A. THE FIRST PART: A BIRD’S-EYE VIEW OF THE OLD TESTAMENT
From Moses to Samuel
Message Twelve—Samuel
Scripture Reading: 1 Sam. 1:10-20; 2:35; Matt. 16:18-19; Rom. 5:17
I. The central thought of 1 and 2 Samuel is that the fulfillment of God’s economy needs man’s cooperation in the principle of incarnation, Such a cooperation 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 the cooperators reigned as kings—1 Sam. 1:1; Matt. 16:18-19; Eph. 3:9:
A. The books of Samuel, as books of history, are on Christ for our enjoyment that God may carry out His economy; these books reveal the right, the particular, and even the full way for us to enjoy Christ that we may be a part of God’s economy.
B. 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 Chris; this is God’s accomplishment of His eternal economy, which will consummate in the New Jerusalem—Rom. 14:17; 5:17.
II. Under Eli the old Aaronic priesthood had become stale and waning (2:12-29), God’s heart’s desire was to gain someone to replace that priesthood, and God desired to have a new beginning for the accomplishing of His economy—1 Sam. 2:12-29:
A. Now the word of Jehovah was rare in those days; visions were not widespread—3:1:
1. In the priesthood the first thing that a priest should do is speak for God; the breastplate and the Urim and the Thummim worn by the high priest were the means used by God to speak to His people—Exo. 28:30; Heb. 1:2.
2. In the degradation of the priesthood God’s speaking was almost lost; thus, God needed to raise up a living person, a prophet, to speak for Him.
B. In the midst of the chaos of the degraded Israel, Elkanah and Hannah remained in the line of life; ordained by God for His eternal purpose; the line of life is a line to bring forth Christ for the enjoyment of God’s people that on earth God may have His kingdom, which is the Body of Christ, the very organism of the Triune God.
C. Samuel’s name means “heard of God” or “asked for of God—1 Sam. 1:20:
1. “In due time Hannah conceived and bore a son; and she called his name Samuel, For, she said, I asked for him of Jehovah”; this verse speaks of Samuel’s birth, which came through God’s answer to man’s prayer—1 Sam. 1:10, 12, 20.
2. Hence, actually no human being was the origin of Samuel; God was the real origin, who motivated His people sovereignly and secretly—1 Sam. 1:5.
D. The origin of Samuel was especially his God-seeking mother with her prayer; her prayer was an echo of the heart’s desire of God; her prayer was a human cooperation with the divine move for the carrying out of God’s eternal economy—1 Sam. 9-18:
1. In a very particular way, the origin of Samuel was the moving God with His answer to the prayer of Samuel’s mother (vv. 19-20); after such a prayer as Hannah prayed, it was easy for God to do something, because man’s cooperation had become a base on which He could move.
2. God’s move in response to Hannah’s prayer was in keeping with the principle that God needs man’s cooperation with His move in His economy. This is the principle of incarnation—John 1:14.
3. God’s move with His answer to Hannah’s prayer was to produce a Nazarite who was absolute for the fulfilling of His desire—1 Sam. 1:9, 11; Num. 6:2.
III. Samuel was a Levite by birth and a Nazarite by consecration, who became a priest, a prophet, and a judge; he initiated the prophethood to replace the waning priesthood in the speaking for God, terminated the judgeship, and brought in the kingship; God raised up Samuel to gain David and, through David, to gain Solomon for the building up of His temple—1 Sam. 1:27-28; 2:30; 3:1-4, 9-10:
A. Samuel ministered as a Nazarite consecrated to God absolutely for God’s fulfillment of His economy, a volunteer to replace any official and formal serving ones of God—1 Sam. 1:11, 28a:
1. God desires that all His people be Nazarites; to be a Nazarite is to be sanctified, separated, absolutely and ultimately to God, to be for nothing other than God—Rom. 6:19.
2. According to typology, among the human race the unique Nazarite is the Lord Jesus Christ; hence, a Nazarite is a type of Christ in His living absolutely for God in His humanity—John 5:30; Phil. 2:8.
3. We all must lend ourselves to the Lord; due to a lack of spiritual personnel for His administration, the Lord is very poor today; we must offer ourselves unto Him so that He can borrow us for His purpose; only the regulation of the Nazarite can meet today’s emergency.
B. Samuel was a priest faithful to act on behalf of God, even to appoint and establish kings for the divine government on earth—1 Sam. 2:35.
C. Samuel was a prophet established by God to assist the kings appointed by him as a priest, to speak the word of God to replace the teaching of the word of God by the old and stale priesthood—3:20.
D. Samuel was a judge established by God to carry out God’s governmental administration, to replace the judging of the people by the old priesthood—7:15-17.
