1 Samuel 3:1-21: Samuel the Prophet

Outline

  • The judgement of no prophet
  • The call of a prophet
  • The ministry of a prophet

Introduction

What is the worst thing that could happen to you? If we ask this question of God and of an unbeliever we would get two different answers. The unbeliever would answer, ‘The worst things that could happen to me are my loss of freedom, restrictions on my speech, choices, desires.’

War, debilitating sickness, the death of a child, unfaithful spouses, poverty, these and other physical afflictions would likely rate highly on the list. But if you ask God what are the worst things that can happen to you the answer would be very different. Where the world values libertarian freedom to whatever your heart desires, Romans 1:24-27 tells us that God punishes those who deny Him by giving them up to their sins without fear or conscience. John Lennon in his song portrays the ideal world as a world without religion, where there are no churches, preachers, people standing up to tell you what’s right or wrong. According to the book of 1 Samuel, the lack of the word of God is not a sign of progress but darkness and judgement.

You probably remember 1 Samuel 3 from your Sunday school lessons as a good lesson on how to be a good little boy or girl, ready to listen and do what God says. This certainly is one of the ways we can apply this chapter, but we must not miss the significance of this chapter as a time of darkness where God in His faithfulness breaks into that darkness and appoints a prophet to expel the darkness. So today as we consider the appointing of Samuel as prophet we want to think about the judgement of no prophets, the calling of a prophet and the ministry of a prophet.

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