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Christ With Coffee On Ice
giving away the thing i wanted
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Hey y'all ! Welcome to another Friday with CWCOI ! In this week's episode, our host, Ally Yost opens the Word of God to the top of 1 Samuel. The book of 1 Samuel is full of God's goodness and purposefulness. We pray that through this episode you feel...
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Foreign. Hello, everybody. Welcome to another episode of Christ with Coffee on Ice. I am your host, Ali Yost, and I am so grateful to be with you guys today. Happy Friday. We have our coffee on ice, and we have our Christ. We have our Bible with us today, and we have our coffee. I. I ran out of the creamer that I normally use. So today we're using Ashley's really healthy almond and coconut creamer. No, it's good. Oh, yeah, it's good. If you guys could see my face right now. It's really good. I'm gonna get my creamer tomorrow. How is everybody feeling today? I am so happy to be back with you guys. Oh, my gosh. How are you? What are you guys doing? Have you been well since the last time that we touched base last week? I hope that you have been. I bless y', all and I just pray for peace for you. And, yeah, I'm really excited for today's episode. I have no idea what the spirit is gonna do. No clue. But it was fun because as I was picking up my Bible, I knew we were going to read scripture today. Hey, we're going to read the word of God today. Let's read the promises and just the love of our father. But I heard First Samuel. When I went to go pick up my Bible, I, like, immediately the Lord was like, first Samuel. And I was like, I'm sure I've read First Samuel, but I'm going to be honest, I don't really remember what's in it. So. Yeah, let's just read it. All right. It's in the Old Testament. Oh, I have read some of First Samuel. I got a lot of it highlighted. Okay. Period. Ally, wait. What? I've, like, read a lot of First Samuel. I don't remember this. I don't remember this. Y'. All, this is why we gotta read the Bible over and over and over again. Because, low key, sometimes we be forgetting. Did I read all of First Samuel? No, I only got to 10. All right, girl. All right, so we're gonna get into. We'll just start at the top of First Samuel. If you have your Bibles with you. Actually, I also want to pray us in. We'll do that. And while we're praying, maybe you can also kind of go find your Bible if you are in a place and position to read along. I suggest that you do as we always say, because I just think it's a lot more impactful when you can actually physically read the word of God with me. So let's do it. Together if you're in a position to do it. If you can't, that's okay. You can just listen. But let's pray. Let's pray before we get into the Word. Lord Jesus, I just thank you so much for being here with us. God, I thank you for the opportunity for all of us to come together and read your word. Lord, I'm just filled with so much joy and gratitude for your spirit, God. And so I just ask that as all of us are listening or reading this word that you've prompted us to read in 1st Samuel, that your spirit is our translator. I just pray, Holy Spirit, that you are the thing that helps us really understand what it is that's being said in this scripture. I pray that there is a personal connection and revelation for every listener right now. Something that they needed to be spoken into. I pray that this is life giving. I pray that this gives them aha moments and I pray that it's convicting, Lord. I pray that whatever is said in the Word that we read today convicts our hearts to be better children of God. God, that we are better daughters and sons after reading this Word. And Lord, we're just ready to learn from you today. God, we are ready to learn from you. We are not seeking how we can relate in this, but we're just seeking your wisdom like we're just seeking you. We're not coming to the Word saying how can this fix my problems? We're coming to the Word and we're saying how can we learn more about our Heavenly Father today and how can we walk more like him today? Lord, I pray that you just check our hearts and I pray that we stay humble and yielded at your feet to receive any critiquing of you. And I just pray that we can leave better people after this today. Lord, I pray against any spirit of distraction in Jesus name. I pray against any spirit of discouragement and any spirit of inadequacy trying to convince us that we are not capable of understanding the word of God. I just rebuke any spirits that try to come against this time of us in community together and with our Heavenly Father. I thank you Jesus. I honor you God. And I also just ask that I am a pure and emptied vessel for you to just speak and flow through. Lord, I just ask for you to have your way in this episode. Jesus, in Jesus name. Amen. All right, let's get into it. Sometimes when we pray for so long like that, I never really know when the prayers are going to end. Is my back door open? Oh Y', all, I gotta go close my door one second. Y', all. That's even more proof that. That our prayers about those flies really worked. That should