E. Samuel was a man of prayer who prayed for God’s elect, the children of Israel, that they would be kept in the way of God, would be one with God, would not be ensnared by the idols of the nations, and would enjoy God as Ebenezer that God’s desire in His will regarding His elect might be fulfilled—12:23-24; 7:3-14; 8:6; 15:11b:
1. The principle of prayer is that God’s people must pray before God will rise up to work—Matt. 18:18-20.
2. God needs man to exercise his spirit with his resurrected will to pray according to God’s divine will for Christ to be manifested and enjoyed by us, for the Body life to be practiced by us, and for the Body of Christ to be built up through us—Heb. 10:5-10; Rom. 12:1-2; Eph. 1:4-6, 9, 11, 22b-23; 3:16-19; 4:16.
IV. Samuel was the representative of God to rule over His people on earth; as such, Samuel was the acting God—1 Sam. 1:11; 2:35; 7:3; 8:22:
A. Samuel was faithful to God to do according to what was in God’s heart and mind; his whole being and person, not just his doing, living, and work, were according to God; Samuel’s being and God’s heart were one:
1. Samuel could be the acting God because his being and God’s heart were one.
a. He was a man according to God’s heart; that is, he was a copy, a duplicate of God’s heart.
b. Samuel’s living and working were for the carrying out of whatever was in God’s heart.
2. We need to be one with God in His heart’s desire and in His move on earth—Eph. 1:5, 9.
B. Samuel was God’s oracle and God’s administration, and thus he was the acting God; as a consequence, Samuel was one who turned the age—1 Sam. 2:35.
V. Samuel was a man who turned the age in God’s administration from the age of the priesthood to the age of the prophethood with the kingship; every time God wants to make a dispensational move, an age-turning move, He must obtain His dispensational instrument; we must be those who have dispensational value to God in the last days to turn the age—Rev. 12:5-11; 1:20; 1 Sam. 1:1, 20.
Ministry Excerpts:
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 in the principle of incarnation, as 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 of Saul, in the negative sense. Such a cooperation is related to the personal enjoyment of the good land, which typifies the all-inclusive and all-extensive Christ (see note 71 in Deut.8). First and 2 Samuel, as a continuation of Joshua, Judges, and Ruth, give the details concerning the enjoyment of the God-given good land. The types in these two books show us how the New Testament believers can and should enjoy Christ as their God-allotted portion (Col. 1:12) for the establishing of God’s kingdom, which is the church (Matt. 16:18-19; Rom. 14:17). These types indicate that our being right with God is a condition for our enjoyment of Christ. In 1 and 2 Samuel the good land enjoyed by those who cooperated with God became the kingdom of God, in which the cooperators reigned as kings. Likewise, 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. (Recovery Version, 1 Sam. 1:1, footnote 1)
REMAINING IN THE LINE OF LIFE ORDAINED BY GOD FOR
HIS ETERNAL PURPOSE
In 1:1-20 we have a word regarding Samuel’s origin. We should not consider that Samuel came out simply from his father, Elkanah. Actually, Samuel came out of God’s economy. God had His eternal economy, but the carrying out of God’s economy had come into question. God had ordained that Aaron’s descendants would be the priests for the carrying out of His economy, but that priesthood became stale and waning. God’s heart’s desire. (Life-Study of 1 & 2 Samuel, msg. 2)
On the human side, Samuel’s origin was his God-worshipping parents, especially his God-seeking mother with her prayer (cf. note 51). In the midst of the chaos of degraded Israel, Elkanah and Hannah remained in the line of life ordained by God for His eternal purpose (see note 93, par. 2, in Gen.2). The line of life is a line that brings forth Christ for the enjoyment of God’s people (see note 181 in Ruth4), that on earth God may have His kingdom, which is the church as the Body of Christ (Matt. 16:18-19; Rom. 14:17; Eph. 1:22b-23), the very organism of the Triune God. Because of God’s moving in her, Hannah could not have peace until she prayed for a son. Hannah’s prayer was an echo, a speaking out, of the heart’s desire of God. It was a human cooperation with the divine move for the carrying out of God’s eternal economy. God could motivate Hannah as a person who was one with Him in the line of life. As long as God can gain such a person, He has a way on earth. (Recovery Version, 1 Sam. 1:10, footnote 1)
SAMUEL MINISTERING IN FIVE STATUSES
As a Nazarite Consecrated to God Absolutely for
God’s Fulfillment of His Economy
Samuel ministered as a Nazarite consecrated to God absolutely for God’s fulfillment of His economy, a volunteer to replace any official and formal serving ones of God (1 Sam. 1:11, 28a).The Nazarite vow was initiated by his mother and completed by Samuel. (Life-Study of 1 & 2 Samuel, msg. 5)
A Nazarite was sanctified by making a special vow to separate himself to God. The priests, who were such by birth, were ordained by God out of His initiation, whereas the Nazarite, who became such by a vow, was separated to God by himself out of his initiation. God’s ordaining of one family (Aaron’s) to be the priests excluded all others from this opportunity. But the vow of the Nazarite opens the gate, affording all the people of God an equal opportunity to be absolutely for God as a warrior (Judg. 13:5) or as a priest (1 Sam. 1:11; 2:11). Whoever is willing may take this opportunity on his own initiative. The accomplishing of God’s purpose requires man’s cooperation to complement God’s ordination, as illustrated by the case of Samuel, who as a Nazarite fulfilled the duty of a priest, complementing the deficient Eli, a priest ordained by God. (Recovery Version, Num. 6:2, footnote 2)
