I Samuel 3
Thursday, 6th July 2023
Rev Daniel Xi An Poon
Adam and Eve were able to receive all the blessings from heaven and earth, but when they chose not to align with God, they had to suffer and work hard on the earth. So how can we align with God? Not by our knowledge but our spirit.
V1a ‘Now the boy Samuel ministered to the Lord before Eli.’ Samuel was serving Eli in the house of God. When God put us in His temple, He wants us to serve the authority He appoints for us. A lot of times we thought we are serving God and do what God wants us to do, but what is it that God wants us to do? So often God wants us to help the authority He anointed and He appointed.
V1b ‘And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no widespread revelation.’ Do we really pray? Do we really connect with God? In our spirit, what does God say to us? When we pray and when we seek God, we may not hear God clearly, we must line up our spirit and our soul with God first. To treasure the Holy Spirit from God, let the Holy Spirit stir up our inner man.
V2-4 ‘And it came to pass at that time, while Eli was lying down in his place, and when his eyes had begun to grow so dim that he could not see, and before the lamp of God went out in the tabernacle of the Lord where the ark of God was, and while Samuel was lying down, that the Lord called Samuel. And he answered, “Here I am!” So he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.”’ Why would Samuel be in the tabernacle of God? He was not the high priest at the time, also he fell asleep while guarding the lamp. Because Samuel was using his head follow Eli, and Eli was leading Samuel in a ‘doing’ mode, there was no teaching, and Samuel did not learn things about God from Eli. Therefore when God called Samuel, he didn’t know it was God.
What is our attitude in follow God and serving God? Do we feel tired and weary? Is it because we are in a ‘doing’ mode. When we follow God, and when we follow our authority, we must line up with them, not with our own thinking. God set up authority for us, so the anointing and the blessings can be passed on. When we really see it then we will not grow tired and we will not easily offended.
V7 ‘Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, nor was the word of the Lord yet revealed to him.’ Samuel didn’t know God then, and he had not yet heard from God. Do we know if we’ve heard God or not? Or have we been hearing our own voice? When we align with God, we will also receive whatever our authority receives. This is the same God and the same Spirit in the House of God, He will not confuse us and He will take responsibility for His Word until the end.
Eli was not a good authority but God still used him, even after God’s Word against his family was spoken, God still let him serve as the high priest until he died. God knows everything and He is in control of everything, He will not give up on us, and we can see no matter how wicked Eli was, God still talked to Samuel and guided him to the end.
Samuel went back to sleep after he heard God calling him. So God called him again and again. When we don’t align with God, we will feel tired serving God, but after a few times, when Samuel followed what Eli instructed him, the anointing of hearing God was passed down from Eli to Samuel.
V15 ‘So Samuel lay down until morning, and opened the doors of the house of the Lord. And Samuel was afraid to tell Eli the vision.’ Samuel was sleeping in the house of God. In the morning, Samuel was afraid of telling Eli what God said to him, but when Eli asked, Samuel didn’t hide anything from him. Eli’s response was very calm, he didn’t have this passion for God anymore, God’s judgement had been delayed but Eli didn’t see this blessing.
V19 ‘So Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground.’ God never left Samuel, His mercy kindness was with him all his life. Everyone knew Samuel was the prophet and the appointed one from God. Samuel went around Israel, everyone heard God’s Word through Samuel. God lifted up Samuel so everyone knew he was appointed by God.
What is our relationship with our authority and with God? Are we in a ‘doing’ mode? Do we feel tired? We can’t hear God and we can’t see God but do we see the miracles God performs in our lives? God really wants to adjust our attitude of following Him. He wants to help us to line up with our authority and with God, no longer with our knowledge and our mind. Let us choose the Tree of Life.
撒母耳记上 3
2023年7月6日 星期四
潘锡安牧师
家庭对我们确实很重要，但我们要摆对优先次序 – 当我们没有先对齐神的时候，本来儿女是神赐给我们的产业、祝福，他们反而让我们失去命定、祝福，我们像以利一样受到审判。我们不是用头脑知识与神对齐，而是在灵里与神对齐，不然我们所接收到的只是条条框框的规定。
V1 童子撒母耳在圣殿里直接服事的不是神而是大祭司以利，因为“那时撒母耳还未认识耶和华”（V7）. 很多时候我们以为自己要服事神，但把次序弄错了，不知道原来神将我们放在教会中，是要我们先帮助神所拣选出来的仆人。“那些日子”就是以利两个儿子胡作非为的日子，神都知道，所以“耶和华的言语稀少”。当我们没有走在神的心意里面，没有与神真正连接的时候，我们只是用自己的“魂”来跟从神，就听不见或不清楚神跟我们说的话。
V2 大祭司以利选择过着自己的生活。
V3 约柜的地方本来是不能让童子进入的，因为只有大祭司可以进去。撒母耳那时只是用自己的头脑跟从以利的指示，最后就疲倦睡着了。
V4-5 撒母耳不知道耶和华的声音，因为以利没有教过他。以利让撒母耳去睡觉，他不去深入思考，而是机械的听从。撒母耳当时是一个乖小孩，但没有办法跟以利对齐，就无法从以利那里得到最宝贵的那一份恩膏。我们如何跟从神给我们的权柄? 是否在跟从中觉得有很多伤害，最后冷淡退后？我们的跟不是在血肉中的跟从，而是在灵里跟从，才能像以利亚和以利沙那样经历恩膏的传承，而不会轻易被伤害。
V6-7 我们是否常说“神跟我们说…”、“神感动我…” ?但我们究竟是否听到神的声音呢？本章的经文给我们很大的启示， 我们可以像撒母耳那样谦卑跟权柄求印证。在神给我们的家中，我们的权柄与我们是同感一灵的，神不会让我们听到南辕北辙的指示。
V8-9 以利若不明白，撒母耳也不会明白。我们会害怕我们的权柄不够圣洁，影响我们。此时的以利虽然已经要被耶和华取代大祭司的位份，但神会对他所拣选的权柄负责。
V10 神没有放弃撒母耳。我们会担心神不理我们，但当我们愿意跟随他给我们的权柄时，神也不会离开我们。当我们没有在灵里与权柄对齐时，我们的跟从只会让我们疲惫。当撒母耳在灵里与以利对齐水位、在灵里与以利连接，以利那能听到神声音的恩膏就传到撒母耳了。
V11 耶和华要让撒母耳成为以色列中第一个能够清楚听到他说话的人。
V12-13 神所说过的话没有延迟，而是一定会临到。以利没有帮助自己的儿子停止犯罪，因为他看两个儿子比神更重要。
V14 我们不要以为神是有恩典的神就轻忽自己的罪，不要不珍惜神给我们的机会以致落得像以利那样的下场。
V18 以利到这个时刻都还是一副无所谓的态度。神一再给他机会，以利虽相信神是公义的，但他不相信神有怜悯，所以选择放弃与神的关系，只想事情赶快了解，而不是在神面前认罪祈求。
V19-20 没有人为撒母耳“打广告”，因为以色列百姓都经历了撒母耳的服事，知道他是神所立的先知。
V21 神高举撒母耳，让众人都到他是被拣选的。
我们的跟从是否在doing里？当我们觉得累、当我们听不到神的时候，我们就只是在doing里跟随。我们是否从周围的点点滴滴小事看到神的恩典？让我们不再用自己的魂和知识来跟从，而是在灵里跟从我们的权柄。我们的次序也要摆对，不要让我们所挂虑的一切超过神，因为我们所拥有的都出于神，唯有当我们于神对齐时，这一切才能成为我们的祝福。