E
"Samuel told the people the practice of the kingdom, and he wrote it in a book and laid it before Jehovah"—1 Sam. 10:25a:
１
Moses gave the law to the children of Israel, but before Samuel came they did not have a set of bylaws, a constitution.
２
Samuel taught the people the bylaws, the constitution, the practice, the customs, the manners, the ordinances, and the rules of how to practice the kingdom of God on earth.
Ⅵ
God began a new age in raising up Samuel, a young Nazarite, as a faithful priest to replace the degraded priesthood—2:35:
A
Samuel was established by God to speak the word of God to replace the teaching of the word of God by the old priesthood; in the priesthood the first thing that a priest should do is to speak for God.
B
The breastplate and the Urim and the Thummim worn by the high priest were the means used by God to speak to His people (Exo. 28:30); in the degradation of the priesthood God's speaking was almost lost (1 Sam. 3:1, 3a).
C
God ministered His word to His elect by establishing Samuel as a prophet in the uplifted prophethood (vv. 20-21), and He exercised His authority over His elect by raising up Samuel as a judge (7:15-17).
D
Samuel, as the last judge, terminated the judgeship, and, as the new priest, brought in the kingship, which was strengthened by the uplifted prophethood.
E
God needed to raise up a living person, a prophet, to speak for Him; in God's ordination Samuel is considered as the first prophet because he brought in the prophethood for God's speaking—Acts 3:24; 13:20; Heb. 11:32.
Morning Nourishment
1 Sam. 3:19-20 And Samuel grew, and Jehovah was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel…knew that Samuel had been established as a prophet of Jehovah.Samuel was established by God to speak the word of God to replace the teaching of the word of God by the old priesthood…. The first thing that a priest should do is speak for God. The breastplate and the Urim and the Thummim worn by the high priest were the means used by God to speak to His people. In the degradation of the priesthood, God’s speaking was almost lost. Thus, God needed to raise up a living person, a prophet, to speak for Him, and this is what He did with Samuel…. Abraham was a prophet speaking for God, but in God’s ordained way Samuel was the first prophet to set up a prophethood. Samuel…turned the age in God’s administration from the age of the priesthood to the age of the prophethood with the kingship. (Life-study of 1 & 2 Samuel, pp. 30-31, 38)
Today’s Reading
The proper prophethood is always an assistant to the kingship. This should be a lesson to us. In the church life today, the elders hold the kingship. If you are not one of the elders and you see something in the church that is not so right, you should never criticize, oppose, or gossip. You need to be a prophet by praying to the Lord to receive a word from Him. If you do not receive a word from the Lord, you should not say anything. But if, in His mercy to His church, the Lord gives you a word, a prophecy, then you should go to the elders and prophesy to them. The elders, realizing that they hold the kingship, should learn that they are not all-capable, that they may be deficient. Therefore, they should listen to this brother’s prophecy. This is the proper situation in the church life.The priesthood was to minister the word of God to His people and to exercise the authority of God over His people. We all need to learn to do these two things. However, one may be a prophet, having a vision of the riches of Christ, but he may not know how to exercise God’s authority to take the proper way to deal with the lack of vision concerning Christ’s riches. Troubles in the church life are often caused by those who do not know how to exercise God’s authority. The Aaronic priesthood failed God in two things: in ministering God’s word and in exercising God’s authority. This is why the New Testament charges the elders to learn to do two things: to teach the saints (1 Tim. 3:2; 5:17), that is, to speak the word of God; and to take the lead among the saints (Heb. 13:7; 1 Pet. 5:1-3), that is, to exercise God’s authority. If the elders teach the saints, they must take the lead to practice whatever they teach. This is to exercise God’s authority by taking the lead.
When the priesthood was proper, the priests were patterns to the people. What the priests taught and what they exercised in the authority of God, they themselves did, taking the lead to carry out all the things regarding God’s eternal economy. For example, the priests took the lead to step into the river Jordan and then to circle the city of Jericho…. Today, this is the proper way to take care of the church—teaching to speak for God and taking the lead to exercise God’s authority.
God began a new age in raising up Samuel, a young Nazarite, as a faithful priest to replace the waned priesthood (1 Sam. 2:35). God ministered His word to His elect by establishing Samuel as a prophet in the uplifted prophethood (3:20-21), and He exercised His authority over His elect by raising up Samuel as a judge (7:15-17). Samuel, as the last judge, terminated the judgeship, and, as the new priest, brought in the kingship with the strengthening of the uplifted prophethood, in which Samuel was established as the first prophet (Acts 3:24; 13:20; Heb. 11:32)…. The old priesthood had the word of God and exercised the ruling of God. God replaced it with the uplifted prophethood to speak God’s word to His people and the kingship to rule over God’s people. (Life-study of 1 & 2 Samuel, pp. 39-41)
Further Reading: Life-study of Ephesians, msgs. 95, 54, 59