Samuel’s Call to God’s Service
Previous lesson:
A Warning for Eli’s Family
God had a message for Eli.
Sin has consequences.
Because of flagrant
disobedience, the house of Eli would forfeit their priesthood.
Hophni and Phinehas would both be killed on the same day.
1 Samuel 3:1-14 NLT
The Lord Speaks to Samuel
3:1 Meanwhile, the boy Samuel served the Lord by assisting Eli. Now in those days messages from the Lord were very rare, and visions were quite uncommon.
2 One night Eli, who was almost blind by now, had gone to bed. 3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was sleeping in the Tabernacle near the Ark of God. 4 Suddenly the Lord called out, “Samuel!”
“Yes?” Samuel replied. “What is it?” 5 He got up and ran to Eli. “Here I am. Did you call me?”
“I didn’t call you,” Eli replied. “Go back to bed.” So he did.
6 Then the Lord called out again, “Samuel!”
Again Samuel got up and went to Eli. “Here I am. Did you call me?”
“I didn’t call you, my son,” Eli said. “Go back to bed.”
7 Samuel did not yet know the Lord because he had never had a message from the Lord before. 8 So the Lord called a third time, and once more Samuel got up and went to Eli. “Here I am. Did you call me?”
Then Eli realized it was the Lord who was calling the boy. 9 So he said to Samuel, “Go and lie down again, and if someone calls again, say, ‘Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went back to bed.
10 And the Lord came and called as before, “Samuel! Samuel!”
And Samuel replied, “Speak, your servant is listening.”
11 Then the Lord said to Samuel, “I am about to do a shocking thing in Israel. 12 I am going to carry out all my threats against Eli and his family, from beginning to end. 13 I have warned him that judgment is coming upon his family forever, because his sons are blaspheming God and he hasn’t disciplined them. 14 So I have vowed that the sins of Eli and his sons will never be forgiven by sacrifices or offerings.”
Examine the Scriptures
3:1 Meanwhile,
During the events of chapters one and two.
1 Samuel 2:21 NLT
21 And the Lord blessed Hannah, and she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, Samuel grew up in the presence of the Lord.
1 Samuel 2:26 NLT
26 Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew taller and grew in favor with the Lord and with the people.
the boy Samuel served the Lord by assisting Eli.
The Hebrew word “boy” used here is the same word used of David when he killed Goliath.
The historian Josephus believed that Samuel was 12 years old.
Other Bible scholars believe he may have been older than 12.
Now in those days messages from the Lord were very rare, and visions were quite uncommon.
- The time of the judges was a period of extremely limited (“rare” or “uncommon”) prophetic activity.
Except for a few exceptions, God was not disclosing His will through prophets or priests.
Some of these exceptions are found in Judges 2, 6, 7, 10, & 13.
The period was spiritually dark.
Judges 21:25 NLT
25 In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.
This was all about to change when God communicated with Samuel.
2 One night Eli, who was almost blind by now,
- Eli was almost blind, both physically and spiritually.
had gone to bed.
3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out,
The priests were responsible for keeping the lamp of God burning through the night.
Exodus 27:20-21 NLT
Light for the Tabernacle
20 “Command the people of Israel to bring you pure oil of pressed olives for the light, to keep the lamps burning continually. 21 The lampstand will stand in the Tabernacle, in front of the inner curtain that shields the Ark of the Covenant. Aaron and his sons must keep the lamps burning in the Lord’s presence all night. This is a permanent law for the people of Israel, and it must be observed from generation to generation.
Leviticus 24:1-3 NLT
24:1 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Command the people of Israel to bring you pure oil of pressed olives for the light, to keep the lamps burning continually. 3 This is the lampstand that stands in the Tabernacle, in front of the inner curtain that shields the Ark of the Covenant. Aaron must keep the lamps burning in the Lord’s presence all night. This is a permanent law for you, and it must be observed from generation to generation.
This implies early morning hours were approaching.
and Samuel was sleeping in the Tabernacle near the Ark of God.
The Tabernacle was the house of the Lord or the Temple of the Lord.
Samuel was sleeping in the Tabernacle near the Ark of God.
- Samuel sleeping in the Tabernacle near the Ark of God symbolizes Samuel’s nearness to God, in contrast to Eli and his sons.
4 Suddenly the Lord called out, “Samuel!”
“Yes?” Samuel replied. “What is it?” 5 He got up and ran to Eli. “Here I am. Did you call me?”
