When You Want What You Shouldn’t Have by Dr. Leslie Hollon

II Samuel 11

One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace.  From the roof he saw a woman bathing.  The woman was very beautiful…

II Samuel 11: 2

King David sent his men off to battle but did not go himself.  This was the first time he did not lead his troops as they went on a major military campaign.  Why did he stay behind?  What was he feeling? He would fight more battles later; why not now?

When David went to his roof top and saw Bathsheba bathing, he was inspired by temptation not goodness. Temptation takes what is good and turns it upside down with the deceptive message that wrong is better than right (Isaiah 5:20).  Temptation whispers for us not to trust God. When we commit to temptation, we sin by trying to redefine “goodness” into what we want.  David risked the kingdom he had fought hard to win for God’s purposes.

He had seen Bathsheba before but not like this; not when he was in transition and she appeared so vulnerable and beautiful before his wandering eyes.  Out on the balcony, David’s body experienced a flash flood of testosterone.  His sexual drive became fully activated when he looked out and saw beautiful Bathsheba bathing.  He saw her as a pawn for his taking and not as a loyal family friend.   Bathsheba’s family had been faithful and true to the king.  Her father, Eliam (2 Sam. 23:34), was likely one of David’s more heroic leaders.  Uriah, her husband, was one of David’s most valiant soldiers (2 Sam. 23:3a).

In this transition moment, David yielded his heart to sin and decided that his own selfish desires would make him happy.  The story is told honestly and graphically in 2 Samuel 11.  The king commanded a servant, “Bring her to me!”  This Hebrew phrase means “to take.”  David, motivated by lust, in a lonely moment, abused his kingly power.  Bathsheba went into the palace to meet the King.  David, caught in sin’s thrill of rebellion, did not care that his actions displeased God.

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER REFLECTION: Does your love for God help you to focus on doing what is right? Does fear of painful consequences warn you to beware of sin? Can you let go of that something you want, but that you shouldn’t have?

PRAYER:  God, I wish my heart wanted what was always right, but it doesn’t.  In this struggle I become double minded.  So right now I am going to trust you enough to release “the other” from my heart.  Please fill my heart with the joy of your presence so I won’t feel so lonely and want to take back that which I have just relinquished. Amen.

A Note from Mark Roberts: This week’s reflections have been written by my friend and fellow pastor, Dr. Leslie Hollon, Senior Pastor of Trinity Baptist Church in San Antonio, Texas. Leslie (known also by the nickname Les) is a noted preacher, pastor, professor, and author. He is a gifted biblical teacher who connects the deep truths of Scripture to the realities of daily life. Every time I hear Leslie preach, I am encouraged to consider in new ways how the Word of God speaks to me. I know you will find Leslie’s reflections on temptation to be challenging and encouraging.

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The Death Of Two Brave Warriors

Samuel had died and all Israel had mourned for him and had buried him in his own town Ramah. Saul, too, had put the mediums and those who had messages from the spirits of the dead out of the land.

Then the Philistines came and camped in Shunem, and Saul gathered all the Israelites and camped in Gilboa. But when he saw the army of the Philistines, he was terrified and filled with fear. So he asked of Jehovah whether he should go against them, but Jehovah did not answer him either by dream or by lot or by the prophets. Then Saul said to his servants, “Find for me a woman who is a medium, that I may go and ask through her.” His servants said to him, “There is such a woman at Endor.”

So Saul did not let any one know who he was, but put on other clothes and went, taking two men with him. And they came to the woman at night. He said, “Ask for me through some departed spirit and bring up for me the one for whom I shall ask.” The woman said to him, “You know what Saul has done, how he has driven from the land the mediums and those who have messages from the spirits of the dead. Why then are you trying to catch me, to put me to death?” But Saul swore to her by Jehovah, saying, “As surely as Jehovah lives, no punishment will come to you from this act.” Then the woman said, “Whom shall I bring up to you?” Saul said, “Bring up Samuel.”

