The “Here
Comes The Judges!” Series #5
"SAMUEL!"
TEXT:
1 Sam. 1:20-28; 2:11-26,
34-35; 3:1-10,
19-21
INTRO: What is a
child? A cute little bundle of
energy that is often self-programmed! They are explorers, trekkers ... seeking
out new things, going where every man has gone before ... their 5 year mission,
to explore, mess up, turn upside down, to laugh, to cry ... until they become
humans sometime around the age of 21. (Or
later!)
Most of us put children in the
class of a minor impact on society.
BUT ... think about this, the
entire future of our society is right now running around in diapers! Thing about these
truths:
a.
These same little entities that
cannot control their bladder will control the atomic weapons in less than 4
decades!
b. These same children whose food
drools down their chins will be producing the world's supply of food in a few
years!
c.
These screamers now that don't
get their way will one day be shouting orders in board rooms for control ...
taking over our institutions that govern our society!
ILLUS: Let
every Christian father and mother understand, when their child is three years
old, that they have done more than half of all they will ever do for his
character. -- Horace Bushnell (1802-1876) -- Edythe Draper, Draper's
Book of Quotations for the Christian World (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers,
Inc., 1992). Entry 8306.
Life tomorrow is running around
our feet today ... can we avoid teaching them the critical values and morals our
God has given to us? ... Most importantly, will we INTRODUCE them to the same
wonderful God we ourselves serve?
If we don't, can we expect a NATION UNDER GOD, or ever expect to see
people who know the living God?
ILLUS: "If
there is anything in my thoughts or style to commend, the credit is due to my
parents for instilling in me an early love of the Scriptures." -- Daniel Webster -- Robert C. Shannon, 1000 Windows,
(Cincinnati, Ohio: Standard Publishing Company, 1997).
PROP.
SENT: With the blessing of having
children comes the responsibility of nurturing them in the way of faith ...
tomorrow begins today, one godly child can direct a nation in the ways of faith,
no wonder Jesus insisted with His disciples, “Let the children
come unto me!”
I. EXAMPLE 1 Sam. 1:20-28
A. Parents
1 Sam.
1:20-28a
1. One cannot miss the obvious
character of mom and dad in this story of a great man named
Samuel!
a. Hannah had asked for this child ...
and not selfishly to promote herself!
(1. Proof of this was the fact that she
was willing to let go of him early, this child she had promised to God! Note verse 28a: “So now I give him to the LORD. For his whole life he will be given over
to the LORD.”
(2. God had a hard time resisting this
kind of parenting!
(3. Though barren, God granted her this
child!
b. Elkanah & Hannah had a
wonderful 2 way relationship, he was eager to encourage his wife and to share
with the promise of this child with God!
(1. This loving relationship of a
couple in the Old Testament was an encouragement to God; and somewhat rare for
that day and time.
(2. This would become the example God
needed to raise up a great leader in Israel by the name of
Samuel!
ILLUS: Don't
let these parenting years get away from you. Your contributions to your children
and grandchildren could rank as your greatest accomplishments in
life. -- James C.
Dobson (1936- ) -- Edythe Draper, Draper's Book of Quotations for the Christian
World (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1992). Entry
8294.
2. No matter how our culture doesn't
like it ... the example of parents still has the greatest impact on our children
beyond anything else in society!
a. We get the children first ... so we
have the first chance to mold and shape them!
b. Example teaches them more than we
would like to believe!
c. While there can be exceptions to
this rule ... this is usually the case!
d. All the research shows that the
first 5 years of a child’s life establishes them in so many ways. (Which may
help explain Moses’ life, his mom raised him those first 5 years even though he
was taken into Pharaoh’s court … his mom was taken to be nurse maid to him and
where do you think he understood he was really part of the Jewish
people?)
B. Prodigy
1 Sam. 1:28b
1. "And HE
worshipped the Lord there." This is a reference to
Samuel!!!
a. He was between 2-5 years of age at
this point!
b. Perhaps he was only mimicking his
parents at this point ... but that doesn't mean it was
insignificant!
c. He was accustomed to going with his
parents routinely to worship, and seeing them worship, and worshipping as they
did! Boy, could you say a lot
here!
