Read 1 Samuel 13:1-15

Good Intentions Do Not Excuse Sin

The battle with the Philistines apparently was not going according to plan. Saul’s army was three thousand strong, divided between himself and his son Jonathan. The Philistines responded to Saul’s attack with thirty thousand chariots, six thousand horsemen, and with so many soldiers “as the sand which is on the seashore in multitude” (1 Samuel 13:5). Israel’s response was understandably one of fear and distress; the text says that “the people hid in caves, in thickets, in rocks, in holes, and in pits” (1 Samuel 13:6).

Saul remained in Gilgal with some “trembling” followers. He waited for Samuel to arrive. He waited seven days. I imagine he was anxiously looking for the prophet, perhaps setting a man on some high ground to see as far as he could see and know as soon as Samuel was approaching. Had Samuel not set the time of his arrival? Saul waited, but his patience wore thin. The people that had stayed with him finally scattered. They, like the rest of Israel, were scared. Saul could wait no longer.

“Bring a burnt offering and peace offerings here to me,” he demanded (1 Samuel 13:9). He waited, but not long enough. “Now it happened, as soon as he had finished presenting the burnt offering, that Samuel came” (1 Samuel 13:10).

Samuel knew what had happened. He confronted the king about his sin. What was Saul’s response? “I felt compelled” (1 Samuel 13:12). Scared by the Philistine army, facing danger all alone, Saul “felt compelled” to do something. But it was not the something that God had commanded.

Samuel tells Saul that he had acted “foolishly” (1 Samuel 13:13). Is that not always the case when we disobey the Lord? It is right to do what is right; it is foolish to sin. Always! “You have not kept the commandment of the LORD your God, which He commanded you” (1 Samuel 13:13).

When God says to do something, we should do that thing. We must not look for loopholes or offer excuses for disobedience. If He says sing, we should sing. It does not matter if we “felt compelled” to do more. God said to do a specific thing; we should honor His command, whether it relates to worship or salvation or the way we live our everyday lives in this world. Good intentions do not excuse sin!

Read 1 Samuel 12

The Good and the Right Way

The people refused to heed the warnings. Frightened by the Ammonites and despite all the Lord had done for them through Moses and Aaron, despite God’s deliverance of the people through the judgeships of Jerubbaal (Gideon), Bedan (possibly a reference to Barak), Jephthah, and Samuel, despite the peace they enjoyed during times of faithfulness, Israel demanded a king. In so doing, they had rejected God.

Samuel said that the people’s “wickedness is great, which you have done in the sight of the Lord, in asking a king for yourselves” (1 Samuel 12:17). After the sign of the thunder and rain, the people finally realized that they had indeed “added to all our sins the evil of asking a king for ourselves” (1 Samuel 12:20).

Yet, God would not give up on them. Israel still had a choice to make, even after this rejection. “If you will fear the Lord and serve Him and obey His voice, and do not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then both you and the king who reigns over you will continue following the Lord your God. However, if you do not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then the hand of the Lord will be against you, as it was against your fathers” (1 Samuel 12:14-15). God was giving them a chance to remain faithful even in less-than-ideal circumstances.

Do we not have the same opportunity today? When we sin and find ourselves facing consequences, do we bemoan our situation and wonder why God has allowed such awful things to happen? Or do we take responsibility for our mistakes and accept the outcome of our sin, and seek forgiveness and repentance and faithfulness moving forward?

What about when others sin against us? Let us not forget the example of Samuel. Even though he was demoted in the eyes of the people, he remained loyal to God and to God’s will for the nation. “Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you; but I will teach you the good and the right way” (1 Samuel 12:23).

Yes, even when people sin against us, we should pray for them and point them toward the truth of God’s Word, which is “the good and the right way.”

Read 1 Samuel 9-11

God’s Power Overcomes Our Weakness

The first king of Israel was a man from the tribe of Benjamin named Saul. When he was anointed by Samuel, he seemed to be a man of humility. Notice what he told Samuel in 1 Samuel 9:21: “Am I not a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel, and my family the least of all he families of the tribe of Benjamin?” Saul did not see himself as a leader at this time, but God had told Samuel otherwise.

