Samuel, sam'-u-el (Heb.)--name of God; sublimity of God;
heard of God; instructed of God; God hath heard. A prophet and judge of Israel,
the last one before Israel began to have kings to rule over it (I Sam. 1:20 to
10:25). Metaphysical. Spiritual discernment; that in man which has conscious
contact with God and learns of God (God hath heard, instructed of God). The boy
Samuel represents the inner voice, through whose expression we come into a
larger realization of ourselves. Samuel also signifies judgment. He judged
Israel forty years; he was brought forth in direct answer to prayer and his
mother dedicated him to the Lord even before he was born in the flesh. At two
years of age "the child Samuel ministered unto Jehovah before Eli,"
for it was recognized that he was to serve in the Temple, that he would unfold
and become great in spiritual understanding. By listening to the voice of
divine wisdom we bring forth the Son of God in our soul. Samuel represents both
judgment and the inner voice; he is the wisdom and the judgment that come often
as a still, small voice at the heart center. It is deep within the stillness of
the silence that our ears first become attuned to the rhythmic motions of
Spirit, and that we are first enabled to catch the sound of the inner voice.
Man makes connection with Jehovah by building up a consciousness of divine
ideas. This is accomplished through thought, prayer, meditation, and
realization. Receptivity to Spirit and obedience, fearlessness, and candor are
essentials to the inviting of communion with the inner voice. Hannah, mother of
Samuel, earnestly petitioned God for a son. She made regular trips to the
Temple, where she made known her desire; she listened attentively for the inner
leadings, which showed her just what to do that she might comply with the law and
have her prayers answered. This earnest seeking led her deep into the things of
Spirit; therefore when her prayers were fulfilled the child that she bore
possessed the faculty of spiritual hearing. Samuel was first conceived in
Spirit, and by the sure law of Spirit the outer manifestation came into
visibility. Samuel was so quickened that he heard the word of Spirit. As you
sit in the silence you no doubt often get the inner word through the still,
small voice, yet you do not hear it; you do not feel it --you simply know it.
When Samuel first heard it he went to Eli, the high priest, and said:
"Here am I; for thou calledst me." A similar experience may come
often to you. You hear, yet you do not understand; but as you go on in
unfoldment you finally come to the place where you say, "This is Spirit
talking to me." When you have once made union with Spirit you will
understand and will get the messages, just as Samuel did. I Samuel 7:2-12: The
Spirit of God in man knows no defeat. Though it be kept for a time in bondage
to man's material ideas, it sooner or later resumes its search for deliverance
and free expression. Samuel, the inner spiritual perception that has the
capacity for receiving spiritual inspiration, brings to the outer consciousness
that which is necessary for this deliverance. Samuel here tells the Children of
Israel of the three great steps in spiritual progress. These are as applicable
to man today as they were to the Children of Israel. First, if man is to serve
the one true God he will put away all false gods. With a single standard in
one's life there is a centralizing force at work, and wherever this
centralizing influence becomes active, organization results. Thus all the
scattered forces of man's being are brought together and are made capable of
undertaking effectually the tasks of life. The second step that Samuel took was
to have the Children of Israel assemble at Mizpah (watchtower). In order to
maintain his unity with God and to keep his forces organized in singleness of
thought and purpose, man must keep his attention steadily fixed in the
direction of that to which he aspires. Samuel is here only carrying out that
Scriptural injunction, "Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the
earth." By looking away from the besetting forces of materiality and
maintaining the high watch, one is enabled to discern the action of God, in
meeting the various situations of life. The third step for man in his spiritual
progress is to conform his action to the action of God; when he has done that,
the opposition of material forces becomes as nothing. The matter of importance
is always to maintain one's perfect relationship with the movement of
Principle, regardless of what may arise. Victory is inevitable when this unity
with God is maintained; no adverse condition in the life of man can prevail
against him, because there never has been and never can be any effective
opposition to God. Victory is truly won the moment one establishes one's unity
with God, because the adversity that appears is not in God, and when the
situation is seen in God its aspects are entirely changed. When adversity
appears the sure cure is to "cease not to cry unto Jehovah our God."
When man has succeeded in any overcoming after this manner of procedure, he
reaches Beth-car (house of the lamb), that place where he consciously abides in
the overcoming power of Spirit. This is a genuine milestone in the spiritual
progress of man, and he has conquered all the ground that his consciousness
grasps of that which is real in man and in the universe. I Samuel 7:16, 17: In
the high places in consciousness (represented by Beth-el, Gilgal, Mizpah, and
Ramah, the places where Samuel went from year to year to judge Israel),
spiritual judgment in us discerns the Truth and adjusts our life. I Samuel 8:
Samuel symbolizes that in man which keeps him in touch with the Source of
wisdom. He stands for man's own higher judgment, and is active in consciousness
so long as man depends on that judgment and trusts Spirit to direct him and to
fight his battles. The Children of Israel were not willing to be guided by
their own higher judgment (Samuel, the wise judge) because they lacked
understanding and were mentally and spiritually lazy. When man meekly goes with
the crowd, uniting with some popular religious movement and trusting the
authority of man-made creeds and doctrines for his salvation, he retires the
wise judge Samuel. The king of man's consciousness is the will. When the will
is given supreme control and the judgment ignored, the mind and the body are
under autocratic rule.
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