fear

A new way to relate

A key indicator of having a relationship with someone is communication. Moses had a unique relationship with God in that “the LORD spake unto Moses face to face as a man speaketh unto a friend” (Exodus 33:11). The whole congregation of Israel was able to hear the voice of God, but only Moses saw his likeness.

Prior to the Israelites reaching the Promised Land, God told them there would one day be a prophet among them and he said, “I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream” (Num 12:6). Over time, God communicated less and less with his people and became more distant with them because of their sin. The purpose of having a prophet was to keep communication going so that God’s people would not be cut off completely. You could say that a prophet was God’s mouthpiece. The LORD said he would put his words in the prophet’s mouth, “and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him” (Duet 18:18).

Samuel was similar to Moses and Abraham, but he was technically the first person in the Bible to have the specific title and purpose of being God’s prophet. Samuel began to minister unto the LORD when he was just a child, probably around the age of eight. When Samuel began serving in the Tabernacle, he was trained to be a priest by Eli, the chief priest at the time. Communication from God was rare and Eli and his sons were about to be excommunicated because of their corrupt practices. It is unlikely Samuel spent much time learning from Eli, otherwise his character might have become tainted by Eli’s bad influence. Samuel may have been as young as twelve when he was called to be God’s prophet.

Therefore Eli said unto Samuel, Go, lie down: And it shall be, if he call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, LORD; for thy servant heareth. So Samuel went and lay down in his place. And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth. (1 Samuel 3:9-10)

Samuel’s election to be God’s prophet at a young age indicates that maturity or experience ministering before the LORD were not requirements for becoming a prophet. The main quality that God may have been looking for was innocence. Samuel may have been naïve about what was going on with Eli and his sons, but he understood that they had been disobedient and were going to be punished. Samuel was afraid to tell Eli all that had been revealed to him, but Eli threatened him by saying, “God do so to thee, and more also, if thou hide anything from me of all the things that he said unto thee” (I Sam 3:17).

Samuel’s induction into being a prophet was a turning point. God’s message for Eli was the beginning of the end of the sacrificial system God had established to cleanse the Israelite’s so that he could have fellowship with them. Samuel was to be an example of a new way of God interacting with his people. Samuel had to listen carefully to God’s message and pass it on to others. There was to be no interpretation or expounding on what God said, just an exact repetition of the words that were spoken to him. “And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground” (1 Samuel 3:19).

A few good men

Most adults understand what it means to be under the influence of alcohol. It affects your judgment, your ability to function, what you say and do. Fear can have the same affect and when you are afraid it could be said that you are under the influence of fear.

Fear is a powerful emotion because it is hard to control and can make you do things you wouldn’t normally do. It can also stop you from doing things that you want to do, no matter how important they are to you.

Fear can be a strategic advantage to an enemy. I believe fear is the number one way the devil takes advantage of Christians and is used frequently to stop us from making progress in our walk with Christ. When we are under the influence of fear, we are like soldiers that are shaking in their boots, we can’t hear the commands of God and are looking for an escape route rather than concentrating on the battle plan.

When Gideon was given the assignment to engage the Midianites in warfare, the first thing God told him to do was weed out all the soldiers that were afraid to fight. Gideon’s troops were reduced from 22,000 to 10,000 after they were told, “Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him return and depart early from Mount Gilead” (Judges 7:3). But, God didn’t stop there. The affect of fear can sometimes be subtle, we may not even be aware that we are under its influence. So, God used another method to determine who could be relied on in battle and who would most likely run if the going got tough.

So he brought down the people unto the water: and the LORD said unto Gideon, Everyone that lappeth of the water with his tongue, as a dog lappeth, him shalt thou set by himself…And the LORD said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you. (Judges 7:5-7)