This is a disscussion on parables and how to hear. The fellow on this website is discussing the soils in a prophetic sense leading up to the unveling of the 144,000. Then he uses another type in the example of the calling of Samuel. It was pretty exciting.
QUOTE
....Now, on a third and deeper level in the treasure chest of Luke 8, the teaching about four kinds of soil has a prophetic implication which is dispensational. I think it is a valid interpretation - not the only one, but well worth considering! I would like to acknowledge E. W. Bullinger for his insight into this level. The four types of ground represent four distinct periods of time during which the message about the kingdom is received by Israel in a particular way. These are given in the proper chronological sequence.
The seed which fell by the wayside was proclaimed by all the prophets from the first up to and including John the Baptist; the last. The conclusion of this sowing came when John the Baptist was not accepted, (See Matthew 11:18, 17:12-13) thus, the message he brought was not accepted. Yes, of course many did accept him, but not those to and for whom he specifically came and who are held accountable for that rejection.
The seed which fell upon stony ground was the gospel of the kingdom which was proclaimed via Christ's earthly ministry, by Jesus himself along with the Twelve and the seventy-two who were sent out while the King was among them. This period was completed when Jesus went to Gethsemane and was consequently betrayed.
The seed that fell among thorns was proclaimed primarily by the Twelve and by Paul in the synagogues of the Dispersion. This period was completed when this gospel was rejected by the Jewish leaders as recorded at the close of Acts 28. The soil which is national Israel will remain barren until such time as it is properly prepared to receive the seed and produce the crop.
According to Bullinger, writing at what must have been around the turn of the last century, the fourth sowing was yet future and would be the final proclamation of the Gospel of the Kingdom. He predicted that this sowing will be immediately preceding and during what he calls the "tribulation." if his interpretation of this fourth soil condition is valid, the time of good and noble hearts is arriving! For more details about this interpretation, study his appendices numbered 140, 142 and 145 and his companion notes found in the passages regarding the parables of the soils.
The Calling of Samuel
It seems to me that the record of Samuel's callings in 1 Samuel 3 is an account which parallels the parable of the soils on the dispensational level of teaching.
The boy Samuel ministered before the Lord under Eli. In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many Visions. 2 One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. 3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was. 4 Then the Lord called Samuel. Samuel answered, "Here I am." 5 And he ran to Eli and said, "Here I am; you called me." But Eli said, "I did not call; go back and lie down." So he went and lay down. 6 Again the Lord called, "Samuel!" And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, "Here I am; you called me." "My son," Eli said, "I did not call; go back and lie down." 7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord: The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. 8 The Lord called Samuel a third time, and Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, "Here I am; you called me." Then Eli realized that the Lord was calling the boy. 9 So Eli told Samuel, "Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, 'Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.'" So Samuel went and lay down in his place. 10 The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, "Samuel! Samuel!" Then Samuel said, "Speak, for your servant is listening." 11 And the Lord said to Samuel: "See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make the ears of everyone who hears of it tingle."
I Samuel 3:1-11
The first three times he was called, he didn't recognize the Lord's voice calling him. Upon hearing the Lord's voice the fourth time, he recognized it and rose up to serve Him! Not only do the responses to the Lord's calls correspond to the soils of the parable, (three with no crop while the fourth bears fruit) but another correlation exists with the lamp of Luke 8:16 as that "lamp of God which had not yet gone out" which is the subject of i Samuel 3:3. If the theme of the portions I underlined seem somewhat familiar, it is probably because you remember this:
When he said this, he called out, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." 9 His disciples asked him what this parable meant. 10 He said, 'The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that, '"though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand.'"
Luke 8b-10
The call came to be heard by Samuel but not by Eli. Eli's "eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see", meaning that he could understand Very little of the truth. In a figure "the lamp" had almost gone out; its light was so dimly seen! By this we know that Eli had not acted upon what he had heard of the word of God and that the understanding had been subtracted from him. Consider what is written about him.
For I told him that I would judge his family forever because of the sin he knew about; his sons made themselves contemptible, and he failed to restrain them.
I Samuel 3:13
Eli failed to restrain his sons, which is to say that he failed to act upon what he knew was required of him. This is why the understanding of the word of the Lord had been subtracted from him and his ears were not hearing ears, his eyes could barely see.
