Crystallization-Study of 1 and 2 Samuel
Message One
The Central Thought of and the Divine Trinity
as Revealed in 1 and 2 Samuel
OPENING WORD OF THE PROPHESYING MEETING
Reading the verses in each day.
Reading the main points in the outlines.
Pray-reading the verses:
1 Sam. 1:11 And she made a vow and said, O Jehovah of hosts, if You will indeed look upon the affliction of Your female servant and…give to Your female servant a male child, then I will give him to Jehovah for all the days of his life, and no razor will come upon his head.
Rev. 11:15 And the seventh angel trumpeted; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever.
Word of Appetizer
What is the central thought of 1 and 2 Samuel?
The central thought of 1 and 2 Samuel is that the fulfillment of God’s economy needs man’s cooperation—the principle of incarnation—God enters into man and mingles Himself with man to make man one with Himself. In 1 and 2 Samuel cooperation with God is illustrated by the history of Samuel’s mother, Hannah, of Samuel, and of David, in the positive sense, and by the history of Eli and Saul, in the negative sense. Cooperation with God through the principle of incarnation is related to the personal enjoyment of the good land, which typifies the all-inclusive and all-extensive Christ. The good land enjoyed by those who cooperated with God became the kingdom of God in which they reign in life.
Spiritual Burden
In 1 and 2 Samuel we can see that the Triune God with His embodiment and redemption was fully involved with bringing forth Samuel and David so that the kingdom of God might be brought in; It is crucial for us to see that the Triune God is involved with us today, operating in us to accomplish His will, fulfill His purpose, and satisfy the desire of His heart.
Concluding Word of the Prophesying Meeting
The Revelation of the Truth
The central thought of 1 and 2 Samuel is that the fulfillment of God’s economy needs man’s cooperation—the principle of incarnation—God enters into man and mingles Himself with man to make man one with Himself. We need to be deeply impressed with the fact that the fulfillment of God’s economy requires our cooperation; to cooperate with God means to be bound together with God.
We need to see the Divine Trinity as it is revealed in 1 and 2 Samuel. First and 2 Samuel reveal that the bringing in of the king and the setting up of the kingdom depended on the involvement of the Divine Trinity with His people.
Our present situation and God’s need today are the same in principle as the situation and the need in the time of Samuel.
The Experience of Life
1 Sam. 1:24 And as soon as she weaned him, she brought him up with her, along with three bulls and one ephah of flour and a skin of wine; and she brought him to the house of Jehovah in Shiloh, although the child was young.
The house of God as the embodiment of the Triune God and the offerings as the means for us to enter into the embodiment of God, that is, redemption. The Triune God, with His embodiment, His redemption, and His Spirit, is constituting us into useful persons for His coming and His kingdom. The Triune God is involved with us today, operating in us to accomplish His will, fulfill His purpose, and satisfy the desire of His heart
Practice and Application
In our cooperation with God we need to enjoy Christ to such an extent that our enjoyment of Christ becomes the kingdom of God, in which we reign in life with Christ.
There is an urgent need for some to pray prevailing prayers for God’s goal, as Hannah did, and for qualified ones to be like Samuel—a Nazarite, a priest, a prophet, and the last judge—who was used by God to terminate the confused situation among God’s people and bring in the king and the kingdom.
Our natural, religious, cultural, moral, and ethical concepts concerning the Christian life need to be replaced with a vision of the fully involved Triune God.
PROPHESYING TOPICS—TWELVE TOPICS PER WEEK
Day 1
T1 The central thought of 1 and 2 Samuel (Rom. 5:21; Gal. 2:20b)
(Please illustrate that the central thought of 1 and 2 Samuel is that the fulfillment of God’s economy needs man’s cooperation.)
T2 To cooperate with God means to be bound together with God (1 Sam. 1:11; John 15:5; 1 Cor. 6:17)
(Please illustrate that the birth of Samuel involved Hannah’s cooperation with God.)
Day 2
T1 God’s purpose for His people was to set up a kingdom (Matt. 6:10)
(Please illustrate that Samuel initiated a new age. He turned the age from the age of the priests to the age of the kings.)
T2 Samuel was one who brought in the kingdom (1 Sam. 10:25)
(Please illustrate that in order for God to fulfill His intention to have an expression, He needed to have a kingdom.)
Day 3
T1 God’s intention has been to have a kingdom (1 Sam. 8:5-7; Rev. 11:15)
(Please illustrate that as a man who was according to God’s heart, Samuel knew that within God’s heart there was a desire for a kingdom)
T2 God heart was duplicated in Samuel (1 Sam. 2:35)
(Please illustrate that Samuel was pure and single with examples.)
Day 4
T1 Elkanah and Hannah remained in the line of life ordained by God (1 Sam.1:11)
(Please illustrate that God’s salvation is mainly for our benefit, whereas God’s purpose is related to the fulfilling of God’s desire.)
T2 Because Jehovah had shut up Hannah’s womb, she was forced to pray a desperate, consecrated, and consecrating prayer (1 Sam.1:10-12, 15)
(Please illustrate that Hannah’s prayer was for a son who would be a Nazarite from birth, one who would be absolute for the Lord.)
Day 5
T1 In 1 Samuel 1 we see God’s embodiment and God’s full redemption (1 Sam.1:24; John 1:14, 29)
(Please illustrate that the house of God as the embodiment of the Triune God and the offerings as the means for us to enter into the embodiment of God, that is, redemption.)
T2 The Spirit of God, who is the third of the Trinity reaching God’s people (1 Sam. 19:23; 2 Sam. 23:1-3)
(Please illustrate that all the doing of the Spirit of God in 1 and 2 Samuel according to Bible verses.)
Day 6
T1 Our present situation and God’s need today are the same in principle as the situation and the need at the time of Samuel (Matt. 6:33)
(Please illustrate that some today need to pray according to God’s need, as Hannah did. God needs some like Samuel,)
T2 We must trust in the involvement, the work, of the Divine Trinity (Matt. 6:33; Rev. 11:15)
(Please illustrate that First and 2 Samuel reveal that how greatly the Divine Trinity is needed to pray prevailing prayers and to bring in the kingdom.)
