Crystallization-Study of 1 and 2 Samuel
Message Three
Spiritual Principles, Life Lessons, and Holy Warnings
Seen in the History of 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. 3:10 Then Jehovah came and stood by and called as at the other times, Samuel! Samuel! And Samuel said, Speak, for Your servant is listening.
1 Sam. 3:19-21 And Samuel grew, and Jehovah was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel…knew that Samuel had been established as a prophet of Jehovah. And Jehovah continued to appear in Shiloh, for Jehovah revealed Himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of Jehovah.
Word of Appetizer
Why Samuel was so useful in the hand of God?
He had no self-seeking nor any thought of self-gain. Instead, as a Nazarite, who allowed no razor to come upon his head and who did not drink any wine, he was absolutely for God. He was happy to go wherever God wanted him to go and to do whatever God wanted him to do; He had no heart for anything besides God’s heart and God’s elect; Samuel considered that not praying for God’s people, who are His personal treasure and possession, was a sin against Jehovah; He was a man according to God, a man according to God’s heart. Therefore, he was a man whom God could use to carry out His economy.
Spiritual Burden
God desires that all His people be Nazarites; to be a Nazarite is to be sanctified, separated, absolutely and ultimately to God, that is, to be for nothing other than God and for nothing other than His satisfaction—the testimony of Jesus, which is the testifying church as the testimony and the expression of Christ.
The life of the believers hinges totally upon the Lord’s speaking; The Lord’s speaking enables us to fulfill the goal of His eternal economy to have a bride as His counterpart.
Concluding Word of the Prophesying Meeting
The Revelation of the Truth
Samuel ministered to the Lord as one who was a priest not by birth but by the Nazarite vow.
Samuel grew up under the custody of Eli; in his youth Samuel ministered to Jehovah before Eli, being taught by Eli the way to minister to God.
Samuel was one who turned the age into the age of the kingdom with the kingship.
Samuel’s whole being and person, not just his doing, living, and work, were according to God; Samuel’s being and God’s heart were one; for this reason we may say that Samuel, a man according to God, was the acting God on earth; as the acting God on earth, the representative of the very God in heaven to rule over His people on earth, Samuel ministered in five statuses.
The Experience of Life
While Samuel was under Eli’s custody, God taught him in a very fine way, built him up, and established him as His proper priest. We need to be, first, a Samuel, and then, a David, enjoying Christ to such a degree that what we have enjoyed of Christ will become a kingdom, which is the church.
Ebenezer, which means “the stone of help.” Up to this day God has helped us. God has helped us that His desire might be fulfilled. We need to realize that God’s helping us is for His fulfillment of His economy and that we are enjoying the blessing in this fulfillment. Today God is blessing us in every way for the fulfillment of His economy to build up the Body of Christ.
Practice and Application
For a Nazarite to abstain from wine and anything related to its source signifies abstaining from all kinds of earthly enjoyment and pleasure and taking and experiencing Christ as his enjoyment and pleasure; eating the tree of life, that is, enjoying Christ as our life supply, should be the primary matter in the church life.
As the Lord’s servants, we need to maintain our fellowship with Him, always listening to Him; our lives depend on the Lord’s words, and our work depends on His commands; The Lord’s speaking enables us to fulfill the goal of His eternal economy to have a bride as His counterpart.
PROPHESYING TOPICS—TWELVE TOPICS PER WEEK
Day 1
T1 Before he was born, Samuel was consecrated by his mother to be such a person (Num. 6:1-3, 5-6; 1 Sam. 1:27-28)
(Please illustrate that what the Nazarite vow according to Numbers 6:1-10.)
T2 The principle of the Nazarite is voluntary consecration (1 Chron. 6:33, 38; 1 Sam. 1:11)
(Please illustrate that Samuel ministered to the Lord as one who was a priest not by birth but by the Nazarite vow.)
Day 2
T1 The life of the believers hinges totally upon the Lord’s speaking (1 Sam. :1-10; Luke 1:38; 10:39)
(Please illustrate that something completely positive that Samuel learned from Eli was learning to listen to God.)
T2 While Samuel was learning, he observed the deterioration of the degraded Aaronic priesthood (1 Sam. 2:12-17, 22-25)
(Please illustrate that this did not weaken Samuel in his future Nazarite priesthood; rather, it became a constant warning to him throughout his priestly service.)
Day 3
T1 Samuel was a man according to God’s heart—a copy, a duplicate, of God’s heart (1 Sam. 10:1, 13)
(Why Samuel can be seen as the acting God on earth?)
T2 Samuel had no self-seeking nor any thought of self-gain (1 Sam. 3:21; 2:35)
(Why Samuel was so useful in the hand of God?)
Day 4
T1 Samuel was established by God to speak the word of God to replace the teaching of the word of God by the old priesthood (1 Sam. 3:19-20; 10:25)
(Please illustrate that the first thing that a priest should do is speak for God.)
T2 The priesthood was to minister the word of God to His people and to over His people. (1 Tim. 3:2; Heb. 13:7)
(Please illustrate that the New Testament charges the elders to learn to do two things: to teach the saints and to take the lead among the saints.)
Day 5
T1 As the acting God on earth, Samuel ministered in five statuses (1 Sam. 1:11, 28a)
(Please illustrate that Samuel ministered as a Nazarite, consecrated to God absolutely for God’s fulfillment of His economy.)
T2 Samuel ministered as a priest (1 Sam. 2:35)
(Please illustrate that Samuel was thus a person full of insight concerning God’s economy and concerning the environmental situation.)
Day 6
T1 Samuel was established as a judge to replace the judging of the people by the old priesthood (1 Sam. 7:15-17)
(Please illustrate that through Samuel and his threefold responsibility in the priesthood, prophethood, and judgeship, a good order was brought in.)
T2 Samuel, like Moses, was a man standing before Him for His people (1 Sam. 12:23; Jer. 15:1)
(Please illustrate that Samuel prayed for God’s elect that God’s desire of His will in His elect might be fulfilled.)
