God's Preparation: A Woman, Her Son, And A King


	God's Preparation: A Woman, Her Son, And A King David's Heart and Labor In order to understand why David is so important to us today, we have to consider two important things the Bible mentions about Him. First of all, God Himself said that David was a man after His own heart (Acts 13:22; 1 Sam. 13:14), and, secondly, we are told by Paul that he was a man who served his own generation (Acts 13:36). Being a man after God's heart had to do with David's person, and his serving his generation had to do with his labor. We all must realize how crucial these matters are. The first thing every human being should be concerned about is his or her relationship with God. That should hold the first place in our thoughts, for we cannot serve our generation as God desires until we understand Him. Who Is Our "Generation"? Who is our "generation"? Our generation includes the people who are alive on the earth at the same time we are. I am older now, and my personal feeling, looking at the situation among the Lord's children today, is that the Lord will not return in my lifetime. I do feel, however, that there is reason to hope that many who are present today will live to see the Lord's return, but only if the Lord can find some of this generation who are truly after His heart. The generation that brings the Lord back must contain people who are after His heart! Seeking the Lord's Heart What does it mean to be a person who is after the Lord's heart? There are many thousands of believers who love the Lord and are doing many things in His name, yet how many really care for what He really is after? In some events for young people, perhaps the singing involves "modern" forms of music. Some may voice concern about this, and the younger saints may respond by defending what they feel has been helpful to them. The issue, however, is not what kind of music is used, but whether or not the Lord Himself is pleased. Regardless how things may appear outwardly, our criteria must be that the Lord Himself is satisfied and His need is met. Serving Our Generation According to What is in the Lord's Heart Christians often get involved with activities that end up taking preeminence over the Lord. Therefore, in these activities they are not truly serving their generation. The things you might feel are serving your generation for Christ, such as preaching the gospel, leading campus Bible studies, and so on, can merely be Christian things for you to do, or they can be the means for you to care for what is really in the Lord's heart. In fact, we should ask why it is that so many Christians are preaching the gospel, and yet the result is so few are saved. Even among the few that are saved, there is so much disagreement and contention. Do you know why this is? It is because among the Lord's people, few really care for what is on His heart. Serving The Lord in Our Generation Versus Serving According To What is Beneficial to Us I know of some Christians who are very faithful to preach the gospel, yet when they help someone to believe, they hold on to that person as an asset, as though he or she is living proof of how well they are doing as Christians. They display their unfortunate converts in the meetings and force them to stand up and say something so that the others might notice their fruit. Though such saints are faithful to preach the gospel, they have no idea of what God's heart is about, and those they bring to Christ are often not able to grow well. Every believer on a college campus needs to find a few others who love the Lord and His Body, and meet with them. Yet as you meet together on campus, your little gathering may become very precious to you, even more precious than what is on the Lord's heart. Therefore, when a meeting is announced in your locality on the night of your campus meeting, you will feel it is a frustration rather than a blessing and an opportunity. What has this campus meeting then become? Like the new convert mentioned above, it may have become a personal asset. Rather than something that Christ is after, has it become something that is in rivalry with what Christ is after? Rather than caring for God's profit, we sometimes find ourselves caring for something because it has become our own personal "Christian" asset! Our Bible knowledge can be profitable to God, but it can also become profitable to our self. If we use what we know for our own gain, we are not someone who is truly after God's heart. I do not mean that we should not give ourselves to learn and be equipped! Young people should use every opportunity to give themselves to learn how to study the Word, and eventually minister light from the Word. You should also learn how to preach the gospel, how to lead people to Christ, how to shepherd others and raise them up, and how to exercise in the church life. Young people should be aggressive to learn these things. Every one of us must seek to become as profitable to the Lord in our life-long operation as possible. But many things we do as believers may have something else in view. It is even possible that our togetherness may become something that is not according to God's heart. We must realize that we are not even for our togetherness; we are for the Lord's interest. Our being together must have the Lord's interest in view. If our view is to turn what the Lord has given us into a profit for the Lord Himself, then we are the right kind of person to be after the Lord's heart. David, A Man According to God's Heart Versus Saul, A Man According to a Good Heart Saul felt that God had given him the