Wednesday Devo
Scripture:
1 Samuel 3:11-18
11 Then the Lord said to Samuel, “I am about to do a shocking thing in Israel. 12 I am going to carry out all my threats against Eli and his family, from beginning to end. 13 I have warned him that judgment is coming upon his family forever, because his sons are blaspheming God and he hasn’t disciplined them. 14 So I have vowed that the sins of Eli and his sons will never be forgiven by sacrifices or offerings.”
15 Samuel stayed in bed until morning, then got up and opened the doors of the Tabernacle as usual. He was afraid to tell Eli what the Lord had said to him. 16 But Eli called out to him, “Samuel, my son.”
“Here I am,” Samuel replied.
17 “What did the Lord say to you? Tell me everything. And may God strike you and even kill you if you hide anything from me!” 18 So Samuel told Eli everything; he didn’t hold anything back. “It is the Lord’s will,” Eli replied. “Let him do what he thinks best.”.
11 Then the Lord said to Samuel, “I am about to do a shocking thing in Israel. 12 I am going to carry out all my threats against Eli and his family, from beginning to end. 13 I have warned him that judgment is coming upon his family forever, because his sons are blaspheming God and he hasn’t disciplined them. 14 So I have vowed that the sins of Eli and his sons will never be forgiven by sacrifices or offerings.”
15 Samuel stayed in bed until morning, then got up and opened the doors of the Tabernacle as usual. He was afraid to tell Eli what the Lord had said to him. 16 But Eli called out to him, “Samuel, my son.”
“Here I am,” Samuel replied.
17 “What did the Lord say to you? Tell me everything. And may God strike you and even kill you if you hide anything from me!” 18 So Samuel told Eli everything; he didn’t hold anything back. “It is the Lord’s will,” Eli replied. “Let him do what he thinks best.”.
Commentary:
3:11 This is the Lord’s first word to Samuel as a prophet. It is often difficult for the recipient to receive the Lord’s initial revelation; cf. Moses (Ex. 4:13) and Isaiah (Isa. 6:9).
3:12 all that I have spoken. Cf. 2:27–36.
3:13 The MT reads “blaspheming for themselves” (see ESV footnote). In Hebrew the phrases blaspheming God and “blaspheming for themselves” differ by just one consonant. That consonant was left out by pious scribes so that in copying they would not even need to write the offensive phrase “blaspheming God.” Cf. Ex. 22:28; Lev. 24:15.
3:14 Eli’s house has despised God’s sacrifices and offerings (2:29), and hence these things will have no efficacy on their behalf. Though normal or inadvertent sins of priests could be atoned for by offering (Lev. 4:3–12), Eli’s sons sinned defiantly, and their guilt could not be removed (Num. 15:30; see also Heb. 10:26), as Eli himself recognizes (1 Sam. 2:25).
3:17 May God do so to you and more also if is a form of solemn appeal to the Lord, a kind of oath. Cf. Ruth 1:17; 1 Sam. 14:44; 25:22; 2 Sam. 3:9; 19:13; 1 Kings 19:2.
3:18 It is the LORD. Eli accepts the judgment humbly.
Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 497.
3:12 all that I have spoken. Cf. 2:27–36.
3:13 The MT reads “blaspheming for themselves” (see ESV footnote). In Hebrew the phrases blaspheming God and “blaspheming for themselves” differ by just one consonant. That consonant was left out by pious scribes so that in copying they would not even need to write the offensive phrase “blaspheming God.” Cf. Ex. 22:28; Lev. 24:15.
3:14 Eli’s house has despised God’s sacrifices and offerings (2:29), and hence these things will have no efficacy on their behalf. Though normal or inadvertent sins of priests could be atoned for by offering (Lev. 4:3–12), Eli’s sons sinned defiantly, and their guilt could not be removed (Num. 15:30; see also Heb. 10:26), as Eli himself recognizes (1 Sam. 2:25).
3:17 May God do so to you and more also if is a form of solemn appeal to the Lord, a kind of oath. Cf. Ruth 1:17; 1 Sam. 14:44; 25:22; 2 Sam. 3:9; 19:13; 1 Kings 19:2.
3:18 It is the LORD. Eli accepts the judgment humbly.
Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 497.
Questions:
When God first spoke to Samuel, He gave him a heavy message of judgment against Eli's family for their unchecked sin. Samuel was afraid to deliver it, but when Eli demanded to know what God had said, Samuel “told him everything” and held nothing back. From the very beginning, Samuel learned that faithfully listening to God means being willing to receive difficult truth, not just searching for words that bring comfort.
We can easily treat God's Word like a menu, taking what we like and quickly skipping over what we don't. We may even find ourselves embracing the passages that affirm our choices while avoiding the ones that expose our sin or demand something costly from us. But Scripture was never meant to simply confirm what we already believe. God's Word searches us, exposes blind spots, corrects us, and renews our hearts and minds.
Before Samuel could faithfully speak God's Word to others, he first had to be willing to receive it himself. Spiritual integrity isn't built by becoming good at telling other people what God says. It begins when we allow God's Word to confront us, humble us, and change us. We cannot faithfully represent a God whose Word we are unwilling to submit to ourselves.
We can easily treat God's Word like a menu, taking what we like and quickly skipping over what we don't. We may even find ourselves embracing the passages that affirm our choices while avoiding the ones that expose our sin or demand something costly from us. But Scripture was never meant to simply confirm what we already believe. God's Word searches us, exposes blind spots, corrects us, and renews our hearts and minds.
Before Samuel could faithfully speak God's Word to others, he first had to be willing to receive it himself. Spiritual integrity isn't built by becoming good at telling other people what God says. It begins when we allow God's Word to confront us, humble us, and change us. We cannot faithfully represent a God whose Word we are unwilling to submit to ourselves.
- Which is harder for you to receive from Scripture: correction of something you are doing, correction of something you believe, or correction of how you are treating someone? How do you typically respond when Scripture corrects you; repentance, avoidance, excuses, anger?
- In 1 Samuel 3, God doesn't soften His message to protect Eli from the consequences of his sin. What does this passage show us about God's holiness and His refusal to simply overlook sin? How does the cross remind us that God's justice and mercy are not competing characteristics?
- Is there a biblical truth you have become good at explaining, qualifying, or avoiding because fully submitting to it would cost you something? Do you need to confess and repent to God?
Prayer Topics:
- Confess the places where pride, comfort, or fear have made you resistant to God's correction.
- Thank God that He loves us enough to expose what needs to change in us.
- Ask God for humility to receive His Word honestly and courage to obey it even when obedience is uncomfortable or costly.
- Praise God that the One who confronts our sin is also the One who bears our sin and offers forgiveness.
This Week's City 7:
Try to commit to memory!
5. Why do I follow Jesus? I follow Jesus because Jesus rose from the dead proving that He is the way, the truth and the life.
(Matthew 7:24-27; John 14:6)
(Matthew 7:24-27; John 14:6)
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