The story of Samuel

Posted on June 18, 2013 by betsybeadhead | Leave a comment

I love the story of Samuel in the Old Testament. There is so much in it that I find really meaningful that I’d like to share it with you. All verses are from the New Revised Standard Version.

The story starts with Samuel’s mother, Hannah. Hannah is a woman who is unable to conceive a child, and her husband’s other wife has many children and constantly berates her for her lack of children. Hannah is deeply upset and goes to the temple to pray for a child.

I Samuel 1:9-16
“9 After they had eaten and drunk at Shiloh, Hannah rose and presented herself before the LORD. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat beside the doorpost of the temple of the LORD. 10 She was deeply distressed and prayed to the LORD, and wept bitterly. 11 She made this vow:”O LORD of hosts, if only you will look on the misery of your servant, and remember me, and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a male child, then I will set him before you as a nazirite until the day of his death. He shall drink neither wine nor intoxicants, and no razor shall touch his head.” 12 As she continued praying before the LORD, Eli observed her mouth. 13Hannah was praying silently; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard; therefore Eli thought she was drunk. 14 So Eli said to her, “How long will you make a drunken spectacle of yourself? Put away your wine.” 15But Hannah answered, “No, my lord, I am a woman deeply troubled; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before the LORD. 16 Do not regard your servant as a worthless woman, for I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation all this time.”

The priest doesn’t even know what a praying person looks like. This is really amazing to me. A priest should be acquainted with the idea of a praying people. He should know the difference between holy and crazy.

Here’s another interesting part. She is upset and pouring out her heart to the Lord. She is making a vow that if she is able to have a child, she will give him up to God. She is asking God for something that she is then going to give back to God. This is amazing. She isn’t asking for something for herself. She wants a child, but then she isn’t going to keep him.

When he was weaned, she took him back to the Temple and put him in the service of God. He was a child. She didn’t have him for very long. She kept him just long enough to wean him so that he didn’t need her any more. She honored her promise. How many of us make promises to God in a time of distress and then we go back on them or forget them when everything is fine? I know I do.

Samuel first heard the voice of God in the middle of the night.

1 Samuel 3:1-9
“Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the LORD under Eli. The word of the LORD was rare in those days; visions were not widespread. 2 At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his room; 3 the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was. 4 Then the LORD called, “Samuel! Samuel!” and he said, “Here I am!” 5 and ran to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” So he went and lay down. 6 The LORD called again, “Samuel!” Samuel got up and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.” 7 Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, and the word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him. 8 The LORD called Samuel again, a third time. And he got up and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli perceived that the LORD was calling the boy. 9 Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down; and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.”

Eli, the priest, hadn’t ever heard the voice of God.

Here is a person set aside to serve the Lord and he hasn’t heard from the Lord. Ever. He is following the rules and regulations. He is following along with tradition. But he has no real connection with God. He is doing the way they’ve always done it because they’ve always done it that way. But he’s never heard from God. He is just following along in the book.

He also is squandering the offering. He had been using the offerings for himself and for his children.

So just because someone is ordained, it doesn’t mean that they are holy. Sometimes it is just a job to them.

Be careful of who you trust. Be careful of who you follow.

The Lord told Samuel that Eli was about to get punished, along with his children, because of their iniquity.

1 Samuel 3:10-18
10 Now the LORD came and stood there, calling as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” 11 Then the LORD said to Samuel, “See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make both ears of anyone who hears of it tingle. 12 On that day I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. 13 For I have told him that I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God,[b] and he did not restrain them. 14 Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be expiated by sacrifice or offering forever.”
15 Samuel lay there until morning; then he opened the doors of the house of the LORD. Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli. 16 But Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son.” He said, “Here I am.” 17 Eli said, “What was it that he told you? Do not hide it from me. May God do so to you and more also, if you hide anything from me of all that he told you.” 18 So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. Then he said, “It is the LORD; let him do what seems good to him.”

I’m actually amazed that Eli listened to Samuel, that he believed that the Lord was speaking to him. But then that amazement is cancelled out with the last line “It is the LORD; let him do what seems good to him.”

As if it is some random thing the Lord is about to do to him. As if he doesn’t deserve what is about to happen to him. The Lord doesn’t strike down Eli and his sons on a whim. They intentionally didn’t do what was right. They got what was coming to them. It wasn’t random.