When the woman saw Samuel, she screamed and said to Saul, “Why have you deceived me, for you are Saul?” Saul replied, “Do not be afraid! What do you see?” The woman said to Saul, “I see a god coming out of the earth.” Saul asked, “What does he look like?” She said, “An old man is coming up, and he is wrapped in a cloak.” Then Saul knew that it was Samuel; and he bowed with his face to the earth and worshipped.

Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” Saul answered, “I am in great trouble, for the Philistines are making war against me, and God has turned from me and answers me no more, neither by prophets nor by dreams. So I have called you to tell me what I shall do.” Samuel said, “Why do you ask of me when Jehovah has turned from you and become your enemy? He has taken the authority from your hand and given it to another, even to David. To-morrow you, with your sons beside you, shall fall, and Jehovah will deliver the army of Israel into the power of the Philistines.”

Then Saul fell at full length upon the earth, for the words of Samuel filled him with fear, so he had no strength left, for he had not eaten any food all that day and night. When the woman came to Saul and saw that he was in great trouble, she said to him, “See, I have taken my life in my hand and have done what you asked me. Now therefore, listen also to my advice and let me set before you a little food, and eat that you may have strength to go on your way.” Saul refused and said, “I will not eat”; but his servants, as well as the woman, urged him, until he listened to their advice. Then he rose from the earth and sat upon the couch. And the woman had a fat calf in the house which she quickly killed. And she took flour and kneaded it and baked from it bread without yeast. She set it before Saul and his servants, and they ate. Then they rose up and went away that night.

The Philistines fought against Israel, but the Israelites fled from them and fell dead on Mount Gilboa. Then the Philistines closely followed Saul and his sons; and they killed Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchishua, the sons of Saul. So the battle went against Saul, and when the archers found out where he was, he was severely wounded. Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and kill me with it, so that these heathen Philistines may not come and make sport of me.” But his armor-bearer would not, for he was very much afraid. Saul, therefore, took his own sword and fell upon it. When his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell upon his sword and died with him. So Saul and his three sons and his armor-bearer died on the same day.

When the Israelites who were in the towns of the lowland and across the Jordan saw that the Israelites had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they left their towns and fled, and the Philistines came and took them.

On the next day, the Philistines came to rob the dead, and found that Saul and his three sons had fallen on Mount Gilboa. They cut off his head and stripped off his armor and sent messengers through all the land of the Philistines to bring the good news to their idols and to the people. And they put his armor in the temple of Ashtarte and fastened his body on the wall of Bethshan.

When the inhabitants of Jabesh in Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, their brave men rose up and marched all night, and they took the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall of Bethshan and brought them to Jabesh and mourned over them there. Then they took their bones and buried them under the oak-tree in Jabesh and ate no food for seven days.

On the third day after David returned to Ziklag, after defeating the Amalekites, a man came from the camp of Saul with his clothes torn and with earth upon his head. When he came to David, he fell on the ground before him. David said to him, “Where do you come from?” He answered, “I have escaped from the camp of Israel.” David said to him, “How did the battle go? Tell me.” He answered, “The people fled from the battle-field, and many of them fell, and Saul and Jonathan his son are dead!”

Then David and all the men who were with him tore their clothes and mourned and wept and went without food until evening, because Saul and Jonathan his son and the people of Jehovah had fallen by the sword.

David then sang this dirge over Saul and Jonathan:

“Weep, O Judah!
Grieve, O Israel!
On your heights are the slain!
How the mighty have fallen!

“Saul and Jonathan, beloved and lovely!
In life and in death they were never parted;
They were swifter than eagles,
They were stronger than lions.

“O Jonathan, your death has mortally wounded me,
O Jonathan, my brother, for you I am sorrowing.
You were ever a friend to me most dear,
Your love meant far more than the love of women!

“How the mighty have fallen,
And the weapons of war vanished!”

http://kids.ochristian.com/Childrens-Bible/The-Death-Of-Two-Brave-Warriors.shtml

How Samuel Found A Leader

There was a rich Benjamite named Kish, who lived at Gibeah. He had a son named Saul, a man full grown and handsome; no one among the Israelites was more handsome than he. From his shoulders and upward he was taller than any of the people.