His humility is further seen in chapter 10, when Samuel at Mizpah publicly announced the kingship of Saul. Where was Saul when the announcement was made? He was hiding! He did not want the spotlight, but he could not escape this divine calling.

Samuel told Saul that “the Spirit of the LORD will come upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man” (1 Samuel 10:6). Indeed, it is recorded by inspiration “that God gave him another heart” (1 Samuel 10:9) and that “the Spirit of God came upon him” (1 Samuel 10:10). This is even clearer in the next chapter as he demonstrated righteous indignation at the threat of Nabash the Ammonite (1 Samuel 11:6-7).

God had called Saul to be king; Samuel had declared it before the people; Saul had demonstrated his leadership abilities against the Ammonites. Not only that, but Saul wisely refused to take the credit for his victory. When the people wanted to execute the rebellious Israelites who initially rejected Saul as king, he responded, “Not a man shall be put to death this day, for today the LORD has accomplished salvation in Israel” (1 Samuel 11:13).

What can we learn from Saul during these initial days of his anointing and leadership? We can learn humility. We must recognize that we are generally insignificant and have many shortcomings. On our own, there is little of which we can boast. Yet, when we accept God’s power, there is nothing we cannot accomplish.

We will not be miraculously endowed as Saul was, but the Spirit of God is still mighty through His Word. Submit to His will as revealed in the New Testament and we can accomplish much for Him in spite of our weaknesses.

Read 1 Samuel 8

Do You Want To Be Like Everyone Else?

Samuel’s sons were not faithful men. Inspiration tells us that “they turned aside after dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice” (1 Samuel 8:3). How many warnings are found in the Scriptures against “the love of money” (1 Timothy 6:10)? There are countless examples of men and women who have lost their way because of greed.

As a result of their corruption, the people of Israel demanded a change. They told the aged Samuel, “Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations” (1 Samuel 8:5). The people were not willing to be ruled by these corrupt sons of Samuel. They were ready to be like everyone else around them.

Samuel was upset by their demand, but God told him to go along with their wishes. “Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them” (1 Samuel 8:7). God was willing to let them have their way, but He warned them of the consequences.

Many times, we do not realize the consequences of the things for which we pray today. Perhaps we are praying with improper motives. Perhaps we have a desire to be like others around us, failing to realize how much more blessed we are than them.

“Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God” (James 4:1-4).

Christians should not want to fit in with the rest of the world. The rest of the world does not have the blessing of being in Christ! The nation of Israel failed to recognize the blessing of being God’s chosen people. Today, Christians are God’s “chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people” (1 Peter 2:9). Let us learn to be content with His blessing and refuse to be tempted by the temporary riches of this life!

Read 1 Samuel 7:2-17

Return to the Lord

The sons of Eli have died in battle. The enemies of Israel have captured the ark of the Lord. When Eli is told about the Philistines’ victory, he fell over and died. For seven months, the ark was in a foreign land, and that foreign land suffered because the ark should not have been there, so the Philistines brought the ark back to Israel.

Still, the people of Israel were unable to find contentment. They were not at ease. “And all the house of Israel lamented after the LORD” (1 Samuel 7:2). How could they be at peace within themselves again? Samuel had the answer.

“If you return to the LORD with all your hearts, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths from among you, and prepare your hearts for the LORD, and serve Him only; and He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines” (1 Samuel 7:3).

It seems so simple, yet for many today the draw of modern-day Ashtoreths is too strong. We cannot seem to give up our service to other gods—be it work, money, relationships, or hobbies. When we try to divide our allegiance among so many things and fail to prioritize God, we miss out on so much. Not only should God be at the very top of our list of priorities, He should be in everything on that list.

Do you want to be happy? Do you want to be content? Do you want to be at peace? Return to God with all your heart. A part of it is not enough. “‘And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment” (Mark 12:30).

Put away the things that are keeping you from God. Make sure He is your focus and that everything you do is influenced by Him. “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).

Prepare your hearts for the Lord, and serve Him only. “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear” (1 Peter 3:15).

He will deliver you from the bondage of sin. “And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness” (Romans 6:18).

