Scripture Reading: 1 Sam. 1:3, 7, 10-11, 19-24; 2:11, 35; 3:9-11, 21; 7:3-6; 8:4-22; 16:1-3, 13; 2 Sam. 23:1-3; 24:25

DAY 1 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 2 & DAY 3 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 4 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 5 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 6 Outline　MorningRevival

«　WEEK 1　DAY 1　»

　　Rom. 5:17 For if, by the offense of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.

　　21 In order that just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness unto eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

　　The central thought of 1 and 2 Samuel is that the fulfillment of God’s economy needs man’s cooperation, as illustrated by the history of Samuel’s mother Hannah, Samuel, and David, in the positive sense, and by the history of Eli and Saul, in the negative sense. Such a cooperation is related to the personal enjoyment of the good land, which typifies the all-inclusive and all-extensive Christ. Hence, 1 and 2 Samuel are a continuation of Joshua, Judges, and Ruth, giving us the details concerning the enjoyment of the God-given good land. The good land enjoyed by the cooperators with God became the kingdom of God, in which they reigned as kings. This is a type of the New Testament believers’ enjoyment of Christ, which issues in their reign in the eternal life (Rom. 5:21). (Life-study of 1 & 2 Samuel, pp. 5-6)

　　The fulfillment of God’s economy requires our cooperation. To cooperate with God means to be bound together with God…. [In] a three-legged race…the runners… must run in pairs, with each partner having one leg bound to one of his partner’s legs. In order for the partners to run, they must cooperate with each other and not move independently. This is a picture of the proper Christian life. To be a Christian is to be bound together with Christ and to have one living with Him by one life.

　　The birth of Samuel involved Hannah’s cooperation with God. The old priesthood had become stale and waning, and God wanted to have another beginning. For Samuel’s birth, God initiated things behind the scenes. On the one hand, He shut up Hannah’s womb; on the other hand, He prepared a provoker (1 Sam. 1:5-7). This forced Hannah to pray that the Lord would give her a male child. In her prayer she made a vow and said, “O Jehovah of hosts, if You will indeed look upon the affliction of Your female servant and…give to Your female servant a male child, then I will give him to Jehovah for all the days of his life, and no razor will come upon his head” (v. 11). This prayer was initiated not by Hannah but by God. God chose Hannah because she was willing to cooperate with Him. God answered her prayer and opened her womb, and Hannah conceived and bore a son (v. 20). Then according to her vow, she offered her son to God, placing him in the custody of Eli. From this we see that Hannah, Samuel’s mother, was one who cooperated very much with God. Her case shows us the kind of persons God expects to have today.

　　In [Hudson Taylor’s] biography…we are told that one day he said to the Lord in prayer that he was willing to give his life and everything for the people of China. This vow was honored by God and resulted in the forming of the China Inland Mission, [a very spiritual mission that was much used by God].

　　Although I do not compare myself with Hudson Taylor, I can testify that my experience was very similar. In the last of my teenage years, while I was endeavoring to get my education, God caught me, and I was saved. Immediately afterward, while I was walking on the street, I looked up to the heavens and told the Lord that I wanted only Him and that I wanted to serve Him and travel from place to place bringing the Bible and preaching Christ. Although I did not realize it at the time, I was actually making a vow to the Lord. That vow has been honored by Him.

　　Today many continents and countries are open to the Lord’s recovery. There is the need for some to make a vow like Hannah. I hope that many of the young people will make such a vow. You need to say, “Lord, I am Yours. I just lend myself to You.” God will take your heart and accomplish something to fulfill what you vow to Him. (Life-study of 1 & 2 Samuel, pp. 6-7)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of 1 & 2 Samuel, msg. 1

«　WEEK 1　DAY 2　»

　　1 Sam. 10:25 Then Samuel told the people the practice of the kingdom, and he wrote it in a book and laid it before Jehovah. And Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house.

　　Matt. 6:10 Your kingdom come; Your will be done, as in heaven, so also on earth.

