The Dilemma Of Obedience And Samuel feared to shew Eli the vision. (1 SAMUEL 3:15)
God never speaks to us in startling ways, but in ways that are easy to misunderstand, and we say, “I wonder if that is God’s voice?” Isaiah said that the Lord spake to him “with a strong hand,” that is, by the pressure of circumstances. Nothing touches our lives but it is God Himself speaking. Do we discern His hand or only mere occurrence?
Get into the habit of saying, “Speak, Lord,” and life will become a romance. Every time circumstances press, say, “Speak, Lord”; make time to listen. Chastening is more than a means of discipline, it is meant to get me to the place of saying, “Speak, Lord.” Recall the time when God did speak to you. Have you forgotten what He said? Was it Luke 11:13, or was it 1 Thessalonians 5:23? As we listen, our ear gets acute, and, like Jesus, we shall hear God all the time.
Shall I tell my “Eli” what God has shown to me? That is where the dilemma of obedience comes in. We disobey God by becoming amateur providences — I must shield “Eli,” the best people we know. God did not tell Samuel to tell Eli; he had to decide that for himself. God’s call to you may hurt your “Eli”; but if you try to prevent the suffering in another life, it will prove an obstruction between your soul and God. It is at your own peril that you prevent the cutting off of the right hand or the plucking out of the eye.
Never ask the advice of another about anything God makes you decide before Him. If you ask advice, you will nearly always side with Satan: “Immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood.” (From My Utmost for His Highest Classic Edition)
Bible in One Year: Exodus 23-24; Exodus 23-24; Matthew 20:1-16
Exodus 23:1 (2) “If a thief caught in the act of breaking in is beaten to death, it is not murder; 2 (3) unless it happens after sunrise, in which case it is murder. A thief must make restitution; so if he has nothing, he himself is to be sold to make good the loss from the theft. 3 (4) If what he stole is found alive in his possession, he is to pay double, no matter whether it is an ox, a donkey or a sheep.
(iii) 4 (5) “If a person causes a field or vineyard to be grazed over or lets his animal loose to graze in someone else’s field, he is to make restitution from the best produce of his own field and vineyard.
5 (6) “If a fire is started and spreads to thorns, so that stacked grain, standing grain or a field is destroyed, the person who lit it must make restitution.
6 (7) “If a person entrusts a neighbor with money or goods, and they are stolen from the trustee’s house, then, if the thief is found, he must pay double. 7 (8) But if the thief is not found, then the trustee must state before God that he did not take the person’s goods himself. 8 (9) In every case of dispute over ownership, whether of an ox, a donkey, a sheep, clothing, or any missing property, where one person says, ‘This is mine,’ both parties are to come before God; and the one whom God condemns must pay the other one double.
9 (10) “If a person trusts a neighbor to look after a donkey, ox, sheep or any animal, and it dies, is injured or is driven away unseen, 10 (11) then the neighbor’s oath before Adonaithat he has not taken the goods will settle the matter between them — the owner is to accept it without the neighbor’s making restitution. 11 (12) But if it was stolen from the neighbor, he must make restitution to the owner. 12 (13) If it was torn to pieces by an animal, the neighbor must bring it as evidence, and then he doesn’t need to make good the loss.
13 (14) “If someone borrows something from his neighbor, and it gets injured or dies with the owner not present, he must make restitution. 14 (15) If the owner was present, he need not make good the loss. If the owner hired it out, the loss is covered by the hiring fee.
15 (16) “If a man seduces a virgin who is not engaged to be married and sleeps with her, he must pay the bride-price for her to be his wife. 16 (17) But if her father refuses to give her to him, he must pay a sum equivalent to the bride-price for virgins.
17 (18) “You are not to permit a sorceress to live.
18 (19) “Whoever has sexual relations with an animal must be put to death.
19 (20) “Anyone who sacrifices to any god other than Adonai alone is to be completely destroyed.
20 (21) “You must neither wrong nor oppress a foreigner living among you, for you yourselves were foreigners in the land of Egypt.
21 (22) “You are not to abuse any widow or orphan. 22 (23) If you do abuse them in any way, and they cry to me, I will certainly heed their cry. 23 (24) My anger will burn, and I will kill you with the sword — your own wives will be widows and your own children fatherless.
24 (25) “If you loan money to one of my people who is poor, you are not to deal with him as would a creditor; and you are not to charge him interest. 25 (26) If you take your neighbor’s coat as collateral, you are to restore it to him by sundown, 26 (27) because it is his only garment — he needs it to wrap his body; what else does he have in which to sleep? Moreover, if he cries out to me, I will listen; because I am compassionate.
