2.6.25 – 1 Samuel 3

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Welcome to Add Bible, an audio daily devotion from the Ezra Project. We join Alan J. Huth as he shares Bible passages and comments from over 30 years of his personal Bible reading journals.

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Today we are in 1 Samuel chapter 3, and I’m honored to introduce our guest reader, Morgan Jackson, the Senior Vice President of Faith Comes By Hearing, the very organization that we hear these podcasts from on a regular basis here at AdBible. Rather than listening to a recording, we’re going to listen to Morgan Jackson, our guest reader, in 1 Samuel chapter 3, all 21 verses.

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1 Samuel 3. Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli, and the word of the Lord was rare in those days. There was no frequent vision. At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his own place. The lamp of God had not yet gone out. and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was. Then the Lord called Samuel, and he said, Here I am, and ran to Eli and said, Here I am, for you called me. But he said, I did not call. Lie down again. So he went and lay down. And the Lord called again, Samuel. And Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, Here I am, for you called me. But he said, I did not call, my son. Lie down again. Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli and said, Here I am, for you called me. Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy. Therefore Eli said to Samuel, Go, lie down, and if he calls you, you shall say, Speak, Lord, for your servant hears. So Samuel went and laid down in his place. And the Lord came and stood, calling as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. And Samuel said, Speak, for your servant hears. Then the Lord said to Samuel, Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel at which the two ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. On that day I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house from beginning to end. And I declared to him that I am about to punish his house forever for the iniquity that he knew because his sons were blaspheming God and he did not restrain them. Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever. Samuel lay until morning. Then he opened the doors of the house of the Lord, and Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli. But Eli called Samuel and said, Samuel, my son. And he said, Here I am. And Eli said, What was it that he told you? Do not hide it from me. May God do so to you and more also if you hide anything from me of all that he told you. So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. And he said, It is the Lord. Let him do what seems good to him. And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him, and let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established as a prophet of the Lord. And the Lord appeared again at Shiloh. For the Lord revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the Lord.

