1Sa 7:5 And Samuel said, Gather all Israel to Mizpeh, and I will pray for you unto the LORD.
Israel had lost the Ark to the Philistines, who could not bear the presence of the Lord, so they brought it back, and it stayed in the house of Abinidab in Kirjathjearim, a town about 5 miles west of Jerusalem and about 20 miles southwest from where it had abode at Shiloh. It is at least 60 years before the Ark is brought into Jerusalem and set in the tabernacle David had prepared for it.
While the Philistines could not stand the presence of the Lord, God’s people could not stand his absence. God did not forsake his people during this time, but his manifest power and glorious Worship had ceased. Eli’s grandchild was born on that horrible day and was named Ichabod, to commemorate the sad event, “The Glory has departed.” Imagine having known the power and Glory of the Lord, and now trying to operate without it. It is no wonder they lamented, they had tasted and seen that the Lord was Good and now they have to go on living at a distance.
I thought of Samuel, what a tough ministry this man had. He had known the power of the Lord in his youth, he had heard the voice of the Lord speaking to him, he had been raised in the tabernacle at Shiloh and knew what it was to minister to the Lord, in all its glories. Yet his adult life is spent ministering to a backslidden people, no tabernacle, no ark, only a make-shift alter at Ramah. All though things weren’t like they were in his youth he was still a priest, a judge, and a prophet and his calling was without repentance. He served his Lord and his Lord’s people even in these horrible years of coldness. He was instant in season and out.
Dear ministers, sometimes we are reminded of the times of God’s manifest power and glory, days when he wrought marvelously among us, but they seem to be days gone by. Perhaps he has called us to a rebellious people, or a backslide people, and things just aren’t like they used to be. The cold state that Samuel was required to minister in was not his fault but the lot that was dealt him and he was a minister and so minister he must. I remember beloved John was the closest to Christ yet had the most lackluster ministry of all the Apostles, caring for the mother of Jesus and pastoring a small flock. John had seen the Lord transfigured and yet he was given a nursing home ministry.
Perhaps God allows these seasons of God’s manifest power and glory as Samuel had and as John had to empower his servants for the years of ministering they will do for him in the less glorious places and to the less glorious people. If you are a minister there is no guarantee that ministry will always be glorious or that the people you are called to will always follow the Lord you follow, but there is one certainty that assures us. While Israel had lost her Glory, God had not lost his glory! He was still the same God he had always been, and when we cannot rejoice in the current state of our churches, or ministries. When all seems cold and drear we can rejoice in our Lord who is as glorious as he has ever been. Billions upon billions of years could never fade his glory one shade. So, ministers, Be instant in season and out, Like Epaphras "Labor fervently in prayer" for them. Recall the Glories of the Lord and as Samuel did for the rest of his life, pray for the people, labor for the Lord, no matter the response, no matter the season, we are ministers and minister we must.
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