kingdom, so Saul did his best to carry out what the Lord seemed to be asking him to do. He tried to carry out his commitment faithfully. David, however, took what the Lord gave him and carried everything with a view to what would only become a profit to the Lord Himself. This is what the Lord treasured about David. Are we able to see this difference? We all need to check with ourselves why we do what we do. For instance, why do you attend a certain a certain college? You may respond, "I want to have a good career." Ask again, "What for?" You may respond, "So I can get married and raise a family." Again, you should ask yourself why. So you can have grandchildren? What are we aiming at? Even in smaller matters we should ask ourselves this question. Suppose you like to buy spiritual books. Check with yourself why. You may answer, "I am trying to acquire a good library." Still, I would ask why. Perhaps eventually you would be forced to say, "It is because I want to be respected as a spiritual brother." Dare we ask one more time, "Why?" Many faithful, zealous Christians live out their entire lives without ever being able to properly answer the question: "Why am I doing this?" The Lord today is hard-pressed to find anyone who cares about what is on His heart. We may live our lives piously, admirably, and even faithfully, but unless we can hit upon what the Lord is looking for, the Lord will not be able to find what really satisfies Him in our lives. Fighting For What is In God's Heart Once we find out what is in the Lord's heart, we should give our lives to fight for it. David was such a fighter. Too many are distracted from what they really should be fighting about even among those the Lord has revealed something of His purpose. Of course, if we are not clear about what is in God's heart, we may still be fighting for something, but our efforts will be in vain. Both Saul and David fought for a strong Israel. David, however, fought for a strong Israel so that God might find His rest among His people and have His testimony on the earth, while Saul fought for his monarchy. We need to be impressed with how these two men could appear very differently to God as far as His satisfaction was concerned, even though they both had good qualities and they both sought to honor God. The crucial thing is this: as we live our lives, we must have what the Lord desires in His heart in view. We need to be saved from doing spiritual things with only those things in view. Instead, may we consider how those things affect or bless the Lord Himself. Too often we consider how things will affect or bless others besides the Lord Himself. If we are not yet married, we may consider how to please our parents, or some "significant other" we are interested in. Actually, the good pleasure of the person we consider the most is that of ourselves. Therefore there may be many besides the Lord whose hearts we are "after" when it comes to what we consider or do. Inwardly, it seems we have many "bosses"! Even in spiritual matters, we may consider what we do in light of others besides the Lord. A spiritual man, however, first considers what he does in light of what is of profit to the Lord, leaving the rest to Him. A Woman, A Nazarite, And A King Needed For The Changing Of The Age Remember, the situation among the children of Israel had fallen very low. The priests had failed, the judges had failed, and there seemed to be no one the Lord could send to speak for Him as His prophet. The testimony the Lord had among His people was very weak and there was much darkness. There had even been killing among the tribes themselves. It seems that God allowed this confused situation to continue on for a long time. After about four hundred and fifty years, however, things were such that God was ready to change the age. Gaining A Woman - Hannah - Who Was Purely For God In order to provide for the emergence of such a person as David, God had to first arrange for a number of other things. One of the things He had to do to prepare the way was to gain a woman who would be pure and gracious enough to offer Him her own child. In most regards, Hannah (1 Sam. 1:6) was not a person more outstanding than others. Her name means "favored," or "gracious," which all females generally are. She was married to a man who had another wife who bore him children, yet she remained barren. This, however, did not affect his love or affection for her. For some reason, Hannah felt to beseech the Lord for a child (1 Sam. 1:10). Many women are able to accept it when they realize they will have no children of their own. Hannah, however, could not accept this, and traveled all the way to the Lord's dwelling to beseech the Lord for a child. In her prayer, she even told the Lord that should the Lord give her a child, she would offer that child back to the Lord to serve Him all his life, and that no razor would pass over his head (v. 11). In other words, she would offer her child as a Nazarite (Num. 6:5), someone who would be able to serve before the Lord even though he was not born a priest. Therefore Hannah was saying, "I don't want a child for myself; I want a child for You." Hannah and Eli When Eli saw Hannah praying, he assumed she was drunk! That reveals how desperately she was praying. Eli was both the high priest and the judge of Israel, so for him to rebuke Hannah like this was not a small thing. As we are purely seeking the Lord for the Lord's interest, sometimes the Lord will allow us to be misjudged and rebuked even by His servants. This is a hard thing to take, but we must appreciate how Hannah responded. She did not