The Call of Samuel, the Listening Servant - 1 Samuel 3: 1-20

(Bible quotes are from the New Revised Standard Version, unless otherwise noted)

v 1.

Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the LORD under Eli.  The word of the LORD was rare in those days; visions were not widespread. 

NLT:  Meanwhile, the boy Samuel was serving the LORD by assisting Eli.  Now in those days messages from the LORD were very rare, and visions were quite uncommon.

Eli at this time was the high priest of the temple.  He was very old and his two sons were also priests.  They, however, were not doing the job properly.  They were taking advantage of their position to cheat people who came to the temple and behaved immorally. (1 Samuel  2: 12-25)  Eli had been unable to restrain them.

Samuel had been born to a God-fearing family and had been dedicated to God when he was born in thanksgiving for his birth.  His mother, Hannah, had not been able to have children and had prayed for many years to become pregnant.  God had honoured her prayers and, in return, she had dedicated Samuel, her first-born, to him.  He had been left at the Temple in Eli’s care from the time he was weaned as a young boy. (1 Samuel 1; 2: 11, 18-21, 26)

It seems that Eli himself may have been faithful to the Lord, but he had grown tired and discouraged. Eli seems to have done as much as he could with the help of Samuel. I wonder how much he had taught Samuel.  If Samuel did not yet know the Lord (v7), it seems he was not training Samuel much better than he had done for his sons.  He was going through the motions. Israel had suffered in its spiritual leadership as a result of Eli’s inadequacy and his sons’ wickedness.

New Bible Commentary note (p 300): The word of the LORD and visions were the two types of divine gift to prophets.  There are two reasons for telling us that both were rare (lit. ‘precious’) at that time.  First, the statement draws attention to Israel’s serious need for prophetic guidance.  Secondly, it explains I advance why Samuel and Eli were both taken by surprise when the LORD called aloud to Samuel (v 4)

How much is the situation in Israel in Eli’s time like the church of today?  While there are congregations and denominations where the word of the Lord is preached faithfully and where visions are not uncommon, this has not been my experience as a member of a ‘mainstream’ church.  I can not criticise preachers of my own church as it seems to me they honestly and faithfully proclaim God’s word from the Bible to their best ability.  But if this is supposed to be accompanied by visions … where are they?  In Joel 2: 28, 29 a time was prophesied when the Holy Spirit would be poured out on all people and there would be dreams and visions.  In Acts 2 we read about the pouring out of the Spirit after which the early Christians experienced dreams and visions and they relied on the leading of the Spirit in all their decisions.  It seemed that the time prophesied in Joel had come.  Surely it would not have come and gone!  Are we not listening to the visionaries? Have the leaders of churches become tired and discouraged as Eli was?  Are we going through the motions too?

vs 2, 3

At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his room; 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.

As the priest, it would have been Eli’s responsibility to make sure that the lamp of God was kept burning all night, according to God’s instructions in Leviticus 24: 1-4.  Perhaps, because Eli was old and blind, the task of looking after the lamp had fallen to Samuel, so he slept in the temple.  The lamp was still alight, so it was not yet dawn.  Samuel had done his job and was asleep.

v 4, 5

Then the LORD called, “Samuel!  Samuel!” and he said, “here I am!” and ran to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.”  But he said, “ I did not call; lie down again.”  So he went and lay down.

The last thing Samuel expected was to hear the Lord calling him.  He was obviously used to Eli calling him for help at all hours and he responded immediately and, it seems, without any of the reluctance that we might think natural in the middle of the night.  Samuel knew how to serve and served willingly.  Neither did Eli realise what was happening; it was outside his own experience.

I wonder how often do church leaders ignore or misinterpret suggestions from people they think are not qualified to comment on issues?  God speaks to the most unlikely people - or those who are considered ‘unlikely’ by those who are used to making decisions.  It is the people who serve willingly and faithfully without expecting praise or reward, like Samuel, who are the ones who are most likely to listen for what God is telling them.  I am reminded that Jesus placed a little child among the disciples who were wanting to be seen as the ‘greatest’ and told them that the ones who became like a little child would be the greatest. (Matthew 18: 4)

v 6

The LORD called again, “Samuel!”  Samuel got up and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.”