　　Samuel initiated a new age. He turned the age from the age of the priests to the age of the kings. Priests can serve God, but they cannot bring in God’s kingdom and God’s authority. When God’s kingdom is established, His authority can be exercised, and then His glory can be expressed. The prayer in Matthew 6:13 says, “Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.” First, there is the kingdom and the exercise of authority, and then there is the expression of glory. (CWWL, 1954, vol. 4, p. 527)

　　In order for God’s chosen people to be His house, His expression, the Trinity was needed. The children of Israel entered into the good land, but the good land was filled with enemies. The book of Judges reveals the Trinity because the Trinity was needed to defeat the enemies. However, God’s purpose for His people was not merely to defeat the enemies and take full possession of the land but for them to set up a kingdom. Because this purpose had not been fulfilled, the conclusion of Judges says…[that] the children of Israel did whatever was right in their own eyes because there was no king or kingdom [21:25]. What was needed at that time was for a kingdom to be set up.

　　Samuel was one who brought in the kingdom. First and 2 Samuel are crucial for the bringing in of the kingdom. In order for God to fulfill His intention to have an expression, He needed to have a kingdom. The kingdom of God is a sphere in which God is expressed. When the Lord taught His disciples how to pray, He began, “Our Father who is in the heavens, Your name be sanctified; Your kingdom come” (Matt. 6:9-10). The New Testament opens with the Gospel of Matthew, which is the Gospel of the kingdom. In Matthew 3:2 John the Baptist declared, “Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near.” Many Christians today preach the gospel of a heavenly mansion, but the New Testament preaches the gospel of the kingdom (cf. Matt. 4:23; 9:35; 24:14).

　　God needs a kingdom so that He may have an expression. The children of Israel were brought out of Egypt and through the wilderness, where they built the tabernacle for God. Then they entered into the good land, and every tribe was allotted a portion of the land. In Judges the enemies were defeated to some extent so that the children of Israel could enjoy the good land. Nevertheless, there was no expression of God in Judges because there was no king. Everyone acted according to what was right in his own eyes.

　　In Judges God used Deborah. In 1 and 2 Samuel the first person God used to bring in His kingdom was another female, Samuel’s mother, Hannah. She bore Samuel, who brought in the king with the kingdom…. David was brought in and initiated into his position and function through Samuel, who was the issue of the desperate prayer of a female seeker of God.

　　Because of the miserable situation in Judges, there was an urgent and desperate need for one like Samuel…. Samuel was a Nazarite, a priest, a prophet, and a judge. This fourfold status qualified Samuel to be the one who could bring in the king and set up the kingdom. In order for such a one to be raised up and carry out his commission, there was a crucial need of the Divine Trinity. Only the Trinity could work this out. For this reason, in 1 and 2 Samuel there is a detailed, fine revelation of the Divine Trinity. What happened in Judges is somewhat rough, but in Samuel the application of the Divine Trinity is very fine. (CWWL, 1983, vol. 3, “The Divine Trinity as Revealed in the Holy Word,” pp. 289-291)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1983, vol. 3, “The Divine Trinity as Revealed in the Holy Word,” chs. 1, 3, 8-10

«　WEEK 1　DAY 3　»

　　1 Sam. 8:5-7 And they said to him,… Appoint now for us a king to judge us like all the nations…. Then Samuel prayed to Jehovah. And Jehovah said to Samuel, Listen to the voice of the people according to all that they have said to you; for it is not you whom they have rejected, but they have rejected Me from being King over them.

　　Although Samuel was God’s representative, God did not have any intention to make him a kingdom. Rather, according to the Bible, God determined to raise up a man named David, through whom He intended to build up a kingdom. When God chose Abraham, it was not His intention to gain a single person or even a group of people who would seek after Him. God’s intention has been to have a kingdom. The consummation of the revelation in the Bible is a kingdom. Revelation 11:15 says, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ.” In the new heaven and new earth with the New Jerusalem, there will be the eternal kingdom of God.

　　Even though Samuel eventually attained the highest position, God still had not reached His goal. As a man who was according to God’s heart, Samuel knew that within God’s heart there was a desire for a kingdom. God wanted the kingdom to be brought in not through Samuel but through David. (Life-study of 1 & 2 Samuel, pp. 43-44)

　　When someone attains a high position, there is always a question as to whether he will allow someone else to come in to match him or to be above him. If you had been Samuel, would you have given any ground for someone to match you or be above you? Samuel was pure and single. He was a Nazarite according to his mother’s vow and was altogether not self-seeking. He never sought to gain anything for himself. He had no heart for anything besides God and God’s elect. God loved Israel, and His heart was duplicated in Samuel.