indignantly say, "Can't you see that I am praying? I am not drunk! Apologize!" Even to such a seemingly inadequate serving one, she responded with a proper attitude. She did seek to vindicate herself. Instead, she told Eli that she was bitter of soul due to the heaviness in her heart. Eli then immediately realized the real nature of the situation, and spoke a word representing the Lord to her that indicated that he did indeed possess spiritual insight. How do we know that Hannah received Eli's word as being from the Lord? She immediately went and ate and was encouraged. She had the assurance that the Lord had heard her prayer. This indicates again something impressive about her. Wouldn't we wonder whether we could believe the word of a person who had just shown himself to be totally lacking in discernment? Hadn't Eli just misjudged her for being a drunkard? How is it that she could then trust Eli's word that the Lord would answer her prayer? Yet Hannah recognized that Eli was still the Lord's representative. She realized that God still stands by His delegated authority, regardless of personal failures and flaws. Hannah provides a good model for us. Eli may have been a spiritual man who had "faded," but he was still judge and high priest. Furthermore, he was still a genuinely spiritual man. This is evident from the way he was able to speak for the Lord even after he was exposed as being wrong in his judgment. It may seem as though Eli should have apologized to Hannah, but at any rate, he encouraged her, telling her without even knowing what it was Hanna had prayed for that the Lord would answer her prayer. Therefore, Eli was clear enough. It may have seemed as if he could be fooled, but when it was necessary for him to be clear, he was clear. One day, when I was a young believer, I was sorrowful before the Lord concerning a matter that weighed heavily upon my heart. A certain elder saw me and rebuked me, and as my tears came down, he rebuked me again and commanded me to stop weeping. I did, and by the Lord's mercy I honored him as someone whom the Lord had placed over me for my care. At that moment, I realized how grave the situation was. To my feeling, if I reacted improperly I would have lost my unclouded relationship with Christ and His church, for to my feeling that brother represented both. Hannah's Response to Eli: "Let Thy Handmaid Find Grace in Thy Sight" Thus let us all learn something more in Hannah's word. Her response to Eli's initial misjudgment was, "Let thy handmaid find grace in thy sight" (1 Sam. 1:18). If we learn to respond in this way whenever someone is critical of us about something, we could be saved from so many problems in the church life! Just be prepared. In the church life, there are many opportunities to be misunderstood. Perhaps an older saint would ask, "What kind of music do you use in your gatherings? You should walk out of any meeting that uses ungodly tunes!" Instead of trying to defend anything, just respond, "Let thy handmaid find favor in thy sight!" Yes, perhaps you could argue and say, "You criticize our choice of songs, but at least our meetings are more living than yours are!" That, however, would not bring in any grace! In fact, if you spoke like that, grace would be gone. Learn to respond as Hannah did. Even if a brother or sister charges that what you are doing is terrible, learn to say, "May I find grace in your sight." This is the secret of having a healthy church life. Often the more you try to defend something, the more you open the door to further accusation. But consider Hannah. Eli's first word to her was really off, yet her response opened the door for his proper operation. It moved him enough to say, "May grace come to you. May it take place as you have desired." It is not a small thing to be able to respond to such a situation as Hannah did. If we are able to operate so sweetly, it will open the door to such sweetness in the entire church life, for everyone involved is for the Lord and loves the Lord. No one has the intention of doing anything damaging. Sometimes we just see things differently. In the church life, let us all seek to know this grace together. God Giving Hannah a Son for an Offering Immediately after this, Hannah realized God had heard her and answered her prayer. She allowed herself to be encouraged, and indeed she did bear a son and named him Samuel, "asked for of God." Samuel The Nazarite When Samuel was small, serving in God's house, we are told he wore the linen ephod, which means he served as a priest. He was not a Levite, but because he was offered as a Nazarite, he could fill in as a priest before God. We should all realize that how we dress ourselves before the Lord is very important, for your operation is determined by how you clothe yourself. When you dress yourself casually on the outside, inwardly you should be someone who is girded up, wearing the linen ephod, serving as a priest. The day you put on the linen ephod is the day you begin to serve as a priest. It is not something, once taken up, that you can put on and take off as you please. If you do, it means that instead of living and serving as a priest, you are only participating in certain things in the church life. Serving the Lord Under Eli Samuel served the Lord as a priest, which, if that was all that was involved, would not have been too difficult. But to serve under Eli, whose eyes had begun to "wax dim" (1 Sam. 3:1-2) was probably often not an easy matter. To serve under anyone who is not too clear can be a real dealing! One of the things that concerns me most is when the elders are not