God's Call

Introduction

So far in our study of the book of 1 Samuel we have seen four conflicts. In each conflict the weak becomes the strong, while the strong becomes the weak.

In chapter 1 there was the conflict between Peninnah and Hannah.

Then in the first part of chapter 2, there was the conflict between the arrogant and the innocent.

In the second part of chapter 2 there was the difference between Eli’s sons and Samuel.

Now today we come to the concluding difference. The difference between Eli’s priestly line and Samuel’s line of prophets.

If you have your Bibles, and I hope that you do, turn with me to 1 Samuel 3.

If you were with us last week, you may remember that a “Man of God” came to Eli and told him that God was about to judge his entire house because of Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, and because of Eli’s lack of action.

Today we come to the calling of Samuel.

Let’s begin with verse 1 of chapter 3.

The Lord Calls Samuel

1 Samuel 3:1 NIV84

The boy Samuel ministered before the Lord under Eli. In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions.

We need to notice four things:

The author highlights Samuel’s faithfulness—he ministered before the Lord. Samuel fulfilled his levitical duties of serving the Yahweh.

There is a phrase “In those days. . .” We are studying the end of the time period of Israel known as the Time of the Judges.

The word of the Lord was rare. There were not people declaring messages from God. To the people it seemed as though God was silent.

There were not many visions. God giving people visions from Him did not happen very often, in fact they almost never happened.

So no one really expected to hear from God. They were busy doing what they thought they should do. Several times in the book of Judges we read a phrase like: “In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit.” (Judg 17:6; 21:25).

We’ve already seen that the priests were doing whatever they wanted. They were not preparing the sacrifices as prescribed by God—doing their own thing.

But God is about to change all of this.

The Call

1 Samuel 3:2–3 NIV84

One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. 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.

Again there are several things that we want to notice:

Eli does not see well. This suggests several things as the story develops. First is suggest that he is aging. Secondly, it suggests that others had to help him—especially when it was dark.

He was sleeping in his usual place—but we don’t know where that was exactly—but it was probably somewhere in the tabernacle.

The lamp of God had not gone out—so it is in the early morning hours—but before the lamp of God ran out of fuel for the night.

Samuel was also there sleeping in the tabernacle—probably he was sleeping in the outer sanctuary.

Finally, the ark of God (ark of the covenant) was there.

Let’s continue the story.

1 Samuel 3:4–5 NIV84

Then the Lord called Samuel. Samuel answered, “Here I am.” 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.

First Call

Samuel hears someone calling his name. Assuming it is Eli (perhaps this was a common event). He jumps up and goes to Eli.

But Eli tells Samuel that he didn’t call him, so go back to sleep.

1 Samuel 3:6–7 NIV84

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.” Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord: The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.

Second Call

It happens again. Samuel just gets back to sleep and he hears someone calling him. So again he jumps up and runs to Eli—but Eli hasn’t called him.

Again he is told to go back and lie down and go back to sleep. I wonder of both Eli and Samuel were a bit ticked with each other. It is here that we are given a little bit of information about Samuel and his relationship with the Lord—Samuel had never heard from the Lord like this. He didn’t know God’s voice.

1 Samuel 3:8–9 NIV84

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. 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.

Third Call

Once again, Samuel is sleeping and he hears someone calling him, again assuming it is Eli, he jumps up and runs to the priest, only to find out that it wasn’t Eli.

But this time, Eli’s response is different. This time Eli realizes that Yahweh is calling to Samuel. So he tells Samuel to go back and lie down, and when he hears the voice of the Lord, Samuel is to say, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” So Samuel returned to his “bed” prepared to do what Eli told him to do.

1 Samuel 3:10 NIV84

The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”

Fourth Call—a Conversation with Yahweh

Yahweh came to Samuel and stood there calling.

This is actually what Yahweh did the three previous times as well.

He called “Samuel! Samuel!”

