A suckling lamb

It is very striking that at a time of greatest spiritual need, Samuel “took a suckling lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord”. At the first Passover, the LORD instructed every man to take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, “a lamb for a household”. If the household was too small for the lamb, they joined with next door neighbours according to the number of the people. But it was never said, “if a house is too big for the lamb”. Samuel took the smallest of lambs for a whole nation, reminding us of Christ described by John the Baptist as,

“The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).

God throughout the Old Testament constantly looks on to His Son’s work of redemption. The greatness of the spiritual need of a nation in Samuel’s day was not met by the sacrifice of many lambs, but by one tiny lamb, foreshadowing the one perfect sacrifice of Christ.

“And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God” (Hebrews 12:11-12).

As Samuel was offering up the burnt offering the Philistines prepared to attack Israel. The LORD responds to the repentant hearts of his people and intervenes with loud thunder, confusing the Philistines and enabling Israel to defeat their great enemy. At the cross, Christ defeated the power of Satan, sin and death. God chose Samuel to become the Saviour of Israel. The Philistines were subdued and stopped invading the territory of Israel, and we are told, “And the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel”. Israel recovered cities and land, and “there was peace between Israel and the Amorites”.

Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. It is interesting to learn of his annual circuit to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah, to judge Israel. These were places where pillars were erected. Jacob erected a pillar at Bethel, “Then Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put at his head, set it up as a pillar, and poured oil on top of it. And he called the name of that place Bethel (the House of God)” (Genesis 28:18-19). Gilgal was the place where twelve stones were erected to remind the people of God that they had crossed the River Jordan (Joshua 4). It was between Mizpah and Shen that Samuel took a stone and called it Ebenezer (a stone of help), reminding the people, “Thus far the Lord has helped us”. These stones are a study in themselves and define Samuel’s ministry of bringing his people near to God, separating them to live for God and to be helped by God. His shepherd care and wisdom changed his nation from doing what was right in their own eyes to following the LORD. But Samuel's home was at Ramah, the home of his godly mother and father. There he judged Israel, and there he built an altar to the Lord.

Samuel encourages us to live close to the Saviour, expressing the life we have in Him, drawing our strength and wisdom from Him, witnessing to our spiritual blessings, and having worshipping hearts.