have let in, like, 8,000 flies. Don't tell Ashley, but I accidentally left the back door open this whole time. I looked at it, and I was like, oh, my gosh, it's open, but there's no flies. That's on the power of prayer and the Holy Spirit, the you, God. Okay, y', all, let's get into First Samuel. Just as a reminder, I am reading the NLT translation. So if you don't have that translation, that's okay. But just in case, as you're reading, you're like, wait, those aren't the words. We probably have different translations, which is okay. So I just looked up an overall summary of First Samuel. I wanted kind of a couple sentences to just sum up what we're about to read. So the book of 1st Samuel. Read recounts stories of Samuel, Saul, and David as they struggle with themselves, among each other, and with God as Israel is transformed from a loose confederation of tribes led by the judges such as Gideon and Deborah, to a nation ruled by a king. The book of First Samuel is all about leadership and character. Human leaders rise and fall, but God is consistently good. Okay, love that First Samuel one. There was a man named Elkanah who lived in Ramah in the region of Zuf. Guys, have grace for me with some of these words. I know you get it, but some of them are a little tricky. In the hill country of Ephraim. He was the son of Jeroham, son of Elihah, son of Tohu, son of Zuph of Ephraim. Elkanah had two wives, Hannah and Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah did not. Each year, Elkanah would drive to Shiloh to worship and sacrifice to the Lord of Heaven's armies and the Tabernacle. The priests of the Lord at that time were the two sons of Eli, Hophni, and Phinehas. On the day Elkanah presented his sacrifice, he would give portions of the meat to Fenanah and each of her children. And though he loved Hannah, he would give her only one choice portion because the Lord had given her no children. So Fenanah, it might be Peninnah, y', all, I'm not very sure. So Peninnah would taunt Hannah and make fun of her because the Lord had kept her from having children. Year after year, it was the same. Peninnah would taunt Hannah as they went to the Tabernacle. Each time, Hannah would be reduced to tears and would not even eat. Why are you crying, Hannah? Elk Ana would ask. Why aren't you eating? Why be downhearted just because you have no children? You have me. Isn't that better than having 10 sons? Once, after a sacrificial meal at Shiloh, Hannah got up and went to pray. Eli, the priest, was sitting at his customary place beside the entrance of the tabernacle. Hannah was in deep anguish, crying bitterly as she prayed to the Lord. And she made this. O Lord of heaven's armies, if you will look upon my sorrow and answer my prayer and give me a son, then I will give him back to you. He will be yours for his entire lifetime. And as a sign that he has been dedicated to the Lord, his hair will never be cut. As she was praying to the Lord, Eli watched her. Seeing her lips moving but hearing no sound, he thought she had been drinking. Must you come here drunk? He demanded. Throw away your wine. Oh, sir, no. She replied. I haven't been drinking wine or anything stronger. But I am very discouraged, and I was pouring my heart out to the Lord. Don't think I am a wicked woman, for I have been praying out of great anguish and sorrow. In that case, Eli said, go in peace. May the God of Israel grant the request you have asked him. Oh, thank you, sir. She exclaimed. Then she went back and began to eat again, and she was no longer sad. The entire family got up early the next morning and went to worship the Lord once more. Then they returned home to Ramah. When Elkanah slept with Hannah, the Lord remembered her plea. And in due time, she gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, for she said, I asked the Lord for him. So Samuel sounds like the Hebrew term for asked of God or heard by God. So that's how Hannah came about the name of Samuel. She named him Samuel, for she said, I asked the Lord for him. The next year, Elkanah and his family went on their annual trip to offer a sacrifice to the Lord and kept his vow. But Hannah did not go. She told her husband, wait until the boy is weaned. Then I will take him to the tabernacle and leave him there with the Lord permanently. Whatever you think is best. Elkanah agreed. Stay here for now, and may the Lord help you keep your promise. So she stayed home and nursed the boy until he was weaned. Okay, guys, I didn't know what weaned meant, and so I encourage you guys to do this as well. Sometimes when you don't feel like you understand some words. So weane or weaned is an infant or another young mammal that is now on food other than its mother's milk. So what Hannah is saying is that she doesn't want to take Samuel under until he no longer has to feed on her and he can eat solid food. So she stayed home and nursed the boy until he was weaned. When the child was weaned, Hannah took him to the tabernacle in Shiloh. They brought along a three year old bull for the sacrifice and a basket of flour and some wine. After sacrificing the bull, they brought the boy to Eli. Sir, do you remember me? Hannah asked. I am the very woman who stood