Samuel came on the scene at a most difficult time in Israel’s history. He was born in the days of the judges, where it is recorded several times that “in those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes” (Judg. 21:2525In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes. (Judges 21:25)). The Lord was to have been their king, but they failed grievously under His rule and continually turned away to idolatry. Likewise, the priesthood was to mediate between God and man, but in Samuel’s day the priesthood likewise had failed. Eli, although caring for the Lord’s glory, was himself a failure and allowed his sons, who were wicked men, to dishonor the Lord. The people too were no better, for as we have seen, all were doing what was right in their own eyes, and they were utterly lawless.
But God was preparing for His rightful king in the person of David, who would be a man after His own heart. To be sure, He would first give Israel a king after their own heart, when they rejected the Lord as their king and asked Samuel to give them a king like all the other nations. But after Saul, a worldly man, had proved to be a failure, God set David on the throne, who prefigures our Lord Jesus Christ. Into the gap between Israel’s failure and the ushering in of the rightful king, God introduces Samuel, whom one has termed “God’s emergency man.”
Filling the Gap Today
Today, at the end of the church period, we see a parallel with this particular time in Israel’s history. Like Israel, the church has been a signal failure, and perhaps more seriously than Israel, for the church has had far greater light and blessing than Israel ever had. We are at the end of a ruined dispensation, where man’s thoughts have been substituted for the authority of God’s Word and where worldliness abounds. Surely it is not going too far to apply to most of Christendom what the Spirit of God said about Israel: “Every man did that which was right in his own eyes.”
Yet God has before Him His rightful King, our Lord Jesus Christ, who will soon be displayed as “the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords” (1 Tim. 6:15). First He will come for His church, but then subsequently He will appear in judgment, as David did in his day, to subdue all things and reign in righteousness. It is in the period just before all this that we are now living. We too have the privilege of filling that gap for Christ, in a day of departure from God. God is looking for “Samuels” now, who will honor Him and display His character while we await the exhibition of glory at the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Faithfulness Amid Failure
There are several things concerning Samuel that should be an encouragement to us. First of all, he did not have what we would call a normal upbringing. His mother, having dedicated him to the Lord, brought him to the house of God as a very young boy. There he was brought up by Eli, an old priest who had failed, and in the presence of Eli’s sons who were wicked men. Yet the Lord was there, and God honored Hannah’s faith in spite of the failure that was present. As a result, we read that “Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him ... and all Israel knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the Lord” (1 Sam. 3:19-20). In the same way we can trust the Lord for our families today, in spite of the failure that is so prevalent among believers.
Judgment
Second, the first message that Samuel received of the Lord was a message of judgment on Eli’s house. This must have been difficult for a young boy to receive and later to have to repeat it all to Eli. So today, we need young men who are “grown up in their youth” (Psa. 144:1212That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; that our daughters may be as corner stones, polished after the similitude of a palace: (Psalm 144:12)), ready to take responsibility. This does not mean that they behave beyond their years, but that they heed the admonition, “The end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer” (1 Peter 4:7).
Waiting for the Lord
Third, we find that he was willing to be in the background for some years, waiting until the Lord would use him publicly. “The word of Samuel came to all Israel” (1 Sam. 4:1), yet this did not prevent their going out to battle against the Philistines in their own strength and losing the ark to the Philistines. It stayed in the house of Abinadab in Kirjath-jearim for twenty years, during which time there is nothing recorded of Samuel. But he was content to remain quiet, just as Moses in the backside of the desert and the Apostle Paul in Arabia. The time came when the work of repentance had prepared the hearts of the people, and they were ready for his intercession for them. So today, we must be willing to go on in the midst of failure and wait for the Lord to work among His people.
Seeking the Good of the People
Fourth, and perhaps most important, we find Samuel’s heart always seeking the good of the people of Israel. Unlike Elijah, we never find him interceding against them, in spite of their departure and failure. When they asked for a king, he told them clearly what to expect, but they persisted in wanting a king. The Lord eventually showed His displeasure with this decision by sending thunder and rain in harvesttime. Yet Samuel exhorted them to continue following the Lord, and he made the touching remark, “God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you” (1 Sam. 12:23). He did not attract to himself, but rather pointed them to the Lord, who had done great things for them.
So we today should look at our brethren through the eyes of Christ and be willing to go on with them in spite of their low state, realizing our own failure and weakness. If the Lord has given us any desire to follow Him, we should be ready, like Samuel, to continue to teach “the good and the right way” (1 Sam. 12:23). On occasion we may have to denounce evil, but it should always be done in the spirit of humility, in faithfulness to Christ, and in love to our brethren.
The Future
Finally, we find Samuel looking ahead to the future. He was used of God to anoint God’s rightful king in the person of David, but he did not stop there. Even while David was still in rejection, he evidently met with David, and together they ordained the service of the Levites, with a view to the day when David would reign (1 Chron. 9:22). More than this, it is also recorded that he made a contribution towards the building of the temple (1 Chron. 26:28), which did not occur until the reign of Solomon. But in faith, he looked on to that day of blessing and laid up for it.
So also we can “lay up treasure in heaven” and use our time, energy and resources down here to build for eternity. All that we have down here is temporary, but we can follow the Lord’s instruction to “make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness” (Luke 16:99And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations. (Luke 16:9)). In simple terms, this means to use present advantage for future gain. Samuel did this, and as a result, he had a part in the building of the temple.
In summary, we can say that Samuel filled his role well as a man who spoke for the Lord in a difficult day, bearing with the failure around him, yet loving his people and serving them. He also looked ahead to a day when God would bring in blessing through the man of His choice. We too have this privilege!
W. J. Prost