The name "Eli" means, "lofty, elevated," or, "my God" in what I believe is in the sense of "I am my own God." Eli exemplifies the proud jew who is proud of self and proud against God. He represents the rabbinic leaders, the religious leaders who consider themselves to be the stewards of the mysteries of God but who are veiled from truly understanding even the most simple and basic truths. These people of whom Eli is a type are going to be destroyed. The work the Lord did through the typical and will yet do through the antitypical Samuel's ministry judges Eli's family, whose end is seen in the following verse.
When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell backward off his chair by the side of the gate. His neck was broken and he died, for he was an old man and heavy. He had led Israel forty years.
I Samuel 4:18
Samuel, whose name means, "His name is of God" represents the first corporate group of Jews in the end times to accept Jesus as their Messiah, Y'shua haMashiach. These faithful people are identified in the Bible by their number - 144,000. The understanding of the mysteries of the kingdom of god will be given to these people to a very high degree. The production of the crop which springs forth from the seed that is sown into the good soil will begin with the sealing of the 144,000. The crop is, in one view, the salvation of Israel. Time periods given in the Bible often have a deeper level of truth in which a year represents a full Jubilee cycle.
If you're familiar with the other articles on this site, you may have observed the correlation between Samuel's calling and another account of the calling of the 144,000 in the posture and location of the typical character when the calling was heard. When samuel heard the Lord calling his name, he was lying down in the temple of the Lord where the ark of God was. In John 13:23, the disciple who represents the 144,000 was reclining against Jesus at the supper in the upper room. I'd like to suggest to you that the upper room represents the temple. The posture of reclining can be a symbol of the presence of the people designated by the one reclining whose time had not yet come for their anointing and subsequent ministry.
Let me suggest to you now that the lamp which is lit and placed on a stand in Luke chapter 8 represents the menorah in the temple, the lamp of I Samuel 3. This lamp is not the earthly menorah, but the true one in heaven after which the earthly was patterned. The upper room points similarly to the earthly temple, but yet even beyond it to heaven itself, after which pattern the earthly had been built. The upper rooms of Acts 1:13 and John 13 merge in type, in part to teach us about the coming sealing of the 144,000. By the way, have you been introduced to the menorah yet, which the disciple who is a type of the 144,000 saw when he visited the most holy place? You can see him in Revelation 1:12-16. Bob Schlenker
The seed which fell by the wayside was proclaimed by all the prophets from the first up to and including John the Baptist; the last. The conclusion of this sowing came when John the Baptist was not accepted, (See Matthew 11:18, 17:12-13) thus, the message he brought was not accepted. Yes, of course many did accept him, but not those to and for whom he specifically came and who are held accountable for that rejection.
The seed which fell upon stony ground was the gospel of the kingdom which was proclaimed via Christ's earthly ministry, by Jesus himself along with the Twelve and the seventy-two who were sent out while the King was among them. This period was completed when Jesus went to Gethsemane and was consequently betrayed.
The seed that fell among thorns was proclaimed primarily by the Twelve and by Paul in the synagogues of the Dispersion. This period was completed when this gospel was rejected by the Jewish leaders as recorded at the close of Acts 28. The soil which is national Israel will remain barren until such time as it is properly prepared to receive the seed and produce the crop.
According to Bullinger, writing at what must have been around the turn of the last century, the fourth sowing was yet future and would be the final proclamation of the Gospel of the Kingdom. He predicted that this sowing will be immediately preceding and during what he calls the "tribulation." if his interpretation of this fourth soil condition is valid, the time of good and noble hearts is arriving! For more details about this interpretation, study his appendices numbered 140, 142 and 145 and his companion notes found in the passages regarding the parables of the soils.
The Calling of Samuel
It seems to me that the record of Samuel's callings in 1 Samuel 3 is an account which parallels the parable of the soils on the dispensational level of teaching.
