THERE IS A PRICE TO PAY FOR DISOBEDIENCE

Proclamation:

“But now your kingdom will not endure; The Lord has sought out a man after His own heart and appointed him ruler of His people, because you have not kept The Lord’s command.”  1 Samuel 13:14 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by the prophet Samuel.  After Saul had won the battle against the Ammonites, (1 Samuel 11:11) the people confirmed him as their king. (1 Samuel 11:14-15)  Then he attacked the Philistines (1 Samuel 13:4) and when they regrouped to do battle against Israel.  The size of their army struck fear in the hearts of the Israelites. (1 Samuel 13:5-7)  Saul had been told by Samuel to wait seven days for him before he did anything.  When Samuel did not show up at the appointed time, Saul took matters into his own hands and offered up a burnt offering. When Samuel arrived and saw what Saul had done, he reprimanded him for not following the command of The Lord God. (1 Samuel 13:8-14)  The punishment was that Saul will be replaced by David.

Application:

All too often we are not patient, we want things when we want them, and we do not wait on The Lord God to provide them.  When we do things our way, and not His way, we mess things up and get into trouble.  We are told to wait upon The Lord. (Psalm 27:14, Psalm 37:34, and Proverbs 20:22)  When we do not follow The Word of God, we will have to pay a price.  As believers we will not lose our salvation because we sin, but we will be punished for willful disobedience of the commands of The Lord God.

WITH THE HELP OF THE LORD GOD

Proclamation:

“As Saul turned to leave Samuel, God changed Saul’s heart, and all these signs were fulfilled that day.  When he and his servant arrived at Gibeah, a procession of prophets met him; The Spirit of God came powerfully upon him, and he joined in their prophesying.”  1 Samuel 10:9-10 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by the prophet Samuel.  After The Lord God told Samuel that He had chosen Saul to lead Israel, Samuel conveyed this to Saul (1 Samuel 9:27) and then he anointed him king over all of God’s people. (1 Samuel 10:1)  Afterwards Samuel told Saul the events which would transpire after he left, and the people that he would meet when he left him. (1 Samuel 10:2-8)   The Spirit of God came upon Saul and he was changed.  He began to prophesy, then he led them in battle and was victorious over the Ammonites (1 Samuel 11:11) and the people made him king. (1 Samuel 11:14-15)

Application:

With the help of The Lord God, Saul went from being a frightened young man (1 Samuel 10:22-23) to being the victorious leader of an army and king of Israel.  Once we accept The Lord God into our life and become a true believer, we will change.  All things are possible with God. (Matthew 19:26, Mark 9:23, and Mark 10:27)  God can change us, and our behavior, such that everyone who knew us beforehand will see the difference in us.  The Lord God can use whomever He chooses in order to accomplish His purpose.

CHOSEN BY THE LORD GOD

Proclamation:

“Now the day before Saul came, The Lord had revealed this to Samuel: ‘About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin.  Anoint him ruler over My people Israel; he will deliver them from the land of the Philistines.  I have looked on My people, for their cry has reached Me.’”  1 Samuel 9:15-16 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by the prophet Samuel.  The people of Israel wanted a king to lead and rule them and The Lord God told Samuel to give them a king. (1 Samuel 8:21-22)  The Lord God told Samuel that He would send the man to him.  When Samuel saw Saul, The Lord God spoke to him and said, “This is the man I spoke to you about; he will govern My people.” (1 Samuel 9:17)  Saul was looking for his father’s lost donkeys (1 Samuel 9:3 and 9:6) but Samuel was looking for a king. (1 Samuel 9:17)  The Lord God saw something in Saul that he did not see in himself.  After Samuel told Saul what he had in store for him, Saul ran and hid himself among the supplies and the people had to come and get him. (1 Samuel 10:22-23)  Only when The Spirit of God came upon him did he begin to act like an anointed man of God. (1 Samuel 10:6 and 11:6)

Application:

When The Lord God has a position for us, it will not be necessary for us to seek it out.  Others will see the leadership qualities in us, which we may not see in ourselves, (1 Samuel 10:23) and The Lord will make a way for us to get where He wants us to be.  Promotion comes by the hand and will of God, and He will make a way for it to happen. (Psalm 75:6-7)  Whatever The Lord God has in store for us will be ours.  We just need to make sure that we don’t block our own blessings by willful disobedience to The Word of God.

DO NOT COPY THE LOST SINNERS OF THE WORLD

Proclamation:

“So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah.  They said to him, ‘You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.’”  1 Samuel 8:4-5 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by the prophet Samuel.  When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons to lead and judge Israel. (1 Samuel 8:1)  However, Samuel was a prophet of The Lord God (1 Samuel 3:19-21) but his sons did not follow his ways. (1 Samuel 8:2-3)  So the elders of Israel got together and told Samuel to appoint a king to be over them so that they could be like the other nations around them.  Having The Lord God as their king was not good enough for them.  They wanted to copy the sinful nations around them.  Samuel was displeased with them for this request (1 Samuel 8:6) but The Lord God told him that the people had rejected God as their King, not Samuel as their leader. (1 Samuel 8:7)

Application:

When you have the best, why would you want to copy something less?  Why would we want to imitate the sinful people of the world when we know where they will end up? (Revelation 20:15)  As believers we have The Holy Spirit of God within us (Ezekiel 11:19 and 36:26-27) and therefore we are not of this world. (John 8:33)  We are to behave in a Christ-like manner. (Romans 6:4 and 6:11)  It is Christ that we are to imitate and not the sinful people of the world.

