Here I Am A Response to a Rare Word
Part 4
Tim Franklin
Introduction:
· We have been looking all month at how to raise a child who hears God and considers his word precious.
o First we looked at Hannah and saw the intentional things she did.
o We answered two questions posed by our record: How do you prepare your child to be in the presence of God and How do you prepare your child to not come home with you?
o We went deeper with those questions last week.
· Let’s look this morning at how God takes a nation.
o Before major moves of the Spirit of God it seems that God is preparing a child ruler to bring about change.
o There is so much being spoken prophetically today of God preparing a generation to change nations and prepare the way of the Lord.
· 1 Samuel 3:1-3 Now the boy Samuel ministered to the Lord before Eli. And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no widespread revelation. 2 And it came to pass at that time, while Eli was lying down in his place, and when his eyes had begun to grow so dim that he could not see, 3 and before the lamp of God went out in the tabernacle of the Lord where the ark of God was, and while Samuel was lying down, NKJV
1. The Word of the Lord Was Rare vs 1-3
A. It is a tragedy when the Word of the Lord is considered rare. It means one of two things: God is not talking or the people are not hearing. That is a tragedy! When was the last time you heard from God? When was the last time you know you heard something from God?
i. Dabar is the Hebrew for Word of the Lord. The word means utterance. Utterance has to do with communication. It comes from the heart and is intended to impact its hearers.
ii. Communication is important in any culture with any people. It is how we get hearts to connect.
iii. Dabar is the God speaking to His people. This is BIG!!! God talking to us!!! God wants to talk to us!!!
B. The Word was rare because there was little of it.
i. An object is considered precious or valuable either because of its intrinsic worth or its rarity. (from Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament. Copyright © 1980 by The Moody Bible Institute of Chicago. All rights reserved. Used by permission.)
ii. When there is little of the Word of God men cast off restraint. The word of the Lord gives us vision for what God wants.
a. Prov 29:18 Where there is no revelation,* the people cast off restraint; But happy is he who keeps the law. NKJV
b. Prov 29:18 If people can't see what God is doing, they stumble all over themselves; But when they attend to what he reveals, they are most blessed. (from THE MESSAGE.)
C. There was no widespread revelation.
i. Wide spread—Heb.-parats —to break through or down or over, to burst, to breach; to break or burst out (from womb or enclosure); to break through or down, to make a breach in (from The Online Bible Thayer's Greek Lexicon and Brown Driver & Briggs Hebrew Lexicon, Copyright © 1993, Woodside Bible Fellowship, Ontario, Canada. Licensed from the Institute for Creation Research.)
ii. There was not a wide spread understanding of God spilling out onto the land. The was no breakthrough revelation pertaining to God, nor pertaining to the people of God.
iii. God desires to cover a land with his presence. He desire to give his people the good of the land because he loves us.
D. This land was dry, or void of the word.
i. The priest sons were evil and Eli did nothing about it. They were feeding their flesh while the church/nation was dying!
ii. Eli was so dull that he was letting the lamp of God regularly go out. It was spoken by God that the menorah was to never go out because it spoke of the presence of God among His people to give them wisdom, light, leadership.
a. The Lord directed Moses to put a lampstand holding seven lamps in the Holy Place. These seven lamps represent God's perfect leadership over his people. These "lights" were to burn always being trimmed morning and evening.
b. Leviticus 24:2 "Command the children of Israel that they bring to you pure oil of pressed olives for the light, to make the lamps burn continually. NKJV
2. The Word of the Lord Was Revealed vs 3-11
A. Vs7 the word was not yet revealed (Hebrew is uncovered). The utterance of God. The voice of God. The communication of God was not yet familiar to Samuel.
i. God was hiding himself from Samuel.
ii. That is why we must always be praying Eph. 1:17,18 over our children. God, reveal yourself to my child. Uncover yourself, open his eyes that he might see.
B. Why does God speak to Samuel?
i. I believe it is because he was a worshiper like his mother and father.
ii. He knew how to minister to the Lord. 2:11; 2:18; 3:1 and 2:21 Samuel grew before the Lord.
iii. God was looking for someone he could trust. “The special status of the priest was not merely one of ritual or ceremony. He had the grave responsibility of representing the people before God, and it was through his ministry that Israel had access to God. He also stood before the people as God's official representative.” (from Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament. Copyright © 1980 by The Moody Bible Institute of Chicago. All rights reserved. Used by permission.)
a. God wanted someone who could stand before him and He wanted someone he could stand before!
C. Vs 8 Then Eli perceived that God was calling Samuel.
i. God was calling (Hebrew – is summoning, or inviting) Samuel to receive the debar/utterance of God.
ii. The word for calling also implies the naming of something. God gave Adam the assignment to name the animals.
iii. Samuel was receiving the utterance of God and being commissioned into something wonderful
D. Vs 9 Eli instructs Samuel. When this happens again say, “Speak” the word speak is debar. Give me utterance from your heart God. Communication from God is sacred! Samuel was being give a chance to use all that his mother had taught him while under Eli’s guidance. “This is rare Samuel! God is talking, communicating with his people!” In this house of prophetic utterance we do not want to ever lose the preciousness of the word of God.
E. Vs 11 God says, Behold I will do something… the word something in the Hebrew is debar! God is saying to Samuel I will utter my voice once again in Israel!
i. I believe there is now a generation coming forth that will once again utter the voice of God to our nation and to the nations of the earth.
3. The Word of the Lord Was Recognized vs20
A. And all Israel knew…that Samuel was established prophet of the Lord.
i. Samuel had the Word of the Lord for Eli
ii. Vs 19 None of his word fell to the earth.
B. Vs 21 God appears again and uncovers/makes visible himself once again by the debar! The utterance, the communication, the voice of God himself.
Conclusion:
· If we can treat the Word of the Lord as precious and seek His face, He will come and uncover himself once again. And the World will know He is the Lord.
· Revival before July
· Parents you are key to the move of God.
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