clear, for if the brothers taking the lead in a church are not clear, many drastic things can happen. Serious things that should be handled may not be dealt with, and positive things such as the move of the Spirit may be missed. If you have the right kind of heart, however, both the negative example and whatever positive operation is still manifest can teach you much. A Personal Testimony Many years ago, I found out that an elder was caught with the habit of smoking cigarettes. I didn't mention this to anyone else, but one day another brother whom I knew told me he had noticed this elder smoking, and didn't know what to do. We might have criticized this brother or spread gossip about him, but instead I said, "Let's pray." That was a salvation. We did not even pray about this brother's situation in particular, because even that could have been judgmental, opening the door to a loss of respect for this brother. Instead, we prayed that the Lord would have mercy upon us, so that we would only see Him in the church life. Not long afterward, that elder gave a message in which he said, "You do not even know the power a little three-inch cigarette can have over you." I sensed from the Lord that he had gotten through in this matter, and I praised the Lord. I believe our prayer played a real part in this, even though in our prayer we never directly mentioned his habit. Particularly when you are young, you believe the leading ones must be overcoming giants of the faith, when in fact they are just as human as you are. The church life is full of people who all have problems. For every problem you see in the church life, realize there are many more you do not see. Be thankful that you don't! In fact, if you want to be a person who is after God's heart, you must learn not to see certain things, or at least to cover them in love. Eventually, if you know how to handle the messiness in the church life, you will be able to continue to grow. Even the messy situations are for your learning and growth. In fact, we should realize that the messy situations are especially for our learning and growth. Samuel was thus serving as a priest - not on his own, but rather under a high priest whose eyesight was no longer that clear. It was under these conditions, however, that the Lord spoke to him. God Speaking to Samuel Many are familiar with this story. We are told that the word of the Lord was rare in those days (1 Sam. 3:1). Man had not heard God speak for quite some time. Remember, the prophethood had failed, along with the priesthood and the kingship. Then, one night, as Samuel was asleep in the house of the Lord, he was awakened by someone calling his name (v. 4). Samuel, never having heard the Lord's voice before, thought it must be Eli, so he ran to Eli. Eli told him he was mistaken, and to go back to sleep. This was repeated twice more, after which Eli finally realized it was the Lord Himself who was speaking to Samuel. I really appreciate Eli in this account. Eli was clear when he needed to be clear. He might have considered Hannah drunk, but when he blessed her, it was a real blessing. And although he was not clear initially that it was the Lord calling Samuel, when he realized that it was the Lord, he was very clear about what Samuel should do. He told Samuel to go back and when he heard the speaking again, to reply, "Speak, Lord, your servant is listening." (Eli might have been tempted to give Samuel a sleeping pill in hopes that the Lord would be forced to speak to him instead, or, perhaps Eli might have been tempted to instruct Samuel to direct the Lord to him, for was not Eli the one who was Israel's judge at that time, and God's anointed priest? The Lord's speaking to Samuel rather than Eli already signaled God's judgment upon Eli.) When the Lord called to Samuel the fourth time, Samuel responded as Eli had told him, and the Lord spoke to Samuel of His judgment upon Eli's house. This was a very severe word. God was angry with Eli for not keeping his two sons back from evil, which involved both the abuse of their priestly privilege, and gross immorality that took place in God's own sanctuary. God did not temper what he had to say due to the fact that Eli had faithfully raised up Samuel. It was a judgment that God said would cause tingling to the ears of all those who heard of it in Israel (1 Sam. 3:11). God's Judgment upon Eli's Failure To deal with one's children is not an easy matter, for you love them and tend to tolerate certain things they do in a way no one else can. A Chinese proverb says that if you want to raise your children properly, you have to hand them over to someone else who will be able to mete out punishment. Eli certainly must have known that the word of the Lord to Samuel had something to do with him. Samuel did not want to tell Eli all that God had spoken, for God told him that Eli's house was judged with no possibility of repentance! Eli must have realized all this, for he told Samuel to hold nothing back. And, when he heard the Lord's word, he said, "It is the Lord. Let Him do what seems good to Him" (3:18). He may not have known how to control his sons, and his eyesight may have waxed dim, but Eli was still a spiritual man. God Gaining a Priest, a Judge, and a Prophet in Israel From this point onward the Lord was manifestly with Samuel, and he began to judge Israel, something he continued to do for the rest of his life. Therefore in Samuel we see a recovery of all three lines in one person, for Samuel functioned as a priest, a judge, and a prophet! Throughout his life God continued to speak to Samuel, and did not allow even one