here several years ago praying to the Lord. And I asked the Lord to give me this boy. And he granted my request. Now I'm giving him to the Lord. And he will belong to the Lord his whole life. And they worshiped the Lord. There. Now we're in 1 Samuel, chapter 2, which is Hannah's prayer of praise. Then Hannah prayed, My heart rejoices in the Lord. The Lord has made me strong. Now I have an answer for my enemies. I rejoice because you rescued me. No one is holy like the Lord. There is no one besides you. There is no rock like our God. Stop acting so proud and haughty. Don't speak with such arrogance. For the Lord is a God who knows what you have done. He will judge your actions. The bow of the mighty is now broken, and those who stumble are now strong. Those who were well fed are now starving. And those who were starving are now full. The childless woman now has seven children. And the woman with many children waste away. The Lord gives both death and life. He brings some down to the grave, but raises others up. The Lord makes some poor and others rich. He brings some down and lifts others up. He lifts the poor from the dust and the needy from the garbage dump. He sets them among princes, placing them in seats of honor for all. The earth is the Lord's and He has set the world in order. He will protect his faithful ones. But the wicked will disappear in darkness. No one will succeed by strength alone. Those who fight against the Lord will be shattered. He thunders against them from heaven. The Lord judges throughout the earth. He gives power to his king. He increases the strength of his anointed one. Then Elkanah returned home to Ramah without Samuel. And the boy served the Lord by assisting Eli the priest. Y', all, I want to look into Hannah's prayer. Of praise. And I really want to shed some clarity and light on the parts, because some of that probably went over our heads. Yeah, maybe parts of it we understood, parts of it we didn't really understand. I think the part that could be contradicting for some of us listening and reading is those who are well fed are now starving, and those who are starving are now fed. The Lord gives both death and life. The Lord makes some poor and others rich. But then the part that's contradicting that said right after that is he lifts the poor from the dust and the needy from the garbage dump. So I think some of us could hear that and be like, all right, it was just said that the Lord makes some poor, but now it's saying that He. He lifts the poor up and brings them out of the dust. So, like, which one is it? So let's go into our little app that we use, Enduring Word, and we're just going to look this up and see what the commentary is. All right, let's start at the top where it says, my heart rejoices in the Lord. So Hannah showed a depth of commitment and love for God that may humble us on the day she made the biggest sacrifice of her life. She rejoices in the Lord. So she. Wait, this is good, y'. All. So. So imagine this woman, Hannah, has been going a very long time in her life without being able to conceive a child. Okay. She hasn't been able to have any children, and so much so that her husband's other wife, which, you know, y', all, this is the Old Testament. So sometimes that stuff happened. It's not like that anymore. Right. We're not having multiple wives, but Elkanah had two wives. And so the other wives name was one that was much harder to say. What was her name? Peninna, maybe is how you say it would taunt Hannah because she was able to have children, but Hannah couldn't. And so when we look back on how Hannah felt, she was in deep anguish. Think about, like, let's just look up that word. This is what's so fun about the Word of God, y', all, is we really should slow down and chew it. So deep anguish is a state of extreme pain, distress, or anxiety. Define extreme. Extreme. Reaching a high or the highest degree. Very great. So Hannah was in deep anguish, which is the deepest amount of pain. Like, essentially she was feeling the most pain she's ever felt in her life. Like, this is something that she has wanted so much, and it's not happening and not Only that she. She now has to watch her husband's other wife be able to conceive. Like, is. Is honestly the easiest thing. It's not happening for her for some reason, and now she's got to have this other wife rubbing it in her face, right? And so I think we just gotta, like, put ourselves in Hannah's shoes for a second and really try to relate and understand that pain. And I think that could translate to maybe some of us listening of, like, a deep anguish pain, an experience, something that you had to go through that was, like, so honestly, physically crippling. Okay? That's what Hannah is going through. She finally, like, she gets down on her knees, and she's, like, begging and pleading the Lord for this desire of her heart. She's like, I want a son so bad, God. And I promise you that if you give me this desire of my heart, I will. Like, she's coming into agreement with the Lord, and she's like, I will make sure that his life is dedicated to you, God. I promise I will raise him well, and I will sacrifice him in a way right where she's like, I will give him to you, and