Let’s
recapitulate what had happened so far. The book of 1 Samuel essentially deals
with the life of three persons, namely Samuel, Saul, and David. Samuel was the
prophet, the priest, and the godly kingmaker whom God used to anoint both Saul
and David. Saul was the first king of Israel, a man after man’s heart. Before
he could warm the throne, he was already found wanting. He acted in ways that
displeased the Lord and had disappointed Him. So God sought out for Himself
another man, one who feared Him and was after His heart. This other man was
David. Since the day David killed Goliath, he had become the national hero and
was adored above Saul. Finding it hard to accept that he was only second best
to David in the eyes of his people, Saul became extremely uncomfortable and
insecure. He took it upon himself to seek David’s life to deal with his
insecurity. But God had other plans. He saw in David a man fit to lead His
people. From the day of his anointing to the time he ascended the throne, there
was much training that God had to take him through. There are so many
lessons that can be gleaned from this book, concerning life with God and the
leadership He wants to develop in each of us. Though we have already learned
much, we must also acknowledge that we have barely scratched the surface. Be
sure that there will be fresh lessons to glean each time we return to this
book.
In
the opening of 1 Samuel 25, we are greeted with the sad news of the death of
Samuel. Verse 1 tells us that “Then Samuel died; and
all Israel gathered together and mourned for him, and buried him at
his house in Ramah.” He was one man who had lived his life fully to fulfill
God’s call and plan for him. Though we have fond memories of
this great man, we must realize that he too like every man was made of feet of
clay and was not indispensable. The truth is this, since the fall of Adam,
death had become a part of the human experience. And we must realize that in
life, what truly matters is what we do with the time God has granted us between
the time of our birth and the day of our death. He had given us a free will to
make choices. We can choose to spend the time getting to know God Himself,
seizing the opportunities He accorded to us and live it to accomplish His
purpose. Samuel made that choice and had seized his day to live for God. What
about us? Will we live our lives considering God and His plan for us? Let us
not squander the time and opportunities He had accorded to us and passed
on without leaving a legacy.
This news of Samuel’s death is a timely reminder to us that no matter
how talented, or how much we have been used by God, there will come a time when
our season in life would be over. We mustn’t entertain the thought that we are
indispensable and will be here forever. Nobody is! That’s the truth! What a
sobering thought! But that does not mean that we cannot exploit life to the
fullest for God. Samuel had and so must we. We are told that all Israel
gathered to mourn his passing and to bury him in Ramah. This is a testimony of
how much his life had impacted the nation. He had exploited life, and since
young, he had responded to God positively. As soon as he could recognize the
voice of God, he had moved in tandem with His will to fulfill the call placed
on his life. What about us? What would be said of us on our epithet?
When it’s all said and done, will it be said that we have done what truly
matters? Let us fully exploit the remaining years of our lives and present to
God a heart of wisdom. What’s done for God will last forever! Let’s live, learn,
love and leave behind a legacy!
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