The Art of Listening

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Wise Timers vs Old Timers-Samuel: The Boy who Heard the Voice of God

After Israel conquered the Promised Land, there was a period of several hundred years where they had no centralized leadership and were ruled by a series of Judges under a loose confederation amongst the Tribes. The Voice of God was rarely heard, except for military emergencies, until a servant boy heard his name in the middle of the night.

Samuel’s mother Hannah had been childless for many years, which weighed so heavy on her that whenever she and her devout husband went up to Shiloh, where the Tabernacle was stationed, to worship each year, she would be so overcome with grief and shame that she would weep and refuse to eat. During one of their trips to the House of the Lord, Hanna, in her deep anguish, prayed to the Lord, weeping bitterly, making a vow “Lord Almighty, if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head.”

Eli the Priest was sitting on his chair by the doorpost of the Lord’s house, and as Hannah prayed to God, Eli watched her mouth. Hannah was praying in her heart, so her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli misinterpreted this and thought she was drunk, chastising the broken woman, “How long are you going to stay drunk? Put away your wine.”

Hannah explained, “I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the Lord. I am a woman who is deeply troubled. Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief.”

Eli, realizing his mistake, blessed “Go in Peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of Him”

After thanking him for his blessing, she went back to her husband, finally ate her portion of the sacrificial meal, and her face was no longer downcast and sullen. Early the next morning, Hannah and her husband worshiped before the Lord and went back to their home where Hannah became pregnant and gave birth and named the child Samuel, because she was “heard by God”.

Because Samuel had been dedicated to the Lord, Hannah resolved that “after [Samuel] is weaned, I will take him and present him before the Lord, and he will live there always”. After making a sacrifice, Hannah brought Samuel to Eli the Priest, reminding him, “I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the Lord. I prayed for this child, and the Lord granted me what I asked of Him. So now I will give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord” (ref. Samuel 1).

While Samuel ministered before the Lord under Eli the Priest, Eli’s sons, Hophni & Phinehas, were scoundrels, holding no regard for the Lord. They insisted on taking a larger portion from sacrifices than the priest’s allotted share and were sleeping with the women who ministered in front of the Tent of Meeting. Even after Eli had heard about his sons’ behavior and confronted them, they did not listen to their father’s rebuke & continued in their evil ways. (ref. Samuel 2)

When Samuel was still a young man, he heard a Voice calling his name in the middle of the night. Believing it was Eli, Samuel went to Eli’s room, but Eli instructed Samuel to go back to bed. Samuel heard the Voice again and went to see if Eli needed him, only to be sent away once more. When Samuel heard the Voice a third time and checked on Eli, the Priest recognized that the Voice was from the God of Israel and instructed Samuel to respond “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening“ the next time he heard it.

This was a significant thing that someone heard directly from the Voice of God, since after the Israelites crossed into the Promised Land, God typically spoke through His Angels. No one had spoken plainly with God in this way since Moses.

To confirm his dedication and willingness to not only hear God’s Voice, but follow it, God tested Samuel. God instructed him to explain to Eli that because of their lack of respect for their positions, seen by their stealing from the sacrifices and abusing those who they had authority over, God would punish them swiftly and severely.

Samuel was fearful of confronting and chastising the man who had raised him and whom he had served under all his life, but Samuel trusted and valued God’s Voice more than his fears and told Eli what the Lord had told him.

After hearing the Judgement against his sons, rather than appealing to God or trying to turn his sons away from their wicked ways, Eli simply replied “He is the Lord; let him do what is good in His Eyes.” (ref. 1 Samuel 3)

Later, during a campaign against the Philistines, Eli’s sons were both killed and the Ark of the Covenant was captured. Upon hearing the devastating news, Eli fell back in his chair, broke his neck, and died.

