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: (Holy Bible Recovery Version, 1 Sam. 1:1, footnote 1)
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. (Life-Study of 1 & 2 Samuel, msg. 19)
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. (Holy Bible Recovery Version, 1 Sam. 1:1, footnote 1)
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: (Holy Bible Recovery Version, 1 Sam. 1:5, footnote 1)
A. “Now the word of Jehovah was rare in those days; visions were not widespread”—1 Sam. 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. (Holy Bible Recovery Version, 1 Sam. 3:20, footnote 1)
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. (Holy Bible Recovery Version, 1 Sam. 3:20, footnote 1)
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. (Life-Study of 1 & 2 Samuel, msg. 2)
C. Samuel’s name means “heard of God” or “asked for of God—1 Sam. 1:20: (Life-Study of 1 & 2 Samuel, msg. 2)
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. (Life-Study of 1 & 2 Samuel, msg. 2)
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. (Holy Bible Recovery Version, 1 Sam. 1:5, footnote 1)
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: (Life-Study of 1 & 2 Samuel, msg. 2)
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. (Life-Study of 1 & 2 Samuel, msg. 2)
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. (Life-Study of 1 & 2 Samuel, msg. 2)
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. (Life-Study of 1 & 2 Samuel, msg. 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: (Holy Bible Recovery Version, 1 Sam. 1:1, footnote 1)
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: (Life-Study of 1 & 2 Samuel, msg. 5)
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. (Holy Bible Recovery Version, Num. 6:2, footnote 1)
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. (Holy Bible Recovery Version, Num. 6:2, footnote 1)
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. (The Priesthood, msg. 7)
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. (Life-Study of 1 & 2 Samuel, msg. 5)
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. (2009 FTTA, msg. 3)
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. (2009 FTTA, msg. 3)
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: (2009 FTTA, msg. 3)
1. The principle of prayer is that God’s people must pray before God will rise up to work—Matt. 18:18-20. (2012 TGC, msg. 1)
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. (2016 ITERO-F, msg. 7)
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: (2006 FTTA, msg. 18)
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: (Life-Study of 1 & 2 Samuel, msg. 5)
1. Samuel could be the acting God because his being and God’s heart were one. (Life-Study of 1 & 2 Samuel, msg. 5)
a. He was a man according to God’s heart; that is, he was a copy, a duplicate of God’s heart. (2006 FTTA, msg. 18)
b. Samuel’s living and working were for the carrying out of whatever was in God’s heart. (2006 FTTA, msg. 18)
2. We need to be one with God in His heart’s desire and in His move on earth—Eph. 1:5, 9. (2006 FTTA, msg. 18)
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. (2006 FTTA, msg. 18)
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. (2005 TGC, msg. 6)