Read 1 Samuel 2:12-17, 22-36; 3:11-18

Let the Lord Do What Seems Right To Him

How faithful was Eli the priest? The Bible does not offer a glowing report of this man. His sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were “corrupt” and “did not know the Lord” (1 Samuel 2:12). Eli deserves at least part of the blame for their shortcomings. While it is true that they will face the ultimate consequences for their own actions, Eli will have to own his failure as a father to these men.

Did Eli rebuke his sons? The text says that he did. “Why do you do such things? For I hear of your evil dealings from all the people. No, my sons! For it is not a good report that I hear. You make the Lord’s people transgress” (1 Samuel 2:23-24). His sons would not listen; their hearts were hardened against the truth. God would make an example out of them and their wickedness.

Eli stands as an example as well—a bad example. He did not raise his children properly, and he did not deal with their iniquity in a godly fashion. He rebuked them but they continued sinning. Something stronger was required but Eli did not deliver.

God then speaks to Samuel and delivers some bad news about Eli and his family. Samuel was afraid to tell the priest. Yet, Eli’s reaction to the news was not what Samuel expected. When Eli heard the word that God had delivered through Samuel, he responded, “It is the Lord. Let Him do what seems good to Him” (1 Samuel 3:18).

Though he was unfaithful when it came to parenting, Eli showed faith in the justice of God. Eli knew that he had fallen short, and he was content to accept the judgment of the Almighty. Did he wish he could travel back in time and correct his mistakes? Perhaps, but the text does not say that he dwelt on the past. He simply took God’s proclamation through Samuel as what it was—a fair judgment.

How do we respond when we come across a passage of Scripture that tells us we are in the wrong? Perhaps we have failed to do something that God commands, or maybe we have been doing something that He forbids. Do we seek to correct ourselves or do we look for loopholes? Jesus plainly says that we can know the standard by which we will be judged (John 12:48). We must learn to accept His authority and submit to Him! “It is the Lord. Let Him do what seems good to Him.”

Read 1 Samuel 3:11-21

Don’t Be Afraid to Tell the Truth

The word of the Lord came to Samuel; God said, “Behold I will do something in Israel at which both ears of everyone who hears it will tingle” (1 Samuel 3:11). To use an expression which we might hear today, He was going to do something that was going to send chills up and down the spine of everyone who heard about it.

Because of the sins of Eli’s sons, God was going to “judge his house forever.” Their iniquity was not something they had kept hidden from Eli; he was aware of their shortcomings but failed to correct them or discipline them. “And therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever” (1 Samuel 3:14). They were too far gone to come back now.

Can you imagine Samuel’s reaction to this revelation? Remember, according to 1 Samuel 3:1, inspiration tells us that “the word of the LORD was rare in those days; there was no widespread revelation.” And now Samuel received bad news about his mentor, Eli. It is no surprise then that “Samuel was afraid to tell Eli the vision” (1 Samuel 3:15). “So Samuel lay down until morning, and opened the doors of the house of the LORD” (1 Samuel 3:15). Had he slept a wink? Or did he simply lay there, rehearsing his conversation with Eli, fearing his reaction?

What happened after he got out of bed? He got busy doing his chores, of course! I imagine he busied himself to avoid Eli most of the day. Perhaps he repeated the same tasks over and over just so he wouldn’t have to face Eli and the question that he knew he would ask. Eventually, though, he would have to speak to him

“What is the word that the LORD spoke to you? Please do not hide it from me. God do so to you, and more also, if you hide anything from me of all the things that He said to you” (1 Samuel 3:17). Despite his fear, Samuel answered truthfully. “Then Samuel told him everything, and hid nothing from him” (1 Samuel 3:18). How difficult that must have been!

Do you face the same difficulty today? When you need to confront a close friend or a family member about the way they are living which may be in opposition to God’s revealed truth? Don’t be afraid! Muster up the courage of Samuel! Tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth!

Read 1 Samuel 3:1-10

Speak, for Your Servant Hears

Hannah vowed to give Samuel to the Lord’s service in the temple, and she kept her vow. When Samuel was still a boy, probably about twelve years old, he received his first prophetic word. He did not realize that it was God calling him at first. The text explains, “And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no widespread revelation” (1 Samuel 3:1). Where most modern versions use the word “rare” in this verse, some older translations put “precious” (KJV, ASV).

