1 Samuel - The presence of God

I am struck by a couple of things in the life of Samuel as a child that are significant in shaping and moulding his life and ministry. 1 Samuel chapter 3 opens by telling us that “the boy Samuel ministered before the Lord under Eli.” It then goes on to state that “the word of the Lord was rare”...God was not speaking to Israel. Eli, the High Priest had grown old, tired and fat....his sons were screw ups and he was neglecting his duties as High Priest. Samuel slept in the tabernacle “where the ark of God was” and the lamp of God had not yet gone out. (Eli as high priest was supposed to tend the lamps so that they never went out – see Lev 24:4)

The Jewish historian Josephus notes that Samuel was twelve years old at this stage and his mother had set him apart with a “Nazarite vow” – a vow that consecrated him apart the same way as the priests were.

Samuel was comfortable in the presence of God...he slept in the tabernacle with the Ark of the covenant, representing God’s glory and the altar of incense where the prayers of Israel symbolically rose to God. Samuel slept as close to the presence of God that anybody could without being deep-fried...the other side of the curtain was off limits – except to the high priest – once a year on the day of atonement – with a rope tied around him so that his friends could drag the body out if God zapped him. This is where Samuel slept for some years as a young child...comfortable close to God.

Perhaps this willingness of the young Samuel to draw close to God’s presence was the catalyst for God revealing Himself to him. Samuel had to have a few attempts to properly hear from God...but the old man Eli eventually figured out that God was trying to speak and instructed the boy how to respond.

1 Samuel 3 closes with a remarkable verse (v19)...”The Lord was with Samuel as he grew up, and He let none of his words fall to the ground.”

Perhaps when we spend time close to God – maybe even just resting – that He will speak to us and gives us words to speak to people that are precious and worth protecting.

Ruth - Cameo Appearance

When looking at the book of Ruth, it is usual to identify Ruth as the main character in the plot. Ruth returns, after the tragic death of her Jewish husband to Bethlehem in Israel with her mother in law Naomi. Ruth was born in Moab and now through no fault of her own finds herself an alien and a widow in a foreign land. Ruth is forced to collect the scraps and leftovers of the grain harvest just to survive.

It is in chapter two of Ruth where we meet Boaz, a relative of Ruth’s deceased husband.

The first thing that strikes me is Boaz’s generosity…He greets the workers in his field with “The LORD bless you!” (Ruth 2:4 – and yes….the exclamation mark is in the Bible) “The LORD bless you!” they called back. I don’t know about you but “The LORD bless you” is probably very low down on the list of things I would like to say to some of the bosses I have had over the years.

In verse 12, Boaz makes the following statement; “May you be richly rewarded by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.” He goes on to instruct the workers in his field to intentionally leave some stalks of grain for Ruth to easily glean.

When Israel left Egypt some 200 years prior, God had instructed them not to oppress or mistreat aliens – and to remember what it feels like (Exod 21:21, 23:9)

To cut a long story short, Boaz and Ruth marry and have children who form part of the lineage of the great King David and then another great Bethlehem birth 1300 years later…that of Jesus.

Psalm 146:9 states clearly that the LORD himself watches over the alien, the fatherless and the widows. Boaz through his generous character, generous speech, generous treatment of his employees and his generosity with his wealth actually became the means that God himself blessed Ruth…and wrote himself one of the most interesting cameo appearances in Scripture.

In my country (Australia) we are surrounded by a sea of widows and fatherless children as a result of the growing tsunami of marriage failures. We are a country that is constantly arguing about immigration and accepting refugees. We struggle with hard choices about what to do with ‘boat people’ who arrive on our shores regularly from some of the world’s least desirable places.

Perhaps it is God’s plan that we should demonstrate through generosity of our speech, character and wealth that He is looking after our aliens, widows and fatherless.