“Masterpiece of Praise!” – FBC Morning Light (3/25/2024)

Well, a good Monday morning. I hope you had a good day worshiping with God's people yesterday, and are starting off the new week really eager and enthused about serving the Lord, and looking forward to next Sunday, Resurrection Sunday.

In that regard, just by way of announcement, if you will, this Thursday evening at Faith Baptist, at 7 o 'clock, we're having a Maundy Thursday service. We recount a lot of the events of the night before the crucifixion, we have the Lord's Supper together, all in anticipation of Resurrection Sunday.

Maundy Thursday and Resurrection Sunday Announcements

And then next Sunday, we'll be having a sunrise service at 8 o 'clock, followed by a brunch, and then Sunday school at 930, morning worship service at 1030 on Resurrection Sunday. Well, today we're jumping out of the Book of Judges and jumping to first couple chapters of 1 Samuel, chapters 1 through 4, actually.

And we're doing that because, just as a reminder, Samuel was one of the Judges, he's one of the last, he's the last of the Judges, and so he fits in the time frame, the chronology of the Book of Judges.

Hannah's Praise of God's Holiness, Knowledge, Power, and Sovereignty

Well, in these opening chapters, I just want to focus on chapters 1 and 2, we discover a lot about our God. He is extolled by Hannah, and in her praise of the Lord, in chapter 2, she mentioned several things about him that she extols him for.

Notice them, in verse 2, she extols him for his holiness and his exclusivity. She says, no one is holy like the Lord, there is none besides you, nor is there any rock like our God. She extols him for his knowledge of everything, and his consequent judgment.

In verse 3, at the end of the verse, she says, the Lord is the God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed. Hold on to that, we're going to return to that idea here in just a few minutes. And then in verses 4 and 5, she extols him for his power over people in various circumstances.

The bows of the mighty are broken, and those who stumbled are girded with strength. Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, the hungry have ceased to hunger. The Lord has done this for them.

In verse 6, she extols the Lord for his authority over life and death. The Lord kills and makes alive, he brings down to the grave and he brings up. And in verses 7 and 8, she extols the Lord for his authority over social status.

The Lord makes poor and he makes rich, he brings low and he lifts up. And in verses 9 and 10, she extols the Lord for his protection over his people. He will guard the feet of his saints, she says, but the wicked shall be silent in darkness.

And that last statement, the will be silent in darkness, couple that with the earlier verse where she says in verse 3 that the Lord is the God of knowledge and by him actions are weighed. And hang on to that in light of another thing that is revealed about the Lord in chapter 2.

Eli Rebukes His Sons for Their Wickedness

In chapter 2, we read about, continuing in chapter 2, we read about these wicked sons of Eli. They were supposed to be priests, but they were mercenary, if you will. They were hirelings, and they used their office for greed to get what they could out of the people.

And they were horrible, they were immoral with the women, and so forth. And this was going on, and Eli is seeing it, he's bothered by it, and finally it says in verse 22 that Eli was old, he heard everything his sons did to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle, the meeting.

So he said to them, he just said to them, why do you do these things? For I hear of your evil dealings from all the people. No, my sons, it is not a good report I hear. You make the Lord's people to transgress.

If one man sins against another, God will judge him. But if a man sins against the Lord, who will intercede for him? So Eli is rebuking his sons, he doesn't remove them from office, but he's rebuking them, and he's exhorting them, stop this, stop this wicked behavior.

This is giving them an opportunity to repent, right? But what's important for our purposes this morning is what comes next. The end of verse 25 says, nevertheless they did not heed the voice of their father.

God's Sovereign Judgment on Persistent Wickedness

Why? Because the Lord desired to kill them. Now that might shake you, that might rattle you, you say, wait a minute, the Lord desired to kill them? Why would the Lord desire to kill? I thought the Lord was a God of love, and of mercy, and of kindness, and long-suffering, and forgiveness.

Yes, he is. But remember what Hannah prayed earlier. The Lord is the God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed. And the Lord has known what these sons of Eli have done, and how adamant they are in their doing of it, and that they're just going to keep on taking advantage of their position to keep on committing this wretchedness.

And so verse 9 says, the wicked shall be silent in darkness. God is to be praised even for his sovereignty and his sovereignty in judgment. But here are a couple of men who deserve this judgment, they have been horrific in their behavior, they are adamant in that wicked behavior, they are unrepentant in that behavior, and God will not then give them the gift of repentance so that they might avoid his judgment.

Now that may seem startling to us to think of that, but this is still another one of those character qualities of our God. He is a God of justice, so let's keep that in mind as well. Father, we thank you for all these wonderful things that you are, a God of holiness and exclusivity, a God who knows all things, a God who lifts the poor out of poverty and you give life to those who are dead.

But Father, you're also a God of justice, and those who want to persist in iniquity, they cannot do so with impunity and presume upon your grace. Oh may the example here of Eli's sons be a warning to any who might be so presumptuous, and we pray this in Jesus' name and for his sake, amen.

All right, well listen, have a good rest of your Monday, and I hope you get off to a good start this week. God bless.