OT Characters: Samuel

<p>For additional notes and resources check out Douglas' <a href="https://www.douglasjacoby.com/ot27-samuelmp3/">website</a>.</p><p><strong>Hebrew words:</strong></p><ul><li><i>Shmu'el </i>(Samuel)<i> </i>-- "Name of God," or "hear by God." Appears 144x in the Bible. (Numbers 34:20 refers to a different person.)</li><li><i>'Even-ha'ezer</i> (Ebenezer) -- Stone of help (1 Samuel 4:1, 5:1, 7:12).</li></ul><p><strong>Further study:</strong></p><ul><li>Passages covered in this podcast: 1 Samuel 2:26 (Luke 2:52); 3:7,21; 4:1; 7:3-4,15-16; 8-15; 16:1-7; 19; 2 Chronicles 35:18; 1 Samuel 25; 28; Jeremiah 15:1.</li><li>Even more: Psalm 99:6; Acts 13:20; Hebrews 11:32.</li><li>Samuel prophesied the Christ (Acts 3:24). How? Some commentators say this is because Samuel was the last judge and the first prophet. With him the prophetic age began. Moreover, as we saw, he established a prophetic academy (1 Sam 19). This is not to deny that the Spirit of God was moving prophetically through Abraham (Genesis 20:7 etc) and others.</li><li>For more in connection with 1 Samuel 28, where Saul calls on Samuel in the grave, listen to <a href="http://www.ipibooks.com/Default.aspx?tabid=47&pid=1306&pg=2&cid=138"><i>What Happens After We Die?</i></a></li></ul><p><strong>Some things we learn about God:</strong></p><ul><li>We do not necessarily have to grow up in two-parent nuclear families in order to do well in life. God can still grant us a normal and productive life.</li><li>There are times when the Lord expects us to accept a decision we know is not best must (as in 1 Samuel 8). We do not always get our way, even when we are right</li><li>Even spiritual men and women can fall into sentimentality towards others, failing to think realistically about where they are spiritually.  God challenges such sentimentality. We need to stay soft, kind, and hopeful -- yet realistic and firm on the word of God.</li></ul><p><strong>For kids:</strong></p><ul><li>Talk about being chosen – to play on a team, getting a part in a play, to receive a special re