Insight From I Samuel

I recently reread I and II Samuel, mostly to brush up on David. God called him, ‘a man after my own heart’, and I wanted to study that out a little bit. 

Upon beginning, though, I came across a verse that has been rattling around in my mind for many years.  I have always known it was more significant than it appears but I wasn’t quite sure what God was trying to tell me through it.

Well, I believe He has finally brought me to an understanding.  It’s actually in the story of Samuel, not David and is found in the first couple of chapters of I Samuel.  He was the last judge of Israel and anointed both Saul and David as kings.

His mother, Hannah, was married to a man named Elkanah who was also married to another woman named Peninnah. Having two wives wasn’t out of the ordinary in those days.

Every year the family would make the pilgrimage to Shiloh to make offerings to the Lord.  Every year Elkanah would provide offerings for Peninnah and all her sons and daughters, but he would give a double portion to Hannah because he loved her.

Hannah was barren and it caused her much grief. Elkanah would speak tenderly to her and say, “Why do you cry, Hannah? Am I not better to you than ten sons?”

It didn’t help that Peninnah teased Hannah mercilessly, either.  Here is Peninnah having babies left and right saying, "Neener neener! Look at all my babies!"  On the other hand, there is poor Hannah, loved by her husband but barren.

She begged God and vowed that if God would remember her and give her a son, she would give that son to the Lord all the days of his life.

God heard her prayer and she became pregnant with Samuel.  

Hannah was true to her word.  When Samuel was weaned, she took him to Shiloh and left him to serve God at the tabernacle with Eli, the priest, and his sons.

This is such a great story and there is so much more there. I encourage you to read the whole thing but, I want to focus in one little verse where the Bible basically transitions from the story of The Judges to that of The Kings with Samuel right in the middle of it all.

So, the verse that I was never able to forget is: 

“So Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground.”  I Samuel 3:19

I believe this little verse shows us how God uses His servants.

We do the word of God a disservice when we assume God put people in trances or zapped them when he had something to say.  God did not use magic to communicate with his people.  It’s actually pretty amazing that the Creator God of the universe chose to speak to us through plain old people in the first place.

There are a couple of exceptions like Ezekiel, Isaiah, and John the Revelator but, for the most part, God didn’t use visions. He used people who knew His word, desired His will, and sought His presence. Consider Luke, for instance.

Have you ever been at church and the pastor’s sermon touched your heart and brought you to repentance or worship?  It wasn’t the preacher or any fancy words he spoke. It was the Spirit of God using that person.  Remember in the book of Numbers, God used a mule to speak to Balaam. He can use anyone especially if that person has a heart for God.

So, back to Samuel. He was one of the greatest judges and prophets in the Bible and I think this is why.  Samuel loved God, desired God’s will to be done, studied God’s word, and served God from his childhood.

Because of this, when Samuel would speak, God would not let his words fall to the ground. This means what Samuel said would come to pass.

If Samuel had spoken outside of the will of God, I’m sure his words would have fallen flat. But, as it was, he spoke the will of God.  God says, 

"I am the Lord...who confirms the word of his servant and fulfills the counsel of his messengers." (Isaiah 44:26)

 I hope it comes across how profound this is. God honored the word of Samuel. Samuel talked, God honored. However you want to look at it.

Another example, in my mind, would be Elisha. II Kings Chapter5 tells us of Naaman.  He was a victorious commander in Syria but had leprosy.  The Israelite slave girl that served his wife said, “If only my master would go see the prophet in Israel, he would be cured.”

Naaman believed the girl and went.  Again, there is a lot more story here. I just want to make a point.  Elisha told him to go dip seven times in the Jordan. Naaman did and was healed.

If you think Elisha went into a deep meditative trance, or even spent hours in fasting and prayer over this matter, you would be mistaken.  He simply sent a servant to Naaman with the instructions. 

I believe he could have said, “Kill 7 bull calves and offer them to the Lord on four-square altar of cedar,” and God would have honored it because it was God’s will to heal Naaman.  God let Elisha decide how it would be done.  Elisha knew the will of God and wanted God to be glorified so, seven simple dips in the muddy Jordan and, voila! The Bible says Naaman’s skin was like that of a baby.

I don’t want to sell God short. Can God use someone to be his literal mouthpiece?  He did use that mule after all.  Of course He can.  The question then isn’t, can He? It is does He? 

I most certainly believe in the ‘still, small voice’ of The Holy Spirit.  I believe in the prompting of God. But this in no way requires any kind of hoodoo or mumbo jumbo, nor does it require God violating our free will.  I also know from experience that the farther from the will of God you are, the less likely you are to hear the prompting of the Holy Spirit.

God uses people in their own times, in their own culture, with their own unique personalities, and all their quirks. God chose to make us a part of His divine plan.

How awesome is that!  It is the will of God to include us in His divine workings. 

Does he force us do this and that? No.  He says, “I can use that.” Or, “I can work with that because this one knows my word and is headed in the direction of my will.”

Imaging God saying, “Good plan! Let’s go with it.” He actually does say this more or less in I Kings 22:22.

I realize I’m making it sound simple and it’s not. God is sovereign.  But, from the very beginning when he walked with Adam and Eve in the cool of the day in Eden, He has wanted us to be a part of His doings. That’s why we’re here, to be a part of God’s…life, for lack of a better word.  He could have named the animals after all, but He let Adam do it.  God chose to call the animals by the names Adam gave them (Genesis 2:19)

He has made provision through Jesus Christ for our complete restoration and, if you read Revelation 20:4-6, part of that restoration is ruling and reigning with Him.  He will not be using us as puppets.  He will trust us to do his will and know His heart.

What does this mean for each of us?  Seek God. Make His words, your words.  Make His will, your will.

The Bible is complete. God won’t be using any of us to write an epistle but, I’m convinced that by serving God and loving His word and His will, we can be people like Samuel, whose words don’t fall to the ground.