The Call of Samuel
October 24, 2022
Commentary
Listening and responding is vital in a relationship with God. As we see from this passage, God is no respecter of age or position when it comes to communication. He can and may work through anyone he chooses. Most of us would have expected God to speak to the older statesman, Eli, and not to the child, Samuel. When God spoke to Samuel, he did not recognize that it was God speaking, for this had not happened to him before. In fact, His speaking to anyone in an audible voice had been rare during the three centuries of rule by the Judges, where everyone did what was right in his own eyes. It took Eli to convince Samuel that it must be God speaking and he needed to listen (vv. 1-10).
The message God had for Samuel was so dreadful that it would cause the ears of anyone who heard it to tingle (vv. 11-12). Keep in mind Eli had spent his entire life in service to God and overseeing the worship in Israel but, in doing so, he neglected his responsibilities in his own home (v. 13). You can understand why Samuel was hesitant to share it with Eli, but Eli asked him to do so (vv. 14-19).
Eli’s sons are described as scoundrels, or wicked men and the degree of their wickedness is shown by the procedures they’d introduced around the sacrificial system. What was supposed to happen, you see, was that the breast and the right thigh were to be given to the priest and the rest was either burnt as a burnt offering to God or was boiled and the meat used for the family feast. These young men wanted more. So before the meat was even cooked they’d come along and help themselves. And you can imagine that if all you’d brought was a small bird then you might end up with nothing to eat, while the priests fattened themselves up on the best they could get. And because Eli had failed to restrain them from this blasphemy he and his family line was to be all but wiped out. The priesthood that had been theirs since the days of Moses and Aaron was to be taken away and given to another.
Even though God had promised that Eli’s house would minister forever, it wouldn’t happen. Their failure was too great. In fact their failure is an example of the continuing failure of family lines to maintain faithfulness to God through the generations. The phrase “from Dan to Beersheba,” emphasized that everyone in Israel know that Samuel was called to be a prophet (vv. 20-21).
Application
I must never let the desire to do God’s work cause me to neglect my family. The consequences will bring heartache and shame to me and them.
1 Samuel 3:1– 21 (NET)
1 Now the boy Samuel continued serving the Lord under Eli’s supervision. Receiving a message from the Lord was rare in those days; revelatory visions were infrequent.
2 Eli’s eyes had begun to fail, so that he was unable to see well. At that time he was lying down in his place, 3 and the lamp of God had not yet been extinguished. Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord as well; the ark of God was also there. 4 The Lord called to Samuel, and he replied, “Here I am!” 5 Then he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But Eli said, “I didn’t call you. Go back and lie down.” So he went back and lay down. 6 The Lord again called, “Samuel!” So Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But Eli said, “I didn’t call you, my son. Go back and lie down.”
7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord; the Lord’s messages had not yet been revealed to him. 8 Then the Lord called Samuel a third time. So he got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me!” Eli then realized that it was the Lord who was calling the boy. 9 So Eli said to Samuel, “Go back and lie down. When he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’ So Samuel went back and lay down in his place.
10 Then the Lord came and stood nearby, calling as he had previously done, “Samuel! Samuel!” Samuel replied, “Speak, for your servant is listening!” 11 The Lord said to Samuel, “Look! I am about to do something in Israel; when anyone hears about it, both of his ears will tingle. 12 On that day I will carry out against Eli everything that I spoke about his house—from start to finish! 13 You should tell him that I am about to judge his house forever because of the sin that he knew about. For his sons were cursing God, and he did not rebuke them. 14 Therefore I swore an oath to the house of Eli, ‘The sin of the house of Eli can never be forgiven by sacrifice or by grain offering.’”
15 So Samuel lay down until morning. Then he opened the doors of the Lord’s house. But Samuel was afraid to tell Eli about the vision. 16 However, Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son!” He replied, “Here I am.” 17 Eli said, “What message did he speak to you? Don’t conceal it from me. God will judge you severely if you conceal from me anything that he said to you!”
18 So Samuel told him everything. He did not hold back anything from him. Eli said, “The Lord will do what he pleases.” 19 Samuel continued to grow, and the Lord was with him. None of his prophecies fell to the ground unfulfilled. 20 All Israel from Dan to Beer Sheba realized that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the Lord. 21 Then the Lord again appeared in Shiloh, for it was in Shiloh that the Lord had revealed himself to Samuel through a message from the Lord.