Do we treat the Word of God as precious? We should! It is the revelation of His will; nothing could be more precious than that! Paul says that the Scriptures are “profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). If we are not diligent in our studies, we will fall short in our service to God.

After mistaking God’s call for Eli’s voice three times, the elderly priest realized what was happening. He instructed Samuel to answer the voice when he heard it again, “Speak, Lord, for Your servant hears,” and the boy Samuel did just that (1 Samuel 3:9, 10).

Has God called you? He has, though not in the same sense that He called Samuel. God does not speak directly to us today. “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” (Hebrews 1:1-2). He has called us through the recorded words of Jesus and we must trust and obey what He says! “He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day” (John 12:48).

When you read the Word, is your attitude like Samuel’s? Do you say, “Speak, Lord, for Your servant hears”? Or do you practice selective hearing (and thus, selective obedience)? It is important that we pay attention to “the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27), and not just what we want to hear and obey.

Read 1 Samuel 2:1-10

God Answers Prayer

How do you respond to the gracious blessings of the Almighty God? When He answers your prayer, are you grateful and glad? Hannah declared, “My heart rejoices in the Lord; my horn is exalted in the Lord” (1 Samuel 2:1). Does your heart rejoice? Do you recognize God’s handiwork in the strength you possess?

If we are on God’s side, we can say, like Hannah, “I smile at my enemies, because I rejoice in Your salvation” (1 Samuel 2:1). Certainly, nothing can defeat us if we are faithfully serving in the Lord’s kingdom. Paul asked, “If God is with us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31). The answer, of course, is no one! “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38).

In her prayer, Hannah recognizes the magnificence of God’s power. “No one is holy like the Lord, for there is none besides You, nor is there any rock like our God” (1 Samuel 2:2). Do we properly exalt the Lord when He answers our prayers? We should!

Hannah acknowledges God’s prerogative to bring the faithless to their knees while lifting the faithful up. “The bows of the mighty are broken, and those who stumbled are girded with strength” (1 Samuel 2:3). May we ever be careful of boasting, especially of boasting in our own accomplishments or power. God can quickly reverse one’s blessings!

There is also in Hannah’s prayer some Messianic nuances. “The Lord kills and makes alive; He brings down to the grave and brings up” (1 Samuel 2:6). Indeed, though “it is appointed for men to die once” (Hebrews 9:27), we are assured that “the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth” (John 5:28-29).

God answers prayer; let us be thankful as He does and look forward to the fulfillment of the promise of the resurrection!

Read 1 Samuel 1

A Godly Prayer

Are you ever mistreated by the people around you? Have you prayed to God about it?

Do you find yourself lacking something? Feel inadequate or incomplete? Have you prayed to God about it?

Hannah found herself the target of mockery at the hands of Peninnah, her husband Elkanah’s other wife. Peninnah “provoked her severely” (1 Samuel 1:6) and caused Hannah much grief. The reason for Peninnah’s ridicule was Hannah’s physical inability to bear children. Elkanah attempted to console her. “Hannah, why do you weep? Why do you not eat? And why is your heart grieved? Am I not better to you than ten sons?” (1 Samuel 1:8).

It was no use. Women were expected to bear children and one who could not was often seen as cursed by God. Thus Hannah prayed, “O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head” (1 Samuel 1:11).

Hannah pleaded earnestly with God, and God heard her and answered her prayer in the affirmative. This godly woman not only believed that God could answer her prayer, she was confident that He would answer her prayer! She was so sure, in fact, that she vowed to dedicate the life of her son to the Lord’s service.

What a marvelous example for God’s children today. Like Hannah, we should turn to the Lord when we are faced with difficulties. Too many run from God when they face trials.

Like Hannah, we must believe in the power of prayer. As Jesus said, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8).

Like Hannah, let us commit to keep the promises to the Lord. We should not bargain with Him, saying, “If you do this, I will be faithful.” Rather, we should commit to keeping His commands because we love Him and He loves us—in fact, He loved us so much that He died for us!