MONDAY, JULY 24
Scripture: 1 Samuel 3:11-14

1 Samuel 3:11-14 says, “Then the Lord said to Samuel: ‘Behold I will do something in Israel at which both ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. In that day I will perform against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. For I have told him that I will judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knows, because his sons made themselves vile, and he did not restrain them. And therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.” The very first time God spoke to him, Samuel mistook God’s voice for Eli’s. But it was not Eli. It was God! Samuel was only a child and God spoke a word of rebuke against Eli, the very man who was training him. Eli had not restrained the sin of his sons and God’s intent was to kill him and his whole family. Imagine hearing God for the first time and being prompted to speak a prophetic word against one’s elder and mentor? All of a sudden God gave Samuel a major revelation of Who He is. He, in effect, said, ‘Samuel, I’m going to kill your mentor because he hasn’t maintained his holiness.’ What would that do for us concerning our commitment to righteousness? Samuel learned early on that sacrificing holiness could be worthy of death. He met Jesus the Judge in his young years and it marked him for his whole life. Has God marked us?