“It was only in order that the generations of the people of Israel might know war, to teach war to those who had not known it before.” (ESV – Read the chapter)
I read this verse for the first time in a long time the other day and it got my attention as it hasn’t any of the previous times I’ve read it. I honestly have struggled with it some. This is the fifth reason we are given that the nations of Canaan were left in the Promised Land. Which one are we supposed to take as true? Read the rest…
“As soon as he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell over backward from his seat by the side of the gate, and his neck was broken and he died, for the man was old and heavy. He had judged Israel forty years.” (ESV – Read the chapter)
A couple of things stand out here to me. This verse is an indictment of Eli as well as a commentary on how tragic his family situation was. Both of these are things we want to avoid being said about us. Read the rest…
“Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.” (ESV – Read the chapter)
Hearing and recognizing the voice of the Lord does not come naturally. It is a learned skill. Let me offer one key application of this for you this morning. Read the rest…
“The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was.” (ESV – Read the chapter)
I love this verse. The detail about the lamp of God functions in two ways. The first is entirely mundane. In the tabernacle (the reference to “the temple of the Lord” is anachronistic since the temple wouldn’t be built for over 100 years, and anyway, the Hebrew here refers simply to a large building or structure so tabernacle would be an acceptable translation as well), there was a special lamp, a candlestick more precisely, that was lit each night and burned until morning. The other meaning here is more special. Read the rest…
“Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli. And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision.” (ESV – Read the chapter)
Have you ever tried to talk to someone who wasn’t really listening? Let me rephrase that: When was the last time you tried to talk to someone who wasn’t really listening? I have three boys at home under the age of 10. In our household that’s a daily exercise, and it will probably continue to be that way for the next 15 years or so. Joy… Read the rest…
The Nexus 