Focal Passage: I Samuel 2:22-26, 3:7-10, 15-18
Before vocational ministry, I was a deckhand on a fishing boat. Whether it’s snapper fishing in the Gulf of Mexico or catfishing in the Tennessee River, every fisherman knows the rarer the fish the more exciting the catch.
For example, we were going through the motions of a typical day offshore catching snappers when quite literally, out of the blue, we hooked a sailfish. As this electric-blue billfish jumped out of the water through a chaotic thirty-minute fight, everyone put down their fishing poles just to watch the action.
Take this illustration and do your best to contextualize God’s Word to Samuel. I Samuel 3:1 says, “… And the word of the Lord was rare in those days. …” Out of the blue came the voice of the living God. When they realized what was happening Samuel and Eli stopped what they were doing and listened.
We have a different problem. The Word of God is so common and accessible to us that we can have a harder time stopping to listen. We can learn from Samuel and Eli’s response to God’s spoken word.
Bosak
The way they received truth teaches us lessons that can transform how we see the Bible. Perhaps you, like so many other believers, need to be reminded just how awesome God’s Word is.
Think about all the words you read on a daily basis. We consume text messages, articles, websites, books, social media posts and more.
Perhaps you have a note written from a parent, spouse, or other loved one. You probably enjoy reading that note more than all the other general words you read combined. Why? Because you know it is from someone that loves you.
When love is written between the lines the words we read are more meaningful to us. I Samuel 3:7 shows us there is a connection between relationship with God and hearing His voice. Jesus taught these truths in John 10:1-6.
When you read the Bible remember that there is love between the lines. We shouldn’t view the Bible as some dry, boring list of rules but as God’s loving voice to lead us through every part of life.
This perspective can change the way that we read and receive the particulars of the Bible, including the difficult parts. Samuel received a hard message from God that kept him awake the rest of the night (1 Samuel 3:11-15). There is no doubt that Samuel had great affection for his teacher Eli.
Samuel heard that there was judgement on Eli’s house because of Hophni and Phinehas’ (Eli’s sons) sin. After Eli pressed Samuel to share with him this message, Samuel finally gave in and told his mentor the word of judgment in its entirety. Eli’s response may be surprising to us, he said, “It is the Lord. Let him do what seems good to him” (v. 18).
It seems that Eli had come to accept the consequences of his son’s sin and his responsibility as their father as a right and good work of the Lord. Reading and receiving God’s Word is greatly impacted by how we see it. When we view God’s Word with the perspective of love we can accept the hard truths we read freely. While not so rare anymore, the Word of God is still as wonderful, stop and listen often. B&R
