Parents and Children
When the Word of the Lord is Rare
Pastor Joe Fuiten, November 13, 2005
In First Samuel we have the story of two families. Eli was the last of the judges and also the high priest. By all accounts he ruled the country with wisdom. He must have come into power because of a lack of leadership in the family that had held the High Priest office since the beginning. Aaron, the first High Priest, had a son named Eleazar who was a Levite priest. For nearly 800 years his descendents had charge of the sanctuary. Their family filled that role until Eli came along. We are not told what disruption took place that so remarkable a shift should have taken place after all those centuries. What we do know is that the family line was broken and a new line was established.
Eli was a godly man and highly regarded but he was not successful in keeping the priesthood in his family. He was not a successful parent. As a result, in the time of Solomon, the sanctuary duties were returned to Eleazar’s family in the person of Zadok.[1]
In this
same section we have the rise and fall of another family. Elkanah and Hannah were not able to have
children until Hannah prayed to the Lord.
1 Samuel 1:9-17 has that story: 9 Once when they had finished eating and
drinking in
In answer to that prayer Samuel
was born. He was presented to the Lord
and when he was weaned, he was given to the
1 Samuel
3:1-5 has that story: “The boy Samuel
ministered before the LORD under Eli. In
those days the word of the LORD was rare; there were not many visions. 2
One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was
lying down in his usual place. 3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and
Samuel was lying down in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was. 4
Then the LORD called Samuel. Samuel answered, "Here I am." 5 And he
ran to Eli and said, "Here I am; you called me." But Eli said,
"I did not call; go back and lie down." So he went and lay down.”
When we consider these two families, we find remarkable similarities in roles, strengths, and in weaknesses. I would like to consider these families and see what we can learn for our families and for our day.
First, let
us note how difficult the era leading up to Samuel was. The Philistines were in control. The
thing that was the immediate cause of Eli’s death was a crushing defeat by the
Philistines. In that one battle 30,000
Israelis were killed including Eli’s two sons and the Ark of the Covenant was
lost. He was so distraught that he fell
over backwards, and being old and fat, the fall killed him as well. That was Samuel’s welcome to the world of
leadership. We know what happened
by fast forwarding to the end of Samuel’s life where it says in 1 Samuel 7:13 “So
the Philistines were subdued and did not invade Israelite territory again.
Throughout Samuel's lifetime, the hand of the LORD was against the
Philistines.”
Difficult times are not new.
Every generation seems to have to deal with some new situation or
problem. These are difficult times as
well. There are so many potentials for
addiction. Families are frequently disrupted
through divorce. Even those that stay
together physically often face challenges.
The spirit of the anti-Christ seems to be at work in the world and he
seems to be gaining ground even in
Second, in the midst of
difficulties, God always raises up people for himself. Eli was that man for a time. Samuel became that man. After him, Saul was raised up. King David followed Saul. In her own way, Hannah was such a woman. She wanted God to use her as a means of
blessing his work. It would be through a
son that she would bear. Eli’s answer
to her prayers was "Go in
peace, and may the God of
Samuel came into the world because
of a praying mother. It was the painful
prayer of an infertile woman, Hannah.
Her prayer for a child was not pretty, but it was effective. She promised if God gave her a child, she
would present him to the Lord, not just in spiritual dedication, but in
service. As a result, Samuel literally
became a servant of the Lord as a very small child. The power of a parent is not to be
underestimated. Without that mother’s
prayer,
When a child is born, you never know what God will do with their life. Of this you can be sure, however, God wants a people for himself. Further, if God’s people learn to pray victory comes to families as well as countries.
You have to respect people who serve God in the difficult times or who overcome difficult backgrounds. Hannah rises to the top in that regard. Her family is against her. Her husband doesn’t really appreciate her problem. On her own, she calls on God with such passion that God cannot help but answer. Somebody has to break out of the mold. If they do so, it will be against great challenges. For one thing, they will have to overcome the accumulated debris of generations.
I would like to say a word about a new doctrine that is being promoted these days called “generational curses.” I would like to point out that this is not a biblical term. It is not a biblical doctrine. It is an idea that is only a few years old to describe what some believe they see. I think it is built around Exodus 20:4-6 which reads: 4 "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand [ generations] of those who love me and keep my commandments.” If it has any validity, it centers around the second commandment and no other. It is a consequence of idolatry. Further, it is only half a sentence. The other half promises blessing for a thousand generations to those who obey the Lord. On the one hand you have three or four generations which is another way of saying a relatively short period of time. The very use of three or four suggests an indefinite period. If it were precise it would be either three or four, one or the other. By contrast, a thousand generations is just another way of saying a long time. No one would count up to one thousand generations. It is a bit like saying “a country mile” which is not a mile at all but a long distance.
I do believe that idolatry in all its forms opens the door to attack upon one’s family that can last well beyond a person’s lifetime. If you have occultic things in your family history, you will have experiences that other people do not have. You may well have astral and psychic experiences. You may well see so-called “aliens.” There will be a lot of spooky stuff that will happen to you. When those things happen you just say “I renounce that in Jesus name. I belong to Jesus Christ. I have been purchased by his precious blood. I don’t need, nor do I want anything else. I love Jesus.” In time you will break those connections that have been in your family and replace them with the love of God that lasts for a thousand generations.
Maybe the definition of difficult times is that “the Word of the Lord is rare!” Samuel himself was part of that situation, as it says in 1 Samuel 3:7 “Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD: The word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him.” When it says there was no word of the Lord it means that God was not giving his mission or direction to anyone. They were still the people of God, but they were not engaged in any divine mission.
The Bible’s summary of this situation is that the word of the Lord was rare. There was no spiritual vision for the people of God. There were individual acts of piety or desperation, as in the case of Hannah, but that seemed to be the exception rather than the rule.
Hannah got
something started. With the life of
Samuel, change picked up momentum. Sam
3: 21 “The LORD continued to appear at