The writer skims over the period of the judges, remembering
there were a few good ones along the way who had particular names but doesn’t
mention those names, only hoping that they will be remembered among their
children. Then, he lands on Samuel, the
last judge, the first anointer of kings over Israel, albeit reluctantly. He is like John the Baptist in many ways,
from his birth narrative to his role in history. He is a transitional figure and he anointed
the one from whom Messiah would come. He
ushered in a new age in the history of God’s people because the people no
longer wanted judges, they wanted kings like the nations around them. From the first time Samuel heard the word of
the Lord to the episode when Saul sought a medium for insight and Samuel’s
ghost showed up to rebuke the king, Samuel was a man who fought the fight,
sided with God and did what he was told, whether it made any sense to him or
not.
Innocence, what a concept.
We are exposed to so much sin, so much degradation, that we fail even to
see its effect on our lives any longer.
Our kids are exposed via the various outlets like television, movies,
the internet, etc. that we lose our innocence very early now. Jesus takes a child as His example of achieving
greatness in the kingdom, in much the same way He said to Nicodemus that we
must be born again, to be new creations.
Jesus is incredibly clear here on how important it is to deal with sin
in our lives, rooting it out wherever we find it, being ruthless about ridding
it from our lives. At the end of the
day, we recognize that if we chopped off our hands and feet and cut out our
eyes, we would still have a problem with sin, our hearts. What we need are new hearts, and, by the
power of the Holy Spirit, that is possible.
Sometimes we have so much company in our sin we don’t realize we’re lost
again.
The angels of judgment come forth from the sanctuary of the
tent of witness in heaven. They have not
been revealed until this time, the time of judgment, and they bear seven bowls
of God’s wrath. What a fearsome sight
this must have been for John. Who could
possibly blame Him? We need to repent, fall on our faces and ask the Lord to
forgive what we have made of this nation, under God, with liberty and justice
for all. We need to ask forgiveness for
tolerating every manner of evil and of participating in so much of it. We, the church, have lost our way and we need
a shepherd. We need revival. We need men like Samuel, who will tell the
truth about the world and about us, who will call us to repent, who will show
us the way. We have lost our innocence
and we need to be like children, seeking innocence, if we are to be restored.
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