　　Because God’s heart was duplicated in Samuel, Samuel did not care for his own interest or gain. At the end, Samuel gained nothing but a tomb to be buried in. Due to the situation at the time, Samuel appointed his sons to be judges, but, contrary to Saul, he had no intention to build up a kingdom for them. His sons did not follow in his ways but went after unjust gain, took bribes, and perverted justice (1 Sam. 8:1-3). When the people asked Samuel to appoint a king, he was not offended by anything related to his sons; on the contrary, he was offended by their desire to replace God (vv. 4-7). Because he had no intention to build up a kingdom for his descendants, Samuel’s concern was not for his children but for God’s people. In such a situation it was easy for God to bring in the kingdom.

　　God used Samuel to anoint first Saul and then David. As we will see when we consider the history concerning Saul, Saul only had a monarchy. The kingdom of God came first under David, when God’s throne was established in Jerusalem. In Matthew 21:43 the Lord Jesus told the Jewish leaders that the kingdom of God would be taken from them. This indicates that the kingdom of God began in the Old Testament. It did not begin with Abraham or with Moses but with David. Therefore, what we see with David is not any kind of monarchy but the kingdom of God.

　　While Samuel was under Eli’s custody, God taught him in a very fine way, built him up, and established him as His proper priest. As such a priest, Samuel became a judge to judge Israel, a prophet to prophesy for God, and the one to bring forth the kingship. By this kingship the kingdom of God was established on earth. This is a picture of what our situation should be today. We need to be, first, a Samuel, and then, a David, enjoying Christ to such a degree that what we have enjoyed of Christ will become a kingdom, which is the church.

　　According to Matthew 16:18-19, the church and the kingdom are identical. The kingdom today is the church, and within the church there is the intrinsic essence—the Body of Christ. (Life-study of 1 & 2 Samuel, pp. 44-45, 47, 19)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of 1 & 2 Samuel, msgs. 2-3, 6-7, 9

«　WEEK 1　DAY 4　»

　　1 Sam. 1:11 And she made a vow and said, O Jehovah of hosts, if You will indeed look upon the affliction of Your female servant and…give to Your female servant a male child, then I will give him to Jehovah for all the days of his life, and no razor will come upon his head.

　　15 And Hannah answered and said,…I have been pouring out my soul before Jehovah.

　　In the midst of the chaos of the degraded Israel, Elkanah and Hannah remained in the line of life ordained by God…not merely for God’s eternal salvation but for His eternal purpose. God’s salvation is mainly for our benefit, whereas God’s purpose is related to the fulfilling of God’s desire. We need to ask ourselves whether we are here for our profit or for God’s purpose…. Even the majority of Christians do not care for God’s purpose. I can testify of Brother Watchman Nee that he was a man altogether for God’s purpose. I would like to follow his pattern. In the Lord’s recovery, we are for God’s purpose, remaining in the line of life ordained by God…, which [purpose] is to gain the Body, the organism of the Triune God, that He may have a full expression in a corporate way. (Life-study of 1 & 2 Samuel, p. 10)

　　First Samuel begins with a man named Elkanah who had two wives, Hannah and Peninnah (1:1-2). Elkanah loved Hannah more. However, Hannah had no children, while Peninnah had sons and daughters. This was the sovereign hand of the Lord. According to the Mosaic law, Elkanah went with his family every year to the house of God, the tabernacle, which was in Shiloh at that time, to worship and make offerings to Jehovah (v. 3)…. Because Jehovah had shut up Hannah’s womb, she was forced to pray a desperate, consecrated, and consecrating prayer (vv. 10-12, 15). She prayed for a male child, whom she would not keep for herself but would give to the Lord for His need. Her prayer was for a son who would be a Nazarite from birth, one who would be absolute for the Lord. The Lord answered her prayer, and a son was born (v. 20). Hannah named her son Samuel, which means “asked for of God,” or “heard of God.” When we ask of God, He will hear our request.