This time Samuel responds “Speak, for your servant is listening.”

God Talks to Samuel

1 Samuel 3:11–14 NIV84

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. At that time I will carry out against Eli everything I spoke against his family—from beginning to end. 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. Therefore, I swore to the house of Eli, ‘The guilt of Eli’s house will never be atoned for by sacrifice or offering.’ ”

This is an amazing story. God reveals to Samuel the same basic message that the “Man of God” gave to Eli in chapter 2, but there’s more!

God is about to do something great in Israel!

In fact, it is going to shock the people (“will make the ears of everyone. . .tingle”).

God is going to carry out ALL of the judgment on Eli that He has already spoken of.

God told Eli He would judge him, and God will do what He said He was going to do.

The judgment is against Eli because he failed to restrain his sons.

There is no sacrifice to atone for the sins that that have done.

Samuel’s Response

1 Samuel 3:15 NIV84

Samuel lay down until morning and then opened the doors of the house of the Lord. He was afraid to tell Eli the vision,

So Samuel lays down (again), this time he is there until morning, when he gets up and begins his normal activities—he goes and opens the doors to the house of the Lord.

But there’s a change—he is afraid to tell Eli about his conversation with Yahweh.

Eli’s Response

1 Samuel 3:16–18 NIV84

but Eli called him and said, “Samuel, my son.” Samuel answered, “Here I am.” “What was it he said to you?” Eli asked. “Do not hide it from me. May God deal with you, be it ever so severely, if you hide from me anything he told you.” So Samuel told him everything, hiding nothing from him. Then Eli said, “He is the Lord; let him do what is good in his eyes.”

Eli knows that Samuel had some kind of conversation with Yahweh, and he wants to know what God said to the boy. So he asks him—now remember Samuel had been avoiding telling Eli the bad news of God’s message.

Eli goes on to warn Samuel against hiding anything from him. Good or bad, Eli wants to know what God had to say!

So Samuel tells Eli everything that God said. He tells Eli all the things that God said He would do to Eli and his family line.

Eli’s response is amazing! “He is the Lord; let him do what is good in his eyes.” This is an amazing view of God!

This is a view of God that we need. It is a view that is often missed in our egocentric world—God is God! And because He is God He can do whatever He thinks is good!

The Rest of the Story

At this point we are given a summery statement about Samuel, his development and how the people saw him.

1 Samuel 3:19–4:1 NIV84

The Lord was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba recognized that Samuel was attested as a prophet of the Lord. The Lord continued to appear at Shiloh, and there he revealed himself to Samuel through his word. And Samuel’s word came to all Israel. Now the Israelites went out to fight against the Philistines. The Israelites camped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines at Aphek.

The Lord was with Samuel.

Samuel grew up—he matured!

None of his prophecies failed!

All of Israel—from the farthest part north to the farthest part south—recognized that Samuel was a prophet of the Lord.

And the Lord, Himself, attested that Samuel was a prophet.

Finally, God’s presence continued to appear in Shiloh, because that is where He revealed Himself to Samuel

Finally, Samuel continued to speak for God, giving His words to Israel.

SO WHAT?

Do you know the voice of the Lord? Like Samuel, you and I know the Lord, but the real question is do we recognize when the Lord is calling us? Each one of us needs to dive into God’s Word, so that when He speaks to us we recognize His voice.

This brings us to our second question. Are you afraid of the message that God has given? Samuel was afraid to tell Eli what Yahweh had told him. I think sometimes we are afraid of the message we hear from God. In this case we need to respond more like Eli, “He is the Lord; let him do what is good in his eyes.”

The final thing that I take away from this passage is the importance that we keep growing! When we do, God will work in us, and through us. God is going to do a might work in Samuel, just like He wants to do a might work in you. But God is also going to do a might work through Samuel, just like He wants to do a might work through you!

Remember, the Lord is about to do something in our world that will make the ears of everyone who hears of it tingle!