(1. “Stay at home parents do not usually make
"go to church children!”
(2. Kids that know how to worship
usually are following a pattern, most likely that of a
parent!
ILLUS: Children
will invariably talk, eat, walk, think, respond, and act like their parents.
Give them a target to shoot at. Give them a goal to work toward. Give them a
pattern that they can see clearly, and you give them something that gold and
silver cannot buy. -- Billy Graham (1918- ) -- Edythe Draper, Draper's Book
of Quotations for the Christian World (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.,
1992). Entry 8289.
2. This event should not be
minimized in the story of Samuel!
a. Perhaps he didn't fully understand
what he was doing as a 3 year old, but it was establishing his personality and
priority as a worshiper!
b. This level of consistency would
later pay off in great ways for the whole nation of
c. Think of the powerful imprinting of
character that this did for Samuel, which proves powerful later as he lives in
another household where undisciplined children run rampant ... but his godly
character stays intact.
II. EXCEPTION 1 Sam. 2:11-26,
34-35
A. Perverted! 1 Sam. 2:11-17,
22-25
1. People say, "But look at the world and how bad the
influences are ... what makes you think it makes a difference what we do as
parents if they are exposed to a corrupt world?"
a. Samuel as a young boy now lived in
Eli's household, whose home was rather corrupt!
b. NOTE HOWEVER chapter 2 verse 11: “Samuel
ministered before the Lord under Eli!”
(1. He had gone from just worshipper to
minister ... but still a boy!
(2. This is the same home where Eli's
sons were evil and corrupt! Note
this statement in the Bible about them: 1 Sam
2:12 “Eli's sons were wicked men; they had no regard for the
LORD.”
2. Eli’s sons Hophni & Phinehas
were selfish and undisciplined ... Eli ignored them rather than deal with them,
yet even their influence did not undo or corrupt the earlier training of
Samuel's godly mom and dad!
ILLUS: When
God wants an important thing done in this world, or a wrong righted, He goes
about it in a very singular way. He
does not release His thunderbolts or stir up His earthquake. He simply has a
tiny, helpless baby born, perhaps in an obscure home, perhaps of a very humble
mother. Then He puts the idea or
purpose into the mother's heart, she puts it into the baby's mind and then --
God waits. -- Edward T. Sullivan -- James S. Hewett, Illustrations
Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988) p.
74.
3. Not unlike today, Hophni &
Phinehas wanted instant gratification and things done their way. (Read 1 Sam. 2:12-17)
a. Note their unchallenged demands
when people brought sacrifices to the Lord, they demanded their portion as
priests instead of waiting for God to get His portion first – they wanted their
portion up front and said this! 1
Sam 2:16b "No,
hand it over now; if you don't, I'll take it by
force."
b. Note the time frame of their
desires, "NOW!"
c. Notice the result of this
unchallenged selfishness ... "I'll take it by force" in other words ... a
violent selfish temperament.
B. Promise
1 Sam. 2:18-21,
26
1. While being raised in this same
environment ... Samuel was GIVING rather than taking, the essence of "ministering" 1
Sam. 2:18
a. The word "BUT..." implies an intended contrast with the
previous section!
b. The point: It is possible to live in a corrupt society and not be
corrupt!
2. Samuel was a promise in the
making!
3. All was not lost ... a child was
becoming a champion for God ... the boy with the linen ephod, his mom brought
him a new one every year!
a. How proud they must have been of
Samuel!
b. How proud Samuel must have been of
them ... his service to God had a daily reminder on him from mom and dad all the
time!
c. His parents were never far away,
they stay connected to his growing devotion to God.
4. Notice in 1 Sam. 21b the emphasis on "GROWING UP IN GOD'S
PRESENCE" 1 Sam
2:21 “And the LORD was gracious to Hannah;
she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew up in
the presence of the LORD.”
(Underline for emphasis
mine)
ILLUS: A
man and his young son were climbing a mountain. They came to a place where the climbing
was difficult and even dangerous. The father stopped to consider which way
he should go. He heard the boy
behind him say, "Choose the good path, Dad; I'm coming right behind
you!" -- Author unknown -- James S. Hewett, Illustrations
Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988) p.