his life will be all about you. And so the Lord heard her plead and said, okay, I'm gonna give this to you. So now she finally gets this son, names him Samuel, and now she has to give him up. So she has been waiting for so long for this desire of her heart, but now she actually has to give. Give up something that she has been waiting so long for. You know, like the Lord gave her a son, and I guess she could have kind of, like, changed her mind, but she's being faithful to the Lord, and she's made the biggest sacrifice in her life by giving her son over to the Lord. And she's still rejoicing in the Lord. So with this, Hannah showed a depth of commitment and love for God that may humble us. Because on the day she made the biggest sacrifice of her life, she's still rejoicing in the Lord. Because imagine that would cause pain for her is that she finally has received this baby, and she's nursed it, and she's gotten it to a place where now it can eat solid food. But now she's leaving it behind to serve the Lord by assisting Eli the priest. Notice, though, that she rejoices in the Lord. She could not rejoice in leaving her son, but she could rejoice in the Lord in the most desperate situations when we have nothing else to rejoice in, we can rejoice in the Lord. So Hannah's showing us that example. So the Lord has made me strong. Now I have an answer for my enemies. I rejoice because you rescued me. So who could be Hannah's enemies? Like when she says that, who could she be talking about? So Hannah had a strong sense of vindication over her rival Elkana's other wife, named Peninnah. And Peninnah cruelly brought Hannah low, Remember? But now Hannah rejoices because the Lord lifted her up. I rejoice because you rescued me. No one is holy like the Lord. This shows a classic form of Hebrew poetry, repetitive parallelism. To say the Lord is holy is to say he is completely set apart, that he is unique and not like any other. When she continued in the same verse and said, for there is none beside you, she said the same thing as, no one is holy like the Lord, only saying it in different words. When she said, there is no rock like our God, she again says the same thing, just in different words. Now onto the next part where she says, stop acting so proud and haughty. Don't speak with such arrogance. Hannah certainly had her rival in mind, but she also saw Peninnah as a representative of all the proud and arrogant people in the world. Hannah wisely told the proud to talk no more and to let no arrogance come from your mouth. Pride can be expressed in many ways, but it usually is expressed by our words. It would be better if proud people just did not talk so much. For the Lord is a God who knows what you have done. He will judge your actions. This, of course, is the best reason to forsake our pride. Next to God, we know nothing. He knows us. And by him we know actions are weighted. The next part where Hannah had said, the bow of the mighty is now broken, and those who stumbled are now strong. The boughs of the mighty, y'. All, this is when I need you for a second. Do you think it's bows or boughs? The bows of the mighty men are broken. Probably a bow, because I'm thinking of like a bow and arrow. Like the mighty men. Like the arrogant men, maybe the pride. Prideful people. The bows of the mighty men are broken. We should be humble before God because He knows how to humble the strong. Those who are full are now begging. And she who has many children has become feeble. If we are strong or exalted now, we should keep humble because the Lord can change our place quickly. We should be humble before God because He knows how to exalt the weak. If we are weak or in a low place now, we should wait humbly for God and let him lift us up. All right, y', all, this is the part. So the Lord makes some poor and others rich. He brings some down and lifts others up. Hannah knew she was barren because the Lord had closed her womb. She knew God first set her low and then brought her high. She could see the hand of the Lord in it all. So by that verse, Hannah is saying, I know that the reason I wasn't bearing a child was because of the Lord. The Lord was shutting my womb. So the Lord makes some poor and others rich. He brings some down and lifts others up. So Hannah is actually identifying as both. She's seeing that she was set low by the Lord, but then exalted and brought high by the Lord as well. So that's why it kind of sounded contradicting for a second, where you're like, wait, but he brings the poor low. But then apparently he brings the poor high, too. But he does. He does both. And Hannah's identifying in both of those people. It's not like I was reading it as separate, but it's together. It's actually that the Lord does bring the people low, but he exalts us from our lows as well. And there's a purpose to it all. And Hannah seeing that, that ultimately the Lord is sovereign. And there was a reason why she wasn't able to conceive children for all that time. And God had a purpose to that. Hannah was confident in God's ability to humble the strong and exalt the weak, because God is in control. If God were not in control, then perhaps the strong could do what they wanted and God couldn't