Ⅱ
The first book of Samuel shows us in typology the bringing in of Christ as the King (typified by David) with His kingdom:
A
Under Eli the old Aaronic priesthood had become stale and waning (2:12-29), and God desired to have a new beginning for the accomplishing of His eternal economy:
１
The content of Judges consists of the children of Israel trusting in God, forsaking God, being defeated by their enemies, and repenting to God in their misery; when they turned to the Lord, He raised up a judge who delivered them from the hand of their oppressors, yet when the judge died, they returned to their evil ways and again became corrupted (1:1-2; 2:11—3:11); this became a cycle repeated seven times in Judges.
２
For many years the church has just been repeating the history of Israel under the judges, but today God wants Samuels, overcoming Nazarites (Num. 6:1-9 and footnotes), who will bring in Christ, the real David, as the reigning King with His kingdom of one thousand years, in which the overcomers will "shine forth like the sun in the kingdom of their Father" (Matt. 13:43).
３
Today we need to look to the Lord for something new, a new revival that will turn this age from the age of the church in the midst of the satanic chaos to the age of the King with His kingdom of one thousand years.
B
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 Peninnah to provoke Hannah "bitterly to irritate her, because Jehovah had shut up her womb" (1 Sam. 1:5-6); year after year, when Hannah went up to the house of Jehovah, Peninnah provoked her to the extent that she wept and would not eat (v. 7).
C
This forced Hannah to pray that the Lord would give her a male child; Hannah's prayer, in which she made a vow to God, was initiated not by Hannah but by God; God was pleased with Hannah's prayer and her promise, and He opened her womb (vv. 10-11, 20); Hannah conceived, bore a child, and named him Samuel (meaning "heard of God," or "asked for of God").
D
God could motivate Hannah as a person who was one with Him in the line of life; the line of life is a line that brings forth Christ for the enjoyment of God's people so that on earth God may have His kingdom, which is the church as the Body of Christ (Matt. 16:18-19; Rom. 14:17-18; Eph. 1:22-23), the very organism of the Triune God; as long as God can gain such a person who is one with Him on the line of life, He has a way on earth (1 Sam. 1:1—2:11, 18-21, 26).
E
Actually, no human being was the origin of Samuel; God was the real origin, who motivated His people sovereignly and secretly; Hannah's prayer was an echo, a speaking out, of the heart's desire of God; it was a human cooperation with the divine move for the carrying out of God's eternal economy:
１
Hannah's prayer indicates that God's move with His answer to her prayer was to produce a Nazarite, an overcomer, who was absolute for the fulfilling of God's desire—1:10-20.
２
A Nazarite is one who is consecrated to God absolutely, one who takes God as his King, Lord, Head, and Husband, and one who has no interest in the enjoyment of worldly pleasures; even before he was born, Samuel was consecrated by his mother to be such a person.
Ⅲ
The first book of Samuel stands for a ministry that brings in the King with His kingdom; we may call this "the Hannah ministry":
Morning Nourishment
Psa. 24:9-10 Lift up your heads, O gates; and lift up, O long enduring doors; and the King of glory will come in. Who is this King of glory? Jehovah of hosts—He is the King of glory! SelahRev. 11:15 …The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever.
There are many points in the history of Israel that are similar to the history of the church…. Soon after [Israel] entered into the land, they were ruled by judges. Their national life was on a very low level. We see them continually falling into sin and punishment by means of their enemies. When they cried to God, He would raise up a judge to deliver them, and then there would be a restoration. This happened again and again… When the power of the judges was great, their deliverance was great, but when the power was diminished, the people fell into the hands of their enemies again…. From this we see a great principle that God’s people cannot govern themselves; they cannot be independent of God and be independent of Satan at the same time…. They either have to bow to the authority of God or be under Satan’s power; there is no middle road. When they were not under the control of God, they wholly lost their position as God’s people…. But praise God, His people were not always under Satan’s power; there was revival. (CWWN, vol. 46, p. 1177)
Today’s Reading
This is the history of Israel, and it is the history of the church. Looking back, we can see that when the church reached a very low state, God would prepare a man of His choice, put His Spirit upon him, and commission him, and then the church would be revived. But after a period of time the church would go down again; there has been rising and falling, declension and restoration, again and again. If I was living in the period at the end of the time of the judges, what would be in my heart, what would I long after, and what would I even expect? I would know the history of the past years, and now that things were at a low ebb again, what would be my hope and what would I pray for? Would I not ask for another judge to be raised up to revive the nation again? I am a member of the church, and I have seen its history of being revived and falling again and again. I have read of the revival under Luther and of the deadness that followed, of the revival through Wesley and of the backsliding that followed, of the great tide of life brought in by Darby and the other Brethren and of the deterioration that followed. All these years the church has just been repeating the history of Israel under the judges. But what should I hope for now? Should it not be for something quite new?At this point we come to the first book of Samuel. The history of the judges should not continue forever; this is not God’s thought. God’s thought is toward the kingdom and not toward having more judges. God wants to bring in a kingdom and a King. He used the judges on the way, but His thought was upon David, and His purpose was a King. So we see the importance of 1 Samuel. It comes in between the road and the goal. It comes in the middle and depicts a period of transition. For the most part, this was not a time of great revival nor of great backsliding. The same is true with us today…. The time of the judges has passed. It had its limitations, whereas the kingdom will last forever. God’s thought is not that the church should remain in a cycle of backsliding and revival. God is not going to give us many revivalists; He is going to bring in His King.
The first book of Samuel stands for a ministry, a ministry that brings in the King. We do not have a judge, but one who was both a priest and prophet. It is very easy for us to fix our eyes on revivalists; they were used by God in the past on the way, as it were, but they have no part in the real purpose of God, in the bringing in of the King. God wants Samuels. (CWWN, vol. 46, pp. 1177-1178)
Further Reading: Truth Lessons—Level One, vol. 1, lsn. 10; Life-study of the Psalms, msg. 11