School of the Good Shepherd
The LORD continued to appear at Shiloh, manifesting himself to Samuel at Shiloh through his word. Samuel’s word spread throughout Israel.
Ideas:
3 The lamp of God was not yet extinguished, and Samuel was sleeping in the temple of the LORD where the ark of God was
though he knew his sons were blaspheming God, he did not reprove them
What did he say to you? Hide nothing from me! May God do thus to you, and more, if you hide from me a single thing he told you.” 18 So Samuel told him everything, and held nothing back. Eli answered, “It is the LORD. What is pleasing in the LORD’s sight, the LORD will do.”
. 2 One day Eli was asleep in his usual place. His eyes had lately grown so weak that he could not see. 3 The lamp of God was not yet extinguished, and Samuel was sleeping in the temple of the LORD where the ark of God was
19 Samuel grew up, and the LORD was with him, not permitting any word of his to go unfulfilled.
The LORD continued to appear at Shiloh, manifesting himself to Samuel at Shiloh through his word. Samuel’s word spread throughout Israel.
But his reply proves that, with all his weakness and criminal indulgence towards his wicked sons, Eli was thoroughly devoted to the Lord in his heart. And Samuel, on the other hand, through his unreserved and candid communication of the terribly solemn word of God with regard to the man, whom he certainly venerated with filial affection, not only as high priest, but also as his own parental guardian, proved himself to be a man possessing the courage and the power to proclaim the word of the Lord without fear to the people of Israel.
night-time when everyone is asleep, the temple, the ark, and the lamp of God still burning; all this shows that something exceptional is going on and God is behind it.
The “lamp of God” is the light of the candlestick in the tabernacle, the seven lamps of which were put up and lighted every evening, and burned through the night till all the oil was consumed (see Ex. 30:8, Lev. 24:2, 2 Chron. 13:11, and the explanation given at Ex. 27:21)
“Greatly blessed is he who hears the [voice of the] divine whispering in the silence and who often repeats that phrase of Samuel’s: ‘Speak, Lord, your servant is listening’ ” (St Bernard
As the Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2578, suggests, he learned all this from his mother from infancy onwards: “The prayer of the People of God flourishes in the shadow of God’s dwelling place, first the ark of the covenant and later the Temple. At first the leaders of the people—the shepherds and the prophets—teach them to pray. The infant Samuel must have learned from his mother Hannah how ‘to stand before the Lord’ (cf. 1 Sam 1:9–18) and from the priest Eli how to listen to his word: ‘Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening’ (1 Sam 3:9–10). Later, he will also know the cost and consequence of intercession: ‘Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you; and I will instruct you in the good and the right way’ (1 Sam 12:23)
Thus Samuel grew, and Jehovah was with him, and let none of his words fall to the ground, i.e., left no word unfulfilled
Samuel neither slept in the holy place by the side of the candlestick and table of shew-bread, nor in the most holy place in front of the ark of the covenant, but in the court, where cells were built for the priests and Levites to live in when serving at the sanctuary