stop them. Hannah knew that the foundation of the earth itself belonged to the Lord. God uses his power to set things right. It isn't enough for us to believe God has this power. We must know he will use it for his glory and righteousness. He gives power to his king. He increases the strength of his Anointed One. At this time, Israel did not have a king and didn't seem to want one. So when Hannah spoke of his king, she looked ahead to the Messiah, who will finally set all wrongs right. He is his anointed. This is the first place in the Bible where Jesus is referred to as the Messiah. That's the coolest thing I've ever heard of. This is the first time in the Bible where Jesus is referred to as the Messiah. So when we say that Jesus had to come to fulfill everything that was already written about him. This is an example of that. And this is the first time that he was ever referred to as the Messiah. So cool. Okay, so then Elkanah returned home to Rama without Samuel, and the boy served the Lord by assisting Eli the priest. They did it. It was hard to do to leave this little son behind, but they did it because they promised God they would do it. Young as he was, Samuel had a ministry to the Lord. Our young people can praise and please God. And it is often a breakthrough in their walk with the Lord when they experience God in worship. Okay, guys, now we're on. First Samuel 2:12, verse 12. Now, the sons of Eli, son. So Eli the priest were scoundrels who had no respect for the Lord or for their duties as priests. Whenever anyone offered a sacrifice, Eli's sons would send over a servant with a three pronged fork. While the meat of the sacrificed animal was still boiling, the servant would stick the fork into the pot and demand that whatever it brought up to be given to Eli's sons. All the Israelites who came to worship at Shiloh were treated this way. Sometimes the servant would come even before the animal's fat had been burned on the altar. He would demand raw meat before it had been boiled so that it could be used for roasting. The man offering the sacrifice might reply, take as much as you want, but the fat must be burned first. Then the servant would demand, no, give it to me now or I'll take it by force. So the sin of these young men was very serious in the Lord's sight, for they treated the Lord's offerings with contempt. But Samuel, though he was only a boy, served the Lord. He wore a linen garment like that of a priest. Each year, his mother made a small coat for him and brought it to him when she came with her husband for the sacrifice. Before they returned home, Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife and say, may the Lord give you other children to take the place of. This one she gave to the Lord. And the Lord blessed Hannah. And she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, Samuel grew up in the presence of the Lord. Now, Eli was very old, but he was aware of what his sons were doing to the people of Israel. He knew, for instance, that his sons were seducing the young women who assisted at the entrance of the tabernacle. Eli said to them, I've been hearing reports from all the people about the wicked things you are doing. Why do you keep sinning? You must stop my sons. The Reports I hear among the Lord's people are not good. If someone sins against another person, God can mediate for the guilty party. But if someone sins against the Lord, who can intercede? But Eli's sons wouldn't listen to their father, for the Lord was already planning to put them to death. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew taller and grew in favor with the Lord and with the people. So I just want to recap and essentially do what we just did with Hannah's prayer and kind of break it down. I love reading the commentary, y'. All. If you haven't been doing this with reading your Bible, it really helps a lot. So let's go back to the top, where the sons of Eli were corrupt. Literally. The ancient Hebrew calls them sons of Belial. Belial was a pagan God, and the phrase sons of Belial refers to the worthless and wicked men. This was a significant problem because the sons of Eli were in line to succeed him as high priest, and they already functioned in the priesthood. Even though their father Eli knew the Lord, that knowledge was not passed on genetically to his sons. They had to personally know the Lord for themselves. So essentially, what that is saying is that our faith isn't something that's just like, embedded in our DNA that just is then birthed into our children. Obviously it is taught, but it is also a choice. As bad as Eli's sons were, Samuel was different. We can say that this is why God raised up Samuel, because of the corruption of Eli's sons. God knew how bad Eli's sons were, so he guided the whole series of events that resulted in Samuel's service at the tabernacle. If Eli's sons were not worthy successors, then God would raise up someone else. Ultimately, corrupt ministers do not stop or even hinder the work of God. It may look like it, but every time there are men like Eli's sons, God raises up someone like Samuel. God's work does not stop when God's ministers become corrupt. That's beautiful. That's a beautiful word. And