(iv) 27 (28) “You are not to curse God, and you are not to curse a leader of your people.
28 (29) “You are not to delay offering from your harvest of grain, olive oil or wine.
“The firstborn of your sons you are to give to me. 29 (30) You are to do the same with your oxen and your sheep — it is to stay with its mother seven days, and on the eighth day you are to give it to me.
30 (31) “You are to be my specially separated people. Therefore you are not to eat any flesh torn by wild animals in the countryside; rather, throw it out for the dogs.
24:1“You are not to repeat false rumors; do not join hands with the wicked by offering perjured testimony. 2 Do not follow the crowd when it does what is wrong; and don’t allow the popular view to sway you into offering testimony for any cause if the effect will be to pervert justice. 3 On the other hand, don’t favor a person’s lawsuit simply because he is poor.
4 “If you come upon your enemy’s ox or donkey straying, you must return it to him. 5 If you see the donkey which belongs to someone who hates you lying down helpless under its load, you are not to pass him by but to go and help him free it.
(v) 6 “Do not deny anyone justice in his lawsuit simply because he is poor. 7 Keep away from fraud, and do not cause the death of the innocent and righteous; for I will not justify the wicked. 8 You are not to receive a bribe, for a bribe blinds the clearsighted and subverts the cause of the righteous.
9 “You are not to oppress a foreigner, for you know how a foreigner feels, since you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.
10 “For six years, you are to sow your land with seed and gather in its harvest. 11 But the seventh year, you are to let it rest and lie fallow, so that the poor among your people can eat; and what they leave, the wild animals in the countryside can eat. Do the same with your vineyard and olive grove.
12 “For six days, you are to work. But on the seventh day, you are to rest, so that your ox and donkey can rest, and your slave-girl’s son and the foreigner be renewed.
13 “Pay attention to everything I have said to you; do not invoke the names of other gods or even let them be heard crossing your lips.
14 “Three times a year, you are to observe a festival for me. 15 Keep the festival of matzah: for seven days, as I ordered you, you are to eat matzah at the time determined in the month of Aviv; for it was in that month that you left Egypt. No one is to appear before me empty-handed. 16 Next, the festival of harvest, the firstfruits of your efforts sowing in the field; and last, the festival of ingathering, at the end of the year, when you gather in from the fields the results of your efforts. 17 Three times a year all your men are to appear before the Lord, Adonai.
18 “You are not to offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread, nor is the fat of my festival to remain all night until morning.
19 “You are to bring the best firstfruits of your land into the house of Adonai your God.
“You are not to boil a young animal in its mother’s milk.
(vi) 20 “I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you on the way and bring you to the place I have prepared. 21 Pay attention to him, listen to what he says and do not rebel against him; because he will not forgive any wrongdoing of yours, since my name resides in him. 22 But if you listen to what he says and do everything I tell you, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and a foe to your foes. 23 When my angel go
ix days. On the seventh day he called to Moshe out of the cloud. 17 To the people of Isra’el the glory of Adonai looked like a raging fire on the top of the mountain. 18 Moshe entered the cloud and went up on the mountain; he was on the mountain forty days and nights.
Matthew 20:1 “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer who went out at daybreak to hire workers for his vineyard. 2 After agreeing with the workers on a wage of one denarius, [the standard daily wage,] he sent them off to his vineyard. 3 Then, on going out at about nine in the morning, he saw more men standing around in the market-square doing nothing, 4 and said to them, ‘You go to the vineyard too — I’ll pay you a fair wage.’ So they went. 5 At noon, and again around three in the afternoon, he did the same thing. 6 About an hour before sundown, he went out, found still others standing around, and asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day, doing nothing?” 7 They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ ‘You too,’ he told them, ‘go to the vineyard.’
8 “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, starting with the last ones hired and ending with the first.’ 9 The workers who came an hour before sunset each received a denarius, 10 so the workers who came first expected they would get more, but each of them also received just a denarius. 11 On receiving their wages, they began grumbling to the farmer, 12 ‘These latecomers have worked only one hour, while we have borne the brunt of the day’s work in the hot sun, yet you have put them on an equal footing with us!’ 13 But he answered one of them, ‘Look, friend, I’m not being unfair with you. Didn’t you agree to work today for a denarius? 14 Now take your pay and go! I choose to give the last worker as much as I’m giving you. 15 Haven’t I the right to do what I want with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ 16 Thus the last ones will be first and the first last.” (Complete Jewish Bible)
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24:1“You are not to repeat false rumors; do not join hands with the wicked by offering perjured testimony. 2 Do not follow the crowd when it does what is wrong; and don’t allow the popular view to sway you into offering testimony for any cause if the effect will be to pervert justice. 3 On the other hand, don’t favor a person’s lawsuit simply because he is poor.
