“On that day I will do against ‘Eli everything I have said with regard to his family, from beginning to end. For I have told him that I will execute judgment against his family forever, because of his wickedness in not rebuking his sons, even though he knew that they had brought a curse on themselves.”-1 Samuel 3:12-13
So the Lord has begun preparations to make Samuel His official representative on planet earth.
Now there’s an interesting question I wanna pose to you here.
What was the very first thing the young, naive and impressionable Samuel learned about God?
The Lord could have revealed anything He wanted to Samuel…
But what did He choose to reveal to Him?
God told Samuel He was going to judge Eli and his family for their wickedness.
In other words, the lesson God imparted to Samuel was that He will punish wickedness among His chosen people…
And especially among those set apart to serve Him as priests.
That’s quite a first lesson to give to a youngster don’t you think?
The Lord wanted to make it clear to Samuel from the outset that He’s no respecter of persons.
Once Samuel heard of the terrible judgement that was about to befall Eli and his family, he must have been quite frightened.
And let’s face it, the Lord left a lot to the imagination in terms of what He told Samuel.
Samuel had no idea how God would judge Eli and his family…
Nor the timing of when it would happen…
This first revelation that God provided to Samuel would be pivotal in shaping Samuel’s life and his resolve to be faithful to the Lord no matter what.
The takeaway I’m getting here is that the first thing we learn about the Lord is something that will determine our relationship with Him in the future.
If we’re taught that our Father in heaven is a merciless warrior who always executes His angry judgement at the drop of a hat, we’ll grow up fearing God.
Or if we’re taught that God is only love and would never hurt a fly, we’ll grow up unable to defend ourselves against violence and become easy victims to those who would seek to do us harm.
That’s why it’s important to study ALL of the Scriptures and get a balanced view of the Lord.
Over and out.
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