I think that should speak some serious encouragement into us. If we are in the church and we're witnessing how there's corruption that could be happening within the church, that this needs to encourage us and show that God's work does not stop when God's ministers become corrupt. He will raise up someone else and he will take down the corrupt. And I feel like that even aligns with Hannah's prayer, where it says that the Lord gives both death and life. He brings some down to the grave, but raises others up and so because of the way that Eli's sons are basically just disrespecting and disregarding what the Lord has called them to do, they're not listening to him. They're not prioritizing a relationship with him. Then the Lord says, okay, then I'll use someone else. And so the part two that we read, that might have sounded a little harsh when it said, but Eli's sons wouldn't listen to their father, for the Lord was already planning to put them to death. So God was already making a plan, saying, yeah, these. These men are not it. They're not doing it. God has now made a plan for Samuel to rise up, and he's already has a plan to put these two men to death because they're not doing what they're supposed to be doing. And it sounds like they've constantly rejected the Lord's calling on their life, but also just him. One day, a man of God came to Eli and gave him this message from the Lord. I revealed myself to your ancestors when they were Pharaoh's slaves in Egypt. I choose your ancestor Aaron from among all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer sacrifices on my altar, to burn incense, and to wear the priestly vest as he served me. And I assigned the sacrificial offerings to you priests. So why do you scorn my sacrifices and offerings? Why do you give your sons more honor than you give me for you. And they have become far from the best offerings of my people, Israel. Therefore, the Lord, the God of Israel, I promised that your branch of the tribe of Levi would always be my priests. But I will honor those who honor me, and I will despise those who think lightly of me. The time is coming when I will put an end to your family, so it will no longer serve as my priests. All the members of your family will die before their time. None will reach old age. You will watch with envy as I pour out prosperity on the people of Israel. But no members of your family will ever live out their days. The few not cut off from serving at my altar will survive, but only so their eyes can go blind and their hearts break and their children will die a violent death. And to prove that what I have said will come true, I will cause your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, to die on the same day. Then I will raise up a faithful priest who will serve me and do what I desire. I will establish his family, and they will be priests to my anointed king forever. Then all of your surviving family will bow before him begging for money and food, please. They will say, give us jobs among the priests so we will have enough to eat. Let's digest that. That feels like a lot, right? That kind of felt like a lot. So this was what we started at. We were reading 1st Samuel 2:27, which is a warning for Eli's family. So it sounds like there was a prophet of some sort that had heard a word from the Lord and needed to tell it to Eli. And so that's what this was. It sounds like it was a direct warning from the Lord communicated through an individual warning Eli of the path of destruction that him and his entire family were going down. I think that's really also in itself a great reminder of how the Lord, as harsh as this all sounds, right, the Lord gives warnings, he gives chances, and he gives multiple chances. God is actually giving Eli a glimpse into the future of the consequences of where his family is headed and the decisions that his sons and, and his lineage is going down. So I think it's actually out of the kindness of God's heart that he doesn't just not give a warning like he warns us and he shows us the consequences of the decisions that we make. And if we still decide to make those decisions, then God does allow us to feel consequences. And so God is giving Eli a glimpse into the future saying, hey, this is what will happen. But he's still giving Eli a chance to like make things right, if that makes sense. As the leader of his family, as the father of his sons like to make it right. But let's go read into the commentary of this, cuz I really personally also would love to have this broken down for me. Okay, then a man of God. So we don't know who this was. This man of God is one of the wonderful anonymous characters of the Bible. But it doesn't matter who he was. He was a man of God and God raised him up to speak to Eli and Eli's whole family at this important time. This is a very pivotal time of the fate of Eli and his family. Essentially, like this word being given to Eli is like your family could either go this way or this way, but the Lord wants you to know that if you go this way, this is what's going to happen. The father referred to is Aaron, who was the first high priest. Since the high priesthood was a hereditary office, Eli was a descendant of Aaron, whom God