　　From his childhood Samuel was a Nazarite, serving as a priest in the house of God (v. 24; 2:11, 18). While Samuel was staying with Eli in the temple, God appeared in a vision to Samuel (3:4-14). Samuel was still a boy, just as the Lord Jesus was when He went to Jerusalem with His parents (Luke 2:42). Eventually, Samuel became a renowned prophet and the judge of Israel (1 Sam. 3:20; 7:6). However, for Samuel to be a priest, a prophet, and a judge was not God’s goal. God intended to set up a kingdom with a king. Therefore, God twice sent Samuel to anoint someone. First, he anointed Saul to be ruler over Israel (9:16; 10:1). Later, Samuel anointed David to be king (16:1, 13). David was brought in through Samuel. The crucial point in this history is that there was a need of the Divine Trinity. (CWWL, 1983, vol. 3, “The Divine Trinity as Revealed in the Holy Word,” pp. 291-292)

　　This couple was in cooperation with the move of God on earth for the accomplishment of God’s economy…. They were moved by the moving One, by the unique, divine Mover, who was moving secretly behind the scene. Under God’s sovereign dealing, Hannah was suppressed in her soul with a burden in her spirit to pour out before Jehovah. This was God’s move. Because of God’s moving in her, Hannah could not have peace until she prayed for a son. God, the sovereign One, kept moving her and motivating her so that she had to pray…. In her prayer Hannah cooperated with the move of God. If you do this, I have the full assurance that you will be the ones whom God will move. He will come to you and motivate you. (Life-study of 1 & 2 Samuel, pp. 10-11)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1983, vol. 3, “The Divine Trinity as Revealed in the Holy Word,” ch. 6

«　WEEK 1　DAY 5　»

　　1 Sam. 1:24 And as soon as she weaned him,…she brought him to the house of Jehovah in Shiloh, although the child was young.

　　27-28 It was for this child that I prayed, and Jehovah has granted me my request that I requested from Him. Therefore I, for my part, have lent him to Jehovah; all the days that he lives, he is lent to Jehovah…

　　[In 1 Samuel 1] the sacrifices typify Christ as all the offerings. Jehovah is the eternal great I Am, and the house of Jehovah is Christ as the embodiment of God to be God’s dwelling place among His people. Furthermore, the bulls, flour, and wine signify the Christ whom we experience and bring to the house of God to offer to Him. This section mainly shows us the house of God as the embodiment of the Triune God and the offerings as the means for us to enter into the embodiment of God, that is, redemption. Therefore, in these verses we see God’s embodiment and God’s full redemption. (CWWL, 1983, vol. 3, “The Divine Trinity as Revealed in the Holy Word,” pp. 293-294)

　　In 1 Samuel 19 we see the Spirit: “Saul sent messengers to seize David; and when they saw the company of prophets prophesying and Samuel standing and presiding over them, the Spirit of God came upon Saul’s messengers, and they also prophesied” (v. 20). Verse 23 says, “The Spirit of God came upon [Saul] as well, and he went on and prophesied.” Saul intended to arrest and kill David. It was not physical force but prophesying that stopped Saul’s activity. Samuel was not commanding an army but was directing the prophesying. This was all the doing of the Spirit of God, who is the third of the Trinity reaching God’s people.

　　Second Samuel 22:1-3 says, “David spoke the words of this song to Jehovah: …Jehovah is…my rock.” Verse 47 says, “Exalted be God, the rock of my salvation.” Second Samuel 23:1-3 says, “These are the last words of David: …The Spirit of Jehovah spoke through me, / And His word was on my tongue. / The God of Israel spoke, / The Rock of Israel spoke to me.” In these verses the rock is Christ as the ground for God to grace His people. The Spirit of Jehovah is the Spirit of the Triune God. God in these verses in Hebrew is Elohim, indicating the Triune God. Second Samuel 24:25 says, “There David built an altar to Jehovah, and he offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.” The burnt offerings typify Christ for God’s satisfaction, and the peace offerings typify Christ for the peace between God and His people.

　　The Triune God with His embodiment and redemption was fully involved in bringing forth Samuel and David so that the kingdom of God might be brought in…. Many Christians today speak of the Lord’s coming, but most do not realize that there is the need for some like Samuel to bring in Christ the King with His kingdom. Samuel brought in David so that the heavenly kingdom could be set up on the earth for God’s expression. The Lord’s prophecy of His return can be fulfilled only through some like Hannah and Samuel. Hannah brought in Samuel, and Samuel brought in David.

