REVIVE US AGAIN (1 SAMUEL 7)
The closet thing to a revival I had experienced was at the youth fellowship in my home church. Seven of the twenty-something young people, including me, are in the ministry presently. Five are pastors, one a seminary lecturer and another an assistant pastor. Including two sisters who are married to two of the seven, about a third of the original youth group are in the ministry now. At that time, we were actively serving either in the Youth Department, the Music Department, the Library Department, the Sunday School Department or the Miscellaneous Department.
Church, fellowship and brothers and sisters meant a lot to us. Our weekly schedule included attending youth fellowship, joining choir rehearsals and teaching Sunday school. During midweek, we took turns leading Bible study and attended seminary-offered extension courses. Incredibly, the church was without a pastor then.
God was lighting a fire in our hearts, raising a band of future ministers and preparing the church for unprecedented growth. We learned, grew and served. Most of the time, we were just given a book to read when we were assigned to teach Sunday school or lead Bible study. Other times, we were advised to shop for material from the local Christian bookstore. All you could do was to watch what others do, take a deep breath and learn as you go.
The first revival in the Promise Land was a heartrending, far-reaching and ongoing event. Before the revival swept Israel, things were both good and bad. The sons of Eli were dead and Samuel the prophet had succeeded him. The ark of God that was captured by the Philistines was returned to the Israelites but not to Jerusalem. Then a revival swept the land under the right conditions.
What is revival? When, how and why does it happen? Why did it happen in Israel after a long absence?
Revival is a Team Responsibility
7:1 So the men of Kiriath Jearim came and took up the ark of the LORD. They took it to Abinadab’s house on the hill and consecrated Eleazar his son to guard the ark of the LORD. 2 It was a long time, twenty years in all, that the ark remained at Kiriath Jearim, and all the people of Israel mourned and sought after the LORD. (1 Sam 7:1-2)
A web site posted an anonymous writer’s poem entitled “Little Christians” on the Internet. It recounts the dramatic growth of a church after a steep decline and a loss of members:
Little Christians came to church all the time, one fell out with the preacher, then there were nine.
Little Christian stayed up late, one slept on Sunday, then there were eight.
Little Christians on their way to heaven, one took the low road, then there were seven.
Little Christians chirping like chicks, one didn’t like the singing, then there were six.
Little Christians seemed very much alive, one took a vacation and then there were five.
Little Christians pulling for heavens shore, one stopped to take a rest, then there were four.
Little Christians each as busy as a bee, one got his feeling hurt, then there were three.
Little Christians couldn’t decide what to do, one couldn’t have his way, then there were two.
Little Christians each won one more, now don’t you see two and two make four.
Little Christians worked early and late, each brought one now there were eight.
Little Christians if they double as before, in just seven Sundays we have one thousand twenty four.
Revival did not occur the moment Eli the priest or his sons died. That would have made Eli the unfair scapegoat of all Israel’s ills. More than twenty years had passed since Eli had died, yet no revival had broken out. Even the presence of Samuel, the great prophet, did not spark a revival. However, a revival swept the nation at the most unlikely time: when the people of God mourned the ark’s absence from Jerusalem. Remarkably, this was the first and only time the nation mourned after the Lord before the exile; the word reappears twice during the exilic period (Ezek 32:18, Mic 2:4). Strong’s said this seldom-used Hebrew word for “mourned” means “to groan, i.e. bewail; hence (through the idea of crying aloud), to assemble (as if on proclamation).”
Revival cannot be premeditated, planned or packaged; it comes only when people’s hearts are groaning, when their eyes are glassy and when their conscience is grieved. Israel’s hearts longed for the Lord, their eyes were wet with tears and their hands were busy in prayer. The people did not sob quietly or privately, but wailed loudly and publicly.
The revival had to touch all of Israel to be genuine. The same Hebrew word “all” is found in verse 2 (“all the people of Israel”), verse 3 (“the whole house of Israel”) and verse 5 (“Assemble all Israel”). All of Israel - men and women, young and old, faithful or faithless, conservative and liberal, pious and idolaters - mourned after the Lord. No one was unaware, no one was untouched and no one was uninvolved.
