Hello, my “Walking with Jesus” friends,
When you hear the phrase “counterculture“ I wonder what images or thoughts come to your mind? “Counterculture” means someone, or some organization is functioning in a way which is totally contrary to what has become normal. “Counterculture” can either be very courageous and positive or very negative and problematic.
Come with me back to Shiloh, Israel about 3000 years ago. In that place, every day of the week, Israelites came with their families and their sacrifices, ready to worship the God of Israel at the “Tent of Meeting”, the Tabernacle. That worship experience was intended to realign their lives with God and God’s purposes for His people. But there was a serious problem in Shiloh!
Over the past two days you and I have discovered that all was not right, good or even moral at this Tabernacle, for Eli the High Priest was at least lax if not totally oblivious to the decadent and devious things his two priestly sons Hophni and Phinehas were doing in their daily duties, as they defiled the spiritual leadership of the people who came to Shiloh to worship God. It was beyond unfortunate; it was outright blasphemy and immorality!
It was totally ‘counterculture‘ to what both God and the people expected from Israel’s spiritual leaders, men who were supposed to be holy, honorable, Godly men. (1 Samuel 2:12-17, 22) This one phrase summarizes the decadent culture at the Tabernacle of God in Shiloh: “Eli’s sons were wicked men; they had no regard for the LORD God of Israel.” (1 Sam. 2:12) Now I ask you my friends, does that phrase reflect the culture of any family or community or group of people you know?
But in contrast to all this I find these very interesting phrases which describe young, innocent Samuel and his efforts to both live a God honoring life and serve Eli and the people with spiritual integrity and holiness:
* 1 Samuel 1:28 “Samuel worshipped the LORD there.”
* 1 Samuel 2:11 “The boy Samuel ministered before the LORD under Eli the priest.”
* 1 Samuel 2:21 “Meanwhile the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the LORD.’
* 1 Samuel 2:26 “the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor with the LORD and the people.”
* 1 Samuel 3:1 “The boy Samuel ministered before the LORD under Eli. In those days the word of the LORD was rare; there were not many visions.”
Did you hear that last sentence? “In those days the word of the LORD was rare; there were not many visions.” Wow! What does that mean my friends? It’s a description of a very sad and dangerous condition and it can happen anywhere to any group of people. Because Eli and his two sons were so dysfunctional and failing so badly in providing spiritual leadership to the people of Israel, God was NOT speaking to them by any of the traditional means God had spoken to His great leaders of the past, men like Abraham or Moses or Joshua or Gideon.
From the perspective of Eli and his priestly sons God was silent, prayers to God were unheard, worship was a waste of time. From God’s perspective, the spiritual leaders of Israel were so immoral, so corrupt, that God could not trust them with anything God might say to them as instructions for His people, and so God was silent.
And my friends, when God is silent the human race is in terrible trouble, for left to ourselves, we will put in place wicked leaders and urge them to lead us on paths of irresponsibility and self indulgence which will suffocate us and our children in debt, decadence and despair. Now think about that powerful statement for a moment. Do you see it is true wherever you live in our world?
So, if God was unwilling to speak to Eli or his priestly sons, yet God’s people Israel desperately needed spiritual leadership who would hear God and then lead the people in following God, what options did God have? Either He would do nothing, and Israel would continue in spiritual chaos or God would do as He had promised: “I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who will do according to what is in My heart and mind.” (1 Samuel 2:35)
And for that reason, the next part of the story of Samuel is nothing short of miraculous and amazing. The record says: “One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the Tabernacle of the LORD where the Ark of the Covenant was. Then the LORD God called Samuel. Samuel answered, ‘here I am’. And Samuel ran to Eli and said, ‘Here I am, you called me.’ But Eli said, ‘I did not call, go back and lie down.’ So, Samuel went and lay down…” (1 Samuel 3:2-5)
I don’t know where Eli normally slept. I presume he had a house there in Shiloh, or perhaps a tent near the Tabernacle so he could be close as needed. I find the description of where Samuel lay down very interesting. Did you notice it? “Samuel was lying down in the Tabernacle of the LORD where the Ark of the Covenant was.” Now we know the Ark of the Covenant was kept behind the veil in the room known as the Most Holy Place and only the High Priest was permitted there and only once per year on the Day of Atonement. (Leviticus 16)
Thus, I interpret this to mean Samuel lay on his little sleeping mat in the Holy Place where the Altar of Incense and Table of Shewbread and Golden Lampstand were. But not just anywhere in that holy room. It appears to me Samuel lay his mat close to the veil, as close as he could get to the Ark without actually going behind the veil.
Now why do you suppose little Samuel would do that? I believe it was because of a God given spiritual hunger that awakened a spiritual appetite in Samuel to know God and be as close to God as possible. Now for just a moment my friends, look at young Samuel laying there on his mat at the veil, and look at the golden lampstand over there with the wicks aglo with candlelight. Look at the golden Table of Shewbread on the opposite side of this holy room, with 12 loaves of bread upon it. And there, very near where Samuel was laying, the Altar of Incense, the daily place of prayer for the priests who enter here to pray for Israel. Do you see God was preparing Samuel to hear that rare voice of the LORD God?
Samuel, I’m sure, had been called by Eli many, many times in the years he’d been growing up in Shiloh at the Tabernacle, and he’d been trained that as soon as he heard his name called, day or night, he would run to Eli to see what Eli needed. But this time Samuel found Eli asleep and when he awakened the old priest, Samuel was surprised to hear that Eli had NOT called him? But Samuel was absolutely sure he had heard a voice call his name? As Samuel returned to his sleeping place, he didn’t know but God was preparing to do something that would change his life and Shiloh forever! Tomorrow we’ll witness what God did.
For today, may I ask, is heaven silent for you or do you enjoy the miracle of prayer with confidence God hears and responds to your prayers? Can God trust you to hear and obey what He tells you, or does God have to withhold from you the guidance He’d like to give you because God knows you won’t obey God?
Here’s a song to help us consider this my friends… what is the condition of our hearts toward God today?
Today’s Scripture is 1 Samuel 3:1-5.
Choose below to read or listen.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
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Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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