God's Errand Boy

TODAY’S SPECIAL: 1 Samuel 3:1-21

TO CHEW ON: "The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, 'Samuel! Samuel!'
Then Samuel said, 'Speak for your servant is listening.'” 1 Samuel 3:10

One night after everyone had gone to bed, Samuel heard Eli call him. Because Eli was very old and blind, Samuel helped him with many things and was used to coming when Eli called. Now Samuel jumped out of bed and ran to Eli. “Here I am,” he said. “You called me.”

“No I didn’t,” answered Eli. “Go back to bed.”

"Eli and Samuel"
Original oil painting © 2001 by Darlene Slavujac Thau (used with the artist's permission)

A few minutes later, Samuel thought he heard Eli call his name again, and again he jumped out of bed to see what Eli wanted. Again Eli sent him back to bed.

When this happened a third time, Eli thought of something. Maybe this was God wanting to speak to Samuel. So he said, “Go and lie down. If He calls you a third time say, ‘Speak Lord, for your servant is listening.’”

So Samuel went back bed. Sure enough, in a few minutes the voice came again, “Samuel! Samuel!”

“Speak for your servant is listening,” Samuel said.


1. Then God spoke to him. What did God tell him (1 Samuel 3:11-14)? Choose the best answer:
A. Eli and his sons are to lead the army in a war against the Philistines.

B. I will punish Eli’s family because Eli knew about his sons’ sins but didn’t stop them.

C. Eli and his sons are doing things that please me a lot. They will be priests for a long time.


2. Next morning Eli asked Samuel what God had said. How do you think Samuel felt about telling him? ___________ . Did he tell him? (1 Samuel 3:18) ________



Even though Samuel was just a child, God talked to him and gave him an important message for Eli.

Has God ever talked to you? He can. Just make sure all of you – your ears, and your whole body – is ready to listen.

PRAYER: Speak Lord, for your servant is listening. Amen.

MORE: Hearing God
Below is a list of some ways God might speak to people. Can you think of more?

- in Bible words
- through the words of a song
- while enjoying nature
- during prayer
- through your conscience
- in a silent voice in your thoughts
- in an out-loud voice

Has God ever spoken to you in any of these ways? Tell about it.

Answers

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Adult readers - DAILY DEVOTIONS FOR ADULTS  are available too at Other Food: daily devo's. 

Toxic Tabernacle

TODAY’S SPECIAL: 1 Samuel 2:12-26

TO CHEW ON: "Meanwhile the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the Lord....And the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor with the Lord and with people." 1 Samuel 2:21, 26

Do you think it’s possible to live as a Christian in a neighborhood where you have no friends who love Jesus? What about in a school where people tease you if they find out you read the Bible, or in a family where you’re the only one who trusts in God and prays?

You would expect for little Samuel, the tabernacle, where people came to worship God, would be the easiest place in the world to get to know God. But it wasn’t. Instead, it was a place full of rebellion, disobedience and sin.

The trouble was not with Eli, the old priest, but with his sons. They had no respect for God and pretty much did as they pleased. They demanded offering meat before it was ready and had sex with the servant girls who worked near the Tabernacle. Even after Eli scolded them, they didn’t change.


Meanwhile Samuel was growing up. Every year he got stronger and taller. Every year his parents came to Shiloh with a set of bigger clothes for him.


But he never got to go home with them. Instead he stayed in that toxic tabernacle with Eli and his sons. No doubt he learned about God from Eli. But he also saw the bad things Eli’s boys were doing. Who knows, they may even have teased him when he didn’t join them in their sin. But he didn’t.

How did Samuel keep from following their example and becoming just like them? God was with him. He helped him resist temptation and stay sensitive and pure. He can do the same for you as the only Christian in your home, school or neighborhood.

PRAYER: Dear God, You know how alone I feel as a Christian in my home / school / neighborhood. Please help me always stay close to You. Amen

MORE: Lonely Christians
Do you feel lonely as a Christian? Here are some things you can do to help. Can you think of more?

1. Read your Bible and talk to God every day. He is the best friend a kid could ever have.

2. Pray for a Christian friend.

3. Find Christians friends online through Christian websites (but only with your parents’ permission and supervision).

4. Attend a church, Sunday School or kids’ club in your neighborhood.

5. If kids from your church don’t live in your neighborhood, invite one or two to your home for sleepovers, parties or to accompany your family on special outings.

