A Very Short Obituary

# 338 - Today's Du-votional comes from: 1Sa 25:1-3, “Then Samuel died; and the Israelites gathered together and lamented for him, and buried him at his home in Ramah. And David arose and went down to the Wilderness of Paran. (1 Sam 25:1) Not much of an obituary. Samuel died and was buried and the people mourned. Can you imagine such a short obituary in the newspaper today for a man of Samuel's stature? Just think about his life! First of all, his miraculous birth to the barren Hannah. God speaking to him as a young man in the middle of the night in the temple. My favorite thing about Samuel is found in 1 Sam 3:19. It was said of him that “he did not let any of the words of the Lord fall to the ground.”! What a legacy! Someone who did not waste the Word of God! Oh how quick I am to let God's Word come in one ear and go out the other! Samuel served as the spiritual leader in Israel at a time of great change. It was a period of transition from the ruling by judges to the ruling of a king. His entire life was spent as a mentor, an intercessor, a prophet to God's people, and he did it with complete integrity ( See 1 Sam 12) It was Samuel that God used to select and anoint David as Saul's replacement, and taught us the invaluable lesson that God doesn't look at the outside of a man, but the inside. He looks at the heart! All of these great things to say about Samuel, but God writes the obituary, not us, and He says, “Samuel died.” That's it. Why so short? Why not? This short obituary should remind us all of the brevity of life: Jas 4:14b says, “For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. And we read in Ps 102:3 For my days are consumed like smoke, And my bones are burned like a hearth. And in Job 7:7a, “Oh, remember that my life is a breath!” The real journey for our soul takes place in eternity. This short obituary for Samuel should cause us all to consider our final destination. Where will you spend it? Be like Samuel and don't allow God's words to fall to the ground. Ac 16:31says, “"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved,” O Lord, death comes to all of us, grant us the saving faith we need to spend eternity with You.