Conflict & Courage

Nay; but we will have a king over us; that we also may be like all the nations. 1 Samuel 8:19, 20.  {CC 146.1}        The Hebrews demanded a king of Samuel, like the nations around them. By preferring a despotic monarch to the wise and mild government of God Himself, by the jurisdiction of His prophets, they showed a great want of faith in God, and confidence in His providence to raise them up rul...

We have sinned against the Lord.... Cry unto the Lord our God for us. 1 Samuel 7:6, 8.  {CC 145.1}        Samuel visited the cities and villages throughout the land, seeking to turn the hearts of the people to the God of their fathers; and his efforts were not without good results. After suffering the oppression of their enemies for twenty years, the Israelites "mourned after the Lord." Samuel cou...

And the child Samuel ministered unto the Lord before Eli. 1 Samuel 3:1.  {CC 144.1}        Young as he was when brought to minister in the tabernacle, Samuel had even then duties to perform in the service of God, according to his capacity. These were at first very humble, and not always pleasant; but they were performed to the best of his ability, and with a willing heart. . . .  {CC 144.2}       ...

The iniquity of Eli's house shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering for ever. 1 Samuel 3:14.  {CC 143.1}        Eli did not manage his household according to God's rules for family government. He followed his own judgment. . . . Many are now making a similar mistake. They think they know a better way of training their children than that which God has given in His word. They foster wrong te...

In that day I will perform against Eli all things which I have spoken concerning his house: when I begin, I will also make an end. 1 Samuel 3:12.  {CC 142.1}        Eli had greatly erred in permitting his sons to minister in holy office. By excusing their course, on one pretext and another, he became blinded to their sins; but at last they reached a pass where he could no longer hide his eyes from...

I will judge his house for ever for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not. 1 Samuel 3:13.  {CC 141.1}       Eli was a good man, pure in morals; but he has too indulgent. He incurred the displeasure of God because he did not strengthen the weak points in his character. He did not want to hurt the feelings of anyone and had not the moral cou...

 They hearkened not unto the voice of their father. 1 Samuel 2:25.  {CC 140.1}        Eli was priest and judge in Israel. He held the highest and most responsible positions among the people of God. As a man divinely chosen for the sacred duties of the priesthood, and set over the land as the highest judicial authority, he was looked up to as an example, and he wielded a great influence over the tr...

My son, keep your father's commandment, and forsake not your mother's teaching. Proverbs 6:20, R.S.V.  {CC 139.1}        What the parents are, that, to a great extent, the children will be. The physical conditions of the parents, their dispositions and appetites, their mental and moral tendencies, are, to a greater or less degree, reproduced in their children.  {CC 139.2}        The nobler the aim...

I have lent him to the Lord. 1 Samuel 1:28.  {CC 138.1}        From Shiloh, Hannah quietly returned to her home at Ramah, leaving the child Samuel to be trained for service in the house of God, under the instruction of the high priest. From the earliest dawn of intellect she had taught her son to love and reverence God and to regard himself as the Lord's. By every familiar object surrounding him s...

Chap. 131 - She Kept Her Promise      I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life. 1 Samuel 1:11.  {CC 137.1}        Elkanah, a Levite of Mount Ephraim, was a man of wealth and influence, and one who loved and feared the Lord. His wife, Hannah, was a woman of fervent piety. Gentle and unassuming, her character was marked with deep earnestness and a lofty faith.  {CC 137.2}        The bl...

Chap. 130 - God Remembered      And Samson called unto the Lord, and said, O Lord God, Remember me. Judges 16:28.  {CC 136.1}        In suffering and humiliation, a sport for the Philistines, Samson learned more of his own weakness than he had ever known before; and his afflictions led him to repentance. As his hair grew, his power gradually returned; but his enemies, regarding him as a fettered a...

Chap. 129 - A Sure Crop      My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not. Proverbs 1:10.  {CC 135.1}        Samson in his peril had the same source of strength as had Joseph. He could choose the right or the wrong as he pleased. But instead of taking hold of the strength of God, he permitted the wild passions of his nature to have full sway. The reasoning powers were perverted, the morals cor...

