Evening star., 1923-05-05

| slider how great things he hath
! done for you'll Samuel 1924.
Students of history find in the dis
organized governments of Europe a
! repetition of the days Of the Judges.
While economic causes have been as
signed as the source Of the trouble
some times through which the world
has been called upon to pass, the real
source of the dark hours of the pres
ent moment. like those of the Judges.
i is without doubt due to men and
nations being untrue to God. Sin
shuts the eyes of the soul and deadens
it's hearing the word of the Lord.
Israel failed to obey Gods COM
mands to drive out the idolatrouS and
immoral nations from the land. There
was a decline in the moral and re-
ligious life of the nation from the
days of Joshua to those of Samuel.
The observance of their religious life
became formal and the spirituality
of the people almost disappeared.
There was no open vision III those
days because they had become sub
ject to the injurious influences of the
Moabites and PhilistiDsS, whose idoia-
trous practices appealed TO the
sensual tendencies of tho nation
whom Moses had liberated from the
bondage of slavery. Weak NOR
ally. the Israelitcs became subjects
of the PhiliStineS, VINO dominated the
land. They had captured the ark Of
the Lord and conquered the Hebrews.
To enforce peace the Philistines had
! removed every forge from the Jewish
communities SO that they were COM
PEELED to carry their plowshares to
the Philstines when they needed to
be sharpened. This prevented the
Israelites from repairing or manu-
featuring any swords with which t3
start a rebellion. 1t was an hour
when the prospect of restoring the
| moral and religious life of the nation
appeared to be almost hopeless that
God called a boy to become the in
strumeHt in His hands 10 save the
nation.
Oliver Wendell Holmes says that a
mans education should begin a hun
dred years before he was born. All
men who have ever lett their names
among the immortalS of history are
in debt to many namelcSS ana forgot
ten persons for their greatness. Sam
uel. like all other men. owes his posi-
tion of eminence, which is close to
that of Noses, the founder of the ma
ton. largely to the influence of
Hannah.
! This praying woman sought from
the Lord before the altar of Jehovah
for the removal of her barrenncss,
that had been the cause of her re-
proach. Her earnestness and attitude
attracted the attention OF Eli, the high
priest. who thought that she was in
toxicated, 80 he reprov.d her. When
he learned his error he gave the wo-
man his blessing and the assurance
that her prayer would be answered.
One Of the few narratives in the
Scripture concerning childhood is
found in the Old Testament records
of Samucrs boyhood. When the child
of promise was born the pious mother
conSecrated him to be Eazarene.
Many men serving the LORD today
owe their place in His work TO the
dedication of religious mother who
pledged her son at his birth. if not
| before. to work of Christ and His
church. IL America is to take the
place that God intends and wishes
the nation to maintain among the
governments of the world il will
be due to the consecrated mothers Of
| the country wh1 have followed the
example of Hannah in dedicating
| their children to the Lord Jesus
| Christ. The first impressions are last
ing in the development of the per-
sonality of any individual soul. Sam
ueIS mother not only nodded his
early days. but she sacrificed her
mothers affection by surrendering
him to the training of Eli, the priest
when he was mere lad
The many sided character of Samuel
owes much to his days as an aDDren-
tice In Gods house. He was trained
learned from the aged Eli. whose
heart was broken by the iniquity of
his sons, the ways of Jehovah. He
! was not free from temptation in the
house of the Lord. No rugged char
acter can escape being tempted
Samuel is one of the three men whose
, names appear in the Old Testament
against whom there is recorded no
faults. His first call to the service
of the Lord did not come to him as
| call from heaven, but as voice
from the earth. He responded in the
darkness of the night to the call
although he did not know the voice
of God until Eli informed him that 1t
was the Lord.
Samuel responded to the call for a
life of service. He became the chief
guiding spirit in that transitory age
of Jewish history. The changing con-
ditions of his day called for new ad-
justments. The patriotic priest COM
bined religion with public service.
While he brought the spirit of the
religion of Jehovah into the political
life of the nation. there is no record
that he allowed his ecclesiastical con-
nections to influence him in his efforts
to unity the scattered fragments of
the tribes into a national unity that
prepared the way for the monarchy.
He is the only Judge concerning
whose administration we have "A
glimpse. Many of his predecessors
for Samuel was the last one of the
judges of Israel and the first one of
the prophets-gave evidence of the
lack of leadership. He by his un-
selfishneSs in service, seeking neither
power. place nor any privileges for
himself. outranks all the other judges
in his efficiency as an executive. 1t
was largely through his efforts as a
Judge who promoted the methods of
peace and faith in God that he sue
ceeded in welding the nation into a
living unity.
He blazed the trail for the prophets
who have followed him in every age
since he stood forth as a champion
of God and defender of the people
He met the emergency of the hour
by adopting the changing methods
that the transitory character of his
age called for without compromising