THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6
Scripture: 1 Samuel 2:22-25

How bad was it for Samuel? 1 Samuel 2:22-25 states, “Now Eli was very old; and he heard everything his sons did to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. So he said to them, ‘Why do you do such things? For I hear of your evil dealings from all the people. No, my sons! For it is not a good report that I hear. You make the Lord’s people transgress. If one man sins against another, God will judge him. But if a man sins against the Lord, who will intercede for him?’ Nevertheless they did not heed the voice of their father, because the Lord desired to kill them.” It was so bad, God desired to kill them, not save them! To most of us, it is quite shocking that we find a verse that says the Lord desired to kill them. The sons of Eli did not repent. They did not hear their father because the Lord desired to kill them. That is how manipulative and abusive they were to the people under their charge. The result was that God wanted to judge, remove and kill them publicly in order to make a statement to Israel and to all future leaders. If you are going to abuse your office in this way, then I will kill you. Do we realize that that’s the God we serve? Do we realize that there are people whose actions and choices are so offensive that God desires to kill them? If we were to listen to what comes out of most pulpits then we know only the God who desires to save everybody. Most of us do not know the God Who desires to kill people. Would the church look different if we knew the God Who desires to kill people. That is a real shock to the average Christian in today’s world because most have been fed a diet of unsanctified mercy. Therefore there are few who have been able to relate to the God Who desires to kill. How can we truly represent Jesus if we do not know all dimensions of who God is? Some say that this is only Old Testament. But Hebrews says that Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today and forever. Can we find the Jesus who desires to kill people in the New Testament? Ananias, Sapphira and Herod are a testament to the fact that Jesus has not changed. And that is minor compared to what is coming in the book of Revelation. There is a aspect of God Who desires to kill people. It is true in the Old Testament and it is true in the New. Have we ever heard that preached from the pulpit? If not, why not?