Eli’s sons Hophni and Phinehas had served in the Tabernacle under their father Eli since they were young men, just as Samuel had, but they lacked a servant’s heart and the wisdom to follow the Ways of God. Though Eli served as Judge, whose role was to confront and attack Israel’s enemies, when hearing God’s Voice through Samuel, Eli did not try to save his sons from their behavior, so he and they, all died on the same day.(ref. 1 Samuel 4)

It was not enough for Eli and his sons to simply have high positions in the religious order as their unwillingness to both hear and listen to God’s Instruction, led to their ultimate demise. Samuel, in contrast, succeeded Eli as the last Judge and served as a Prophet, because he not only heard the Voice of God, but listened to it. Seniority might move you through the ranks in some institutions, but God only promotes those who Listen and Obey.

Prepared by, Kent Simpson, Apostolic Prophet & Eric Sepulveda, PMT Administrator

What’s Wrong with Your Generation

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Wise Timers vs Old Timers-The Generation Lost in the Wilderness

The First Generation of Israelites experienced the horror of the Ten Plagues, crossed of the Red Sea on dry land, daily ate Manna from Heaven, and witnessed God’s Glory fall on Mount Sinai and fill the Tabernacle. In the face of all these miracles, they still constantly complained, groaned, and rebelled against God’s Prophet Moses and doubted God’s Power to be able to overtake the obstacles in the Promised Land. Their fearful hearts and lack of Faith prevented them from inheriting their share of God’s Promises.

The Israelites’ obstinacy could be seen from the very beginning, even before the First Plague began. After Moses and Aaron assembled all the elders of the Israelites and Aaron relayed everything that God had said to Moses, and Moses performed the signs God had shown him in the dessert, the people believed (ref. Exodus 4:29-30). But, after asking Pharaoh for the chance to leave for a three day journey to celebrate a feast to God in the Wilderness and Pharaoh took away the Israelite’s rations of straw to build bricks. The Israelite foremen confronted Moses and Aaron charging, “May the Lord look upon you and judge you, for you have made us a stench before Pharaoh and his officials; you have placed in their hands a sword to kill us!” (ref. Exodus 5). Despite knowing God was mighty above all human men and planned to lead the Israelites to freedom, their biggest concerns were with how they were perceived by those who were enslaving them and what these slavers could do to them.

After the Ten Plagues demonstrated God’s awesome power over all Nature and Men, Pharaoh agreed to let the Israelites go, but his pride caused him to change his mind and pursue them (ref. Exodus 14:3-9). When pinned between the encroaching Egyptian military and the banks of the sea, the Israelites sarcastically mocked “Because there were no graves in Egypt, you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you done this and taken us out of Egypt? Didn’t we tell you in Egypt, Leave us alone, so we can serve the Egyptians? It would have been better that we be slaves than die in the Wilderness,” (Exodus 14:11-12). Even after seeing God’s power during the Plagues in Egypt, they still feared the Egyptians, whose country had just been brought to its knees by the Hand of God.

God caused the Red Sea to part and the Israelites were able to astonishingly cross over on dry land before the walls of water collapsed on the charging chariots. And when Israel saw the great power that the Lord had exercised over the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and believed in Him and in His servant Moses (ref. Exodus 14:15-29). They sang songs of victory (Moses’ Song of Deliverance & The Song of Miriam) declaring God’s Greatness and Power over Egypt, but after three days wandering in the Desert of Shur without finding water, they came to Marah. The bitter waters were not palatable and the people grumbled against Moses asking “What are we to drink?” failing to remember the God who had control over the waters of the Red Sea they had just crossed. After instructing Moses to cast a nearby log into the bitter waters to sweeten them, the Lord then led them to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they camped there by the waters (ref. Exodus 15).

After relishing the oasis at Elim, God led Israel to the Desert of Sin, where they again grumbled against Moses and Aaron, crying out “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in the land of Egypt! There we sat by pot of meat and ate our fill of bread, but you have brought us into the desert to starve this whole assembly to death!” (ref. Exodus 16:1-3). That evening, God caused quail to cover the camp and the next morning Manna rained down from Heaven to provide them with food in the wilderness (ref. Exodus 16:3-21).

