308
T H E
K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
May 1924
JUNE 1, 1924 CALL AND COMMISSION OF SAMUEL 1 Samuel, Chapters 1-3 Golden Text: “ Only fear the Lord and serve him in truth with all your heart; for consider how great things he hath done for you.” 1 Samuel 12:24 OUTLINE OF LESSON: (1) The Child Samuel, Chs. 1 and 2. (2) The Call of Samuel, 3:1-10, 15-21. (3) The Curse o f God upon Eli’s Sons, 3:11-14. INTRODUCTION: I and II Samuel, I and II Kings, I and II Chronicles— known as the “ three doubles” constitute a continuous nar rative of one great period in the history of Israel, and were formerly known as the “ four books of kings.” Here we find the first declaration of the LESSON Scripture regarding the incarnation of EXPOSITION Christ as King... The kingdom in Him who T. C. Horton will be raised up from David’s seed will be universal and everlasting. Here, too, we find the failure of the theocracy and the inauguration of the monarchy. God’s ideal government is a theocracy with Himself as King. He never surrendered the throne to the people.' The king was to be His chief executive (1 Sam. 12:13-15; 13:13, 14; 15:26). Samuel was the last of the judges and the first ruler in the monarchy— a link between the old order and the new (Acts 3:24; 13:20). In the period o f the monarchy Is rael became a world power, marking a radical change in Israel’s relation to God. A new office— that of prophet— now became a part of the national life. Samuel, given in answer to prayer, was (1) A Prepared Man (1 :1 1 ); (2) A Praying Man ( 7 : 8 , 9 ; 8:6; 12:18) (3) A Prophet (3:20, 21; 15:10-28); (4) A Man of Power (12:18; 16:4; 15:32, 33). (5) A Professor— Dean of the First Bible School (10:5; 19:19, 20). Characteristics of the man; Unflinching in duty. Un compromising with sin. Unswerving in loyalty. Unselfish in dealing. Uncorruptible as leader. Condition of the times: Religious life at a low ebb,— selfish, sensual, worldly, idolatrous, as seen in the con duct of the sons of Eli. (1) THE CHILD SAMUEL, Chs. I & 2, (a) Seeking a Child from God, 1:10-17, “ For this child I prayed” 1:27. Samuel was born in Ramah (meaning “ the highest” ). He was a Levite (1 Chron. 6:21-28) not a priest. His father’s name was Elkanah, and his mother was Hannah (meaning “ grace” ). Elkanah was a godly man and paid a yearly visit to Shiloh to worship Jehovah. Hannah was childless and longed for a son, as did every true Jewish woman. She was a wise woman, for she took the burden of her heart to the Lord. (Psa. 50:15; 91:15). She prayed in conscious desire and with a definite purpose to honor the Lord in the answer— a lesson for us all. (b) Surrendering the Child to God, 1:24-28, “ I have lent him to the Lord,” v. 28. Hannah was a mother in Israel. She had faith in God and a heart for God’s Word. She believed in prayer. She had only holy desires and a self-sacrificing spirit. She had a consciousness of the need of the times, and the need of godly men. (Num. 6:5; Judges 3 :5). She had a desire to do her part in supplying this need. The prayer of her
heart was answered and she was given a son. Notice Han nah’s faith (1:18) and her song of joy (2:1-10) Cp. Luke 1:45-55). At the age of three years Hannah surrendered the child to the Lord for life service because her love for the Lord outweighed her love for her son. We need not be sur prised that Samuel was,—next to Moses,— one of the great est of all the men whose names are recorded in Old Testa ment history. (2) THE CALL OF SAMUEL, 3:1-10; 15-21, “ Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth” v. 9. Samuel had his home with the old father in Israel— Eli, the high priest. The young child— girded with a linen ephod and coat which his mother renewed each year upon her visit at the feast time—was trained to serve in the tem ple and took the place of Eli’s wayward sons. Sleeping in the temple, his daily duty was to extinguish the sacred lamps and open the doors of the tabernacle. God has His own ways and His own way (Isa. 55:8). Eli was old and nearly blind. Samuel, perhaps twelve years of age, waited upon him. This was the age at which a Jewish boy became a “ son of the law,”— the age at which the child Jesus talked with the doctors. (Luke 2:42-47). Samuel was environed with holy associations, for Eli— although he was weak—was a true man of God. There grew up between them a tender and holy affection. There are those who criticise religious training of young children, fearing the “ warping of the child’s mind.” But they seem to have no fear of the worldly warping of chil dren. Well, here we get a beautiful and much needed les son. God wanted a man in Israel and found him in a boy. Have you ever thought of the strangeness of God’s choice of men? Not one mentioned in the Scripture would have been approved by human wisdom? Look at the list,—— Abram, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Samuel, David, the Apostles. Saul seems an exception, but God did not choose him. Who, for instance, would have looked for the founder of a na tion in the home of an idol-maker, in Mesopotamia? (Gen. 12:1-3). Or a great law-giver in a basket (Ex. 2:1-6) or the Psalmist king in a sheepfold (1 Sam. 16:11) or the apostles in a fishing boat? (Matt. 4:18). These were solemn times in Israel. The Word of God was rare. Visions from God were infrequent for there were so few ready to receive them. The call of God to Samuel suggests the naturalness of God’s dealings with men. For Moses, there was the burning bush (Ex. 3:1-12). For Paul—-the blazing light (Acts 9:3-6). For the child Sam uel— a voice. Three times the call came. Samuel naturally thought that Eli had called him, but he found that a Greater than Eli was there. Eli sensed the matter and kindly admon ished Samuel. Here was a Divine call. Eli’s lamp was fast flickering? It was going out. Old age was upon him. This was a sym bol of Israel’s condition. Darkness was settling over the nation. Eli’s own sons were given up to sinful practices, bringing disgrace upon their priestly office and upon their sainted father. God had already warned Eli (1 Sam. 2:27- 31). The third time the “ Lord came and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel,” and the lad, in obedience to Eli’s instructions answered, “ Speak, Lord, for thy serv ant heareth.” In this reply we have the key to the life of a great man, as we have the key to Paul’s life in the answer which he gave to the Lord Jesus on the road to Damascus, “What wilt thou have me to do?” Here is a lesson for the child and for
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