Short Circuit

He used to go annually on circuit to Bethel and Gilgal and Mizpah, and he judged Israel in all these places.  Then his return was to Ramah, for his house was there, and there he judged Israel; and he built there an altar to the LORD. (1 Samuel 7:16-17 NASB)

 Eventually, 10 of the 12 tribes of Israel split off to form their own country with their own king.  But it's possible to see this as simply the extension of constantly living apart from the other two anyway.  Samuel's circuit makes a circle within the territory of the Tribe of Ephraim.  Beth El is the farthest north he goes.  Gilgal, Mizpah, and Ramah (which is the town where Samuel's Ephraimite father is from) are all Ephraimite towns.  This central highlands region was nominally in the center of all the tribes.

This wasn't the case for every judge, but it wasn't unusual either.  Deborah judged Israel within the same region, and there were judges from Judah (Ehud) and from Issachar (Tola), so all regions were represented to a degree.  It just seems a short circuit to judge all of Israel.  Later on in chapter 8, Samuel puts his two sons in positions of judge but far south.  It's as if he realizes that he should cover more territory. 

The problem with assessing this as an error or problem is that it worked.  It looks small when looked at on a map, but the comment is that God delivered Israel from their enemies all the days of Samuel.  It may have been a small regional judging circuit, but it seemed to work.  That still needs to be balanced against a mere "pragmatic" evaluation, because just because something works doesn't make it the right thing.  But here Samuel chooses a process and God blesses it.  That does make it the right thing.  It make look small, but God makes it effective.

The lesson I draw from this is that my own wisdom fails before my Master's designs.  Just because a plan looks small, or a program appears to be inadequate, or even when my service seems inconsequential, it is not right for me to judge them as such.  If Jesus can feed 5,000 with a few loaves and fish, then why would it seem impossible or even improbable that He would do great things with what I have to offer Him?  The goal is to be obedient with what He has provided me, the talents, the silver, and the opportunities.  It's up to my Master to bring about the success.

If what I have is sufficient for success, then I get the attention.  But if what I have to offer is clearly not sufficient, and success comes anyway, then my Master gets the attention.  I may be given a small territory to travel and work, but that limitation is not something limiting my Master.  It never takes Him by surprise, it doesn't thwart His designs, and such things are actually opportunities for Him to take center stage.

So while it may seem un-American to be happy about limitations and small-ness, perhaps these are what makes my Master's work more obvious.  Perhaps it is my weakness that enables His glory to show more clearly.  After all, it will never be any sort of ability of mine that saves anyone, so drawing any attention to me only endangers those people around me needing my Master.  The role I play is servant, His role is King; everyone look to the King!

Victorious Nerd?

So the Philistines were subdued and they did not come anymore within the border of Israel. And the hand of the LORD was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.  The cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron even to Gath; and Israel delivered their territory from the hand of the Philistines. So there was peace between Israel and the Amorites. (1 Samuel 7:13-14 NASB)

I was watching "The Bible" TV series, and they reached the part when Israel asks for a king.  They set the scene by saying that the Philistines again oppressed the Israelites, and a solution was needed.  But the impression given through that segment was that Samuel was never able to lead the people to victory.  It was like the series supported this view that unless someone was a "hero" on a horse, there would be no victory.

Samuel was a prophet/judge.  Before him had been all sorts, from warriors to mothers to priests to farmers.  God called, or anointed, all sorts of people as judge and/or deliverer.  So the "judges" were a varied sort, but the common theme was that those that God designated as deliverers always brought victory to Israel.  They also demanded repentance to God, restoration of worship of God alone, and led in the worship.  Whatever else they had been doing, that was always a part of what they did to deliver Israel.

The problem for Israel had been getting a succession of judges who were faithful.  It seemed that fathers were never able to successfully pass on the mantle of "judge" to their offspring.  It caused problems because then Israel fell back into disarray after the delivering judge died.  It was a repeated theme all through the book of judges.  The reason God gives for leading them this way is that He wants them to be led by Him first, and others second.  It doesn't seem the people of Israel were grown up enough for that.  In Samuel, they're still not.

Samuel represents the end of the era of judges.  And he is a quintessential judge.  He is of the tribe of Ephraim, but functions as a priest.  He is raised by a priest, and functions as a prophet.  He fits in his world; the people watching the Ark were asked to care for it by Levites, but they are in Judah.  Everything seems backward, off from what God designated, but He's the One designating it this way.  It's another reversal, but reversal of role, of power, of success, and of victory.  The "nerd" wins this round.

Samuel isn't a conquering hero on a horse, he's not a swordsman, he's not a military strategist or tactician, he's a priestly prophet.  Yet not only does the ragtag army of farmers and shepherds defeat the iron-clad warriors at Mizpah, but they continue to take two of their major cities, two where the Ark was kept when the Philistines took it.  These poorly armed untrained soldiers inspired by a prophet defeat and keep at bay the stronger better led and better armed opponent.  It's a divine reversal.

