And the child Samuel ministered unto the Lord before Eli. And the word of the Lord was precious in those days; there was no open vision.
–I Samuel 3:1 (KJV)
We have known for a long time that the rarer something
is then the more valuable it becomes. People understand this about such items as antiques. If a particular
item is extremely old, and there aren’t many of them left, then chances
are it will be worth a lot of money. Who would have thought that
all those old comic books, baseball cards, Barbie dolls, GI Joes, Matchbox
cars, Hotwheels cars, and numerous other items which we played with
30 and 40 years ago would be so valuable today? Many people, by
virtue of simply keeping these things in good condition over the years
have been able to turn a profit from them today. I recall reading
a couple of years ago that a comic book which featured the first edition
of Superman sold for one million dollars at an auction. Makes
me wish I had kept all those comic books from my childhood. The
rarer something is, the more valuable it becomes.
In the Old Testament book of I Samuel we find the
same situation regarding visions from God. And why was that?
The prophets had grown silent and God’s Spirit was not moving through
them or the people. A spiritual darkness had settled upon the
land. You know that times are bad spiritually when the people
you are going to for spiritual guidance are corrupt, ungodly, and interested
only in power and wealth. Nevertheless, that was the state of
affairs when a little boy named Samuel was born to an Israelite family
around 1100 years before Christ. At a time when visions were rare,
God raised up a prophet who would boldly proclaim God’s Word – and
at a time when the people needed it most.
Few people were actually preaching, speaking, and
teaching the Word of God. Not only that, but also not many people
wanted to hear the Word of the Lord. Any time such a situation
exists the results will be spiritual drought and moral famine.
I trust you understand what I mean by those metaphors. People
lose their moral compass when God’s Word is not proclaimed.
They start to turn away from God and begin to go after what is contrary
to God’s Word.
The Word of God has the power to keep people grounded,
their heads on straight, and their lives heading in the right direction.
Anyone who has the Word of God in his or her heart will be a better
person. Such is the power of the Word of God. When a nation
loses its desire to hear God’s Word, that nation is headed for trouble.
However, I want to point out that God’s Spirit can break through the
most dry spiritual drought and if the people will open their hearts,
repent, and seek the Lord, then a healing rain of revival will fall. And not just a trickle, but a veritable downpour of God’s grace.
Let our prayer be that such a rain would indeed fall upon us.
God bless you today.