Chap. 128 - This is the Secret      And he wist not that the Lord was departed from him. Judges 16:20.  {CC 134.1}        Day by day Delilah urged him, until "his soul was vexed unto death;" yet a subtle power kept him by her side. Overcome at last, Samson made known the secret: "There hath not come a razor upon mine head; for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother's womb: If I be shaven,...

Chap. 127 - What's the Secret?      And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth. Judges 16:6.  {CC 133.1}        The Israelites made Samson judge, and he ruled Israel for twenty years. But one wrong step prepares the way for another. . . . He continued to seek those sensuous pleasures that were luring him to ruin. "He loved a woman in the valley of Sorek," no...

He shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines. Judges 13:5.  {CC 132.1}        God's promise that through Samson He would "begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines" was fulfilled; but how dark and terrible the record of that life which might have been a praise to God and a glory to the nation! Had Samson been true to his divine calling, the purpose of God co...

Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? 2 Corinthians 6:14.  {CC 131.1}        The town of Zorah being near the country of the Philistines, Samson came to mingle with them on friendly terms. Thus in his youth intimacies sprang up, the influence of which darkened his whole life. A young woman dwelling in the Philistine town o...

Teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall be born. Judges 13:8.  {CC 130.1}        God Himself appeared to the wife of Manoah and told her that she should have a son, and that he should be a great man and should deliver Israel. Then He gave her special instructions regarding her diet. . . . Let us regard this as instruction given to every mother in our world. If you want your children to...

And Gideon made an ephod . . . which thing became a snare unto Gideon, and to his house. Judges 8:27.  {CC 129.1}        The people of Israel, in their gratitude at deliverance from the Midianites, proposed to Gideon that he should become their king, and that the throne should be confirmed to his descendants. This proposition was in direct violation of the principles of the theocracy. . . . Gideon...

And the Lord said unto Gideon, The people are yet too many; bring them down unto the water, and I will try them for thee there: and it shall be, that of whom I say unto thee, This shall go with thee, the same shall go with thee; and of whomsoever I say unto thee, This shall not go with thee, the same shall not go. Judges 7:4.  {CC 128.1}        The people were led down to the waterside, expecting...

And the Lord said unto Gideon, The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me. Judges 7:2.  {CC 127.1}        It had been made a law in Israel that before they went to battle the following proclamation should be made throughout the army: "What man is there that hath built a new...

And the Lord looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might . . . : have not I sent thee? Judges 6:14.  {CC 126.1}        To Gideon came the divine call to deliver his people. He was engaged at the time in threshing wheat. A small quantity of grain had been concealed, and not daring to beat it out on the ordinary threshing floor, he had resorted to a spot near the winepress; for the season of rip...

Choose you this day whom ye will serve. Joshua 24:15.  {CC 125.1}        As Joshua felt the infirmities of age stealing upon him, and realized that his work must soon close, he was filled with anxiety for the future of his people. It was with more than a father's interest that he addressed them, as they gathered once more about their aged chief. . . .  {CC 125.2}        By Joshua's direction the a...

And the children of Joseph spake unto Joshua, saying, Why hast thou given me but one lot and one portion to inherit? Joshua 17:14.  {CC 124.1}        Another claim concerning the division of the land revealed a spirit widely different from that of Caleb. It was presented by the children of Joseph, the tribe of Ephraim with the half tribe of Manasseh. In consideration of their superior numbers, the...

 I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me. . . . Now therefore give me this mountain. Joshua 14:11, 12.  {CC 123.1}        Before the distribution of the land had been entered upon, Caleb, accompanied by the heads of his tribe, came forward with a special claim. Except Joshua, Caleb was now the oldest man in Israel. Caleb and Joshua were the only ones among the spies who had...

Lying lips are abomination to the Lord: but they that deal truly are his delight. Proverbs 12:22.  {CC 122.1}   Lying lips are abomination to the Lord: but they that deal truly are his delight. Proverbs 12:22.  {CC 122.1}  Lying lips are abomination to the Lord: but they that deal truly are his delight. Proverbs 12:22.  {CC 122.1}   Lying lips are abomination to the Lord: but they that deal truly...