Samuel Ministered to the Lord by the Nazarite Vow as a Priest
Samuel was of the tribe of Levi (1 Chron. 6:33-38) but was not of the house of Aaron, the family of the priests ordained by God. Samuel ministered to the Lord as one who was a priest not by birth but by the Nazarite vow. At the time of Samuel the priesthood of the house of Aaron was utterly fallen. God, however, foresaw the situation. Besides His ordaining the house of Aaron to be the priests, He made a supplement—the Nazarite vow in Num. 6—in case there should be an inadequacy in the ordained priests. When the house of Aaron fell, this supplement was put into practical use. Samuel became a priest by being consecrated, separated, and lent to God. (Recovery Version, 1 Sam. 2:11, footnote 2)
Referring to Samuel, God says in2:35, “I shall raise up for Myself a faithful priest, who will do according to what is in My heart and in Mymind; and I shall build him a sure house; and he shall go before My anointed continually.” This indicates that Samuel would be a faithful priest to act on behalf of God, even to appoint and establish kings for the divine government on earth. David was appointed and anointed by him. From this we see that Samuel was high in qualifications and great in capacity. (Life-Study of 1 & 2 Samuel, msg. 5)
As a Prophet Established by God to Speak the Word of God
Samuel was established by God to speak the word of God to replace the teaching of the word of God by the old priesthood. In the priesthood the first thing that a priest should do is speak for God. The breastplate and the Urim and the Thummim worn by the high priest were the means used by God to speak to His people. In the degradation of the priesthood, God’s speaking was almost lost. Thus, God needed to raise up a living person, a prophet, to speak for Him, and this is what He did with Samuel. In God’s ordination Samuel is counted as the first prophet. Of course, Abraham was a prophet speaking for God, but in God’s ordained way Samuel was the first prophet to set up a prophethood.
In the Old Testament the last part of the divine revelation is with the prophets, from Isaiah to Malachi. Apart from God’s speaking the universe would be empty. We thank the Lord that, by His mercy, we have His continual speaking in His recovery today.
As a Judge Carried Out God’s Governmental Administration
Samuel ministered as a judge. A priest served God, a prophet spoke for God, and a judge carried out God’s governmental administration. Samuel stood on the earth to be the acting God—the one representing God and acting for Him—in his priesthood, prophethood, and judgeship. In the church life in the Lord’s recovery today, we have the priesthood, the prophethood, and the kingship. As a result, things are not upside-down but right-side-up.
As a Man of Prayer
Samuel prayed for the children of Israel to be kept in the way of God, to be one with God, not to be ensnared by the idols of the nations, and to enjoy God as Ebenezer, which means “the stone of help.” “Samuel tooka stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen; and he called its name Eben-ezer and said, Thus far Jehovah has helped us” (7:12).
Samuel prayed for God’s elect that God’s desire of His will in His elect might be fulfilled. Up to this day God has helped us, but why has He 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.
In Samuel’s consideration, ceasing to pray for God’s elect was to sin against Jehovah (12:23). We also need to pray for God’s people. In particular, the co-workers and elders need to pray for the churches every day.
God admitted to Jeremiah that Samuel, like Moses, was a man standing before Him for His people (Jer.15:1). Moses was a priest, a prophet (Deut. 18:15, 18), and a judge, and he always prayed for God’s people. In these matters Samuel was the same. He was a priest, a prophet, and a judge who prayed for God’s people. In the Old Testament, only Moses and Samuel were qualified to participate fully in the priesthood, the prophethood, and the judgeship.
SAMUEL—A MAN ACCORDING TO GOD
Samuel was faithful to God to do according to what was in God’s heart and mind. His 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 it is not too much to say that Samuel, a man according to God, was the acting God on earth. God’s mind was Samuel’s consideration. He had no other thought, consideration, or thinking. His living and working were for the carrying out of whatever was in God’s heart. As a consequence, Samuel was one who turned the age. (Life-Study of 1 & 2 Samuel, msg. 5)
Samuel was pure and single. He was a Nazarite according to his mother’s vow and was altogether not self-seeking. He never sought to gain anything for himself. He had no heart for anything besides God and God’s elect. God loved Israel, and His heart was duplicated in Samuel.
Now we can see 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 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.
At the end of his ministry, by the time that Saul was raised up to be the king in Israel (9:3—10:27), Samuel had reached the highest position. We may say that in the whole universe, there was only one who was above him, and that one was God. We may even say that, as God’s representative, Samuel was the acting God. God intended to move, to act, yet He needed a representative. Samuel thus became a prophet, a priest, and a judge. He was God’s oracle and God’s administration. As such, he was the acting God on earth. (Life-Study of 1 & 2 Samuel, msg. 7)