Mountain Movers

"And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel..." (Hebrews 11:32)

Samuel spent virtually his whole life committed to God. He was was among the first prophets and was the last judge of Israel. He is an example of someone who stood up for God when those around him faltered.

We first read about Samuel's early life in 1 Samuel 2.

This sin of the young men was very great in the Lord's sight, for they were treating the Lord's offering with contempt. But Samuel was ministering before the Lord -a boy wearing a linen ephod. Each year his mother made him a little robe and took it to him when she went up with her husband to offer the annual sacrifice. (1 Samuel 2:17-19)

The examples of those around Samuel were deplorable and might have accommodated his easy tread in the footsteps of his peers. However, even as a boy, Samuel recognized God's calling. His priority was to minister before God and it certainly helped that he had the support of his godly parent. God was trained Samuel from a very young age to have a wholehearted devotion towards Him.

God prepared Samuel to lead the way for his peoples spiritually. As a nation, the Israelites had experienced many setbacks and, as a result, were disheartened, discouraged, and dismayed. They needed someone to help them out of the doldrums of sin and into favor with God.

In 1 Samuel 7, Samuel addressed the Israelites' hearts. He called them to repent of their idolatry, direct their intentions and desires towards God, and to serve Him faithfully. Their obedience to God would be rewarded with victory over the Philistines.

The Israelites were greatly encouraged by Samuel's words. They prayed, fasted, confessed, and repented. They were eager to start over with God. However, as a result of their increased spirituality, their traditional foes, the Philistines, grew increasingly hostile towards them. In fearfulness, they turned to Samuel knowing how God had continually blessed his life. The sons of Israel pleaded with Samuel, "Do not cease to cry to the Lord our God for us, that He may save us from the hand of the Philistines."

Samuel quickly interceded at their request. As the Philistines signaled that they were ready to do battle, he offered a sacrifice to God. God thundered against the Philistines and threw them into confusion and Israel gained the victory. Samuel gave all the glory for their enemies' defeat to God, thanking him for His intervention. During the remaining days of Samuel, the Philistines never again harmed Israel.

Samuel demonstrated his faith to the people by his actions. He won their respect by the way he lived his life and called them to do the same. He was a man of integrity who set an example for his followers.

"..I have walked before you from my childhood to this day. Here I am. Witness against me before the Lord and before his anointed: Whose ox have I taken, or whose donkey have I taken, or whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed, or from whose hand have I received any bribe with which to blind my eyes? I will restore it to you. And they said, You have not defrauded us or oppressed us, nor have you taken anything from any man's hand."[1 Samuel 12.2-4 NKJV]

God blessed Samuel's life by leading him to a man after God's own heart, David, the future king of Israel. David tremendously impacted the nation of Israel. Yet it is a great tribute to Samuel that he was the one God used to initially train and give advice to David as he led the Israelites as a kingdom.

Throughout his life, Samuel was a powerful influence in the lives of God's people. In 1 Samuel 25:1, it says, "...then Samuel died; and all Israel gathered, and mourned for him, and buried him at his house in Ramah." A whole nation was galvanized into unity at his loss. Many traveled long distances, coming together to mourn for him, as they recalled the significant role he had played in their lives.

Samuel's faith overflowed from his unquestioning obedience to God. When God called him, he didn't hesitate or rebel. He did what God wanted knowing that the Lord would follow through with His commitments.

Furthermore, Samuel wasn't swayed by those around him. When others were enslaved to idolatry and faithlessness, he became a trailblazer for God. Others fed on his desire to please God and his confidence to faithfully persevere. As a result, Israel's most threatening enemies were subdued during the golden years of Samuel's life.

Samuel didn't allow himself to get caught up with the flow of the crowd. Human nature dictates that when one is challenged, eking out a survival is often easier by blending in with "the pack." Human nature and faith are often at odds. Often during our most devastating or tempting times our God will pluck an individual with the potential of heartening faith and courage to raise to leadership.

In the next chapter, we will look at examples of the faith of two prophets in particular: Jeremiah and Jonah.  God chose both Jeremiah and Jonah to write a  segment of the Bible because they had the faith to persevere and challenge others during times of intense oppression and persecution. While both of these prophets came from different backgrounds, eras, and social settings, they were unified in their overall message and purpose and shared an unswerving zeal and conviction that either inspired and encouraged those with soft hearts or further infuriated the rebellious and embittered. These were prophets whose writings were often quoted from the lips of Jesus because they communicated the heart of God with the nations around them.