Did not RESTRAIN!
1 Samuel 4:1”And the word of Samuel came to all Israel……………”
The portion where we read the encounter of God with little Samuel is thrilling and has been the fascination and the most loved subject in Sunday School as well. It truly baffles us! The thought of God the Creator of the Universe yearning and craving to speak to a little boy is beyond our comprehension; however, when we get to know the depth and the colossal love of our God, then we are able to understand His wonderful heart. Many Christian songs are written comparing his love with that of a father or mother, but let me tell you; His love is far higher, deeper and wider and richer than any human love – HIS LOVE IS INCOMPARABLE!
Thrice God approached Samuel in the quietness of the night, Samuel obediently ran to the priest Eli but the fourth time, he said, ‘Speak for your Servant hears.’ God then bursts out like a dam and talks about the atrocities committed by Eli and his sons. There is one phrase that stands out when God spoke to Samuel regarding the wicked family of Eli : He said, ‘Eli did not RESTRAIN his sons from sinning!’ These were the words of God! Read 1 Samuel 3:13: “For I have told him that I will judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knows, because his sons made themselves vile, and he did not restrain them.”
Watch out friends! Hearken to His voice today! Friend, this is a hot sermon that comes to you after spending around three hours at His Feet! God was angry with Eli for his silence. Eli failed to correct his sons and mend their ways, so God had to look for someone else who would hear His voice and not ignore it but take action. Now listen, Eli was no ordinary man, he had once upon a time directly heard the voice of God and His plans but because of his disobedience God stopped talking to Eli. If today you are wondering why am I in the dark, analyze your heart for hidden sins, unrighteous activities, envy, anger, vengeance, bitterness or lust – repent and get right with God. God talked with Samuel for a long time that night. Man, this is awesome! Who you talk with is important! A girl who worked in the call center would return home in the wee hours in the morning but spend several hours texting her boyfriend and talking with him after that. She had forgotten her God and the Bible started gathering dust; the end of her story was tragedy – the boy left her after using her. There are people who party hard today through the night and college students have something called ‘sleep-over parties’ where a group of student spend the night in their friend’s home; however, such parties had ended up disastrously. But here Samuel partied with God the whole night which actually changed his life and be became the prophet to Israel. After an encounter with Jesus, your life never should remain the same! If people don’t find a change in you, then you have actually not experienced Him in His fullness.
Samuel started preaching to the people and the entire town came to know that he was a prophet of God. He did not carry a name plate calling himself a ‘prophet’; but everybody knew that. He was a city on the hill! After my encounter with Jesus in the emergency ward in the hospital, fire exploded in my heart. I preached to my family, though my folks found me weird in the beginning but they could not deny the presence of God all over me. I was burning red for God! I preached on total holiness to my entire family. My maid from a strong hindu background at my home got saved, my mom, my mom-in-law, my brother-in-law, my sisters all got saved and took immersion water baptism. My husband got saved and also my friend who sat next to my work desk got saved …the list goes on. Fire would spread!
I want to again mention about the wrath of God when Eli did not restrain his sons, but Samuel preached to entire Israel. Through this internet ministry, many are being delivered from unrighteousness and being cleansed by His blood. I refused to stay a silent spectator watching unrighteousness flood the work spot. David said:”…The floods of ungodliness made me afraid” ( 2 Samuel 22:5) I arose to speak out! Many were offended with my ‘blatant style’ of pointing out mistakes; nevertheless God was pleased with that. God dethroned the priest Eli who judged Israel 40 years and ordained young Samuel for the sacred job! He is the lifter of your head!
Adam and Eve
Sin entered the world when Adam failed to correct his wife but joined her in the party with the devil.
Aaron
When Aaron the brother of Moses, had joined the crowd to dance with them shamelessly with the golden calf, the Bible says in:
Exodus 32: 25 Now when Moses saw that the people were unrestrained (for Aaron had not restrained them, to their shame among their enemies),
26 ‘then Moses stood in the entrance of the camp, and said, "Whoever is on the LORD's side --- come to me!" And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together to him.
Do you want to know the aftermath of this act of Aaron of not controlling and rebuking the people? Three thousand men of the people fell that day. The penalty for not controlling the people and correcting them was DEATH! Be warned!
Jehoshaphat the king of Judah
We also have a good lesson from the life of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah who allied with Ahab, the wicked king of Israel, who was a hard-core idol worshipper. Jehoshaphat also made a mistake of joining hands with Ahab in war against the king of Syria; God’s wrath came upon Jehoshaphat and when he was about to be killed in the battlefield, he cried out to the Lord to save him and God heard his prayer and saved him for his past righteous deeds. Having learnt a tough lesson, Jehoshaphat went out among his people and taught them the ways of the Lord, read: 2 Chronicles 19:4”So Jehoshaphat dwelt at Jerusalem; and he went out again among the people from Beersheba to the mountains of Ephraim, and brought them back to the LORD God of their fathers.” Dear friend, when the king (leader) strayed away from the path of God, the people wandered away from God and His laws as well. Having experienced the wrath of God, Jehoshaphat seriously now brings his people back to God. Look what he said:
2 Chronicles 19: 10”…..you shall warn them, lest they trespass against the LORD and wrath come upon you and your brethren. Do this, and you will not be guilty.”
Jehoshaphat did not rebel against the prophet who advised him to repent for his wrong association with Ahab but instead the good king Jehoshaphat listened to the instructions and not only repented for his sins but went about bringing transformation in the life of his people who had backslidden. Friend, we need to have a teachable and humble spirit to accept the counseling and instructions of godly people.
• Proverbs 9:7"He who corrects a scoffer gets shame for himself, And he who rebukes a wicked man only harms himself.
• 8 Do not correct a scoffer, lest he hate you; Rebuke a wise man, and he will love you.
• 9 Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; Teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.”
When a couple started attending our church and later when I found that the man was not her husband, I gently took them aside and preached the Word. The man said, “my wife did not treat me properly”, I said, however, that does not give him any license to live with another woman and also attend church with her. After that day they shifted to a different church. Pastors! Preachers! Preach the truth and correct the congregation even if it means loss and pain. The church today needs cleansing and purification in order to be the blameless, spotless Bride for Christ.
If you happen to know your friend is into an adulterous relationship, gently correct him and point out the scripture to him, even if he is a non-christian, please do correct him. Correct your children and never be afraid of opposition that is sure to arise when you stand out for God. When you flow with the crowd and commit the same sins, you are haled by your friends, but swords come your way when you choose the godly path. Fear not! Speak out!
The Bible says, 1 Samuel 4:1 “And the word of Samuel came to all Israel”, how about you, have you at least shared Jesus with you neighbor? Think!
