Monday, August 23, 2021

ONE MAN OF GOD CAN SAVE AN ENTIRE NATION

 



 
Eli was a priest and a man of God. However, when he became old, he compromised. He heard reports that his two sons, who now had taken over the priesthood, were engaged in the worst forms of sin. Eli spoke to them but seemingly failed to follow through with decisive action.
 
Subsequently, God spoke to the young man Samuel, who had grown up in the temple:
 
·       And I [God] declare to him [Eli] that I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them. Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.” (1 Samuel 3:13–14)
 
At this time, Israel had been in captivity to the Philistines and rebelled unsuccessfully and lost 4,000 men on the battlefield. The elders of Israel lamented and decided that this tragedy could be reversed if they brought the Ark of the Covenant to battle at their next military engagement.
 
When the Ark arrived in their camp, Israel loudly rejoiced, so loudly that the Philistines were able to hear and trembled:
 
·       Woe to us! Who can deliver us from the power of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with every sort of plague in the wilderness. (1 Samuel 4:8)
 
However, even with the Ark, Israel was again struck down, this time with the death of 30,000 soldiers. What went wrong? With sin at the head of Israel, they were doomed to defeat. It didn’t matter how many Arks they had, as long as their God was not with them.
 
The Ark was captured, Eli’s two sons were slain, and Eli died after hearing the news. But God had appointed a new prophet to judge Israel, the Prophet Samuel. He understood that the answer for Israel’s miseries was not to be found in rituals or objects but in a return to their God:
 
·       And Samuel said to all the house of Israel, “If you are returning to the LORD with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you and direct your heart to the LORD and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.” So the people of Israel put away the Baals and the Ashtaroth, and they served the LORD only. (1 Samuel 7:3–4)
 
Consequently, Israel repented and confessed, “We have sinned against the Lord.” However, suspicious of this gathering, the Philistines marched against Israel.
 
·       So Samuel took a nursing lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the LORD. And Samuel cried out to the LORD for Israel, and the LORD answered him. As Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to attack Israel. But the LORD thundered with a mighty sound that day against the Philistines and threw them into confusion, and they were defeated before Israel. (1 Samuel 7:9–10)
 
The Lord heard the prayer of this righteous prophet and gave Israel the victory:
 
·       So the Philistines were subdued and did not again enter the territory of Israel. And the hand of the LORD was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. The cities that the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron to Gath, and Israel delivered their territory from the hand of the Philistines. There was peace also between Israel and the Amorites. (1 Samuel 7:13–14)
 
The Lord honors those who honor Him. Samuel never compromised God’s Word. He remained faithful. He even spoke some hard words to the children of Israel and to their first king, Saul. However, when he died, all Israel gathered to pay homage to this great man of God (1 Samuel 25:1). It was because of Samuel that the Lord had granted Israel freedom from the Philistines and peace for many years.
 
However, there is more to this story. It concerns a godly woman, Hannah, who had been unable to bear a child. However, the Lord responded to her cries and granted her a son. After weaning him, she fulfilled her pledge to the Lord and brought Samuel to the temple where he was raised for the glory of God and the salvation of Israel. My next installment will be about this woman of God.

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