Now the asses of Kish, Saul’s father, were lost. So Kish said to Saul, “Take one of the servants with you and go, look for the asses.” They went through the highlands of Ephraim and the land of Shalishah, but did not find them. Then they crossed into the land of Shaalim, but the asses were not there. They also went through the land of Benjamin, but did not find them.

They had come into the land of Zuph when Saul said to his servant who was with him, “Come, let us go back, that my father may not stop thinking of the asses and be anxious about us.” The servant answered him, “There is a man of God in this town who is held in honor; all that he says is sure to come true. Now let us go there; perhaps he can tell us the way we should go.”

Saul said to his servant, “But, suppose we go, what shall we take to the man, for the bread is gone from our sacks, and there is no present to take to the man of God? What have we?” The servant answered Saul again and said, “See, I have with me a quarter of a silver shekel. Give it to the man of God that he may tell us our way.” Then Saul said to his servant, “Your advice is good; come, let us go.” So they went to the town where the man of God was.

As they were going up to the town, they met young women going out to draw water and said to them, “Is the seer here?” They answered them, “He is there; he is before you. Make haste, for he has just come into the town, for the people have a sacrificial feast to-day at the sacred place on the hilltop. As soon as you come to the town, you will find him before he goes up to the high place to eat, for the people will not eat until he comes, for he blesses the sacrifice, and then the guests eat. Therefore go up now, for at this time you will find him.”

So they went up to the town, and when they came inside the gate, Samuel was just coming out toward them to go up to the high place. Now Jehovah had told Samuel the day before Saul came, “About this time to-morrow I will send you a man out of the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him to be a prince over my people Israel. He shall deliver my people from the power of the Philistines; for I have seen the suffering of my people, because their cry has come to me.”

When Samuel saw Saul, Jehovah told him, “This is the man of whom I spoke to you! He it is who shall rule over my people.” So when Saul met Samuel in the gate, and said, “Tell me, if you will, where the seer’s house is,” Samuel answered Saul, “I am the seer; go up before me to the high place, for you shall eat with me to-day; and in the morning I will let you go and will tell you all that is in your mind. As for your asses that were lost three days ago, do not trouble yourself about them for they have been found. And to whom belongs all that is best in Israel? Does it not belong to you and to your father’s house?” Saul answered and said, “Am I not a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel, and is not my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then do you speak to me in this way?”

But Samuel took Saul and his servant and brought them into the hall and made them sit at the head of the guests (who were about thirty in number). Samuel also said to the cook, “Bring the part which I gave you and told you to put aside.” So the cook took up the leg and what was on it and placed them before Saul. Then Samuel said, “See what has been kept for you! Set it before you and eat, for it was kept for you until the appointed time, that you might eat with the people whom I have invited.” So Saul ate with Samuel that day.

After they came down from the high place into the town, they spread a bed for Saul on the roof, and he lay down. Then at daybreak Samuel called to Saul on the roof, saying, “Rise, that I may send you away.” So Saul rose, and he and Samuel went out into the street. As they were going out of the town, Samuel said to Saul, “Tell the servant to go on before us, but you stand here that I may tell you the message from God.”

Then Samuel took the flask of oil and poured it on Saul’s head, and kissed him and said, “Has not Jehovah anointed you to be a prince over his people Israel? You shall rule over Jehovah’s people and deliver them from the power of their enemies on every side. This is the sign that Jehovah has anointed you to be a prince over his own people: when you go from me to-day you shall find two men at Rachel’s tomb; and they will say to you, ‘The asses that you went to seek are found, and now your father is thinking no more about the asses but is worrying about you, saying, “What shall I do for my son?”‘ Then you shall go on from there and come to the oak of Tabor. There three men going up to God at Bethel will meet you, one carrying three kids, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a skin of wine. They will greet you and give you two loaves of bread which you shall take from their hand. After that you shall come to Gibeah. As you come to the city you will meet a band of prophets coming down from the high place with a lyre, a tambourine, a flute, and a harp before them, while they prophesy. Then the spirit of Jehovah will come suddenly upon you, and you shall prophesy with them, and shall be changed into another man. When these signs come to you, do whatever you can, for God is with you.” So when Saul turned away from Samuel, God gave him a new heart, and all those signs came to pass that day.

