New Kid in Town
One Year Bible (May 9)
I Samuel 5: 1-7:17
“New Kid in Town"
He was just a boy who saw and heard more than a child his age could begin to process.
How confusing it must have been to be given to the Lord’s service and then watch the Lord’s priests take advantage of the young women who came there. When Samuel watched the old priest, Eli, and his sons partake of all of the food in an improper manner, I wonder what he thought. He was as quiet as a “church mouse”...until he wasn’t!
One night he kept hearing a voice and thought that Eli was calling him. Repeatedly, he got out of bed and humbly came to inquire, “Here I am. Did you call me?” Eli instructed Samuel to respond to God, “Speak Lord, your servant is listening.”
God gave Samuel a very sober message that was way beyond his years and experience. God was going to judge and bring down the house of Eli because his sons were blaspheming God.
If that isn’t bad enough, Eli is going to ask Samuel to tell him the complete truth that God shared with him. AWKWARD!
All that God told Samuel came true in a very short time. Both of the sons were killed in battle and Old Eli literally “lost his rocker” and fell backward breaking his neck! His daughter-in-law also died while giving birth to his grandson, “Ichabod”--meaning “Where is the glory?”.
Samuel was the “New Kid In Town” and the town was in big trouble! The Ark of the Covenant had been stolen and was in possession of the Philistine rulers. There was no one in charge and things were “going downhill quickly”.
Actually, they were “Rolling Downhill” to be more precise in language. It seems that the Philistines could not keep their idol called ‘Dagon’ in one piece! It kept doing a “faceplant” and parts of it kept breaking… heads, hands, and parts were rolling! Only the trunk was intact, sort of! This is all going on without explanation. There is no judge, no leader, and yet… “THIS DAGGONE IDOL” couldn’t keep its head on straight!
Things are about to get even more grisly!! While OLD DAGGONE” is “blowing his mind”, the Philistines started growing “New Parts”. They were plagued by TUMORS! Yes, they were experiencing growths of the most audacious manner… They were starting to “wise up” with all of their “New Growth(s)”!
“Then the Lord’s heavy hand struck the people of Ashdod and the nearby villages with a plague of tumors. When the people realized what was happening, they cried out, “We can’t keep the Ark of the God of Israel here any longer? He is against us! We will all be destroyed along with Dagon, our god.” (I Sam. 5:6)
Crazy how a little “growth(s)” can wise up a nation that has been acting like a bunch of rats for quite a long time!
Speaking of tumors and rats, they decide to send Israel a lovely present, “Five Golden Tumors, and FIVE Gold Rats” as a guilt offering. (And you thought your mother-in-law’s presents were lame…) These folks really know how to take gift-giving to a new level!
Oh dear, I am now hearing a song in my head, “On the fifth day of plagues my untrue love sent to me: Five TUMORS and RATS.” (This I can’t unsee!!!) But, wasn’t that the point?
So, they cried out, “Who is able to stand in the presence of the Lord, this holy God? “Where can we send the Ark from here? (I Sam. 6:20)
“Who is able to stand?” Great question!
Then the answer came… “Only those that KNEEL can come before the Holy God!”
Who brings this new direction? Well, it’s the NEW KID IN TOWN.
He has no resume, no vast experience, and no training as a judge. He has spent his entire childhood observing the sacrilege of blasphemy against God in the temple by God’s servants. (Let that sink in!). That IS his training. His first day in his new vocation was standing with God against his mentor, Eli, and his evil sons.
Who would even want this “Judge Job”? (Only someone who is “NEW” here!)
Samuel told the people, “If you want to return to the Lord with all your hearts, get rid of your foreign gods and your images… Turn your hearts to the Lord and obey him alone; then he will rescue you from the Philistines.” (I Sam. 7: 3-4)
Then the people went without food all day and confessed that they had sinned against the Lord. It was on this day that Samuel became Israel’s judge.
Samuel served as a judge for the rest of his life. Hebrews 11:32 counted him as one of the greatest judges, a man who led through faith.
It all began and ended with these simple words, “Speak your servant is listening.” But then, he was just the “New Kid In Town”.