had revealed himself to. Okay, so we're just seeing kind of the family tree with this of where Eli came from. So it's now Revealed that Eli was actually a descendant of Aaron, whom God had actually revealed himself to. First and foremost, the job of the high priest was to minister to the Lord before he served the people. He was a servant of God. He was not first the people's priest. He was first the priest of God. The priests brought sacrifices for anointment and worship. Burning incense was a picture of prayer because the smoke and the scent of the incense ascends up to the heavens. The priest was to lead the nation in prayer and to pray for the nation. It would have been easy for Eli to say, I'm not doing it. My sons are. But Eli had a double accountability for his sons, both as a father and as the high priest. His sons worked for him as priests, and Eli was a bad, quote, boss. So now it's also showing us the reality of two roles that Eli has. Not only that he is a father to these sons, but he's also kind of being a bad boss. Like, he's not holding them accountable in any way, shape, or form. So it doesn't sound like he's holding them accountable as just literally his sons, like, I've taught you better than this. But he's not holding them accountable with the positions that they're in. Since they, quote, worked for him as priests. Eli was a bad boss. Since Eli did not correct his sons the way he should, he essentially preferred them to the Lord. If Eli were more afraid of offending God and less afraid of offending his sons, he would have corrected them as he should have. So this is also revealing that Eli had a lot of fear of man. He had a lot of fear of offending his sons and maybe even jeopardizing his relationship with his sons over fearing the Lord at the end of the day. And this goes for all of us Christians, number one, fear has to be of the Lord, Meaning we need to have enough respect and obedience and just loyalty. It's loyalty and respect that fear kind of translates to we should have enough honor, more honor for the Lord before anything else. That goes for our own family members. We have to fear the Lord first. We have to prioritize what he thinks before anyone else. I think a lot of times it's really easy for us to do that with, like, strangers and people we don't know. But the challenge that this is showing is that Eli, it's his own sons, but he can't even put, you know, the feelings or the fear of how they're going to be offended or the fear of maybe how it'll jeopardize their relationship, his own sons. Before his relationship with God. God promised that the priestly line would not stay with Eli and his descendants, but would pass to another line of descendants from Aaron. This was fulfilled many years later in Solomon's day. Now we're going to skip down to the part where it says, then I will raise up for, for myself, a faithful priest, who is the faithful priest predicted here. He was a great priest because he did according to what is in God's heart and in God's mind. He was a blessed priest because God said, for him, I will build him a sure house, and he will walk before my anointed forever. Then we go down to verse 36, where it says, then all of your surviving family will bow before him begging for money and food, please. They will say, give us jobs among the priests so we will have enough to eat. This is a fitting judgment, since much of the sin of Eli's sons was greed and stealing from God's people. Instead of receiving the priestly portions that were rightfully theirs, Eli's family would one day be reduced to begging. Yeah, so I think that this warning was just the gravity and realization for Eli that at the rate of where his family was going, God was not going to continue to bless. God was not going to give them favor, and God definitely was not going to continue to raise his children, Eli's sons, to a place of responsibility because they've been responsible for these people, but they've been neglecting them, abusing them. They've been seducing women like they were awful, awful men. And so God saw that, and he was like, this is not going on any further. But it's the kindness of God's heart to have warned Eli before and said, you can either do your job and be a good father and hold these men accountable and a good boss so that these things don't happen. Or if you still continue to neglect my word, my heart, the things that I want through your priesthood and the priesthood of your sons, then this is the fate. And so it can sound harsh, y', all, but the reality is that the Lord is just and he believes in justice, and he is the ultimate judge. And so when punishment comes, it really is just the consequences of wickedness. It's because these men were wicked and they were deciding to be wicked, and Eli was deciding to kind of like throw it under the rug and not really say or do much about it at all. Let's just finish this up by reading chapter three, and then we'll be done. So meanwhile, the boy, Samuel, served the Lord by assisting Eli. Now, in those days, messages from the Lord were very rare, and visions were quite uncommon. One night, Eli, who was almost blind by now, had gone to bed. Because, remember, Eli is very old too. Right? That