The boy Samuel ministered before the Lord under Eli. In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many Visions. 2 One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. 3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was. 4 Then the Lord called Samuel. Samuel answered, "Here I am." 5 And he ran to Eli and said, "Here I am; you called me." But Eli said, "I did not call; go back and lie down." So he went and lay down. 6 Again the Lord called, "Samuel!" And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, "Here I am; you called me." "My son," Eli said, "I did not call; go back and lie down." 7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord: The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. 8 The Lord called Samuel a third time, and Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, "Here I am; you called me." Then Eli realized that the Lord was calling the boy. 9 So Eli told Samuel, "Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, 'Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.'" So Samuel went and lay down in his place. 10 The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, "Samuel! Samuel!" Then Samuel said, "Speak, for your servant is listening." 11 And the Lord said to Samuel: "See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make the ears of everyone who hears of it tingle."
I Samuel 3:1-11
The first three times he was called, he didn't recognize the Lord's voice calling him. Upon hearing the Lord's voice the fourth time, he recognized it and rose up to serve Him! Not only do the responses to the Lord's calls correspond to the soils of the parable, (three with no crop while the fourth bears fruit) but another correlation exists with the lamp of Luke 8:16 as that "lamp of God which had not yet gone out" which is the subject of i Samuel 3:3. If the theme of the portions I underlined seem somewhat familiar, it is probably because you remember this:
When he said this, he called out, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." 9 His disciples asked him what this parable meant. 10 He said, 'The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that, '"though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand.'"
Luke 8b-10
The call came to be heard by Samuel but not by Eli. Eli's "eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see", meaning that he could understand Very little of the truth. In a figure "the lamp" had almost gone out; its light was so dimly seen! By this we know that Eli had not acted upon what he had heard of the word of God and that the understanding had been subtracted from him. Consider what is written about him.
For I told him that I would judge his family forever because of the sin he knew about; his sons made themselves contemptible, and he failed to restrain them.
I Samuel 3:13
Eli failed to restrain his sons, which is to say that he failed to act upon what he knew was required of him. This is why the understanding of the word of the Lord had been subtracted from him and his ears were not hearing ears, his eyes could barely see.
The name "Eli" means, "lofty, elevated," or, "my God" in what I believe is in the sense of "I am my own God." Eli exemplifies the proud jew who is proud of self and proud against God. He represents the rabbinic leaders, the religious leaders who consider themselves to be the stewards of the mysteries of God but who are veiled from truly understanding even the most simple and basic truths. These people of whom Eli is a type are going to be destroyed. The work the Lord did through the typical and will yet do through the antitypical Samuel's ministry judges Eli's family, whose end is seen in the following verse.
When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell backward off his chair by the side of the gate. His neck was broken and he died, for he was an old man and heavy. He had led Israel forty years.
I Samuel 4:18
Samuel, whose name means, "His name is of God" represents the first corporate group of Jews in the end times to accept Jesus as their Messiah, Y'shua haMashiach. These faithful people are identified in the Bible by their number - 144,000. The understanding of the mysteries of the kingdom of god will be given to these people to a very high degree. The production of the crop which springs forth from the seed that is sown into the good soil will begin with the sealing of the 144,000. The crop is, in one view, the salvation of Israel. Time periods given in the Bible often have a deeper level of truth in which a year represents a full Jubilee cycle.
If you're familiar with the other articles on this site, you may have observed the correlation between Samuel's calling and another account of the calling of the 144,000 in the posture and location of the typical character when the calling was heard. When samuel heard the Lord calling his name, he was lying down in the temple of the Lord where the ark of God was. In John 13:23, the disciple who represents the 144,000 was reclining against Jesus at the supper in the upper room. I'd like to suggest to you that the upper room represents the temple. The posture of reclining can be a symbol of the presence of the people designated by the one reclining whose time had not yet come for their anointing and subsequent ministry.
Let me suggest to you now that the lamp which is lit and placed on a stand in Luke chapter 8 represents the menorah in the temple, the lamp of I Samuel 3. This lamp is not the earthly menorah, but the true one in heaven after which the earthly was patterned. The upper room points similarly to the earthly temple, but yet even beyond it to heaven itself, after which pattern the earthly had been built. The upper rooms of Acts 1:13 and John 13 merge in type, in part to teach us about the coming sealing of the 144,000. By the way, have you been introduced to the menorah yet, which the disciple who is a type of the 144,000 saw when he visited the most holy place? You can see him in Revelation 1:12-16. Bob Schlenker