Author: Ash Clarkson

In 1 Samuel 8, a leadership crisis arose as Samuel grew old and his sons showed themselves unsuitable. So Israel sought a king, as the nations around them desired. Ultimately, this was a rejection of God’s leadership. It serves as a reminder that it is God who leads and provides leaders, because sometimes when we…

It is a terrible thing to experience God’s displeasure and judgement. And yet, despite our sinfulness and our deserving of punishment, God graciously shows his love and affection for us. Through repentance of sin and faithfully seeking God, we enjoy renewed fellowship and the reminder of God’s repeated blessing in our lives and the lives…

In 1 Samuel 6 we see examples of the unbelieving world and God’s covenant people both offending God. The Philistines, suffering God’s judgement, sent the Ark back to Israel with their own ideas of what sacrifices might avert God’s wrath. Meanwhile the Israelites failed to treat the Ark as God had instructed them, and suffered…

It seems like the Church of Christ is on the back foot in the West today. Many treat the Church, Christians, and God’s standard of holiness and morality as a joke. Even many professing Christians casually and easily bow to the desires and pleasures of the day. We live in a Pagan culture; one where…

In the beginning verses of chapter 4, God’s People took the Ark into battle with the Philistines as a talisman to trap God into helping them against their foes. The Ark was lost, and Eli’s two sons fell in the battle. This tragedy was God’s judgement against Eli and his house, and expressed God’s displeasure…

Lots of people in life, whether they admit it or not, are practical atheists. But when bad times come, they are quick to pick up religion like a lucky charm in the hopes that God will put them right. Some churches and Christians seem to treat God in the same way, as if God’s will…

God calls us to repentance and faith, and some to particular lives of ministry for his people. While we may not receive a vision or hear a voice, the call changes our lives as we experience God’s goodness and the call to proclaim Christ until his return.

Contrasts are effective because they are so clear. While we are tempted to view life in shades of grey, obedience to God does not fit so easily. You are either faithful to God, or unfaithful. We either obey God, or we sin. We are either faithful servants, or unfaithful.

In chapter 2 of 1 Samuel we encounter Hannah’s song of thanks. Hannah’s song is not centred entirely on self, but rather centred on God. Hannah’s song starts with her experience of God’s goodness in her life. It then expands to consider God’s goodness in general, before concluding with God’s ultimate goodness. Hannah’s song reminds…

Hannah’s despair led her to prayer, and led her to offer back the child she asked from God were he to grant her wish. God graciously gave her the child she sought, but would Hannah keep her vow or attempt to slide her way out of her obligations? This passage demonstrates that, true to their…