202.
a. And also the result: 1 Sam 2:26 “And the boy Samuel continued to grow in
stature and in favor with the LORD and with
men.”
b. Samuel gained favor with God AND
man.
c. Being a Christian doesn't require
that everyone hate you! Quite the
opposite ... they might not agree with you, but should respect the example of
godliness that we live before others!
5. Samuel proves that our children can
be an exception in society ... even the most corrupt society, they just need the
proper examples and influences!
III. EXPERIENCE 1 Sam.
3:1-10,19-21
A. Personal
1 Sam. 3:1-10
1. This first verse could sum up parts
of the world today, sadly, maybe even parts of our country now! "The Word of God was rare in those days!
..."
a. How difficult it must have been to
be a young child in such an empty society that knew so little about the living
God!
b. The Biblical word used here for "BOY"
meant older than a baby, but less than around 15 years of
age!
c. This event happens as Samuel
approaches his early teens.
2. We find Samuel, consistent,
faithful, ministering!
a. This order in his life would have
lasting fruit!
b. The consistent way he worshiped
would give foundation to his life later.
3. YET, until now it had been Dad and
Mom's teaching, going through the proper routines of worship; BUT that personal
touch of God had not yet experientially happened in a direct way yet from
God...
a. HOWEVER ... This doesn't mean that
the routines or the parents teaching were useless or unimportant, indeed they
gave him the foundation for the personal approach of
God!
b. All the motions he previously had
gone through were accepted by God, and were dynamic in his life, but now it
would have to be HIS relationship to God ... personal!
4. He had been doing all the talking
to God … it was time for a new dynamic.
a. He was accustomed to hearing from
DAD AND MOM.
b. He was accustomed to hearing from
the Priest Eli.
c. BUT NOW HE WOULD HEAR FROM
GOD!
ILLUS: Adrian
Rogers, former president of the Southern Baptist Convention, tells about the man
who made his sons work in the cornfields while their peers spent the afternoon
at the swimming hole. Someone
scolded the father saying, "Why do you make those boys work so hard? You don't need all that corn." The wise father replied, "Sir, I'm not
raising corn. I'm raising
boys." -- Quoted by Marvin Hein in The Christian Leader (Nov.21,
l989). Christianity Today, Vol. 34,
no. 2.
5. And so God calls
him...
a. Of course he assumes it is Eli
calling, this he was accustomed to.
b. Three times God calls ... this
alone may indicate the dulling nature of Eli's understanding since Eli takes 3
times before he understands the nature of Samuel’s responses and realizes it may
be God speaking to him!
c. This young teen, probably about 12
years old, responds to God's call:
(1. Who says God doesn’t speak to
teenagers or even younger children?
(2. "Speak, for your
servant is listening." 1 Sam.
3:lOb
(3. Imagine if all our teens responded
to God this way ... tomorrow would be real
interesting!
(4. Imagine for that matter if all the
parents would respond this way!
B. Persistent 1 Sam. 3:19-21
1. God never left Samuel, He was
always there as he continued to grow up!
a. Samuel persisted in his living for
God.
b. Samuel became one of the greatest
prophets of the Old Testament.
c. God's Word continued throughout his
entire lifetime to come from Samuel's lips.
2. All
a. Kings wouldn’t go to war until they
heard from this man of God.
b. His word moved the nation … God
spoke to him on a regular basis.
c. What began in childhood stayed with
him his entire life.
d. Even in death his legacy continued
to touch the nation.
3. God continued to stay in touch with
the man of God who began as a young child in the ways of the
Lord!
4. Samuel's influence even continued
after his death ... the legacy of a godly foundation begun by his
parents!
ILLUS: The
only thing that parents can take to heaven is their children. --
Billy Graham's daughter Gigi, quoted by John Maxwell in "What Children Owe Their
Parents (and Themselves)," Preaching Today, Tape No. 140.
CONCLUSION: God never underestimates the
value of children and the early training they need in God's ways. Samuel became one of the greatest
prophets in Israel, due largely to the heart he had for God as a young boy ...
and godly parents who influenced him for the Lord. Don’t underestimate those crude little
bundles of undisciplined energy crawling around your floors at home … or in
those church nurseries … God may be speaking to some of them right
now!
"Let the little
children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the