Leaving the Desert of Sin, they were led to Rephidim, but there was no water for the people there, so they contended with Moses, demanding “Give us water to drink!” When Moses asked why they fought with him and test the Lord, they grumbled “Why have you brought us out of Egypt-to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?” Though God had provided them sweetened water at Marah and Heavenly food, they still quarreled and tested God, asking “Is the Lord amongst us or not?” God yet again provided for them through Moses striking the Rock at Horeb, from which water came for the people to drink (ref. Exodus 17:1-7).

They were then led to Mount Sinai where the Lord’s Presence caused a thick cloud to envelope the mountain, thunder and lightning overwhelmed the sky and the whole mountain shook as the Lord came down in fire (ref. Exodus 19:16-25). When all the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the sounding of the ram’s horn, and the mountain enveloped in smoke, they trembled and stood at a distance, terrified of God’s Presence (ref. Exodus 20: 18-19) asking that Moses directly talk to God on their behalf. But, when the people saw that Moses was delayed in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and demanded that he to make them graven idols to worship.

When they finally reached the border of the Promised Land and sent out scouts to explore the region and gather a report, only two, Joshua and Caleb, gave positive reports, exclaiming “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.” (ref. Numbers 13:30). But the ten negative accounts overwhelmed the people and they grumbled against Moses and Aaron, wailing “If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this wilderness! Why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt? We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt.” And the whole assembly talked about stoning Moses and Aaron (ref. Numbers 14:1-4, 10).

The Lord said to Moses, “How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in Me, in spite of all the signs I have performed among them?” (Numbers 14:11-12). “Not one of them who saw My Glory and the signs I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness but who disobeyed me will see the land I promised on oath to their ancestors. No one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it,” (v. 22-23) “Except Caleb, son of Jephunneh and Joshua, son of Nun,” (v. 30) “because [they have] a different spirit and follow me wholeheartedly” (v.24).

Despite experiencing hundreds of years of slavery while in captivity under Egypt, the Israelites kept choosing servitude over the freedom and prosperity God was trying to provide to His People. Even more so, they saw the wonders in Egypt, the Miracles in the Wilderness, and Experienced His Glory first hand and still they doubted Him and His Power. The generation was stiff-necked and hard-hearted and constantly challenged Moses whenever they came across worldly issues and failed to recognize that God had provided for them throughout their journey and would be with them as they conquered the Promised Land.

That first generation wandered through the wilderness following the Pillar of Fire by night and Cloud by day, but they never truly followed God. They never fully trusted in Him nor those He spoke through. They rebelled against Him and complained and threw tantrums like children. They were older, but lacked the Wisdom to be like Caleb and Joshua who followed Him wholeheartedly, but because they followed their own sense of direction, rather than God’s, they were lost in the Wilderness.

Prepared by, Kent Simpson, Apostolic Prophet & Eric Sepulveda, PMT Administrator

The Wise Timers are Teachable

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Old Timers vs Wise Timers-Korah’s Rebellion & the Songs of His Sons

After the Israelites escaped from Egypt and God gave His Laws through Moses, their hearts began to harden and their ears were closed off to God and His Prophet Moses. Korah, the leader of a mutiny against Moses, quickly discovered that his faith in human understanding and reasoning was as unstable as the ground which swallowed him and his followers.

Korah was the son of Izhar, the grandson of Kohath, and the great grandson of Levi, making him the first cousin to High Priest Aaron and Prophet Moses. Since the priestly line came from his grandfather Kohath, Korah reasoned that he and his sons had just as much right to serve as High Priest as Aaron and his sons. Korah gathered “two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown…against Moses and Aaron” accusing that they were taking too much undue power for themselves. They argued that since everyone in the congregation was holy and the Lord was among them, they should all hold the same standing in the Tabernacle, charging that Aaron and Moses were raising themselves above the rest of the priestly class (ref. Numbers 16:1-3).

