League of the Silent?

1 Samuel 3:11-18

Message No. 0551 | Twitter @GodandUs | www.wisdom-speaks.ca

The more I read the Bible, the more I see similarities among some Bible icons. One commonality that I found among three well-known names was their strong ability to intercede for other people, but their inability or failure to intercede for themselves or their own families. Take for instance Abraham. He spent time and wisdom to intercede for Lot and his family so they might escape the impending destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, but when it came to the scary future of his descendants, he simply kept silent. In Genesis 15:12-14, the Bible says:

As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions.

Based on what we learn from our pastors, one would have expected Abraham to go straight into intercession, binding and loosing and asking God for mercy to ensure that this dreadful future occurrence is avoided. In today’s world, such a revelation should make a Christian, especially someone the caliber of Abraham, to go into fasting, prayers (especially in the spirit), and reminding God of His mercies and ability to turn evil to good. Abraham did nothing (at least nothing apparent) and the revelation came to pass.

After Abraham, there was Moses. The Bible speaks of him as the meekest person on earth. Several times when Israel angered God in the wilderness, God told Moses that He would destroy the children of Israel and make a new covenant with him, but each time, Moses instantly went into intercession mode, asking God to show mercy and not do as He said, and each time, God rescinded His decision. When it came to the one time that Moses angered God and He pronounced Judgement, I felt that Moses, the master of intercession, would ask God for forgiveness and mercy so he could see the land for which he had so diligently labored, but Moses was silent. Although in Deuteronomy 3:23-29, Moses said that he pleaded with God to let him go over and see the good land, I could not find any instant reaction and plea from himself in Numbers 20:9-12 where the judgement was pronounced by God.

Why, I thought to myself? Surely our God is full of mercy and Moses knew that for sure, but it appeared that he had grown tired of the journey and didn’t care anymore (this is personal opinion). Why did he not plead with God immediately? Did God view his latter plea as afterthought? Was this the reason God did not grant his plea afterward? Of course, we may never know the correct answer. Eventually, like the revelation to Abraham, this one also came to pass, Moses died after God showed him the land by taking him to the mountain so he could see it from afar.

Thirdly, Eli was High Priest in Israel. He was the person who took sacrifices to the alter to intercede for the sins of the people, and to this extent, he was a great and frequent intercessor. After serving his time, his two sons, Hophni and Phinehas took over from him. Unfortunately, those two were sons from hell, who performed unprintable acts in the temple, thereby desecrating the Temple of God. When their father cautioned them, they did not listen. In addition to the message delivered to Eli in 1 Samuel 2:27-36, In 1 Samuel 3:11-14, God revealed to Samuel what He would do to Eli’s house:

And the Lord said to Samuel: “See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make the ears of everyone who hears about it tingle. At that time I will carry out against Eli everything I spoke against his family—from beginning to end. For I told him that I would judge his family forever because of the sin he knew about; his sons blasphemed God, and he failed to restrain them. Therefore I swore to the house of Eli, ‘The guilt of Eli’s house will never be atoned for by sacrifice or offering.’”

When Eli heard about this pronouncement by God, his response was simple and shocking. In verse 18, Eli said “He is the Lord; let Him do what is good in His Eyes.” Why would a family leader receive such news and just throw his hands in the air? Even if he had prayed before, shouldn’t he, at least, pray again?

In contrast to the stories mentioned above, when Hezekiah, king of Israel, was sick, God sent prophet Isaiah to him with a clear message to put his house in order because he was going to die and not recover from his sickness. Instantly, the Bible says that:

Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, “Remember, Lord, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly (2 Kings 20:2-3).

Right there, before Isaiah left the middle court of the king’s palace, God told him to go back and tell Hezekiah that He had heard his prayers and would add fifteen years to his days.

Now, this is the training that many of us received from our pastors – to instantly reject or cancel things we don’t want in our lives, by praying and asking God for mercy. One thing we should avoid doing is Nothing. Let us not join the league of the silent. We should never allow revelations of negative things to settle. If we see it in the dream, we should immediately address it when we wake up. If we receive it from a prophet of God, we should immediately go into prayers to address it. If we feel there’s need to fast for some days to address the situation, then we should do that.

When God reveals something to us, unless otherwise instructed, we should assume that He wants us to do something. That something could be to pray or to counsel someone, or to simply thank God. Have you had a revelation that troubles you? Please pray for God’s mercy. Even if the revelation does not concern you, still pray. As we walk with God and learn from Him on daily basis, may He help us to act in manners that will make us vessels of honor in His Kingdom. Enjoy your week and God bless you!

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