Samuel and the presence of God
1 Samuel 1-7
In times of darkness, like we face today, God’s people must return to God’s presence, or their hearts will grow cold, and they will be swept up with the wicked. We need the fire of God in our lives and Samuel gives us a pattern to follow, as he lived his entire life under the real presence of evil. Let’s take a brief look.
A marked life
There is one thing about Samuel’s life that marks him from early childhood – his access to and love of God’s presence (represented by the ark of God in the Most Holy Place). The ark of God is mentioned thirty-four times in the first seven chapters of the book of 1 Samuel alone.
The promise of his life
We know Samuel was born after his barren mother Hannah promised the Lord that if He would give her a son, she would give him back to the Lord all the days of his life. The prayer was answered and as soon as the little boy Samuel was weened, he was taken to the town of Shiloh and given to Eli, the high priest, to serve in the tabernacle.
Living under the presence of evil
Samuel ministered to the Lord faithfully in a very corrupt culture, one in which the presence of evil was very, very real. Eli’s son’s Hophni and Phinehas were very wicked, and Eli refused to correct them. Eli’s two sons were not only abusing those who came with sacrifices, they were sleeping with the women who served at the entrance to the Tabernacle. 1 Samuel 2:12-23
However, little Samuel ministered faithfully to the Lord and often slept by the ark of God after Eli would fall asleep. This was Samuel’s place of encounter with the Lord. 1 Samuel 3:2-3
And later…..
Israel went into battle with the Philistines and lost four thousand men. Eli’s two wicked sons decided to bring the ark along with the army, hoping they would have a victory like Joshua did at Jericho. It backfired. Not only did Israel lose thirty thousand men, but Eli’s two sons and Eli all died on the same day and the ark was taken captive by the Philistines.
After Eli and his sons were killed and Samuel anointed Saul as king, Samuel lived for decades under the threat of that madman. Because of this threat, Samuel’s ministry remained under the radar, more hidden, yet it grew more and more powerful. 1 Samuel 19:18-24
The ark was no longer accessible to Israel
Many troubles and disasters fell upon the Philistines because of the ark being in their possession. They sent it back to Israel; but the ark did not go back into the tabernacle (for over one hundred years) until Solomon built the new temple in Jerusalem.
The college of the prophets and musicians
Before that, however, Samuel developed a college of the prophets, and trained hundreds of singers and musicians who ministered with power before the Lord. 1 Samuel 10:5-7, 19:18-24
And then, Samuel’s legacy
Much later, Samuel’s grandson, Heman, and Heman’s fourteen sons, forever known as the ‘Sons of Korah’ in the Psalms, served alongside a couple fellows known as Asaph and Jeduthun (and their sons). They led four thousand musicians and two hundred and eighty-eight skilled singers in ministry before the ark of God. Scholars have called this ministry the ‘Tabernacle of David’ which met on the mountain known as Mount Zion. 1 Chronicles 23:1-5, 25:1-6, Psalm 48, 50, 65:1
The takeaway from Samuel’s story
Samuel lived his entire life, even as a small boy, under the very real presence of evil, from Eli’s sons and their abuse, to King Saul and his craziness. And yet God used Samuel to birth the Tabernacle of David, worship and prayer interwoven, ushering in God’s presence (and the height of Israel’s glory). In the midst of great evil, God’s presence manifested greatly.
Today, many of the most powerful prayer meetings in the world are using Samuel’s model of worship without knowing anything about him. Worship music and singing can quickly usher in the presence of God, whether in a group of three or a group of three thousand. It is this that is the pattern we need to follow.
We highly recommend listening to the live stream of the International House of Prayer in Kansas City, MO. This is a worship and prayer meeting that has been going without stopping since May of 1999. It has been patterned off of Samuel and the Tabernacle of David, and is a great way to stay in God’s presence, as Samuel did thousands of years ago.
It will take deliberate choices and effort on our part, but if Samuel could do it while living under such great evil, how much more can we!
