July 03, 2020
BIBLE READING: I Samuel 12
“And all the people said unto Samuel, Pray for thy servants unto the LORD thy God, that we die not: for we have added unto all our sins this evil, to ask us a king. And Samuel said unto the people, Fear not: ye have done all this wickedness: yet turn not aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart; And turn ye not aside: for then should ye go after vain things, which cannot profit nor deliver; for they are vain.” I Samuel 12:19-21
When I was in college, I took British Literature. Unless you were an English major, that was not the most popular class. To make matters worse, my class hour was the last class of the day after working customer service and taking other classes. So, by then, needless to say, I was ready for a nap. During class, every time I would drift or be completely confused of what my teacher was talking about, suddenly she has us stand up, stretch, sit back down, and reexplain the portion of literature. After a while I thought it was kind of strange, till one day she explained my facial expressions was the thermometer for the class. She would know whether the class was understanding or completely lost. So, I have no poker face. We see here in this passage that Israel was not getting the point that Samuel was explaining. He was speaking to the nation of their mistakes and their rejection of God. Till finally God got their attention. Samuel was able to call for rain and thunder from God instantaneously during the dry season. Now that would be a way to wake up a congregation. We all would flood the alter if that happened on a Sunday morning. This finally got their attention. They confessed and asked Samuel to pray for them. He reminds them to turn their faithfulness to the Lord and serve Him. He goes on to remind them not to fall back to worshipping idols. What an important point. God has way to get our attention doesn’t He. How many times do we find ourselves in cycles like this? We allow ourselves to lose our focus where it should be. When God wants us to follow Him alone. Samuel wanted Israel to learn from their past to do better for the future. We can make mistakes, we are human, but God wants us to learn, follow, and trust Him. Let’s be careful of allowing hobbies, jobs, people, etc. get in the way of our relationship with the Lord. Remember, why we should follow and trust Him, because of the great love and care He has for us. Verse 24 is a beautiful reminder of that. “Only fear the LORD and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things he hath done for you.” Let’s remember how great God has been to us and how we can best serve Him today!
David Fulp II