of his words to "fall to the ground" (3:19-21). God used a woman and the boy she offered to draw closer to His goal. Now he needed one more person to bring in the man who would be after His heart. Who would be the final person who would pave the way for God to acquire a man who was after His own heart? Saul The King Saul was the third person God needed to usher in David. His name means "desired," "asked for," or "lent." Samuel's name meant "asked for of God," but Saul's name merely meant "asked for." In Saul you can see someone who was fully involved with man's desire for something. When the people asked Samuel for a king (1 Sam. 8:5), Saul was God's answer to their request. In a sense, Saul was like a ditch that had to be traversed before David could come forth, but we shouldn't look down on such "ditches," for without ditches, life would be very flat! Saul may have been a frustration, but his life also provides a colorful backdrop to the process that brought forth David, enhancing our appreciation of what God would eventually find in David. God's People Wanted a King The people approached Samuel to choose for them a king. It is hard to fault them when you consider the children of Israel's experience under the judges. The situation was often chaotic. There were times when there was no one judging at all, so no one knew who was in charge. Whenever the need arose, however, God would raise someone up. Therefore, for the four hundred and some years since they had entered into the good land, the various judges ruled only for a portion of that time, and even when they did rule, the situation was usually very peculiar. Therefore the people asked Samuel for a king to rule reliably over them as they saw happening in the nations around them. Why was it that God did not want to give them a king? Because He wanted them to rely upon Him. Even when there was a judge, God would not even give them too much security, for when things appear safe and secure, people tend to forget about God. It is like when children are at home and they have a good father: there is some money in the bank, there is a roof over their heads, and there is food on the table. Yet how many in such a situation feel the need to cling to God? When God raises up someone who can provide them with peace and security, people do not turn to God for these things. This is why God allows problems to arise. When we have problems, is it not true that we pray more? Why is it that when we are accepted into a college program or for some job that we feel relieved and happy? It is because as long as you are in that job or that program, you think, "Ah, now I am in. Everything will be taken care of now." But God's desire is that we would depend upon Him. Instead, we often desire a "king" like the one we see the godless people around us relying on. When Samuel brought this matter to the Lord, the Lord told him, "Do not be sorrowful. It is not you that they reject, but Me, that I should not reign over them" (1 Sam. 8:7). The Lord wanted to be their King, but they did not want to come to Him, therefore He would give them a king. When He gave them a king, however, He intended that He would be the King over that king, so He needed a man after His own heart. Who was this man that was chosen from among the Israelites? He was Saul, a good man of a choice family (1 Sam. 9:2). He must have appeared to be the right choice. In height, he stood head and shoulders above others. When you saw him in a crowd, he would stand out and you probably would remember his handsome face. Samuel Anointing Saul King When Samuel anointed Saul king he said, "Is it not because the Lord has anointed thee and made thee captain over his inheritance?" (1 Sam. 10:1). Samuel did not make such a speech when he anointed David. I believe Samuel really liked Saul. Thus Saul was anointed to be the first king over God's inheritance, the nation of Israel. And as Saul the new king turned to leave and go forth, God gave him a new heart (1 Sam. 8:9). What a confirmation! He became another person, no longer fearful. And beyond all this, the Spirit of the Lord came upon him so that he spoke among the prophets (1 Sam. 8:10). Anointed, Given Another Heart, and Filled with the Spirit I hope many would desire what Saul experienced at this time. We should not be satisfied to continue on the same. We should ask God to anoint us until we become a different person, even someone filled with the Holy Spirit. When you are seen by those who are the elders in your locality, they should feel like they are seeing a new person. Oh, how we need that new heart that comes from being filled with the Spirit! It should not be that everything in the meetings is so set in a pattern and predictable. Instead, the church life should be filled with people who are saturated with the Spirit! We should be those who are one with God's operation. God is operating! He is buoyant and vital, and so must we be! How we need to ask the Lord to fill us with His Spirit! Oh Lord, saturate us! Make us new! What marked both David and Saul as God's anointed ones? They experienced a new heart. They each became a new person. The Spirit rushed upon them, and they could no longer speak as they had before. Their operation could no longer be confined. We can all be such people, taking the lead among the saints to praise the Lord, lead in prayer, sing, and speak for Him. May we all become so new in the churches today. Therefore let us all ask the Lord, "Make me a new person! Give us a new heart! Anoint us! May Your Spirit saturate us until we are people who are walking according to Your economy!"