Heroes? Samuel

1 Samuel 3:1-10

3:1 The boy Samuel ministered before the LORD under Eli. In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions.

2 One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. 3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the house of the LORD, where the ark of God was. 4 Then the LORD called Samuel.

Samuel answered, “Here I am.” 5 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.

6 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.”

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

8 A third time the LORD called, “Samuel!” 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. 9 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.

10 The LORD came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!”

Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”

When I was a boy, my father liked to sit in his easy chair in the evening and read the newspaper. When he was sitting there, you could try to say anything to him, and he wouldn’t hear. You could shout his name and he just wouldn’t hear.

Now, in today’s scripture, we were in a time when the Word of the LORD was rare. There were not many visions. I have a theory on why this was. There are often reasons why we do not hear from God. In this case, we have Eli. He was the high priest, the one who was supposed to mediate between God and his people, Israel, but he was blind. Physically as well as spiritually. Remember, he was the one who couldn’t differentiate between prayer and drunken mumbling.

The Word of the LORD was rare, as the high priest of the LORD did not listen to it. But notice that the scripture says that the Word was rare. It does not say that the LORD was silent. Even where the Word of the LORD is rare, God can still speak. And while Eli sat in his chair, blind and oblivious to the Word of the LORD, Samuel ministered or served before the LORD. Samuel didn’t serve Eli. Samuel served YAHWEH. This was the same position his mother, Hannah, had taken before YAHWEH. In my opinion, it was due to Samuel’s position before God that God chose to speak to Samuel.

Samuel had not been taught to listen to or to hear God’s voice. This is a real problem in our culture these days. Children brought up without knowing the LORD. We sometimes take for granted that we live in a Christian nation. We don’t give them any instruction or tips on how to listen to God’s voice, but we somehow think that our children will learn about God. We have a responsibility, as parents and as the church, to teach our children. It is all of our responsibility. 

So when God speaks to Samuel, Samuel thinks it is Eli. Now, here’s the thing. When Samuel goes to Eli to ask what is going on, it’s only natural. But Eli can’t really help Samuel, because as a leader, you can’t lead someone farther than you’ve gone yourself. Eli couldn’t reveal the word of God because he didn’t know the word of God. He didn’t know God’s voice because he didn’t know God. 

This is the hard word for us. We’ve often left our children to figure out the voice of God on their own, because we ourselves don’t know how to listen for God’s voice. We are too busy listening to our own voices or listening to the voices on the television. 

God spoke to Samuel three times, and each time, he went to Eli, asking “did you call me?” Eli hadn’t. But even he finally figured out that if Samuel had been called, it must be the Lord. So he pointed Samuel toward God, instructing him to respond, “speak, for your servant is listening.” 

This particular passage begins and ends with serving the LORD. Notice that Samuel is first introduced as “ministering before the LORD.” To minister is to serve. And the passage ends with Samuel offering his service to God; “speak, for your servant is listening.” 

Knowing God’s voice is the first step, but we must listen to him. And listening to him is important, because it will give us the opportunity to follow.