LESSON 2 - 1 Sam. 3:1-10, 16-21 - THE PROPHETIC CALL OF SAMUEL
INTRODUCTION: Last week, in 1 Sam. 1:9-18, 26-28, we covered the story of Hannah, Elkanah's much beloved wife who was unable to conceive children. We saw and heard Hannah in God's tabernacle as she poured out her heart to the LORD in humble prayer, asking Him to grant her a son and making the promise that she would give him back to serve Him the under a Nazarite vow. Eli, the high priest, after watching her from a distance, mistook her deep anguish for drunkenness and moved-in to rebuke her for her behavior. After she explained to him that she was praying to the LORD about the deepest concerns that were troubling her life, Eli told her to go in peace and asked God to grant the request she had asked of Him. From that lesson, we took away three broad principles of personal application: (1) That a vow made to God in exchange for a blessing is binding, and that we should never make promises to God that we are not fully prepared to carry out. (2) That the Word of God has the power to bring healing. We saw that God healed Hannah's heart before the child Samuel was conceived in her womb. (3) When we promise to give God something in the future, it already belongs to him. Hannah completed her promise when she delivered young Samuel to the tabernacle for service to God soon after he was weaned (about age 3).
This week, in 1 Sam. 3:1-10, 17-21, we return to the story of Samuel at the Tabernacle at Shiloh as he's reaching adolescence (early-teens). Chapter two, which we skip, simply reports that "the boy Samuel was growing in stature and in favor with the LORD and with men" (1 Sam. 2:27). The first ten verses of Chapter 2 also report Hannah's Song of Praise to the LORD, which I recommend that you go back and read. Finally, in Chapter 2, a "man of God" rebukes Eli for failing to discipline his sons and issues a prophecy in which LORD would judge his family and "raise up a faithful priest who shall do what is in my heart" (1 Sam. 2:27-36). In today's lesson, we will hear God call Samuel to replace Eli and his corrupt sons as Israel's next prophet and judge.
Read 1 Sam. 3:1-2 - A BOY ATTENDING TO THE SERVICE OF THE LORD
1 Now the boy Samuel was attending to the service of the LORD before Eli. And word from the LORD was rare in those days; visions were infrequent. 2 But it happened at that time as Eli was lying down in his place (now his eyesight had begun to be poor and he could not see well.
v. 1a: "Now the boy Samuel was attending to the service of the LORD before Eli." - This speaks well of Samuel: Despite his young age (12 or 13), he was self-motivated and eager to learn his duties as a priest. Even though Eli was a flawed teacher, there was still much that Samuel could learn from him.
v. 1b: "And word from the LORD was rare in those days; visions were infrequent." - In contrast to Samuel, this phrase reflects poorly on Eli and his sons. Because of the Eli's ineffectual leadership and the corrupt behavior of his two sons at the tabernacle in Shiloh, the "word from the LORD" (a figure of speech for prophetic vision) was practically nonexistent in those days-God was silent.
v. 2: "But it happened at that time as Eli was lying down in his place (now his eyesight had begun to be poor and he could not see well." - This verse has a double meaning that depicts Eli's careless spiritual leadership as high priest as well as his declining physical vision with age. And this, in turn, caused the people to become slack in their worship and harden their hearts. The "it" that "happened" will be clarified in the next verse.
Read 1 Sam. 3:3-4 - THE LAMP OF GOD HAD NOT YET GONE OUT
3 and 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, 4 that the LORD called Samuel; and he said, "Here I am."
v. 3a: "and the lamp of God had not yet gone out," - As before, this phrase suggests a double meaning: (1) The golden lampstand of the tabernacle (Lev. 34:1-9; Ex 27:20-21) that the priests were required to keep burning from evening until morning and (2) prophetic 'light' given by the LORD.
v. 3b: "and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the LORD where the ark of God was," - Samuel was sleeping in the tabernacle near the "ark of God," the holiest object of Israel, which contained the tablet of the 10 Commandments, Aaron's rod, and a golden urn filled with manna. So Samuel is sleeping, in effect, in the very presence of God.
v. 4: "that the LORD called Samuel; and he said, "Here I am." - Now we see God call Samuel by name, and he replies, "Here I am." This is the very same reply that God received when He called Abraham to stay his hand from sacrificing Isaac (Gen. 22:11), to Jacob at Beersheba (Gen. 46:2), and to Moses at the burning bush (Ex. 3:4).
Read 1 Sam. 3:5-7 - THE LORD CALLED YET AGAIN
5 Then he ran to Eli and said, "Here I am, for you called me." But he said, "I did not call, go back and lie down." So he went and lay down. 6 And the LORD called yet again, "Samuel!" So 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, go back and lie down." 7 Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, nor had the word of the LORD yet been revealed to him. 8 So the LORD called Samuel again for the third time. And he got up and went to Eli and said, "Here I am, for you called me." Then Eli realized that the LORD was calling the boy. 9 And Eli said to Samuel, "Go lie down, and it shall be if He calls you, that you shall say, 'Speak, LORD, for Your servant is listening.'" So Samuel went and lay down in his place. 10 Then the LORD came and stood, and called as at the other times: "Samuel! Samuel!" And Samuel said, "Speak, for Your servant is listening."
