Vision More than Eyesight

English Standard Version Chapter 3

The LORD Calls Samuel

I want you all to notice that according to the passage, the Lord did not speak to them very often and yet Samuel receives his call. Not only has the lord not spoken to them lately, he uses Eli who is blind at the time. When a person has not heard a word from the lord recently he can get a little hard of hearing as well.

I think of my mother when I was little, every morning I could expect to hear her voice telling me to get up and ready for school. My mother was sweeter than my father and so when mom called me I could sleep for a few more calls before she would get angry. My father on the other-hand was not so easy to deal with and if I heard his voice I had better be moving. Are we listening, or just hitting the snooze button of life?

Verse 3 speaks of the lamp of God not yet going out. At first glimpse we can assume that this meaning is symbolic (that the lord was still with Eli) but at closer look we find out that in the evening the lamp stand with seven candles was lit and it would stay lit until dawn. I guess you could say it was a form of night light. Now the place where Samuel was lying was the temple where the Ark of the Covenant was. We need to remember that this Ark was a sign of the presence of God. The Ark (God’s presence) travelled with God’s people where ever the Lord directed them to go.

The Lord had not spoken to them yet they waited in the Temple to hear. Samuel had no idea what was happening. In the beginning of a call the voice can be so clear that we can only associate it to the voice of someone near to us. For Samuel that person was Eli and so when he heard the call he ran to the one person, the only person who could have been speaking to him.

Now Eli is a mentor for young Samuel but because he has not heard from God for such a long time he treats Samuel’s calling as a nuisance; you know like being called to get ready for school when you are 8.

Verse 9 reveals to Eli that it is the Lord who was calling Samuel and so he tells Samuel to go to lie down. Now this lying down was a sleep state because God comes to us most often in the sleep state. I believe this because this is a state where we do not control our thoughts. Notice that Eli tells Samuel what to say when he hears the Lord again. This is what a mentor does; letting someone know how to respond to the call.

Samuel is not prepared at this time to be a servant of God but with the help of Eli he at least knows how to respond. The Lord calls us to servanthood; knowing that we are not prepared but willing. Many of you are people who have heard the Lord speak but it has been a long time. Stay close to the presence and listen; speak to the Lord frequently and be ready to answer the call. Pay close attention to those around you who might be hearing a call that they do not understand. Being a mentor to those young in their faith is a great responsibility.