The Raymer enterprise., 1920-04-29

LESSON TEXT Sam. l:24-2S; 3l-2l
GOLDEN TEXT-My son. give me thine
heart. and let thine eyes observe my
ways.-Prov. 1926,
ADDITIONAL MATERIAL Sam
1l-23: 2:l-s6.
PRIMARY ToPIc-Ths Child Samuel
in Gods House.
JUNIOR ToPIc-A Boy Who Listened
and Obeyed.
INTERMEDIATE AND SENIOR TOPIC
Training for Religious Leadership.
YOUNG PEOPLE AND ADULT TOPIC
Religious Capacities In the Training Of
Children.
J. Samuel Given to the Lord Il :24-
2s).
Samuel was given to Hannah In
answer to prayer. His name means
asked Of God" For a time he was
cared for by his mother In the home,
In asking God for a son she vowed
to dedicate him to the Lord. Accord.
ingly at an early age she took him to
the sanctuary and gave him over to
the charge Of Ell. Thus In his tender
years he mlnistered to the Lord.
u. Features Of israers History In
This Period.
!. A demorallzed priesthood. (1)
The priests were actuated by greed
t2:12-lD. 1t was Gods will that
those who mInistered at the altar
should live Of the things Of the altar.
but they broke through the divine reg.
ulations touching this matter and
were securing their selfish ends by
force. (2) The priests polluted the
courts Of Gods house with the gross.
est immortality t2:22).
2. An alIenated people. The only
thing which separates people from
God Is sin.
3. A cessation Of divine revelation
t3:D. God was silent-"The word of
God was precious In those days; there
was no open vision" The message
from the Lord was more matter of
memory than an active experience.
The same thing In principle is true of
the Individual life today; some who
once enjoyed fellowship with God no
longer hear his voice speaking to them.
~. God Calls Samuel t3:2-lO).
In striking contrast with the degen.
eracy Of the nation we have brought
before us the beautiful life of Samuel.
We see God getting ready for the re-
generation of the nation. Dwelling
within the sacred courts and minister.
ing before the Lord with Eli, Is the
innocent Samuel, who Is to be the
savior OF his people. In Samuel we
have a striking pattern of child re-
liglon. The Lord gave him In answer
to Hannah's prayer. From his birth
he was dedicated to the Lord. While
quite young his mother took him to
the sanctuary Of the Lord where he
served and slept. 1t is a good thing
to have much sin forgiven, but II Is
better far TO grow up without sin.
Two traits In Samuel's character
stand out in this call; namely, his
cheerful obedience to the Lords call
and his surrendered will. 1t was no
easy thing to respond cheerfully to
the thrice repeated call. II may have
seemed to him to be unreasonable,
but each time he obeyed In simplicity.
~. samueI's First Prophetic Mes.
sage (3:1t.18).
Up to this time Samuel obeyed the
one who was over him, but the time
had now come when he must directly
hear and obey the Lord. The first
message entrusted to him Is a most
terrible one. To deliver 1t Is a most
trying task. He hesitated to tell It to
Ell, but when pressed by him he man
ifested the true courage which was
lying back Of his fear. II must have
been a bitter sting to Eli to see Sam.
uel recognized and himself passed by,
but he was submissive. He knew
that the slight was just; he could not
fall to interpret It thus In view Of the
appearance Of the man Of God to him
(2:27-36). This fearful visitation up
on ELS house was due to the sins Of
his sons. He was held accountable
for not restraining them. Parental
laxlty is most cruel. There is an age
in which children may be restrained,
but when passed over the power to re-
strain goes with 1t.
v. Samuel Established In the Pro.
phetIc Office (3:19-2l).
"And Samuel grew. and the Lord
was with him, and did let none Of his
words fall to the ground. And all
Isrnel. from Dan even to Beersheba
knew that Samuel was established to
be prophet of the Lord" This is
verIfcation Of the saying Him that
hon0rs me l will honor" Little did
Hannah realize that the boy who had
been given In answer to her prayer
would one day become the head Of the
nation. This new position brought
great danger to the boy, but the God
who raised him up was able to sus-
tlan him.