4/16/2010 9:02 AM
SPIRITUAL DIARY
My Worship Time Focus: God’s judgment deserved
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: 1 Sam. 2:11-21
Message of the verses: “11 ¶
Then Elkanah went to his home at Ramah. But the boy ministered to the
LORD before Eli the priest. 12 Now the
sons of Eli were worthless men; they
did not know the LORD 13 and the
custom of the priests with the people. When any man was offering a sacrifice,
the priest’s servant would come while the meat was boiling, with a three-pronged
fork in his hand. 14 Then he would
thrust it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; all that the fork
brought up the priest would take for himself. Thus they did in Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there. 15 Also, before they burned the fat, the
priest’s servant would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, "Give
the priest meat for roasting, as he will not take boiled meat from you, only
raw." 16 If the man said to him,
"They must surely burn the fat first, and then take as much as you
desire," then he would say, "No, but you shall give it to me now; and
if not, I will take it by force." 17
Thus the sin of the young men was very great before the LORD, for the
men despised the offering of the LORD. 18
Now Samuel was ministering before the LORD, as a boy wearing a linen
ephod. 19 And his mother would make him
a little robe and bring it to him from year to year when she would come up with
her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. 20
Then Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife and say, "May the LORD
give you children from this woman in place of the one she dedicated to the
LORD." And they went to their own home. 21
The LORD visited Hannah; and she conceived and gave birth to three sons
and two daughters. And the boy Samuel grew before the LORD.”
The
forth section of this first chapter in Warren Wiersbe’s commentary on 1 Samuel
is entitled “God judges sin,” and today’s SD goes over the first sub-point
under this heading. This section is a
series of contrasts between the boy Samuel and Eli’s sons who were as the Bible
says “worthless men who did not know the Lord.”
While Samuel was growing in the Lord, and growing and getting bigger
each day these worthless men of Eli were going the other way spiritually and
would eventually judged by the Lord along with their father Eli because he was
allowing all of the evil things that they were doing to happen.
There
were laws in the OT of what portion of food the priests were to receive as food
for them and their families, but these sons of Eli were taking the portions
that they wanted and this was sinful.
They were also seducing the women who came to help at the tabernacle,
and this was another terrible thing to do before the Lord.
God
blessed Hannah and she and Elkanah would have five more children as Eli prayed
for them to have more children because they had dedicated Samuel to the
Lord.
Spiritual meaning for my life today: There are differences between the way Samuel
lived his life and Eli’s sons lived their lives and it is obvious to me which
way whom I am to follow, for Samuel was a very godly man and would live his
life before the Lord in a wonderful way.
My Steps of Faith for Today:
- I trust the Lord to show me the sins that I have committed so that I can confess them before the Lord and thus have wonderful fellowship with Him throughout the day.
- Live my life like Samuel.
4/16/2010 9:34 AM
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