There is a lot that goes on in this little story, and I’m sure there is a lot more that I’m missing. Samuel grows up to be a great prophet and leader, and Samuel is the person who is lead by the Lord to find and anoint David as king.

Prosperity liars. (It isn’t the Gospel, it is deceit)

Posted on June 11, 2013 by betsybeadhead | Leave a comment

I’ve always suspected that there is something wrong with the “prosperity gospel” preachers. I also think there is a connection between them and the “name it and claim it” people. At least the “name it and claim it people aren’t using religion and their authority of being a minister to delude and deceive. They are simple charlatans. But the ministers are what concern me. They have taken the Gospel of Jesus and turned it into the worship of money. They have made an idol of money and twisted religion into personal gain. They are taking Jesus’ message of selfless service and turning into selfish gain.

I’ve recently found a verse that specifically addresses this issue. Jesus says in James 4:3 “You ask and don’t receive because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your evil desires.” (HCSB)

Your motives for prayer have to be for good things. Not good things for yourself. Good things for the world.

They seemed to have missed that bit.

Often the “prosperity gospel” ministers use this parable of the talents to justify their message. It can be found in Matthew 25:14-30. You can look it up quickly on any Bible website – I use Bible Gateway. They point out that the one who didn’t make more money was punished. They don’t get that the servants were to make more money for their master – not for themselves. The master is God.

The parable isn’t really about money – it is about using your gifts well. “Talents” were a form of money, but it is a useful word, because “talent” also means ability or gift. An ability to sing or dance is a talent. An ability to encourage others or to write is a gift. It isn’t about money but about whatever way that God has blessed you. You are to use it to help others. If you yoke up your talents with the power of God, you’ll multiply them.

It can be likened to the story of the loaves and the fishes. One version of this story (it happened twice) is to be found in Matthew 14:13-21. I’d like to bring attention to the fact that early in this section, Jesus felt compassion for the people who had gathered, and he healed them. He didn’t heal them to make a name for himself, or to get bigger ratings on his TV show. He felt compassion. This should be the motivating force behind everything.

Then, when he took the five loaves and two fish, he did these things. He looked up into heaven. He blessed them (gave thanks). Then he broke them. Then he gave it to his disciples to give it to the people. 5000 people were fed, and there was a lot of food left over.

This is what Jesus wants. This is what God wants. This is the kind of prosperity that we need, and that we have access to. Take what is given to us, remember that it is from God (everything is), give thanks for it, and then be willing to break it. It has to be broken to let God get into the mix. We break things by “casting our bread upon the waters.” We break things by trusting God – we offer it forth. When we invest our money or time or effort in a worthy goal that we don’t know will succeed, we are breaking it. We aren’t holding onto it. It is the holding onto it that is the problem. When we hold on to it we aren’t trusting God to fulfill His part.

The other part of the problem is what do we intend to do with the fruit of our labor? Is it to help others, or ourselves? We really have to examine our goals in everything we do. Do we do it to build up our names? Do we do it to become famous and sought-after? Or do we do it in a sense of servant-hood, in a sense of letting God work through us?

In Acts 4:32-37 gives us a story of the early church, where we find that things were entirely different than they are today. “32 Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common. 33With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. 34There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. 35They laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.” (NRSV)

This is what the church is supposed to do. TFrom those who have, to help those who don’t have. People help each other out, and not just members of the church. The people who most need help are those who will never set foot in a church. And the help I’m talking about isn’t trying to convert them. Often people need a sandwich, not a sermon.

It isn’t about “every man for himself.” It certainly isn’t about your tithe paying for the light bill or anybody’s salary or for stained glass windows.

Part of the prosperity gospel” is saying that a sign that God loves you is that you are rich. They give the impression that God shows that he loves people by giving them lots of stuff, by making them prosperous. The unspoken assumption is that if you are poor, it means that God doesn’t like you at all.

What about in the Beatitudes, the “Blessed are…” phrases in Matthew 5:1-12? There’s no mention of the rich.

In fact, Jesus told a rich man to sell everything he had and follow him. Matthew 19:21 21 “If you want to be perfect,”[j] Jesus said to him, “go, sell your belongings and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.”

He follows in verse 23 saying “23 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “I assure you: It will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven! 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”

If your minister is telling you that God wants you to make more money, run away. Your very soul depends on it. You are being deceived.