Saul’s uncle also said to him and to his servant, “Where did you go?” He said, “To seek the asses; and when we saw that they were not to be found, we went to Samuel.” Saul’s uncle said, “Tell me what Samuel said to you.” Saul replied, “He told us that the asses were surely found.” But Saul did not tell him that Samuel had said he should become the ruler.

After about a month, Nahash, the Ammonite, came up and besieged Jabesh in Gilead; and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Make terms with us and we will serve you.” But Nahash, the Ammonite, said to them. “On this condition will I make terms with you: that I bore out the right eye of each of you, and so bring disgrace upon all Israel.” The elders of Jabesh said to him, “Let us have seven days in which to send messengers through all the land of Israel. Then, if there are none to save us, we will come to you.”

So the messengers came to Gibeah where Saul lived and told the facts in the hearing of the people, and they all set up a loud wail. Just then Saul was coming from the field behind the oxen, and he said, “What is the trouble with the people that they are wailing?” Then they told him what the men of Jabesh had said. When he heard it, the spirit of Jehovah came suddenly upon him and he became very indignant. He took a pair of oxen, cut them in pieces, and sent them through all the land of Israel by messengers, who said, “Whoever does not come out after Saul and after Samuel, the same shall be done to his oxen!”

Then a terror from Jehovah fell upon the people, and they all gathered together. And Saul said to the messengers who came, “Say to the men of Jabesh in Gilead, ‘To-morrow by the time the sun grows hot help shall come to you.’”

So the messengers went and told the men of Jabesh, and they were glad. Therefore the men of Jabesh said to the Ammonites, “To-morrow we will come out to you, and you shall do to us whatever you please.” So on the following day, Saul divided the people into three divisions; and they went into the midst of the camp early in the morning, and fought against the Ammonites until noon. The Ammonites who stayed behind were so scattered that not two of them were left together.

Then all the people went to Gilgal and there in the presence of Jehovah made Saul their ruler, and they offered sacrifices there to Jehovah; and Saul and all the men of Israel were very happy.

http://kids.ochristian.com/Childrens-Bible/How-Samuel-Found-A-Leader.shtml

To obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. 1 Samuel 15:22

This is a great principle, which is repeatedly enforced throughout the Bible. Men have always been apt to divorce religion and morality, and to suppose that a certain tribute of sacrifice to God will be sufficient compensation for notorious evil doing. But in every age God’s servants have protested against the notion, and have insisted, as Samuel did with Saul, that it were better to obey, although there should be no spoil from which to select victims for sacrifice. This was Christ‘s perpetual protest against the Pharisees.

Let the Ritualist beware. There is a grave fear lest extreme attention to the outward rite may be accompanied by carelessness to the inward temper. Where the outward observance is the expression of the attitude of the soul, it is to be respected even by those of us who feel that excessive symbolism is hostile to the devout life; but where the rite takes the place of the soul’s devotion, or condones a lax morality, it cannot be too sternly deprecated. Though all the Levitical rites should be observed without flaw, they could not compensate for the persistent neglect of the least item of the decalogue. “God is a Spirit; and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.”

Let us all beware. We are apt to make sacrifices of time and money and energy for God, and to comfort ourselves with the reflection that such as we are may be excused if in small lapses of temper, or disposition, we come short of the Divine standard. No; it cannot pass muster. One sin mastered, one temptation resisted, one duty performed, is dearer to God than the most costly sacrifices that were ever piled upon the altar.

http://devotionals.ochristian.com/f-b-meyer-devotional.shtml

 

Samuel The Boy Prophet

Elkanah, a Zuphite of the hill country of Ephraim, lived at Ramah with his two wives, Hannah and Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none.