Even when Samuel arrived the second time, Eli still thought he was mistaken.  His reply was kindly and patient, even though the boy had woken him again.  Samuel did not argue.  How many of us would not have attempted to justify our action?  Samuel’s obedience stands out.

v 7

Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, and the word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him.

Although Samuel lived in the temple and served the high priest, he had no experience of the Lord speaking directly to him or to Eli.  He had no way of knowing what was happening, so his assumption that it was Eli calling him was natural.  He knew about the Lord.  He knew the rituals and routines of temple worship, but he had no personal relationship with God.  If we are to hear what God wants of us, we need a personal relationship with him.  Simply attending services of worship is not enough.

Even though Samuel had not been taught to build a personal relationship with God, God was able to speak to him and persevered until Samuel understood.  Samuel’s relationship with God was instigated by God so that Samuel could do the work God had for him to do.  In the church we sometimes act as if it’s all up to us.  We think that if we do not witness, share our faith, invite others to worship and teach them, no-one will come to know God.  God does not need us to do his work.  He did not need Eli to bring Samuel into a relationship with God.  God is perfectly capable of doing his own work, as he did with Samuel.  But, in his love for his creation, God allows us the great privilege of being able to work with him to bring about his kingdom.  Worship, witnessing, sharing our faith are not jobs we have to do, they are responses we are privileged to be able to make to God’s grace shown to us.

v 8

The LORD called Samuel again, a third time.  And he got up and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.”  Then Eli perceived that the LORD was calling the boy.

A third time, Samuel heard the call and this time, for Eli, the ‘penny dropped’!  Eli knew Samuel well enough to realise he wasn’t playing games - and probably by now he was well and truly awake and able to think about things more clearly.  For Samuel to hear a call three times meant that the call was real and from God.

This story highlights not only Eli’s patience with the boy, but God’s patience and willingness to keep on calling even if at first we don’t understand or answer.

v 9

Therefore Eli said to Samuel,  “Go, lie down; and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’  So Samuel went and laid down in his place.

This time Eli knew what to tell Samuel and, once again, Samuel obeyed without question.  Eli seems to have been humble enough to be able to readily accept that God might speak to Samuel and not to himself.  If God speaks today, most people expect that he would speak to someone who is supposed to be more ‘spiritual’, such as a priest or minister of religion, not to a young boy with no experience or teaching.  But God knows us all through and through.  He knows who will listen and obey.  He knows who he wishes to use and when and where he will use us.   It is our job to be alert and ready for when he needs us and to be willing to do whatever he asks of us without question. He does not always use the people we would choose.  God often chooses the humble and unimportant people for his work. Jesus himself came as a baby, placed in an ordinary home in what would have probably been considered a backwater town in Galilee.

v 10

Now the LORD came and stood there, calling as before, “Samuel!  Samuel!”  And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”

This time, Samuel was ready and replied as Eli had told him.  He is not recorded as addressing the Lord in exactly the way Eli had said, but he was ready to listen.

God wants from us a willingness to listen – to him and to others.  God does not always speak to us directly, as he did to Samuel.  If he did, would we hear?  God more often speaks through others: their words, their actions, their predicaments.  Whatever happens to us in life, God can use it to speak to us.  Our job is to be willing to hear in everyday things what God wants us to know.  I learn constantly about God through my dogs.  For example, in their trust and obedience I see the kind of trust God asks of me.  When they are disobedient, I understand better the consequences of my disobedience. In their joy in my company, I see the kind of joy I can have in the presence of God.  In their reliance on me for the necessities of life, I see the way I must rely on God.

vs 11-14

Then the LORD said to Samuel, “See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make both ears of anyone who hears of it tingle. On that day I will fulfil against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. For I have told him that I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them. Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be expiated by sacrifice or offering forever.”