6. If there is a Christian club at your school, join it.

Can you think of more?

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Adult readers - DAILY DEVOTIONS FOR ADULTS  are available too at Other Food: daily devo's. 

A Job Well Done

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Exodus 40: 1-16, 34, 35

TO CHEW ON: "Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle." Exodus 40:34,35

After Moses had cleaned up the golden calf, God rewrote the smashed tablets of stone. Then Moses asked the people to collect things for building the tabernacle. People brought gold jewelry, beautiful cloth, colorful thread, dyed animal hides, gem stones, spices, incense and oil. Soon there was enough.

Israelites bring treasures for the Tabernacle - Artist unknown

Next God told Moses which talented artists and builders to put in charge of building the tabernacle. They organized and taught volunteers who made all the parts of the tabernacle and its furniture and tools.

Finally the tent church and all its furniture was built. On the first day of the first month God told Moses to put up the tabernacle. He also told him exactly where to put each piece of furniture along with each utensil and tool.

God told Moses to dress Aaron and his sons in the special priest clothes. As they stood before him, Moses poured oil on their heads (anointed them) as a way of setting them apart to be priests who would always serve God.

Anointing Aaron as High Priest - Treasures of the Bible (Moses)

How exciting that day must have been for Moses. After months of only imagining how the tabernacle would look, it was all coming together. I wonder if Moses ever worried, during those months of building and making. Perhaps he asked himself, did I really hear God right? Did the workmen follow all the instructions? Will God be pleased with His tent church?

He didn’t have long to find out. No sooner was the last piece in place than God’s presence came down! His glory cloud filled the tabernacle. It was so awesome and wonderful and terrifying that Moses couldn’t go inside.


Do you ever get instructions from God and yet while you’re doing them you wonder, did God really tell me this? Is He pleased with what I’m doing? Will He bless my work?

If you are doing what God has told you to do, be like Moses and stick with the job until it’s done. Then watch how God fills what you did with His power and glory. You will be amazed!

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You that You use people to accomplish what You want to do. Please use me today. Amen.

 MORE: When you don’t quit
God doesn’t often show that He is pleased with a glory cloud. Some ways that we sense God is happy with us may be:
1. He answers ‘yes’ to our prayers.
2. We get encouragement from unexpected places.
3. We read, in the Bible or a different book, words that give us courage and keep us from quitting.
4. A friend accepts Jesus.

Can you think of more?

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Adult readers - DAILY DEVOTIONS FOR ADULTS  are available too at Other Food: daily devo's. 

Only the Best

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Exodus 25:23-40

TO CHEW ON: "A talent of pure gold is to be used for the lampstand and all these accessories." Exodus 25:39

Next God gave Moses instructions to make more things for the tent church. He was to make a table and carrying poles out of the same special wood as the ark (acacia wood). He was to cover these things with pure gold.

Then he was to make plates, dishes, pitchers and bowls as well as a decorated lamp stand and all the tools for tending the lamps. These things were also to be made of pure gold. God told Moses to use a whole talent (75 pounds or 34 kilograms) of gold for these things.

Models of the ark accessories - Graphics from CC-Art.com

Why do you suppose God chose gold?

Some reasons might be:
1. Gold was the easiest metal to shape into designs.
2. Gold was long-lasting. It was unaffected by air, heat, moisture, and was hard to dissolve.
3. Gold was beautiful, with its bright yellow color and shine.
4. Gold decorations and jewelry showed royal power and honor.
5. God was rare, much wanted, and expensive.

In other words, gold was the best!

Still today God asks for our best – not gold furniture or dishes, not even our best or most beautiful possessions. Even the poorest of us has this and can give it to Him. It is our lives.

PRAYER: Dear God, help me to give You my life, and to live for You today. Amen.

MORE: Modern Gold
1. Gold is still a rare and valuable material, used in many ways:

Electronics. There is gold in washing machines, computers, televisions, even space craft.

Dentistry. Gold is mixed with other metals to make fillings for teeth.

Jewelry and watchmaking. ‘Plating’ is a way to cover jewelry and many other things like pens, frames for glasses and bathroom fixtures, with gold.

