Midweek: As Certain as a Sidelined Priest

One of the first Bible stories --I'm going to call it a story for the moment, as that is how it was presented to me, "a story" --one of the first Bible stories I recall being taught was the story of Samuel and Eli. I still have the vision of a dark tabernacle, mats spread on the floor, and a young boy in a striped robe walking by candlelight toward the sleeping Eli. I imagine him pulling back a curtain and speaking the words, "Here I am, for you called me." But, as we know from 1 Samuel 3, it wasn't the voice of Eli that Samuel was hearing; it was God. And the message this poor youth was given to take back to his master was a message that proclaimed judgment, judgment for his master and his master's household. And it did indeed come. I'm not certain how long after this proclamation, Eli and his sons were struck down, but God's judgment continued to echo through the years. It was a judgment for Eli's entire household, and God continued to impose it more than a century later by removing Abiathar from the priesthood under Solomon's reign (1 Kings 2:26, 27). We are given the privilege of reading this in Scripture: Solomon removed Abiathar "that he might fulfill the word of the Lord which He spoke concerning the house of Eli." It's made clear even to those who aren't even paying attention. Was it as clear to Solomon?

Most of us go through our day, moment by moment carrying out the things we have set to do. Walk the dog, pay the mortgage, help the kids with their homework, take a few minutes to finish that best seller we're not quite as in love with as the person who recommended it. Those things often seem insignificant or inconsequential. We move from one thing to another effortlessly, thoughtlessly; checking boxes and indulging the mundane. Even when the unexpected occurs, we don't make any more of it than just responding to what is right before our eyes. We tend not to think in terms of the big picture unless we're counting the cost. Like Solomon. Just responding to Abiathar's offense with an appropriate consequence. But God does not forget His vows. Ten years, thirty years, ten thousand years; it doesn't matter. God will keep His word. That's one of the most obvious lessons of the Old Testament. And one of the most reassuring. From Genesis to the Magnificat, Jesus is prophesied. Thousands of years. And God doesn't wake up one morning and say, "Oh, yeah! I'd forgotten all about that!" He is working it all out (to us) little by little, and maybe, quite slowly. But that is not the case. He is a perfectionist. Everything must be ready. Everything must be just as He has designed. Everything must be in place. Every t must be crossed. Every i must be dotted. He is not careless or impulsive. He is not reactionary. He is true to His word. And He is waiting for all who would come, desiring that none should perish; holding out the scepter of welcome for all who would bow before the King. What He has promised --we can be certain --will come to pass. 

And this is the promise that He has promised us—eternal life. (1 John 2:25) There is no "maybe." There is no waiting for someone to return from the afterlife with 5x7 glossies. God has promised. And the new life He will give us, the way He will transform us, the fullness of joy in which we will walk --it's all as good as done for those who believe! And it's all as guaranteed --and maybe even as predictable --as a king demoting a disloyal priest.