Revival is the responsibility of not just one person, a couple or a family but everyone: the pastor, the board, members and churchgoers. Revival will only come when all God’s people are pierced in their hearts longing for God and sore on their knees praying to Him.
Revival is a Total Relationship
3 And Samuel said to the whole house of Israel, "If you are returning to the LORD with all your hearts, then rid yourselves of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths and commit yourselves to the LORD and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines." 4 So the Israelites put away their Baals and Ashtoreths, and served the LORD only. (1 Sam 7:3-4)
As a pastor, one of the greatest thrills in ministry is to see people accept Christ. I have brought my fair share of unbelievers to the Lord during invitation time, usually after the sermon. When I was a young pastor, I was thrilled just to see any person accept Christ. I would dutifully take them to the Romans Road (Rom 3:23, 6:23, 5:8, 10:9), ask them if they would accept Christ as Lord and Savior and to pray the sinner’s prayer with me. Once, I was taken back when I found a new believer still has a charm dangling from the front-view mirror of his car. After confronting him, he took it down.
After that I smartened up. When a couple that had barely arrived three months from China said they were ready to accept Christ when I visited them, I asked them if they have any idols to get rid of, because commitment must be unconditional, unreserved, unqualified. I was surprised at what they had brought to the United States. The things they asked me to dispose for them included joss sticks, incense burner and a gold-plated charm box from Thailand. I asked them if they were sure they wanted to dispose the box and if it was expensive. If it were, I wanted them to get rid of it themselves just in case they have a serious case of remorse! The husband said, “Have to do it for Jesus.” Right beside the television, however, I spotted two god-like figures from “Journey to the West” folklore – Monk and Piggy. I asked them, “How about those?” The man answered, “Those belong to the kids; they are just toys. But I guess you can take them since the kids do not play with them anyway.”
When I went home to show my wife the figures, she burst out laughing and exclaimed, “Why do you take kids’ toys?”
Samuel next challenged the Israelites to take action to get to the root of the nation’s decline. Mourning after the Lord was a fantastic start, fair and good, but it could only go so far and do so much. The next thing the Israelites had to do was to take away, cut down and get rid of the idols (v 3). Baal and Ashtaroth were the first foreign gods Israel served in the new land (Judg 2:13). They were the unrivalled male and female gods of fertility out of all the enemies’ pantheon of gods. For true revival to occur, they had to forsake, displace, smash, burn, uproot and banish the idols in their heart and in their community. The roots of idolatry that had lasted over 300 years in the new land (Judg 11:26) were so deep that they had to undergo deep cleaning and extensive surgery, and not just outpatient visit or cosmetic surgery.
Israel had to heed Joshua’s warning to them concerning foreign gods shortly before they were to enter the Promise Land: “If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, he will turn and bring disaster on you and make an end of you, after he has been good to you….Now then, throw away the foreign gods that are among you and yield your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel.” (Josh 24:20, 23)
Israel cannot reverse the course of idolatry or rid the menace of idolatry until they return to the Lord with all their hearts (v 3). Again the word “all” is stressed. The next word is “only” (v 3). God would not share His glory or honor or worship with idols, man or animals. Israel was to serve Him only. God has no room, regard and patience for a third-party.
Half-hearted repentance, conversion and faith do not result in half-hearted revival, but no revival at all. Half-hearted believers are never half-developed; they are always empty and fully dead. Half-hearted effort equals zero return. Half-hearted Christians are half-baked. They serve half-time, do things halfway and reap less than half the effort.
