Nougat 10

Yesterday, I received news of a resurgence of crime and violence in a particular country. It was gruesome, inexplicable, and heart- rending. While speaking with another on the issue, we agreed that, unfortunately, this is a global trend. And among other things, I thought of Today’s Holy Nougat

“Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord under Eli. The word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not widespread. Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.” ‭‭1 Samuel‬ ‭3‬:‭1‬, ‭7‬ ‭NRSV‬‬

A Rarity

It is hard to believe that after Moses’ time with the Children of Israel, that they ever reached a point where God was not their primary focus. And yes, it may seem like I’m jumping to conclusions, but for the fact that ‘the Word of the Lord, was rare, [and] visions were not widespread.’ Worse yet, it also seems to describe our current reality.

The question for us is thus, ‘what happened?’ As in, how did the Children of Israel get to that place? It must have started with little acts of idolatry and/or sin that were overlooked. Or, not quite ‘sin’ sin, but that moment when they opted to follow other countries’ practices instead of consulting with God.

And it may have been seemingly minor things, ‘obvious’ things, like the Gibeonite Deception. Remember that one, in Joshua 9? The Gibeonites sent messengers to the new nation of Israel, dressed in old clothes,and laden with stale bread. The Israelites simply took them at face value and didn’t consult with God.

There were other little spiritual infractions that resulted in twelve (12) judges managing the political affairs of Israel. And not all were deeply devoted to God’s way. By the time Samuel was born, Israel of then was as dangerous as most places now.

Psalm 33 begins with a word of encouragement (or admonition) when it says, ‘Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord ..’ It suggests that when the leaders of a country yield to God’s directive, the nation is blessed. Of course, it presupposes that the people follow suit. This is not always the case. And, where there’s a spiritual deficit in either direction, there are consequences.

Hence, the Word and visions of the Lord were rare in those days. Now, what about us:

How prevalent are they in our contexts? Is it received positively? Is the Word legitimate (obviously in not referring to Scripture)? And what about visions, prophecies and even miracles? Is there need for ‘real’ manifestations of God’s power in our midst?

Could it be that God is asking today, ‘who will go for us?’ What shall our response be, knowing the potential pitfalls?

Selah

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May all we seek be found in Christ