This man used to go up from his village each year to worship and offer a sacrifice to Jehovah of hosts at Shiloh. Whenever the day came for Elkanah to offer a sacrifice he gave portions to his wife Peninnah and to all his sons and daughters; but although he loved Hannah, he gave her only one portion, for Jehovah had given her no children. Peninnah made her angry by mocking her, for Jehovah had given her no children. Elkanah did this year after year; but whenever Hannah went up to the temple of Jehovah, Peninnah made her so angry that she wept and would not eat. So Elkanah her husband said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep and why do you not eat? Why are you so troubled? Am I not more to you than ten sons?”

After they had eaten in Shiloh, Hannah arose and stood before the temple of Jehovah, while Eli the priest was sitting on his seat beside the door posts of the temple. With a sad heart she prayed earnestly to Jehovah and wept bitterly. She also made this sacred promise:

“O Jehovah of hosts!
If thou wilt look at my affliction,
And remember, not forgetting thy servant,
But wilt give thy servant a son,
Then I will give him to thee,
Throughout all the days of his life;
And no razor shall touch his head.”

While she continued praying before Jehovah, Eli watched her mouth. She spoke to herself; her lips moved, but her voice was not heard, so that Eli thought that she was drunk and said to her, “How long will you act like a drunken woman? Put away your wine and go from the presence of Jehovah.” But Hannah answered, “No, my lord, I am an unhappy woman; I have not drunk wine nor any strong drink, but I have been pouring out my heart before Jehovah. Do not think that your servant is a wicked woman, for I have gone on speaking until now because my grief and vexation are so great.” Eli answered, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant what you have asked of him.” She said, “May your servant have your approval!” So the woman went away and ate, and her face was no longer sad.

Early in the morning she and her husband rose; and after they had worshipped Jehovah, they returned to their home at Ramah. In the course of the year Hannah had a son and named him Samuel, saying, “I asked him of Jehovah.”

Elkanah and all his household again went to offer the yearly sacrifice to Jehovah, but Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, “When the child is weaned, then I will take him, and he shall go to Jehovah’s temple and live there the rest of his life.” Elkanah said to her, “Do what seems best to you; wait until you have weaned him; only may Jehovah help you to do what you have promised.”

So the woman waited and nursed her son until she weaned him. Then she took him with her, and a three-year-old ox, a bushel of flour, and a skin of wine, and brought him to the temple of Jehovah at Shiloh. Then they killed the ox, and Hannah brought the child to Eli and said, “Oh, my lord, as surely as you live, I am the woman who stood near you here praying earnestly to Jehovah. This is the boy for whom I prayed. Jehovah has granted what I asked of him. Therefore I have given him to Jehovah; as long as he lives he belongs to Jehovah.”

Elkanah returned to his home in Ramah, but the boy stayed to serve Jehovah under the direction of Eli the priest. So Samuel–a young boy dressed in a linen robe–did the duties of a priest in the temple. His mother also made him a little robe and each year brought it to him when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.

Eli blessed Elkanah and said, “Jehovah repay you with children from this woman for the gift which she has given to Jehovah.” Then they returned to their home; and Hannah had three more sons and two daughters. Meantime the boy Samuel grew up in the temple of Jehovah.

The sons of Eli were very wicked. They knew not Jehovah, and they despised the offerings which were brought to him. Eli was very old, and whenever he heard that his sons were doing wrong he said to them, “Why do you do such things, for I hear of your wicked deeds from all the people. No, my sons: it is not a good report that I hear from the people of Jehovah.” But they did not listen to the words of their father.

The boy Samuel grew and won the favor both of Jehovah and of men. He continued to serve Jehovah under the direction of Eli; but in those days not many messages came from Jehovah.

One day Eli was lying in his room. His eyes had begun to grow dim so that he could not see. While the lamp of God was still burning, and Samuel was lying in the temple of Jehovah where the ark of God was, Jehovah called, “Samuel! Samuel!” He answered, “Here am I.” Then he ran to Eli and said, “Here am I, for you called me.” But Eli said, “I did not call, lie down again.” So he went and lay down. Then Jehovah called again, “Samuel! Samuel!” Samuel rose and went to Eli and said, “Here am I, for you called me.” But Eli answered, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.”