Gold leaf. Gold is hammered very thin and spread onto domes and roofs of public buildings. It lasts longer than paint!

2. Can you calculate how much a talent of gold (75 pounds or 34 kilograms) would be worth at today’s gold price?

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.



Adult readers - DAILY DEVOTIONS FOR ADULTS  are available too at Other Food: daily devo's. 

Just a Box?

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Exodus 25:10-22

TO CHEW ON: "There, above the cover between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the covenant law, I will meet with you and give you all my commands for the Israelites." Exodus 25:22

The first piece of furniture God told Moses to make for the inside of the portable church (Tabernacle) was just a box. But what a box! God told Moses how to make the box (or ark) to the last detail. Using today’s reading, choose the right answers below:

God told Moses to use 1. (pine, mahogany, acacia) wood.

He told Moses exactly how big to make this box. It was to be 2½ cubits long(3¾ feet or 1.1 meters), by 1½ cubits wide (2¼ feet or .7 meters), by 1½ cubits high (2¼ feet or .7 meters). This would make it a 2. (square, rectangle, pyramid) shape.

Moses was to cover the wood with 3. (gold, tin, silver).

God told Moses how to make the ark easy to carry – with rings on each side. Gold-covered poles would fit through these rings. Priests were to carry the ark on their shoulders.

The cover for the box was to be decorated with gold 4. (palm trees, cherubim, apples).

Finally, God told Moses that inside the box he should put 5. (the Testimony*, a jug of water, a pair of sandals).

*The Testimony was the Ten Commandments written on stone tablets.

Here is one artist's idea of what the ark looked like.

The Ark - Artist unknown

Why do you think God was so particular that this ark be made right?

One reason could be that it was going to be the special and holy place where God Himself would speak with Moses. There He would tell him how to lead the Israelites. The ark was a place where Moses would come close to God.

At the same time the special things about it – the gold, the beautiful decorations, the things that were inside it – reminded the people to respect God and think about how God had helped them in the past.

PRAYER: Dear God, You are a holy God Who loves me. Help me to understand what that means. Amen.

MORE: How well can you follow instructions?
Suppose you were Moses and had to make the ark. Draw your own picture of the ark or make a model with play clay using the instructions God gave Moses in Exodus 25.

Answers

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.


Adult readers - DAILY DEVOTIONS FOR ADULTS  are available too at Other Food: daily devo's. 

God's Mobile Home

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Exodus 25:1-9

TO CHEW ON: “Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them. Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you.” Exodus 25:8,9

Do you go to church on Sunday? What is your church like?

Churches can be big or small, fancy or simple, a special set-apart building or a building that is used for other things the rest of the week.





Again God told Moses to come up to Him on the mountain. So Moses put Aaron and Hur in charge of the people. Then he took his assistant Joshua and again climbed Mount Sinai. God’s presence covered the top of the mountain with a glory cloud while God talked to Moses about many things.

In today’s Bible reading, we read how God told Moses to build Him a church or sanctuary. But this building wouldn’t be like the churches most of us know. This church would be a tent called a ‘tabernacle.’ It would be light and movable, like tents are.

1. Why was it a good idea for this church to be movable and not a solid building?

2. What materials would be used for this tabernacle and for the worship? (Exodus 25:5-7)

3. Where would Moses get these things? (Exodus 25:2)

4. How would Moses know how to make the tabernacle? (Exodus 25:9)

In the next few days we’ll see how particular and detailed God’s plan was. He thought of everything! The picture below is one artist's idea of how the tabernacle looked.

. Model of the Tabernacle - Graphics from CC-Art.com

The tabernacle God told Moses to make was very special. It was the place where He would live on earth.

Does God still live on earth today? Where? Though He is present everywhere, He especially lives in the hearts and bodies of people who love and obey Him. Does He live in you?

PRAYER: Dear God, please live in me. This is the best home I can give You. Amen

MORE: God’s Modern Mobile Home
God’s modern mobile home is you! If you have asked Jesus to forgive your sins, God the Holy Spirit lives in your body. Here are Bible verses to remind you about that. You might want to memorize them.

"Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; ²⁰ you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies." 1 Corinthians 6:19,20


Answers

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.


Adult readers - DAILY DEVOTIONS FOR ADULTS  are available too at Other Food: daily devo's.