But they will clamor for a king.  They will clamor for a hero on a horse, a swordsman, a strategist and tactician.  They don't want divine reversals, they want to be like everyone else; the problem that caused them to need divine reversals in the first place.  They have worshiped like everyone else all along and it never worked.  Now they want to have a king like everyone else, even though the divine reversal thing has been what worked.

Have I put my plans and perceptions ahead of my Master's methods?  Have I acted like I knew best instead of taking as my Master gives?  Absolutely!  Many times I'm not any brighter than these Israelites.  I look around me at those I work with and want to be like them, work like them, succeed like them.  But my Master works otherwise.  He brings success to me from quarters where I can't take credit.  He makes things I didn't even see into successes, but also seems to frustrate my attempts to work like others.

I know that much of what I do is dependent upon my consistent work to reach out to customers.  Yet the return on that investment is in the hands of my Master.  He asks me to be faithful, and so I call.  But I also seek to help, to serve, and to make a difference in the lives of my customers.  That is also part of His call to be faithful.  These customers become clients. 

That's not part of my job necessarily, we have a department to help customers.  But I do it because that's more who I am than the smiler-and-dialer; more who my Master has made me.  When I am faithful to my Master instead of doing what everyone else does, then I enjoy the divine reversal sort of success.  More importantly, I enjoy life with my Master.  When it comes to life, what else is there?

But We're Supposed to Like Thunder

1Sa 7:10
10 Now Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, and the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel. But the Lord thundered with a great thunder on that day against the Philistines and confused them, so that they were routed before Israel.
(NASBStr)

So when Israel repents before God, they put away the Baal idols. This is an interesting detail when combined with what God did against the Philistines. Baal is the Canaanite god of storms, rain, and is characterized by thunder. The Philistines worshipped him, and the Canaanites, Amorites, and all the other 'ites' of the land worshipped him.

The Philistines have come to breakup an Israelite gathering, and as they approach to do battle they are greeted by thunder; great thunder'. Actually, thunder is used as a verb, and it has a great (loud) voice. So the One God of Israel thunders with a loud voice and defeats the Philistines; in a sense they are defeated by their own object of worship.

The idea is that my Master seeks the worship His human creatures would give to the things He created. The people of Israel fail when worshipping the 'god of thunder' but finally succeed when they worship the One having created thunder. And He makes this clear. These farmers and shepherds pursue the iron-clad Philistines with picks and staves defeating them, and taking two major cities from them. But they only are able to fight once they give up on the low god of thunder, and worship the One God making thunder.

When things in my life become too important, work, family, hobbies, recreation, 'my time', or whatever, my true Master will show me how they cannot compete with the Master of all things. There are lots of 'good' things that I become focused on, which become 'evil' as they eclipse my view of my Master. Sometimes I miss the fact that my view no longer includes my Master. That's part of His design, requiring that I seek Him, not just forcing Himself into my view. Instead He influences me by making me suffer for losing sight of Him.

This is the first thing I check when things go 'wrong'; is my Master in my view or have I been distracted again. If He isn't, I refocus, repent, and submit. If He is, then I know what I see as wrong is merely 'unexpected' and only to me, not my Master. It's a lot less stressful way to live, with my Master in view. I can walk on water without sinking if He calls me to. Now that's cool!

Well, Duh!

1Sa 7:3-4
3 Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, “ If you return to the Lord with all your heart, remove the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you and direct your hearts to the Lord and serve Him alone; and He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.” 4 So the sons of Israel removed the Baals and the Ashtaroth and served the Lord alone.
(NASBStr)

This takes place after Israel has tried to defeat the Philistines using the Ark of God. The defeat is huge, the Ark is captured, Shiloh completely destroyed, and the people were confused. Why had their God abandoned them? Why had He allowed the gold box of His presence be taken? They were left wondering.

In this case it wasn't rocket surgery. Samuel knew. He didn't go with the Ark to battle. He was one of the Shiloh refugees, fleeing in the aftermath of disaster. But he knew why. God had already established him as a prophet, Israel already knew to seek God through Samuel, and he had been around the corruption of Eli and his sons.

The people were confused why God had left them, and the reason they sought was their confusion about their God's holiness. They totally missed it. In the previous chapter the Levites of Beth-Shemesh sent the Ark away because God was too holy; too holy for Levites. If the ones responsible for maintaining and teaching holiness didn't get it, it shouldn't surprise us that Israel didn't.

So they had seen no inconsistency in their practice of worshipping more than just the God of Israel. They had to renounce their other gods and practices before they were given success in battle. Am I any different? The rules haven't changed over the years, my Master still requires holy (singular) devotion. Yet what simple stupid stuff competes for my attention? What does it take to keep me from church? What does it take for me to miss my morning time with my Master. Why am I so easily distracted, so quick to give up time and attention to the One forming stars? And for what? What is so central to my mind that I lose focus on such a One? It's usually petty, temporal, and petty...oh wait I already said that. I was just distracted, again!

But putting all distractions and practices behind me will enable me to be used by my Master for His purposes. My success will be before Him, in His service, beyond the meager goals and aspirations of this earth. If I want transcendence, to be continually conscious of His presence, then I must be singular in my devotion. The question is, do I really want that.