When the Word of the Lord Was Rare

First Samuel 3 verse 1 says, "The boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli. And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision." These words describe the dark days of the judges, which came to an end when God raised up the first prophet, Samuel, to give people the Word of God. Israel was brought out of darkness by the light of God's Word. This delivered Israel from the situation in Judges 2, verse 10 that took them away from God 3.5 centuries earlier: "There arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel."

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00:00 Sermon Lessons for When the Word of the Lord Was Rare

Lesson one: Israel moved from victory to defeat because they did:
(NOTE: parts one through three are from the previous sermon)
• (part one) not know the Lord.
• (part two) not remember what the Lord has done.
• (part three) not remain holy.

08:47 • (part four) what was right in __________ ______ ________.

39:28 Lesson two: vision should come from __________ _______.

45:27 Lesson three: God’s word __________________ ____.

Family Worship Guide

Directions: Read the verses and then answer the following questions:

Day one: Why was Joshua’s death such a pivotal moment for the nation of Israel? Who were they supposed to start following at that moment? Who, or what, did they end up following instead? What does the Bible tell us about our hearts?

Day two: Samuel is a transitional figure between what two offices? What is the relationship between vision and God’s word? Why were the days of the judges so spiritually dark based on 1 Samuel 3:1? How did God bring the dark days of the judges to an end?

Day three: How does God’s word restrains us? Aside from the book of judges and the time Moses and Joshua went up on Mount Sinai, can you think of other instances in Israel’s history of them being unrestrained because of the absence of God’s Word and vision? Regarding God’s word, why are we so fortunate today? Our hearts are incurable, or desperately sick, so what is the solution?