Now Samuel did not yet know Jehovah nor had a message from Jehovah been given to him. So when Jehovah called Samuel again the third time, he rose and went to Eli and said, “Here am I, for you called me!” Then Eli knew that Jehovah was calling the boy. So he said to Samuel, “Go, lie down, and if you are called, say, ‘Speak, Jehovah, for thy servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

Then Jehovah came and called as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel answered, “Speak, for thy servant is listening.” Jehovah said to Samuel, “See, I am about to do a thing in Israel that will make the ears of every one who hears it tingle. On that day I will do to Eli all that I have said that I would do to his family from the first to the last. For I have told him that I will punish his family forever for the crime of which he knew his sons were guilty, for they did not do what God commanded and he did not stop them.”

Samuel lay until morning, and then he opened the doors of the temple of Jehovah. He was afraid to tell the vision to Eli. But when Eli called him and said, “Samuel, my son,” he said, “Here am I.” Eli asked, “What is the thing that Jehovah said to you? Keep nothing from me; may God do to you whatever he will, if you keep from me a word of all that he said to you.” So Samuel told him everything, and kept nothing from him. And Eli said, “It is Jehovah; let him do what seems good to him.”

http://kids.ochristian.com/Childrens-Bible/Samuel-The-Boy-Prophet.shtml

Morning…

1 Samuel 27:1

And David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul.

The thought of David’s heart at this time was a false thought, because he certainly had no ground for thinking that God‘s anointing him by Samuel was intended to be left as an empty unmeaning act. On no one occasion had the Lord deserted His servant; he had been placed in perilous positions very often, but not one instance had occurred in which divine interposition had not delivered him. The trials to which he had been exposed had been varied; they had not assumed one form only, but many-yet in every case He who sent the trial had also graciously ordained a way of escape. David could not put his finger upon any entry in his diary, and say of it, “Here is evidence that the Lord will forsake me,” for the entire tenor of his past life proved the very reverse. He should have argued from what God had done for him, that God would be his defender still. But is it not just in the same way that we doubt God’s help? Is it not mistrust without a cause? Have we ever had the shadow of a reason to doubt our Father’s goodness? Have not His lovingkindnesses been marvellous? Has He once failed to justify our trust? Ah, no! our God has not left us at any time. We have had dark nights, but the star of love has shone forth amid the blackness; we have been in stern conflicts, but over our head He has held aloft the shield of our defence. We have gone through many trials, but never to our detriment, always to our advantage; and the conclusion from our past experience is, that He who has been with us in six troubles, will not forsake us in the seventh. What we have known of our faithful God, proves that He will keep us to the end. Let us not, then, reason contrary to evidence. How can we ever be so ungenerous as to doubt our God? Lord, throw down the Jezebel of our unbelief, and let the dogs devour it.

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And the Lord came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel! 1 Samuel 3:10

See the urgency of God! Four times He came, and stood, and called. Mark how He stands at the door to knock. At first He was content to call the lad once by name; but after three unsuccessful attempts to attract him to Himself, He uttered the name twice, with strong urgency in the appeal, Samuel! Samuel! This has been called God’s double knock. There are seven or eight of these double knocks in Scripture: Simon, Simon; Saul, Saul; Abraham, Abraham.             How may we be sure of a Divine call?

We may know God’s call when it grows in intensity. If an impression comes into your soul, and you are not quite sure of its origin, pray over it; above all, act on it so far as possible, follow in the direction in which it leads and as you lift up your soul before God, it will wax or wane. If it wanes at all, abandon it. If it waxes follow it, though all hell attempt to stay you.

We may test God’s call by the assistance of godly friends. The aged Eli perceived that the Lord had called the child, and gave him good advice as to the manner in which he should respond to it. Our special gifts and the drift of our circumstances will also assuredly concur in one of God’s calls.

