Sunday, December 17, 2017

Christ, Come Change Your Servants.

I Samuel 3:10 And the Lord came and stood, calling as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant hears.” 11 Then the Lord said to Samuel, “Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel at which the two ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. 12 On that day I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. 13 And I declare to him 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. 14 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.” 15 Samuel lay until morning; then he opened the doors of the house of the Lord. And Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli. 16 But Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son.” And he said, “Here I am.” 17 And 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. And he said, “It is the Lord. Let him do what seems good to him.” 19 And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. 20 And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established as a prophet of the Lord. 21 And the Lord appeared again at Shiloh, for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the Lord."
What a contrast/comparison between Samuel and Christ.  Both accounts begin with the announcement of the birth of a son. Both occur during a time of corruption in the religious leadership of the people. (Okay, this was a lot of the time...) Both involve a servant of the Lord being used to turn His people around.  But there are also some contrasts.  Eli and his sons were replaced by another mere man; Christ was far more.  Samuel was promoted after he grew up; Christ came as King. There was no hope for the sons of Eli - no sacrifice could do it; Christ came as our sacrifice - He is the only one who could do it.  What this account does do is: show us our need, remind us that God does come and call, and that God keeps His word. He changes things, including people, either by removing them and replacing them, or from the inside out.

No comments:

Post a Comment