撒上七3~4　　撒母耳对以色列全家说，你们若全心回转归向耶和华，就要把外邦的神和亚斯他录从你们中间除掉，专心归向耶和华，单单事奉祂；祂必救你们脱离非利士人的手。以色列人就除掉诸巴力和亚斯他录，单单事奉耶和华。

　　扫罗被兴起作以色列王时，（撒上九3~十27，）撒母耳达到了最高的地位；可以说，在全宇宙中只有一位在他之上，而这一位乃是神。甚至可以说，作为神的代表，撒母耳乃是代理的神。神定意要行动、作事，但祂需要一个代表。因此，撒母耳就成为申言者、祭司和士师。他是神的出口，也是神的行政。如此，他乃是在地上代理的神。

　　〔撒母耳在地上与神是一。〕我们可以说，撒母耳是在地上代理的神。至少我们可以说，撒母耳代表天上的神在地上治理祂的百姓。（撒母耳记生命读经，五四、三六页。）

　　1 Sam. 7:3-4 Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, If you are returning with all your heart to Jehovah, remove the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from your midst, and direct your heart to Jehovah and serve only Him; and He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines. Then the children of Israel removed the Baals and the Ashtaroth, and served only Jehovah.

　　By the time that Saul was raised up to be the king in Israel (1 Sam. 9:3—10:27), Samuel had reached the highest position…. We may even say that, as God’s representative, Samuel was the acting God. God intended to move, to act, yet He needed a representative. Samuel thus became a prophet, a priest, and a judge. He was God’s oracle and God’s administration. As such, he was the acting God on earth.

　　Samuel…was one with God on earth. We may say that Samuel was the acting God on earth. At least we may say that Samuel was the representative of the very God in heaven to rule over His people on earth. (Life-study of 1 & 2 Samuel, pp. 43, 28)

　　撒母耳作为拿细耳人供职，绝对奉献给神，使神得以完成祂的经纶；他是自愿者，顶替了任何正式、形式的事奉神者。（撒上一11，28上。）拿细耳人的愿是由撒母耳的母亲发起，而由撒母耳完成的。

　　撒母耳是祭司供职。…撒母耳不是生来为祭司，乃是神特别兴起的。…撒上二章三十五节…指明撒母耳要成为忠信的祭司，代表神行动，甚至为着神在地上的行政，设立并建立君王。大卫就是他所设立并施膏的。

　　撒母耳对于神的经纶，以及仇敌为破坏神在地上的经纶所作的，有清楚的看见。因此，撒母耳对于神的经纶和环境中的状况，满有洞察力。至终神也作了一些事来配合他，以色列人中间就有了转变。以色列人回转归向神，在神面前哀恸，愿意除去一切的偶像。

　　在这顶替的祭司职任里，撒母耳膏扫罗和大卫作王；（十1，十六1，13；）这是照着神所命定的，要他永远行在神的受膏者面前，（二35下，）以监督君王、观察君王的作为。这指明撒母耳作为在地上代理的神，比君王更大。撒母耳之所以够资格到这样的程度，乃是因为神为着祂的经纶（不是为着别的事物），多年来专特地成全他。

　　当神的经纶在祂子民中间得以实行时，他们就蒙福。这指明我们的幸福，我们的好处，完全联于神经纶的实行。我们不该在神的经纶之外寻求自己的好处。…我愿意对你们，特别是对青年的圣徒说，我们不该期望为着自己亨通。我们在主恢复中的圣徒，应当期望主借着我们尽可能的作事，好完成祂的经纶。这样我们就会蒙福。

　　撒母耳不仅是祭司供职或事奉，也是申言者。…旧约中神圣启示的最后一部分是赐给众申言者，从以赛亚到玛拉基。若没有神的说话，宇宙就是虚空的。我们感谢主，因着祂的怜悯，今天在祂的恢复里，我们有祂持续不断的说话。

　　撒母耳第一次申言是对以利的说话。（撒上三1~18。）撒母耳得着神的话，并且将这话告诉在衰微之祭司职分中的老以利。这说话本应出自以利，但他日渐衰微，神不能借着他说话，反之，借着一个比他年轻许多的人说话。（撒母耳记生命读经，三六至四○页。）

　　参读：真理课程一级卷一，第十课，一五三至一五五页。

　　Samuel ministered as a Nazarite consecrated to God absolutely for God’s fulfillment of His economy, a volunteer to replace any official and formal serving ones of God (1 Sam. 1:11, 28a). The Nazarite vow was initiated by his mother and completed by Samuel.

　　Samuel ministered as a priest…. Samuel was a priest not by birth but by God raising him up particularly…. [First Samuel 2:35] indicates that Samuel would be a faithful priest to act on behalf of God, even to appoint and establish kings for the divine government on earth. David was appointed and anointed by him.

　　Samuel had a clear view of God’s economy and also of what the enemy had been doing to devastate God’s economy on earth. Samuel was thus a person full of insight concerning God’s economy and concerning the environmental situation. Eventually, God did something to match him, and there was a change among the people of Israel. The people returned to God, lamented before God, and were willing to remove all the idols.

　　In this replacing priesthood, Samuel anointed Saul and David to be kings (10:1; 16:1, 13) as God ordained that he should go before His anointed continually (2:35b) to supervise the king, observing what the king was doing. This indicates that Samuel, the acting God on earth, was greater than the king. Samuel could be qualified to such an extent because for many years God had been perfecting him for His economy, not for anything else.

　　When God’s economy is carried out among His people, they are blessed. This means that our welfare, our well-being, is altogether linked to the carrying out of God’s economy. We should not seek our well-being apart from God’s economy…. I wish to say, especially to the young saints, that we should not expect to have prosperity for ourselves. Rather, as saints in the Lord’s recovery, we should expect that through us the Lord will do as much as possible to accomplish His economy. Then we will be blessed.

　　Samuel ministered, or served, not only as a priest but also as a prophet. In the Old Testament the last part of the divine revelation is with the prophets, from Isaiah to Malachi. Apart from God’s speaking the universe would be empty. We thank the Lord that, by His mercy, we have His continual speaking in His recovery today.

　　Samuel’s first prophesying was his speaking to Eli (3:1-18). Samuel received the word of God and spoke it to the old Eli in the waning priesthood. This speaking should have gone forth through Eli, but he was waning, and God could not speak through him. Instead, God spoke through someone much younger. (Life-study of 1 & 2 Samuel, pp. 28-31)

　　Further Reading: Truth Lessons—Level One, vol. 1, pp. 121-124