v. 5: "Then he ran to Eli and said, "Here I am, for you called me." But he said, 'I did not call, go back and lie down.' So he went and lay down." - Samuel, unsure of who had called him, went to Eli, thinking he had called out, but Eli simply instructs him to go back to his bed.
v. 6: "And the LORD called yet again, "Samuel!" So 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, go back and lie down." - Now God audibly calls Samuel a second time, but the boy, still unsure of who called, runs to Eli's bed, and is once again informed that he didn't call him; and the old priest simply tells him to go back to bed.
v. 7: "Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, nor had the word of the LORD yet been revealed to him." - Samuel knew his mother had dedicated him to the tabernacle and he's learning about the LORD through his work there. He knows who the LORD is, but something is missing: A personal relationship. Though God has yet to reveal Himself to Samuel personally, He soon will.
v. 8a: "So the LORD called Samuel again for the third time. And he got up and went to Eli and said, "Here I am, for you called me." - Here, we see a replay of vv. 5 and 6.
v. 8b: "Then Eli realized that the LORD was calling the boy." - Eli, who's fully awake by this time and who knows that Samuel wasn't the kind to play jokes on an old man, finally comes to the realization that it must be the LORD who is calling the boy.
v. 9: "And Eli said to Samuel, 'Go lie down, and it shall be if He calls you, that you shall say, 'Speak, LORD, for Your servant is listening.' So Samuel went and lay down in his place." - While Eli has failed miserably with his own sons-failing to impose 'tough love' when it was needed-he does not fail Samuel. His intuition that God is calling Samuel is correct, and he advises Samuel well.
v. 10: "Then the LORD came and stood, and called as at the other times: 'Samuel! Samuel!' - God, Calling his name twice, mirror the earlier calls to Abraham, Jacob, and Moses, mentioned above.
v. 10: "And Samuel said, 'Speak, for Your servant is listening.' - When God calls, this is the right response: acknowledging his servant status before the LORD, Samuel reports he is ready to listen.
Whether Samuel is seeing a vision or is only hearing is not made clear by the text, but in any case, He's hearing God audibly as if he were standing right beside him.
Summary of skipped verses 11-15: (1) God told Samuel that He was going to do something new in Israel that would get everyone's attention; (2) He was going to judge Eli and his house forever, and no atonement could be made for their sins; and (3) After Samuel heard this, he was afraid to tell Eli.
Read 1 Sam. 3:16-21 - HE LET NONE OF HIS WORDS FAIL
16 Then Eli called Samuel and said, "Samuel, my son." And he said, "Here I am." 17 He said, "What is the word that He spoke to you? Please do not hide it from me. May God do the same to you, and more so, if you hide a single word from me of all the words that He spoke to you!" 18 So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. And he said, "He is the LORD; let Him do what seems good to Him." 19 Now Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and He let none of his words fail. 20 And all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the LORD. 21 And the LORD appeared again at Shiloh, because the LORD revealed Himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the LORD.
vv. 16-17: Then Eli called Samuel and said, "Samuel, my son." And he said, "Here I am." 17 He said, "What is the word that He spoke to you? Please do not hide it from me. May God do the same to you, and more so, if you hide a single word from me of all the words that He spoke to you!" - Eli knew what was coming. He had already heard it from the "man of God" as reported in the previous chapter. Now, he calls Samuel and commands him to hide nothing from him, and warned him that God would judge him if he hid as much as a "single word." This is the acid test of a prophet: Having the courage to tell people what they don't want to hear.
v. 18: "So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. And he said, "He is the LORD; let Him do what seems good to Him." - Samuel has passed his first prophet test. Not only did he repeat the LORD's message verbatim; he agreed that God is entitled to do "what seems good to Him," as opposed to what seems good to the prophet or anyone else for that matter. God's justice is always righteous. And Samuel indicates that he understands and accepts this truth.
v. 19: "Now Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and He let none of his words fail." - God is present both in Samuel's life and in his words. Because Samuel has been faithful to God, God in turn blesses his words and his works.
vv. 20-21: "And all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the LORD. 21 And the LORD appeared again at Shiloh, because the LORD revealed Himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the LORD." - This is the climax: God is not only in Samuel's life; he is also recognized as someone qualified to speak for God in every region of Israel. This is the final exam.
TWO BROAD PRINCIPLES OF APPLICATION:
1. In order to hear God and understand what He is saying, we must have a personal relationship with Him. When Samuel heard God for the third in time in v. 10, then humbled himself in faith and said, "Speak, for your servant is listening," he established a master-servant personal relationship with God. Any Christian today can hear God's voice through the Holy Spirit, His written word, preaching, teaching, or godly counsel from other Christians, and that's just the short list.
2. Whenever we hear God's Word, we must be willing to obey it. Samuel's initial reaction to God's word was fear-he was afraid to bring God's bad news--pronouncement of judgment-to Eli. But Eli, in a good turn, gave Samuel godly counsel to obey God's word, and he did. And as we saw, by saying that God is entitled to do "what seems good to Him," he also accepted God's righteous justice. Samuel's actions should be a challenge to every believing Christian: (1) To hear God's Word when He speaks to us; (2) to understand what God is saying to us; and (3) be willing to obey it-verbatim. Any thing less than this if backsliding. AMEN?