was mentioned. So he's a very old man. I don't know how old he is, but he was almost blind by now and had gone to bed. The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was sleeping in the tabernacle near the Ark of God. Suddenly the Lord called out, samuel. Yes, Samuel replied, what is it? He got up and ran to Eli, here I am. Did you call me? I didn't call you. Eli replied, go back to bed. So he did. Then the Lord called out again, samuel. Again Samuel got up and went to Eli, here I am. Did you call me? I didn't call you, my son. Eli said, go back to bed. This Samuel did not yet know the Lord, because he had never had a message from the Lord before. So the Lord called a third time, and once more Samuel got up and went to Eli, here I am. Did you call me? Then Eli realized it was the Lord who was calling the boy. So he said to Samuel, go and lie down again, and if someone calls again, say, speak, Lord, your servant is listening. So Samuel went back to bed, and the Lord came and called as before, samuel, Samuel. And Samuel replied, speak, your servant is listening. Then the Lord said to Samuel, I am about to do a shocking thing in Israel. I am going to carry out all my threats against Eli and his family from beginning to end. I have warned him that judgment is coming upon his family forever because his sons are blaspheming God and he hasn't disciplined them. So I have vowed that the sins of Eli and his sons will never be forgiven by sacrifices or offerings. That also is foreshadowing Jesus, isn't it? Because God is saying, yeah, no, your sacrifices and your offerings are not going to make the cut anymore. Your sins won't be forgiven through things like that, but their sins will be forgiven. And all the sins, the weight of every sin that was ever made by mankind or will be ever made was hanging on the cross. So that was another foreshadow of Jesus. And why? Just one reason why his coming was so crucial. Samuel stayed in bed until morning, then got up and opened the doors of the tabernacle. As usual, he was afraid to tell Eli what the Lord had said to him. But Eli called out to him, samuel, my son, here I am. Samuel said, what did the Lord say to you? Tell me everything. And may God strike you and even kill you if you hide anything from me. Okay, what the heck? Eli's kind of a mean man. Wait, now I'm starting to see where his sons get it from. That wasn't very nice. He literally basically just threatened Samuel and said, and may the Lord strike you down with lightning if you don't tell me. Okay, bro, chill out. So Samuel told Eli everything. He didn't hold anything back. It's the Lord's will, Eli replied. Let him do what he thinks is best. As Samuel grew up, the Lord was with him, and everything Samuel said proved to be reliable. And all Israel, from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south, knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the Lord. So that's really cool. Now we're learning that Samuel was actually a prophet. He was hearing the voice of God, and everything Samuel had said was proved to be reliable. So that means that the things were happening that he had said he heard from the Lord. Right. The Lord continued to appear in Shiloh and gave messages to Samuel there at the tabernacle. And Samuel's words went out to all the people of Israel. Okay, that's where we're going to stop, because that's the end of First Samuel, chapter three. That was fun, y'. All. Thanks for reading that with me. What do we think? Do we feel like that was pretty digestible? Did we eat it? Did we chew it? Was it good? Yeah. Okay. Period. I feel like today was just kind of giving a story time. I. I obviously, I pray. I hope that some of that actually really resonated with you guys. But I think it was cool because for me, at least, I feel like we were just learning more about Samuel and just the beginnings of his life and how he came about. I think the coolest part was when Hannah in that part. I don't know about y', all, but I think the coolest part was that was actually the first time in the Bible that Jesus was referred to as the Messiah. That might have been the. One of the coolest parts for me, because I didn't. I didn't know that. But I love you guys, and I'm grateful for your hunger for the word of God. I'm grateful for the way that we got to spend time together and read it together. Guys, can we do something cool today? Can you show somebody how cool Jesus is? Let's just be more like the Lord today. Let's show somebody how cool Jesus is, how loving he is, how kind he is, how patient he is that he's actually compassionate and he's just. I love y'. All. I will see you guys next Friday. I'll see you in the next episode. Be blessed. I'm praying for the next few days for y' all until we get back together. And I will see you guys next time. Bye. If you guys can't wait until next Friday for another episode, you are in luck. Subscribe to our Patreon, where you will have early access to future episodes and occasional surprise bonus episodes. Make sure to follow us on Instagram and tick Tock for more content. And if this episode spoke to you, please write us a five star review since it helps the podcast so much. We'll see you guys next time.