Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
And the Lord said to Samuel: "See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make the ears of everyone who hears of it tingle. At that time I will carry out against Eli everything I spoke against his family — from beginning to end. For I told him that I would judge his family forever because of the sin he knew about; his sons made themselves contemptible, and he failed to restrain them. Therefore, I swore to the house of Eli, 'The guilt of Eli's house will never be atoned for by sacrifice or offering.' "
Samuel lay down until morning and then opened the doors of the house of the Lord. He was afraid to tell Eli the vision, but Eli called him and said, "Samuel, my son." Samuel answered, "Here I am."
"What was it he said to you?" Eli asked. "Do not hide it from me. May God deal with you, be it ever so severely, if you hide from me anything he told you." So Samuel told him everything, hiding nothing from him. Then Eli said, "He is the Lord; let him do what is good in his eyes."
1 Samuel 3:11-18
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
At the beginning of Chapter 3, we saw where the Lord had been calling young Samuel who didn’t realize that it was the Lord, instead thinking it was Eli who was calling him. After going to Eli for a third time wondering what Eli wanted, it was Eli himself who discerned that it was the Lord who was calling Samuel and instructed Samuel to answer the Lord the next time as His servant and tell Him he was listening.
So what was God trying to tell Samuel? In today’s passage, we see.
For as Samuel listens, the Lord tells him that He was about to do something in Israel that would “make the ears of everyone who hears of it tingle”. And what was He about to do? The Lord was about to “carry out against Eli everything I spoke against his family — from beginning to end”, carrying out His promise to “judge (Eli’s) family forever because of the sin he knew about” for “(Eli’s) sons made themselves contemptible and he failed to restrain them”. To underscore the seriousness of the judgment, the Lord added that there would never be atonement for Eli’s family “by sacrifice or offering”. And with that, the Lord was finished.
Now Samuel was in a real quandary. He had received news of a terrible judgment that the Lord was going to impose on Eli and his family and found himself “afraid to tell Eli the vision” as the next day dawned. What he didn’t know is that Eli already knew of the Lord’s judgment because the Lord had sent him the message prior. (1 Samuel 2:27-36). So when Eli called for Samuel and asked, “What was it He said to you?", Samuel must have given him an indication that he didn’t want to tell because Eli followed up his question with a demand saying, “Do not hide it from me. May God deal with you, be it ever so severely, if you hide from me anything he told you." And so “Samuel told him everything, hiding nothing from him” while making Eli aware of the judgment and after hearing a repeat of what he had been told before, Eli made a remarkable statement saying, "He is the Lord; let him do what is good in His eyes.” Facing certain consequences from the Lord, Eli submitted to the Lord and trusted in His ability to know what was best.
Still, how many of us would have been so accountable before the Lord when faced with His judgment? Eli could have sulked and complained that he was being treated unfairly in the matter. After all, it was His sons who were the wicked ones. Why not just punish them? And what about all the years of service I have rendered to you Lord in the temple? Does that not count in some way toward deciding whether to punish me or not? Haven’t I earned your pardon?
But Eli did none of this. Instead, he submitted to the Lord’s judgment…to what was good in His eyes.
So what exactly is good in the Lord’s eyes? The answer can be put very simple. For anything that the Lord wills to happen is good because His will is perfect and He has a will for everyone and everything. And as the saying goes, where there is a will, there is a way. God’s will results in the way our lives go. Let’s examine a couple of examples from the Bible where God’s will was done in the way of acts that were good in His eyes.
We need only look at the beginning to see where things were good in His eyes right from the start. For in Genesis, Chapter 1, as we read about God’s creative work, we see where the scripture says over and over again that He saw where it was good. Indeed, all things created start out good because God created everything that way. This is affirmed by Paul’s words to the church in Thessolonica when he writes:
For everything God created is good… (1 Timothy 4:4)
We are created good and in God’s own image but once in the world we are afflicted by sin which strives to infect us and take us away from the goodness that God created in us. Sin seeks to make us wicked and carry us away from God’s will and in turn what is good in His eyes. Consider these words from Titus:
To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.
(Titus 1:15-16)
Eli’s sons had allowed themselves to be corrupted by their sinfulness and in turn, their actions showed they denied Him. They became “detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good” and the same thing will happen to us if we allow sin to enter in and dwell in our hearts and minds. Under the influence of sin, we lose our ability to do anything good in the Lord’s eyes. And this can lead to the Lord deciding that judgment is necessary to get our attention and turn us away from our sin and back toward Him and His goodness. Sometimes we need corrected to get back on course. And this is good news for us…that the Lord will help us get back on track, even if it requires us to endure discipline. For we can correct ourselves, return to the Lord’s favor and remain there. The key is the continued renewal of our hearts, minds and souls by the Holy Spirit who leads us to live as Christ lived. Again, read these words from Titus:
At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone. (Titus 3:3-8)
Indeed, we were all lost and doomed to destruction from the sin that afflicted us and sought to draw us away from God, our Maker. But then Jesus came to bring hope to a hopeless people…all by the grace of the Lord and His love for us.
Why did He do this? Why did He send His only Son to suffer and die on the cross for us…sinners who needed a Savior in order to have the hope of eternal life?
The answer is simple.
It was because it was good in His eyes.
Thanks be to God. Amen
In Christ,
Mark
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