Moses challenged Korah and the rest of the Levites who had aligned themselves with the rebel to come back the next day with incense in their censers to see whose offering God would accept. It would be through trial by God’s standards, rather than man’s self-sanctification, that they would decide who was holy. Moses quipped back that it was they who were trying to take too much power for themselves (ref. Numbers 16:5-7).

Moses directly confronted Korah and his defiant fellow Levites, asking why they thought so little of the fact that God had separated them from the rest of the congregation of Israel and brought them near to Himself, to do the service of the Tabernacle and stand before the congregation to minister unto them. Despite the fact that God had brought them and the rest of the Levite Tribe closer to Himself than the rest of the other tribes, they still desired the Priesthood office as well so much, that they gathered themselves to defy God and those He had positioned over them (ref. Numbers 16:8-11).

The next day, Korah and his insurgents gathered at the door of the Tabernacle to challenge Moses and Aaron, and every man came with a censer filled with fire and incense. And the Glory of the Lord appeared unto all the congregation and the Lord spoke to Moses, instructing that the Israelites were to stay away from Korah and his cohorts (ref. Numbers 16:16-21) because God was about to punish them for their insurrection. And the ground under them gave way and the earth opened her mouth and swallowed them up and their houses and all the men that aligned themselves with Korah and all their goods. They all went down alive into the pit and the earth closed upon them. And fire came out from the Lord and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense (ref. Numbers 16:28-35).

Despite Korah’s revolt, God did not condemn his children (ref. Numbers 26:10-11; Ezekiel 18:19-20). Because they chose to listen to the Voice of their Father in Heaven instead, we see that they were given prominent roles in the Tabernacle service as well as the later Temple. They oversaw the baking in the Sanctuary, and bore the ark and the sacred furniture whenever the Tabernacle was moved.

The family’s most significant role was as the gatekeeper/porter (ref. 1 Chronicles 26:19) overseeing the entrance of the Sanctuary. Not only were they responsible for protecting the priests, they collected and distributed offerings, assisted with the slaughtering of sacrifices, and inspected both humans and sacrifices ensuring that all that entered the courtyard were ceremonially clean. While Korah wanted to be closer to God simply to attain the High Priest office, Korah’s descendants recognized through their roles as gatekeepers, that you must follow His laws before you can achieve greater intimacy and closeness with Him.

Korah’s lineage was listed among David’s mighty men (ref. 1 Chronicles 12: 1-2, 6), but not all were armed with physical weapons. When King Jehoshaphat went to war in the name of God, the Korahites stood up and praised the Lord, God of Israel, with a very loud voice. King Jehoshaphat appointed these men to stand ahead of the army as the spearhead and sing and praise the Lord as they entered battle, leading to a massive victory over the Moabites and Ammonites who killed each other in confusion (ref. 2 Chronicles 20:19-24).

Heman, the first of the three Levites appointed to lead the vocal and instrumental music of the Temple during David’s reign (ref. 1 Chronicles 6:31-33; 15:16-22), was the grandson of Prophet Samuel, both descents of Korah. The Sons of Korah are out rightly recognized for their contribution of Psalms (Psalms 42, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 84, 85, 87, & 88), which were heavily influenced by their ancestor’s infamous showdown and ultimate destruction.

The often quoted and sung Psalm 46: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” continues that “we will not fear, though the earth be removed” and when describing the Power of God, when “He uttered His voice, the Earth melted” are both obvious allusions to the earth swallowing up Korah and the rest of his rebels (ref. Psalm 46:1-2, 6).

Psalm 84 declares that “For a day in Your Courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the House of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness” (Psalm 84:10) alludes to their current office as Doorkeepers and how Korah’s family only survived by fleeing their wicked father’s home before it was consumed by the earth.

Despite God not cutting off Korah’s lineage, his family suffered for his actions and were held in association with him despite resisting his rebellion. Psalms 88 reveals that they were “counted with them that go down into the pit,” which “pushed [their] friends far from [them] and made [them] an abomination in their friend’s eyes” and the singer feels as though they are “trapped and cannot come out”.