4 “If you come upon your enemy’s ox or donkey straying, you must return it to him. 5 If you see the donkey which belongs to someone who hates you lying down helpless under its load, you are not to pass him by but to go and help him free it.
(v) 6 “Do not deny anyone justice in his lawsuit simply because he is poor. 7 Keep away from fraud, and do not cause the death of the innocent and righteous; for I will not justify the wicked. 8 You are not to receive a bribe, for a bribe blinds the clearsighted and subverts the cause of the righteous.
9 “You are not to oppress a foreigner, for you know how a foreigner feels, since you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.
10 “For six years, you are to sow your land with seed and gather in its harvest. 11 But the seventh year, you are to let it rest and lie fallow, so that the poor among your people can eat; and what they leave, the wild animals in the countryside can eat. Do the same with your vineyard and olive grove.
12 “For six days, you are to work. But on the seventh day, you are to rest, so that your ox and donkey can rest, and your slave-girl’s son and the foreigner be renewed.
13 “Pay attention to everything I have said to you; do not invoke the names of other gods or even let them be heard crossing your lips.
14 “Three times a year, you are to observe a festival for me. 15 Keep the festival of matzah: for seven days, as I ordered you, you are to eat matzah at the time determined in the month of Aviv; for it was in that month that you left Egypt. No one is to appear before me empty-handed. 16 Next, the festival of harvest, the firstfruits of your efforts sowing in the field; and last, the festival of ingathering, at the end of the year, when you gather in from the fields the results of your efforts. 17 Three times a year all your men are to appear before the Lord, Adonai.
18 “You are not to offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread, nor is the fat of my festival to remain all night until morning.
19 “You are to bring the best firstfruits of your land into the house of Adonai your God.
“You are not to boil a young animal in its mother’s milk.
(vi) 20 “I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you on the way and bring you to the place I have prepared. 21 Pay attention to him, listen to what he says and do not rebel against him; because he will not forgive any wrongdoing of yours, since my name resides in him. 22 But if you listen to what he says and do everything I tell you, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and a foe to your foes. 23 When my angel go
ix days. On the seventh day he called to Moshe out of the cloud. 17 To the people of Isra’el the glory of Adonai looked like a raging fire on the top of the mountain. 18 Moshe entered the cloud and went up on the mountain; he was on the mountain forty days and nights.
Matthew 20:1 “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer who went out at daybreak to hire workers for his vineyard. 2 After agreeing with the workers on a wage of one denarius, [the standard daily wage,] he sent them off to his vineyard. 3 Then, on going out at about nine in the morning, he saw more men standing around in the market-square doing nothing, 4 and said to them, ‘You go to the vineyard too — I’ll pay you a fair wage.’ So they went. 5 At noon, and again around three in the afternoon, he did the same thing. 6 About an hour before sundown, he went out, found still others standing around, and asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day, doing nothing?” 7 They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ ‘You too,’ he told them, ‘go to the vineyard.’
8 “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, starting with the last ones hired and ending with the first.’ 9 The workers who came an hour before sunset each received a denarius, 10 so the workers who came first expected they would get more, but each of them also received just a denarius. 11 On receiving their wages, they began grumbling to the farmer, 12 ‘These latecomers have worked only one hour, while we have borne the brunt of the day’s work in the hot sun, yet you have put them on an equal footing with us!’ 13 But he answered one of them, ‘Look, friend, I’m not being unfair with you. Didn’t you agree to work today for a denarius? 14 Now take your pay and go! I choose to give the last worker as much as I’m giving you. 15 Haven’t I the right to do what I want with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ 16 Thus the last ones will be first and the first last.” (Complete Jewish Bible)
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WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
When you are joyful, be joyful; when you are sad, be sad. If God has given you a sweet cup, don’t make it bitter; and if He has given you a bitter cup, don’t try and make it sweet; take things as they come. (From Shade of His Ha, 1226 L)
---My Utmost for His Highest © 1992 by Oswald Chambers Publications Association, Ltd. Original edition © 1935 by Dodd, Mead & Company, Inc. Copyright renewed 1963 by Oswald Chambers Publications Association, Ltd. All rights reserved. United States publication rights are held by Discovery House, which is affiliated with Our Daily Bread Ministries.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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