NEB:  The Lord said, ‘Soon I shall do something in Israel which will ring in the ears of all who hear it.  When that day comes I will make good every word I have spoken against Eli and his family from beginning to end.  You are to tell him that my judgement on his house shall stand forever because he knew of his sons’ blasphemies against God and did not rebuke them. Therefore I have sworn to the family of Eli that their abuse of sacrifices and offerings shall never be expiated.’

NLT:  Then the Lord said to Samuel, “I am about to do a shocking thing in Israel.  I am going to carry out all my threats against Eli and his family.  I have warned him continually that judgement is coming for his family because his sons are blaspheming God and he hasn’t disciplined them.  So I have vowed that the sins of Eli and his sons will never be forgiven by sacrifices and offerings.

What a message for Samuel to receive as his first personal word from God!  He must bring a message of punishment to the man who must have been like a father to him and who he obviously respected.

By today’s standards, it may seem unfair that Eli as well as his sons would be punished.  Eli was not the one to blaspheme or to misuse the temple sacrifices.  But Eli was guilty of doing nothing!  God does not simply ask us not to hurt others or to be unjust in our own behaviour.  He asks us to be active in confronting injustice.  To be silent is to condone wrongdoing.  Eli had, in effect, condoned his sons’ behaviour.

Jesus said that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit - who is God - is the ‘unforgivable sin’.  ( Mark 3: 29)  It is not that God is not willing to forgive, but that the one who is disrespectful or unbelieving is not able to accept that forgiveness.  No doubt Eli’s sons might have been forgiven if they had repented and changed their ways.  But they had not.  With their attitudes towards God and towards the ritual sacrifices and offerings, they were unable to receive the benefits - and so all the sacrifices and offerings in the world would do them no good. God’s patience wore out and, in the interests of his people Israel, he had to put an end to an apathetic high priest and his wicked sons.

v 15

Samuel lay there until morning; then he opened the doors of the house of the LORD.  Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli.

Samuel had a sleepless night from there on.  His first action in the morning was to carry out his duties in the temple.  Bad new did not prevent him from serving God.

He was afraid to tell Eli the message he had received.  That is natural.  He was only a servant to Eli and Eli was the high priest and, in that position, due Samuel’s respect and loyalty.  But God had also given him a task and he was a servant of God as well. He was in a dilemma.

vs 16, 17

But Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son.”  He said, “Here I am.”   Eli said, “What was it that he told you?  Do not hide it from me.  May God do so to you and more also, if you hide anything from me of all that he told you.”

When God gives us task that seems too hard, we are promised that he will give us the strength we need to do it. (1 Corinthians 10: 13: God keeps faith, and he will not allow you to be tested above your powers, but when the test comes he will at the same time provide a way out, by enabling you to sustain it. NEB)   For Samuel, God made it a little easier too.  He prompted Eli to ask about the message Samuel had received.  Eli must have realized from this incident that Samuel was destined to be a prophet.  He knew that Samuel must learn to pass on every message from God, even when it was not good news.  So he insisted on hearing this one.  He knew from his own experience the dangers of disobedience to God.

v 18

So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him.  Then he said, “It is the LORD; let him do what seems good to him.”

Eli accepted God’s judgement.  He knew it was deserved.  He was prepared to accept whatever God decided was right.  Like all of us, Eli could be obedient in some things but found others too difficult.  He could accept God’s judgement, although he had failed to trust God to help him deal with his sons and their behaviour.  How often do we talk about being obedient to God, and are able to trust him in the easy things, but as soon as things become difficult, we try to trust in our own resources?

v 19, 20

As Samuel grew up, the LORD was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground.  And all Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was a trustworthy prophet of the LORD.

Samuel had been well taught by his mother and by Eli and this bore fruit in his life.  He developed a close listening relationship with the Lord so that he was able to deliver God’s message faithfully all over Israel from its farthest north to the south.  People knew that when Samuel delivered a message, whatever he prophesied would happen.