Other comments on this day's readings can be found here.
Reading 1 - 1Sa 2:26
"And the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor
with the LORD and with men" (1Sa 2:26).
Surely this is worth notice, especially by those who worry
that the Truth is in danger of being lost today. Much in such fears may be
well-founded as to particulars, but not as to the conclusion sometimes reached:
that somehow the Almighty has lost control in His ecclesia, and that the only
course of action is to forsake the assembly and begin again somewhere else. With
such examples as this before us here, surely that is not the answer!
Paul was imprisoned and near to the executioner's block. Men
like Hymeneus and Philetus were undermining the faith of some. All around was
hopeless, half-hearted "discipleship". Was it time to give up hope, to flee like
a hireling from the "wolves" of rebellion and pride and error? No, the answer of
the aged apostle was clear: "Nevertheless, God's solid foundation stands firm,
sealed with this inscription: 'The Lord knows those who are his' " (2Ti 2:19).
So it was in the days of Eli. The Lord knew who was His. He
had called him into being in the barren womb of a righteous woman. He had seen
him brought to His house. There his soul was nourished with visions of the
eternal purpose. There he grew up strong and faithful, amidst the grossest
wickedness -- waiting for the time when he would be presented to Israel as God's
ordained prophet. The same tent that protected the holy ark sheltered him.
There, in innocence, he slept. The foundation of God stood sure.
Reading 2 - Isa 48:22
" 'There is no peace,' says the LORD, 'for the wicked' " (Isa
48:22).
Compare Isa 57:20,21. These two similar references to the
wicked divide the last portion of Isaiah (40-66) into three equal divisions of 9
chapters each (40-48; 49-57; 58-66).
Contrast with Isa 66:24: "the dead bodies of those who
rebelled against me". Thus the three-fold division of this section of Isaiah:
ending with wicked... wicked again... and finally, NO wicked! -- for they have
all perished.
Thus, there is no peace for the wicked (Isa 48:22), and still
no peace for the wicked (Isa 57:20,21)... until, finally, they all perish. Then,
at last, they find "peace": the peace of death!
Reading 3 - Rev 5:6
"Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain" (Rev
5:6).
First John saw the "Lion" of Judah (v 5; Gen 49:9,10); this
reference to Jacob's prophecy suggests a "lion" who lay down (in death) and rose
up (resurrection). Jesus is this "lion", and the mediator of the new covenant
(Heb 12:24; cp 1Pe 1:19). He was first slain, but now he is standing again (Isa
53:7).
"In the Apocalypse the Lamb is brought to our notice in a very
striking way. John wept that none was able to open the seals which revealed
things which must come to pass. He was told not to weep: 'Behold, the Lion of
the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the book' (v 5).
Thus encouraged John looked as commanded, but it was not a Lion that met his
eyes, but 'a Lamb as it had been slain.' The Lion phase is based upon the Lamb
phase; the foundation of all future power and glory being laid in the death of
the Lamb. The metaphor wears so thin that the Lamb becomes a title of the Lord
Jesus in several places of the Apocalypse (Rev 14:4; 15:3; 17:14; 19:7-9;
21:9,22,23)" (John Carter, "Gospel of John" 34).