Revival is a Tested Response
5 Then Samuel said, "Assemble all Israel at Mizpah and I will intercede with the LORD for you." 6 When they had assembled at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out before the LORD. On that day they fasted and there they confessed, "We have sinned against the LORD." And Samuel was leader of Israel at Mizpah. 7 When the Philistines heard that Israel had assembled at Mizpah, the rulers of the Philistines came up to attack them. And when the Israelites heard of it, they were afraid because of the Philistines. 8 They said to Samuel, "Do not stop crying out to the LORD our God for us, that he may rescue us from the hand of the Philistines." 9 Then Samuel took a suckling lamb and offered it up as a whole burnt offering to the LORD. He cried out to the LORD on Israel’s behalf, and the LORD answered him. 10 While Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to engage Israel in battle. But that day the LORD thundered with loud thunder against the Philistines and threw them into such a panic that they were routed before the Israelites. (1 Sam 7:5-10)
Former president and 2002 Nobel Peace Prize recipient Jimmy Carter, who successfully brokered the first peace treaty between Israel and an Arab country - Egypt, admitted he had more success as a former president than a president. Carter related an incident that occurred after he left the White House. A woman reporter came to Plains, his hometown in Georgia, to interview his mother in relation to an article about Mr. Carter and his family. His mother really did not want to be interviewed, but was being gracious. So when the reporter knocked at her door, she invited her in. The reporter asked some hard questions and was actually rather aggressive and crude.
“I want to ask you a question,” she said. “Your son ran for presidency on the premise that he would always tell the truth. Has he ever lied?’ Mrs. Carter said, “I think he’s truthful; I think you can depend on his word.” The reporter again asked if he had ever lied in his entire life. His mother said, “Well, I guess maybe he’s told a little white lie.” “Ah, see there!” the reporter exclaimed. “He’d lied! If he told a white lie, he has lied.” The reporter was still not satisfied and asked, “What is a white lie?” And then Lillian Carter said, “It’s like a moment ago when you knocked on the door and I went to the door and said, ‘I was glad to see you.’”
To further test their sincerity, Samuel summoned the Israelites to gather as a nation to offer a sacrifice to the Lord at Mizpah. Sure enough, all Israelites were there, but at the same time, Israel’s enemies, the feared Philistines, were there, too. They were there to disrupt the event, to spoil the party and to make Israel sweat, make them miserable and subservient. Israel panicked, as usual, but this time they did not revert to their past practice. The normal reaction was to pray to idols, run for shelter or surrender without fighting.
Israel pleaded with Samuel not to cease crying to the Lord (v 8). The Hebrew word “cry” had a short history but a powerful effect in Israel’s history. Crying to the Lord was the one sure thing that worked in Israel’s experience. God heard them when they groaned and cried as slaves in Egypt (Ex 2:23). When they cried to God in the Promise Land, God raised and sent judges to deliver them without fail (Judg 3:9, 15, 6:7, 10:10, 1 Sam 12:10). Crying to the Lord was a rich, triumphant, and glorious experience but it was seldom tried. It was, in fact, dull, despised and dismissed. However, whenever Israel cried out sincerely to the Lord, God granted them deliverance, sanctuary and freedom from their neighbors (1 Sam 12:10-11). Incredible as it might seemed, with the exception of King Jehoshaphat (2 Chron 18:31), this was the last time Israel as a nation cried out to the Lord for help.
Samuel was not distracted by or afraid of the Philistines’ attack that occurred as he was offering sacrifices to the Lord. Unlike the Israelites, he was prepared. Israel witnessed a new miracle that day. God thundered (v 10) for the first and only time in Israel’s history, causing a panic to the enemies, a confusion in their camp and a rout of the enemies’ rulers. Israel had not subjugated their enemies for a long time. As long as they depended on God, they had victory over their enemies. They had done it to the Moabites (Judg 3:30), the Canaanites (Judg 4:23), the Midianites (Judg 8:28), the Ammonites (Judg 11:33), and now, the Philistines (v 13).
Conclusion: Revival is the work of God and not man. God examines man’s heart, claims and stirs it when His people care for His work, cast aside their idols and be true to Him. A. W. Tozer says, “To pray for revival while ignoring the plain precept laid down in Scripture is to waste a lot of words and get nothing for our trouble. Prayer will become effective when we stop using it as a substitute for obedience.” What are some things that prevent a revival in your life? What are the idols in your life you need to topple and remove? How have you modeled revival?
Victor Yap
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