We may test God’s call by its effect on us. Does it lead to self denial? Does it induce us to leave the comfortable bed and step into the cold? Does it drive us forth to minister to others? Does it make us more unseIfish, loving, tender, modest, humble! Whatever is to the humbling of our pride, and the glory of God, may be truly deemed God’s call. Be quick to respond, and fearlessly deliver the message the Lord has given you.

http://devotionals.ochristian.com/f-b-meyer-devotional.shtml

 

Jesus Is Near

Samuel, who was 4, had finished eating his dinner and asked if he could be dismissed from the table. He wanted to go outside to play. But he was too young to be out alone, so his mother said, “No. You can’t go outside by yourself. You need to wait for me to finish and go with you.” His quick reply: “But, Mommy, Jesus is with me!”

Samuel had learned well from his parents that the Lord is always by his side. We see in our Bible reading today that Jacob had learned that lesson too. His father Isaac had blessed him and told him to find a wife from among his mother’s family (Gen. 28:1-4). He followed that directive and traveled toward Haran.

As Jacob slept, the Lord came to him in a dream and said, “I am with you and will keep you wherever you go . . . ; for I will not leave you” (v.15). When he awoke, he knew that he had heard from God, and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place” (v.16). Confident of God’s presence, he committed himself to following Him with his life (vv.20-21).

If we have received Jesus as our Savior (John 1:12), we can be confident and take comfort in the truth that He is always present with us (Heb. 13:5). Like Jacob, may our response to His love be wholehearted devotion.

Thank You, Lord, for walking with us every day. You are our guardian, friend, and guide. May we sense Your loving presence and always know that You are close by our side. Amen.

Our loving God is always near—forever by our side.

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The Lure Of A Message

You’re sitting in a darkened theater enjoying a concert, a play, or a film, when suddenly a smartphone screen lights up as a person reads an incoming text and perhaps takes time to reply. In his book The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains, Nicholas Carr says that in our connected world, “The sense that there might be a message out there for us” is increasingly difficult to resist.

Samuel was a young boy when he heard a voice call his name and thought it was Eli the priest in the tabernacle where he served the Lord (1 Sam. 3:1-7). When Eli realized that God was calling Samuel, he told the boy how to respond. When God called his name a fourth time, “Samuel answered, ‘Speak, for Your servant hears’” (v.10). This attentiveness to God’s voice became the pattern of Samuel’s life as “the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the Lord” (v.21).

Are we listening for God’s voice in our lives today? Are we more drawn by the vibration of a smartphone than the still, small voice of the Lord through His Word and His Spirit?

May we, like Samuel, learn to discern God’s voice and say, “Speak, Lord. I’m listening.”

May we listen, Lord, to You As You speak to us today Through Your Spirit and Your Word— Help us follow and obey. —Sper

Don’t let the noise of the world keep you from hearing the voice of the Lord.

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Correct Them

Therapist and mother Lori Gottlieb says that parents who are obsessed with their children’s happiness may actually contribute to their becoming unhappy adults. These parents coddle their children, do not equip them to deal with the real world, look the other way when their children do wrong, and neglect disciplining them.

In 1 Samuel, we read that the high priest Eli sometimes looked the other way. We don’t know what he was like as a father when his boys were young. But he failed to properly deal with their behavior as grown men serving in God’s temple. They were selfish, lustful, and rebellious, putting their own needs ahead of God’s Word and the needs of the people. At first, Eli rebuked them but they would not listen. Instead of removing them from service, he looked the other way and let them continue in their sin. As a result of his sons’ sins and because Eli honored his sons above the Lord (1 Sam. 2:29), the Lord warned Eli that his family would suffer judgment (v.34; 4:17-18).

As Christian parents, we have the awesome responsibility to lovingly discipline our children (Prov. 13:24; 29:17; Heb. 12:9-11). As we impart God’s wisdom to them, we have the blessing of helping them develop into responsible, God-fearing adults.

They are buds of hope and promise, Possessed by Him whose name is Love; Lent us here to train and nourish For a better life above. —Crosby

Failure to discipline our children is a failure to love them.

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