1 SAMUEL 3
Read 1 Samuel 3:1 to the first sentence in Chapter 4
The story continues – Samuel continues in the Lord’s service under the guidance of Chief Priest Eli. The Bible tells us at the beginning of the chapter that the word of the Lord was rare, there were few visions (v1). God was not speaking to his people. This happens from time to time and usually this is a sign and a consequence of the Lord’s judgement. When God announced judgement on Israel in Amos’ time, he said, ‘I will send a famine through the land, not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the word of the Lord’ (Amos 8:11-12). In Samuel’s time the judgement may well have been because of the corrupt priesthood that we read about in Chapter 2. The good news here is that God is going to break his silence, and he will do that through his chosen prophet, Samuel.
From v2 to v10 we get this almost comic scene where the Lord repeatedly calls to Samuel and Samuel thinks it is Eli calling him, and so he goes to Eli, much to Eli’s bemusement. Eventually Eli realises what is going on and points Samuel in the right direction – to respond to the Lord’s call. We may not receive the direct word of God that Samuel did, but he does speak to us in many ways; through Scripture, through other Christians and yes, sometimes, by that quiet voice in our ear. We should be open to hearing from God and not be too quick to dismiss what we hear as coming from a different source. Something else that this passage tells us is that God is patient and kind. He didn’t get irritated with Samuel for not recognising his call, and was content to repeat his call until Samuel was in a position to hear it more clearly. God gives us time to understand him.
It was obvious to Eli that God had something to say to Samuel and like most of us, I suspect, he wanted to know exactly what it was. Eli encouraged Samuel to tell him everything that the Lord said to him, and Samuel did. Deuteronomy 18:14ff sets out the rules that the Lord has given for prophets; their duties and how others recognise a true prophet. One stipulation for a prophet is, ‘I will put my words into his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him’. The prophet must not hold back, and Samuel fulfils his prophetic duty to the Lord by telling Eli everything, including the bad news about Eli and his family. Eli’s sons are under judgement for their corrupt behaviour in the house of God and Eli is under judgement for not exercising his authority as father over them and restraining them. The news was painful for him, but Eli accepted God’s sovereignty over his life (v18).
Verse 19 tells us that the Lord was with Samuel as he grew up. There was a relationship between God and his servant Samuel. Samuel learned from the Lord and in due course was recognised by all in Israel as a true prophet. God honoured Samuel and gave him his word (and remember that before Samuel, God’s word was rare in the land) and Samuel passed on God’s word faithfully to all the people, as a prophet should do.