Bent Oak Church

Samuel is finally back in the story, and none too soon. Israel is lamenting, devastated by the last three chapter's events. It looks like repentance, but Samuel digs deeper.True repentance is more than sorrow or guilt. Samuel leads Israel into. He teaches us what it looks like to repent with our whole hearts.

The ark returns to Israel. We can only imagine how excited the Israelites working in their fields must have been to seen it. It was a miracle.The Israelites immediately begin to worship. They are quick to make sacrifices but has everyone missed the point? Why had the ark been lost to begin with? Had anything in Israel actually changed because of it?Chapter 6 forces Israel to take a hard look at their own hearts and wrestle with repentance.

The glory of God continues to move the story. Israel had tried to use God as an object and robbed his glory for themselves. Now they had lost the ark, the central symbol of God's personal relationship and history with them as his people.It's now the Philistines' turn. They too learn the painful less, God's glory can not be defined, used, or stolen. God will be glorified. We learn with them the valuable lesson. God's glory must be kept at the center of our lives.

The ark is lost. It is one of the lowest most devastating moments in Israel's history. Who could it have happened?The author of the books of Samuel is making a startling point. Israel thought they had gone; they thought they could carry the ark into battle and be assured of victory. But their crushing defeat was a remidner—God is not an object.We too slide into the temptation of objectifying God. With it comes devastating consequences.

Israel is a barren place. Worship has disintegrated. Eli, the High Preist, seems distracted and his sons rob the worshipers of their sacrifices and women. 1 Samuel tells us that, "The word of the Lord was rare in those days."We too know what it feels like to be distant from God. To remember his voice and find little evidence of it around us. But God calls Samuel. It is a bit of hope. God is at work again.Samuel and his family give us a picture of a God who persistently speaks to us by name and the ways we can position ourselves to most easily recognize it.

1 Samuel introduces us to a new character, Hannah. She is barren. Israel is barren. With no son and no king, disappointment and discouragement rule the land.Hannah finds little help from those around her. Culture, family, religion—all offer advice. Some of it sounds good, others leave her feeling crushed. But they are all distractions from what God is actually doing. Hannah finds a way through. A way to God. There she finds herself included in God’s plan of salvation.

Simeon didn't know what he was looking for, but he kept watching. The Holy Spirit compelled him. God was up to something—he wasn't sure what. But he was watching for it. Simeon teaches us to look for more this Christmas. He teaches us to watch for salvation.

Jesus ends his prayer with a view toward the future. He realizes that what lies ahead will be full of temptations—most that we will struggle to recognize. He teaches us to open our eyes and pay attention.

Jesus' insistence that we routinely pray for forgiveness is a reminder of how deep our sins are. Jesus doesn't just teach us to pray for forgiveness; he teaches us to practice it in our own forgiving.

Asking for things we need is probably the most common request of prayer. Jesus teaches us to practice is, but he also forces to ask deeper questions about what it is we really need.