　　First Samuel 16:1-3 says, “Jehovah said to Samuel,… Fill your horn with oil, and go; I will send you to Jesse the Beth-lehemite; for I have selected for Myself a king among his sons…. Take a heifer with you…. Then call Jesse to the sacrifice.” Verse 13 says, “Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him [David] in the midst of his brothers, and the Spirit of Jehovah rushed upon David from that day forward.”… In these verses we see the Triune God as Jehovah and the Spirit of the Triune God as the Spirit of Jehovah…. The oil typifies the Spirit of God. The sacrificed heifer typifies Christ as the offering. Thus, the Divine Trinity was involved in the anointing of David, making him the king over Israel. (CWWL, 1983, vol. 3, “The Divine Trinity as Revealed in the Holy Word,” pp. 294-295)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1984, vol. 2, “Elders Training, Book 2: The Vision of the Lord’s Recovery,” ch. 10

«　WEEK 1　DAY 6　»

　　Matt. 6:33 But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

　　Rev. 11:15 And the seventh angel trumpeted; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever.

　　Our present situation and God’s need today are the same in principle as the situation and the need at the time of Samuel. Some today need to pray according to God’s need, as Hannah did. God needs some like Samuel, who was a Nazarite, a priest, a prophet, and the last judge. Samuel was the last judge because God used him to terminate the confused situation among God’s people, who were without a king or a kingdom. God needs such ones who are qualified to terminate the negative situation and bring in the king and the kingdom. The fulfillment of the kingdom is the coming kingdom, which will be brought in by the Lord Jesus, but there is a need today for some like Samuel to cooperate by bringing in that kingdom. In a sense, Christ our King is not here yet, and we are still in a confused situation, just as in the age of the judges. We should aspire to be the last judge. The sisters especially should aspire to be like Hannah, praying to bring forth some like Samuel, who will terminate the confused age so that Christ the King may come with His kingdom. (CWWL, 1983, vol. 3, “The Divine Trinity as Revealed in the Holy Word,” pp. 292-293)

　　We need to realize how greatly the Divine Trinity is needed for this to be accomplished. In order for Hannah to pray such a prevailing prayer and receive a definite reply, she needed the tabernacle and the offerings, which typify Christ the Son as the embodiment of God and the reality of all the offerings. Similarly, in order for us to pray to meet God’s need today, we need Christ as the embodiment of God and the reality of the offerings. We also need the fulfillment of the Tent of Meeting, which is the church as God’s dwelling place. Hannah did not pray her prevailing prayer in her home. We need God’s embodiment and His full salvation in the church life. Then we can pray prevailing prayers for God’s goal, to bring in the kingdom. This is the experience of the Divine Trinity.

　　First and 2 Samuel reveal that the bringing in of the king and the setting up of the kingdom depend on the involvement of the Divine Trinity with His people. The Triune God is still involved with us today. The Triune God, with His embodiment, His redemption, and His Spirit, is constituting us into useful persons for His coming and His kingdom. We must trust in the involvement, the work, of the Divine Trinity. If we see this, it will revolutionize our concept about what it means to be a Christian. Our natural, religious, cultural, moral, and ethical concepts concerning the Christian life need to be replaced with a vision of the fully involved Triune God. (CWWL, 1983, vol. 3, “The Divine Trinity as Revealed in the Holy Word,” pp. 293, 295-296)

　　We must learn to cooperate with the Divine Trinity. The Divine Trinity is the model of our Christian life. Among the Divine Trinity there is no warfare. The Father is happy to exalt the Son, the Son is very willing to subject Himself to the Father, and the Spirit is willing to testify concerning the Son. Our “human trinity” is not like this. Therefore, we need a Savior. This Savior is the Divine Trinity, who has come into our spirit. After we are saved, our “human trinity” needs to follow the indwelling Divine Trinity. In our salvation we should cooperate with the Savior who is indwelling us. Eventually, our entire being—spirit, soul, and body—will glorify the Divine Trinity. This cooperation with the indwelling Trinity will result in His glorification, His expression, and His manifestation. (CWWL, 1990, vol. 2, “Messages to the Trainees in Fall 1990,” pp. 478-479)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1988, vol. 1, “Living in and with the Divine Trinity,” ch. 1