LISTEN CAREFULLY BECAUSE THE LORD GOD SPEAKS TO HIS PEOPLE

Proclamation:

“Now Samuel did not yet know The Lord; The Word of The Lord had not yet been revealed to him.  A third time The Lord called, ‘Samuel!’  And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, ‘Here I am; you called me.’  Then Eli realized that The Lord was calling the boy.  So Eli told Samuel, ‘Go and lie down, and if He calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’  So Samuel went and lay down in his place.”  1 Samuel 3:7-9 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by the prophet Samuel.  The young boy, Samuel, was being raised up in the temple by Eli, the priest. (Samuel 3:1)  His mother, Hannah, had given him to Eli to keep her vow to The Lord God for giving her a son. (Samuel 1:24-28)  Samuel was being trained in the temple but he did not know The Lord God for himself.  That is why he got up from his resting place and ran to Eli three times because he thought that the priest was calling him. (1 Samuel 3:2-8)  Eli finally realized that The Lord God was calling Samuel so Eli told him to answer The Lord the next time that He calls him.  This was Samuel’s call into the service of The Lord and He was with him from this point on, and Samuel was recognized as a prophet of The Lord. (1 Samuel 3:19-21)

Application:

Everyone cannot hear the voice of The Lord God.  Some people hear only a noise, (Acts 9:7) or a sound like thunder (Exodus 19:16) but nothing which they can understand.  Those who hear the voice of The Lord and obey it will be blessed. (Deuteronomy 28:2 and 30:10)  There are times when The Lord God speaks in “a still small voice” to His people. (1 Kings 19:12-13)  At times the voice of The Lord is powerful. (Psalms 29:4-5)  The voice of God can create something out of nothing. (Genesis 1:1-30)  At other times His voice can be soft and gentle.  Jesus, The Christ, said that His sheep know His voice and follow Him. (John 10:27)  This text was Samuel’s call to service of The Lord.  As a believer there a special and unique work which The Lord God has for each one of us to do.  We need to listen carefully for our call, answer it, and then get busy doing whatever it is that The Lord has for us.  He speaks to us today through His Holy Word so read it prayerfully.  Woe be unto them who hear the voice of The Lord and understand it but harken not unto it. (Deuteronomy 28:62 and 1 Samuel 12:15) 

RECEIVING THAT WHICH WAS PRAYED FOR

Proclamation:

“Early the next morning they arose and worshiped The Lord and then went back to their home at Ramah.  Elkanah made love to his wife Hannah, and The Lord remembered her.  So in the course of time Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son.  She named him Samuel, saying, ‘Because I asked The Lord for him.’”  1 Samuel 1:19-20 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by the prophet Samuel.  The Book begins with an account of his parents, Elkanah his father and Hannah his mother who year after year had no children. (1 Samuel 1:1-2)  Elkanah had two wives but he loved Hannah and would always give her a double portion of whatever he gave his wife, Peninnah, and his sons. (1 Samuel 1:4-5)  Peninnah would ridicule Hannah year after year because she was barren and Hannah would become upset. (1 Samuel 1:6-10)  Hannah went to the temple and prayed silently while she was weeping.  The priest, Eli, saw her and thought that she was drunk because her lips were moving but she was not speaking. (1 Samuel 1:9-17)  The Lord God heard Hannah and answered her prayer and gave her a son.

Application:

There are times when we are going through periods of anguish, frustration, despair, sorrow, or suffering that we pray and ask The Lord God for something, and we promise Him that we will change our behavior if He will bless us with that which we asked for.  All too often, however, He blesses us and we fail to keep our promise to Him.  Here is an example of a woman who prayed during her period of distress and kept her promise when The Lord blessed her, even though keeping her promise meant giving up her son.  We should not take lightly promises that we make to God.  We should not only be careful what we ask The Lord God for, we should also be careful regarding what we promise Him.  He will keep all of His promises to us. (2 Peter 3:9)  We need to do a better job of keeping our promises to Him.  When we pray for things that will give God glory our prayers will be answered. (John 14:13-14 and 16:26)  Let us be grateful and honor our commitment to Him.

WAITING FOR YOUR BOAZ

Proclamation:

“Then Naomi said, ‘Wait, my daughter, until you find out what happens.  For the man will not rest until the matter is settled today.’”  Ruth 3:18 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by an unknown human author, but a number of Bible scholars credit it to Samuel.  Ruth, the daughter-in-law of Naomi, demonstrated her love, commitment, and devotion to her mother-in-law and stayed with her after their husbands had died.  The two women left Moab and journeyed to Bethlehem, (Ruth 1:19) the place where Naomi was from and where her kinfolk still lived.  Ruth went out into the fields to pick up leftover grain behind the harvesters to provide for herself and Naomi. (Ruth 2:1-3)  The field belonged to Boaz, who was a distant relative of Naomi. When Boaz saw her, he asked the overseer of his harvesters about her and he took an interest in her. (Ruth 2:5-16)  Later that day Ruth told Naomi what had happened and Naomi told her that Boaz was a relative of hers. (Ruth 2:19-23)  It was Naomi who had discerned that Boaz had an interest in Ruth and gave her advice.

Application:

Because of her faithfulness to her mother-in-law, Ruth gained the respect of the people in her mother-in-law’s homeland. (Ruth 2:11-12)  She did not go running after the young men in town and she demonstrated that she was a woman of good character. (Ruth 3:10-11)  Ruth honored her commitment, and she was patient before she was blessed to get what she wanted.  We should understand that The Lord God can supply all of our needs (Philippians 4:19) and He may even bless with some of the things that we want.  However, we must first learn to be content with that which we already have. (Philippians 4:12)  We must also show that we love Him by keeping His commandments and obeying His Holy Word. (John 14:15 and 14:23)  We must learn to be patient and wait on The Lord. (Psalm 27:14 and 37:34)  If we believe in Him and exhibit good Christian behavior, we will be rewarded. (Hebrews 11:6)