Korah tried to establish his own definition of who and what was holy and in a great example of God’s forgiveness, He gave Korah’s sons the office of Doorkeepers of the Tabernacle, assessing whether things met God’s standard to be able to enter. In another example of irony, the unteachable Korah who hardened his heart and closed his ears to God’s Voice, had sons who would lead praises to God, and write emotionally charged songs to teach others through worship.

Korah believed that his ideas concerning the priesthood were superior to what God laid out, but his family had the wisdom to recognize that God’s logic is greater than man’s. Their willingness to leave their earthly father’s philosophies for their Heavenly Father’s Voice gave them opportunity to help others align with God’s expectations and march and move to the rhythm that He set for His People.

Are you in sync with Him and where He is leading us today?

Prepared by, Kent Simpson, Apostolic Prophet & Eric Sepulveda, PMT Administrator

The Wise Timers & Their Prophetic Words

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Old Timers vs Wise Timers-Methuselah: Destroyed for Lack of Understanding

Methuselah is renowned for being the oldest person mentioned in the Bible, living an impressive 969 years. But, despite being the son of the righteous Enoch, who was transmuted to Heaven, and the grandfather of Noah, who built the Ark to save mankind from the Flood, Methuselah was not spared.

Methuselah’s father, Enoch, is famous for being the only other person, besides Elijah, who never tasted death. “Enoch waked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away” (Genesis 5: 24). “By Faith, Enoch was taken up that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had transfigured him: for before his transfiguration, he had this testimony, that he pleased God,” (Hebrews 11:5). Enoch also prophesied “Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of His Saints, to Execute Judgement upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him” (Jude 1:14-15).

When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. Enoch walked faithfully with God for another 300 years before he was transmuted at 365 years. Though Methuselah had 300 years to learn from his spiritually upright father, it is heavily implied that he perished in the flood.

Methuselah had lived 187 years when he had Noah’s father Lamech (ref. Genesis 5:25), who was 182 years old when he had Noah (ref. Genesis 5:28). Noah was six hundred years old when the floodwaters came on the earth (Genesis 7:6), added with 187 years (Methuselah’s age at Lamech’s birth) and 182 years (Lamech’s age at Noah’s birth) totaling 969 years which was Methuselah’s age when he died, coinciding with the same year as the Flood.

“Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God”. God saw that the Earth and humanity was filled with violence and corruption and “so God said to Noah, ‘I am going to put an end to all people for the Earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the Earth.” Noah was most likely around 500 years old when God gave him instructions on how to build the ark and “Noah did everything just as God commanded him” (ref. Genesis 6:9-22).

It is implied that it took Noah around 100 years to build the ark, so the destruction of the Earth would not have been an unexpected event. Noah’s grandfather, Methuselah, would have been aware of Noah’s construction project and would have remembered his father Enoch’s prophecy about God executing judgement upon all the ungodly for their deeds and words against Him, matching God’s explanation for why He was going to deluge the Earth with water.

Methuselah would have even had the benefit of having known the very first man, Adam, who was 687 years old when Methuselah was born, living another 243 years before passing away at 930 years old. Methuselah would have heard firsthand accounts of what the world was like before the Fall of Man and the Glory of experiencing God in such an intimate and connected manner before Sin entered the World.

Methuselah’s virtuous father, Enoch, set a perfect example of how to walk with God and in His Ways. His great ancestor Adam may have told Methuselah what the World was like during God’s Paradise and how sin caused the destruction of Man. Methuselah’s grandson, Noah, was trying to save a wicked and ungodly people filled with evil actions and words from God’s Judgement according to Enoch’s prophecy. In the face of all these advantages, Methuselah was not described as a righteous man as his grandson Noah is labeled, nor that he walked faithfully with God as his father Enoch did.

Even though Methuselah was the oldest recorded person in the Bible, he failed to gather the wisdom and knowledge about living righteously freely available to him from his surrounding family and most likely perished in the Flood. His advanced age made him old, not wise.

Prepared by, Kent Simpson, Apostolic Prophet & Eric Sepulveda, PMT Administrator