Oh! My God, Where Is The Fire?

Oh! My God, Where is the Fire?

Dale Carter Sr.

Harvest Fellowship Community Church

1 Samuel 3:1-10

1. And the child Samuel ministered unto the Lord before Eli. And the word of the Lord was precious in those days; there was no open vision.

2 And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place, and his eyes began to wax dim, that he could not see;

3 And ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep;

4 That the Lord called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I.

5 And he ran unto Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou calledst me. And he said, I called not; lie down again. And he went and lay down.

6 And the Lord called yet again, Samuel. And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And he answered, I called not, my son; lie down again.

7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, neither was the word of the Lord yet revealed unto him.

8 And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And Eli perceived that the Lord had called the child.

9 Therefore Eli said unto Samuel, Go, lie down: and it shall be, if he call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth. So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

10 And the Lord came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth.

1. The child Samuel, though but a child, ministered unto the Lord before Eli. It aggravated the wicked sons of Eli. The holiness and righteousness of the child Samuel shamed them. They rebelled against the Lord, but Samuel ministered to Him with all that he had. They had no respect for their father nor did they regard any of his counseling and warnings. Samuel kelp an eye on them and saw their wicked ways, but did not let them influence him in his ministering and his relationship with Eli and God. Samuel would not be deferred from what God had appointed him to do but he grew in the Lord and went on and achieved his destiny. On his way to destiny, over-coming the trials and battles, God was preparing him for a far greater encounter with far greater honor and rewards that God intended him. Matt 25:21. ….thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. KJV.

2. Prophecy was a scarce thing during this period of time. The Word of the Lord was precious in those days. Being almost void of a Word from God, made the call of Samuel to fill the office of a Prophet and Judge for Israel. During this period of silence from God, now and then God would send a man with a specific Word of warning as was recorded in Chapter 2 verse 27 of this book. There was no prophet, nor from whom they might expect hear of the divine will of the Lord God of Israel. And the rarity of prophecy made it the more precious. There was no open vision, that is, there were none that were publicly known to have visions.

No doubt, the impiety and impurity that prevailed in the tabernacle, had corrupted the whole nation, and had provoked God. To express his displeasure, He withdrew the Spirit of prophecy, till the decree had gone forth for the raising up of a more faithful priest. As Hanna had waited so long for a son, Israel had be waiting for a prophet of God. I can’t help but wonder if Israel knew or even cared about what was going on. But like God does on many occasions He was working behind the scenes and raising up Samuel who would be one of the greatest ever.

Why Am I referring to this period of time when I asked the Question, Oh! My God Where is the Fire? The lamp had went out in the Temple of the Lord. The Lamp was exclusives of the fire in the Temple of God. Jerimiah pronounced.. His word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, KJV

Fire purifies:

Num. 31: 23. Everything that may abide the fire, ye shall make it go through the fire, and it shall be clean: He’s talking about burning out the impurities, much like a silversmith or a goldsmith putting the precious metal on the fire. As the gold melts and loses its own form the impurities float to the top and the goldsmith can remove them leaving the grade of the gold much more pure and valuable. Much like when you accept the Fire of the Hold Ghost to transform your/our lives. Sometimes we have to go through the fire.