Hello? Anyone home?

1 Samuel 4-7

There are really only two things you can do with someone else's mistakes:

1.  Learn from them.
2.  Repeat them.

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This is what the Daily Walk Bible has to say about Samuel's parenting skills:

"Samuel should have learned the necessity of proper parental discipline from his observance of Eli's failure with his sons.  But apparently he did not because his owns sons were equally undisciplined.  They were covetous, took bribes and perverted justice.  How could such a tragic turn of events repeat itself?  How could any generation not learn from it's predecessors?"

Exactly.  That's what I want to to know!  I mean, Samuel aside...What in the world was Israel thinking? 

I just want to yell into the pages of my bible and knock on their heads!  "Hello?....McFly!"  (Remember the old Back to the Future Movie?) 

Really though...it's getting old.  I understand each generation has to learn to trust God for themselves, I do.  They cant just ride on the coat tails of their ancestors faith.  At some point they have to decide for themselves that God is who He says He is and He does what He says He'll do.  

In saying that, though, you would think they would at least use their parents, or in some cases, grandparents' faith as a step stool to reach their own level of trust.  Obviously, history was recorded.  I'm sure they heard the stories of God's provision and protection - in fact I know they did - at least once a year during passover. 

So, what's the deal?  Why do they always have to get to the point where they're being defeated before they turn back to God?  I mean, we're not talking a few years, here.  We're talking 40-80 years in some cases!  Hello?  Anyone home??

So, off we go.  History repeating itself...again.  Israel's being defeated, this time by the Philistines.  For 20 years Israel mourns because "it seemed" God abandoned them.

Yeah.  It has nothing to do with the foreign gods and images in your homes, people, I'm sure of it.   

Samuel urges them, "Obey the Lord!  Get rid of your gods!  He'll rescue you!"

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to predict what happens next.

They confess.

God shows up.

He speaks a mighty voice of thunder - it confuses the Philistines and Israel wins the battle!!

How many times does God need to show up before we'll trust Him once and for all?