After the record of the miraculous birth of Samuel in chapter one and the praiseful prayer of Hannah in chapter two (1 Samuel 2:1-10), we are introduced to the spiritual famine of this time – which is still the time of the judges.
We live in a day when we have all of the resources we need to be a good Christian. We have multiple Bibles in each home, a church on every corner, Bible teachers and material at our disposal 24 hours a day. There has never been a day when there were so many different ways to serve the Lord by practice, preaching and publishing. Yet we have allowed the spirit of Laodicea to deaden us. We like the Laodiceans are “lukewarm”, growing cold on the things of God. May we use this service to survey our relationship with God and the things of God
The servant must understand his relationship to His Lord. The Lord is the master of the house and He rules it without challenge. The servant exists for the needs and service of the Lord. John 13:16 states, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him.”
When God’s people get away from the Lord, they begin to give Him the leftovers. Their service to God becomes a weariness to them.
A need broke the heart of Nehemiah. Others saw the problem, but he sought a solution from God with all his heart. Because of his broken heart and because of his willingness to be a part of the solution, the Lord sent him to bring about the solution. We have much to learn from this lesson.