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Back in that first journal in 1983, I again made a very simple statement here. Samuel has a vision from God about Eli. God held Eli accountable for the disobedience of his sons. In 2007, I had a little bit different take on this passage when I wrote, Wow, God summons a boy, not the priest. A word from the Lord was rare in those days, and God breaks the silence, not to Eli the priest, but to Samuel, a youth. Samuel was sleeping in the temple of the Lord near the Ark of the Covenant, and the Lord called Samuel. Now sometimes it’s hard to discern the voice of God. Samuel thought it was Eli. We may confuse the voice of God for the voice of men. And then verse 10 says, And that was my journal entry in 2007. Have you ever heard from the Lord? Verse 7 says, Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. So he was hearing the voice of God, but he didn’t know. He thought it was Eli. How about you? Have you ever heard the voice of God? And if so, do you think you would recognize it? I can tell you, in my own personal experience, that I’ve heard the voice of God. I can’t tell you what it sounds like. I can’t tell you it was an auditory voice. But there’s just a sense in your spirit when you hear the voice of God. I’ve asked many other friends, have you ever heard from God? And they say yes, and I ask them to explain it, and they have just as much difficulty trying to explain it, but they know they’ve heard from the Lord. Samuel was no different, but he certainly heard from the Lord, didn’t he? So I hope our response will be like Samuel’s, and that is, speak, for your servant is listening. And then, whatever he tells us, We hope we have a similar response that Eli the priest did when he said, It is the Lord, let him do what seems good to him. Samuel’s first message from the Lord was pretty tough, wasn’t it? And he had to share that with Eli. Pretty tough task for a young boy. But I hope we would have the same kind of courage to hear from the Lord and then to allow him to do whatever he wants through us because it is from the Lord. Let’s pick up the story about mom. I wrote in my journal back in 2002, did the night shift at the hospital in Colorado Springs last night again. It will probably be the last. Doctor reports were about the same again today. Quote, she’s holding her own, not much progress, not much regress. So my brother and his wife booked their flight home to Texas and I told Terry and Shannon to go on to North Carolina where Shannon was going to go relocate. And everybody abandoned the hospital this day, except me. I’m writing this in mom’s intensive care room at about 1030 in the morning. I too will be headed for Denver. But it’s very strange that our vigil has been 24-7. And if I leave, no one is here. I read that morning, 1 Samuel chapter 3. from a Gideon Bible in mom’s room. And I wrote, and the word of the Lord was rare in those days. There was no widespread revelation. And then I wrote, it is the Lord. Let him do what seems good to him. So be it with mom. Lord, I pray today that we perk up our ears, that we listen for your voice. It may be a small, still voice, We pray that we would discern that it is your voice. And we pray that we would have ears to hear like Samuel when the voice of the Lord said to him, Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel at which the two ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. Make our ears tingle with your voice today. In the name of the Lord we pray. Amen. According to a recent Barna research study entitled Bible Reading, A New Year’s Resolution, most Americans are not satisfied with their current level of Scripture reading. A majority express a desire to read the Bible more than they currently do. Born-again and practicing Christians are the most likely to desire more Bible reading in their day-to-day lives. It should not come as a surprise that the majority of Americans wish they read Scripture more than they do, says Roxanne Stone, editor-in-chief of Barna Group. After all, two-thirds of Americans agree that the Bible contains everything you need to know to live a meaningful life. Why wouldn’t you want to read such a book more often? The study continues. However, like other New Year’s resolutions, such as exercising more and eating healthier, Scripture reading is often an aspirational goal. It’s the goal that for most people probably doesn’t feel necessary to survive and so can easily get swamped by the day-to-day demands of a busy life. Scripture reading takes time and focus, two things that feel like scarcities in today’s fast-paced and on-demand culture. Like exercise, like dieting, regular Bible reading does not offer instant payoff. It’s a discipline whose rewards are reaped over the long haul. And the study continues, when people go from feeling they should read the Bible more to needing to read the Bible more, they find the time. Access to the Bible is not the issue in the USA, is it? We all have Bibles. According to another study done a few years ago, 88% of Americans own a Bible. We have 3.5 Bibles in our homes. And this is amazing. 59% of people who have no faith or are atheists even own a Bible, probably just in case. So if you have a smartphone, you have access to the Word of God. My Gideon Bible app has over 2,100 languages. Access to the Bible is not the issue. The issue is changing our beliefs about the Bible to behavior with the Bible. So where are Christians with the Bible today? Christians are well-intentioned when it comes to the Bible. We believe that the Bible is the Word of God. We believe, we just don’t behave. Our belief in the Bible and our behavior with the Bible are inconsistent. The middle ground related to the Bible seems to be disappearing. The decrease of Bible-neutral and Bible-friendly people and the increase of Bible antagonists suggests that more people are picking a side. Which side are you on? Are you a Bible antagonist questioning the Bible? Are you Bible-neutral? I just don’t know. Or are you Bible-friendly? I love the Bible. Wherever you are, pick a side. Because of our neglect of God’s word, we are becoming biblically illiterate. For example, in a private religious elementary school, kids were asked about the Old and New Testaments. Here are some funny things that they had to say. The first commandment was when Eve told Adam to eat that apple. Lot’s wife was a pillar of salt by day but a ball of fire by night. What kind of man was Boaz before he married? So, if we think about Bible literacy or illiteracy, we think about it this way. If God decided to come down from his throne in heaven, become an author here on earth, you’d think his book would be on the bestseller list. And the fact is, the Bible is the number one bestselling book of all time. 2.5 to 5 billion, according to research. It’s also the most read book of all time. Praise the Lord, that alone might be evidence that the Bible, not any other so-called writing, is God’s Word. According to a weekly World News report, here are a few other Bible facts. About 50 Bibles are sold every minute. The Bible is the world’s best-selling book. It’s also the world’s most shoplifted book. That’s interesting. And that doesn’t even count all the Gideon Bibles stolen out of those hotels. So I encourage you to enjoy a portion of God’s Word every day. Make it a daily spiritual habit. And so until next time, I’m Alan J. Huth, and this program is sponsored by The Ezra Project, with support from listeners like you. Visit EzraProject.net to keep AdBible, connecting God’s people to God’s Word, on the air.