It was late at night because of the reference to the lamp of God still being lit, 3.
1) This lamp was lit from twilight to dawn.
2) But I think there is more to it.
3) This is not just the fact that it was night and bed time, but also that the whole worship/sacrificial system in Shiloh will be shut down when the superstition of the people lead s to the Philistines' taking away the Ark of the Covenant.
4) The tabernacle will not be used again till the seventh year of David's reign, over a half a century later.
2. Samuel didn't realize at first that God was speaking to him, 4-7.
a. It was audible and real enough that he thought Eli was calling for him, 6.
b. Samuel was not yet aware that God was going to use him as his mouthpiece, 7.
1) "Yet" is a little word that makes a world of difference when comparing young Samuel with Hophni and Phinehas.
2) The sons of Eli were leading priests in Israel – they ought to have known the Lord, but the didn't, 2:12.
3) Young Samuel was growing in the Lord (2:21b) even though he hadn't yet received revelation from the Lord.
D. Samuel is being prepared to be a prophet, a priest, and a ruler.
1. He is being prepared to be the greatest prophet in Israel since the days of Moses.
2. He is also being prepared to a priest and a judge (ruler) of Israel.
3. The next time these three offices are combined rightfully in one person, they are combined in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.
a. Samuel points us to a great prophet, priest, and ruler than himself.
b. He points us to Jesus who is the King of Israel after David, the Priest of Israel after Melchizedek, and the Prophet of Israel after Moses.
c. You see, God's revelation, no matter where it is in the Bible, doesn't deviate very far from Jesus.
III. God Is Speaking Again! 8-18.
A. All of a sudden Eli realizes God is speaking again, 8!
1. Can you imagine the joy he felt in knowing that the Word of the Lord was returning to Israel?
2. This joy will be a bit diminished when he finds out that the specific word from the Lord concerned the annihilation of his family, but a word of judgment is better than no word at all!
3. Miriam's story about the man under the orange tree.
B. Samuel listens to the Lord even though it was a hard message to hear and even harder to deliver, 9-17.
1. We are left with the impression that Samuel was avoiding Eli in the morning by first doing his chores, 15.
2. Eli is anxious to know what the Lord told Samuel, so he puts Samuel under an oath to tell him the whole truth, 16-17.
a. "God do so and so" à the writer was saving space instead of writing out the actual curse Eli used.
b. In a nutshell, Eli threatened Samuel to bring God's curse upon Samuel if he didn't tell him exactly what God had said, which Samuel proceeded to do.
C. Did you notice that Eli did not seem surprised about what Samuel had said? 18.
1. Eli knew what was coming to him already because, not only had the man of God already told him, but also he was smart enough to assess his situation.
2. Eli understood that God has the right to do whatever he chooses, after all he is Yahweh, 18b.
"Eli resigns himself to divine sovereignty, realizing that it would be futile to do otherwise." Ronald Youngblood
IV. After Darkness, the Light of the Word of God Returns, 3:19-4:1a.
A. These verses cover a period of a couple of decades and serve to move the story forward.
B. God is now back and he is speaking!
1. Samuel is established as a true prophet of God.
2. All of the church of Israel was again hearing the voice of her Lord!
C. The word of Samuel did not fall to the ground (didn't fail) because it was the Word of God, 3:19.
1. We assume that things have always been the way that we are used to their being now.
2. So, we assume that religion has always involved a book and clear instruction.
3. But that is not the case at all.
a. The peoples around Israel and the peoples in the Ancient Near East had gods who did not talk to them.
b. Their gods did not give them specific direction on how to relate to them.
c. They had to run around like crazy trying to figure out how to please their gods – example of it that is a couple hundred years later.
1 Kg. 18:26-29 – So they took the bull which was given them, and they prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even till noon, saying, "O Baal, hear us!" But there was no voice; no one answered. Then they leaped about the altar which they had made. And so it was, at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, "Cry aloud, for he isa god; either he is meditating, or he is busy, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened." So they cried aloud, and cut themselves, as was their custom, with knives and lances, until the blood gushed out on them. And when midday was past, they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice. But there was no voice; no one answered, no one paid attention.
4. Our God is different.
a. We don't have to run around trying to figure out what he accepts or not.
b. He revealed it all to us in his Word – we didn't deserve it, but he did it anyway.
c. Having a word from God doesn't fail is a demonstrations of his grace.
1 Pt. 1:22-25 – Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, because "All flesh is as grass, and allthe glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls away, but the word of the Lord endures forever." Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you.
d. Being able to receive the Word is also a display of his grace.
"… it is a sign of God's grace when God's word has free course among God's people…. If contemporary believers have a church where social activities, committee meetings, and nifty programs have not eclipsed the place of the word of God stands at the heart of the church's life, if there is a pulpit ministry where the Scriptures are clearly, accurately, and helpfully preached, then they are rich in the grace of God." Dale Ralph Davis
D. Ultimately, the return of the Word God points us to the eternal Word, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Heb. 1:1-3 – God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high….
Jn. 1:1-4, 14 – In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men…. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
Conclusion
"Post tenebras lux!" After darkness, light! The Word of God brings light and life wherever it is proclaimed.
http://olympiabp.blogspot.com/2015/01/the-return-of-word-1-sam-3.html
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