“I didn’t call you,” Eli replied. “Go back to bed.” So he did.
6 Then the Lord called out again, “Samuel!”
Again Samuel got up and went to Eli. “Here I am. Did you call me?”
“I didn’t call you, my son,” Eli said. “Go back to bed.”
7 Samuel did not yet know the Lord because he had never had a message from the Lord before.
Samuel did know about the Lord.
Samuel had not yet encountered the Lord in a personal way.
- Samuel did know about the Lord but he had not yet encountered the Lord in a personal way.
8 So the Lord called a third time, and once more Samuel got up and went to Eli. “Here I am. Did you call me?”
Then
It took three times.
Eli realized it was the Lord who was calling the boy.
- The events in this narrative indicate that Eli’s spiritual perception was not what it should have been as the high priest and judge of Israel.
Another example of misperception.
1 Samuel 1:12-16 NLT
12 As she was praying to the Lord, Eli watched her. 13 Seeing her lips moving but hearing no sound, he thought she had been drinking. 14 “Must you come here drunk?” he demanded. “Throw away your wine!”
9 So he said to Samuel, “Go and lie down again, and if someone calls again, say, ‘Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went back to bed.
- When Eli finally discerned that Samuel was being addressed by the Lord, he advised Samuel to respond to God, not to him (Eli).
10 And the Lord came and called as before, “Samuel! Samuel!”
- The doubling of the name calls attention to the seriousness of the moment.
Note other examples when the doubling of the name was used:
Genesis 22:11 NLT
11 At that moment the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”
“Yes,” Abraham replied. “Here I am!”
Genesis 46:2 NLT
2 During the night God spoke to him in a vision. “Jacob! Jacob!” he called.
“Here I am,” Jacob replied.
Exodus 3:4 NLT
4 When the Lord saw Moses coming to take a closer look, God called to him from the middle of the bush, “Moses! Moses!”
“Here I am!” Moses replied.
Matthew 27:46 NLT
46 At about three o’clock, Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”
Luke 22:31 NLT
31 “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift each of you like wheat.
Acts 9:4 NLT
4 He (Saul) fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?”
And Samuel replied, “Speak, your servant is listening.”
Samuel is not just hearing a voice, he is listening.
- Eli had instructed Samuel to identify himself as God’s servant.
Samuel most likely understood his role.
See verse 1: Samuel served the Lord by assisting Eli
11 Then the Lord said to Samuel, “I am about to do a shocking thing in Israel.
God was about to give this young boy, Samuel, a message of impending destruction.
Events that would be of national significance to Israel.
This is an indication that Samuel had truly “grown in favor with the Lord” (matured) (2:26 NLT).
God would not have given this message to someone who was too immature to grasp its significance.
12 I am going to carry out all my threats against Eli and his family, from beginning to end.
- God gave Samuel the same message Eli had received from “a man of God”.
1 Samuel 2:31-34 NLT
31 The time is coming when I will put an end to your family, so it will no longer serve as my priests. All the members of your family will die before their time. None will reach old age. 32 You will watch with envy as I pour out prosperity on the people of Israel. But no members of your family will ever live out their days. 33 The few not cut off from serving at my altar will survive, but only so their eyes can go blind and their hearts break, and their children will die a violent death. 34 And to prove that what I have said will come true, I will cause your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, to die on the same day!
This did not happen immediately, but it did happen.
It took 130 years to fulfill this message.
Galatians 6:7 NLT
7 Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant.
13 I have warned him that judgment is coming upon his family forever,
because his sons are blaspheming God
Leviticus 24:16 NLT
16 Anyone who blasphemes the Name of the Lord must be stoned to death by the whole community of Israel. Any native-born Israelite or foreigner among you who blasphemes the Name of the Lord must be put to death.
and he hasn’t disciplined them.
- Eli was implicated in the sins of his sons because he did not intervene with judgment. If his sons were blaspheming God, they should have been stoned.
14 So I have vowed that the sins of Eli and his sons will never be forgiven by sacrifices or offerings.”
Numbers 15:30-31 NLT
Laws concerning Offerings
30 “But those who brazenly violate the Lord’s will, whether native-born Israelites or foreigners, have blasphemed the Lord, and they must be cut off from the community. 31 Since they have treated the Lord’s word with contempt and deliberately disobeyed his command, they must be completely cut off and suffer the punishment for their guilt.”
Hebrews 10:26-27 NLT
26 Dear friends, if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice that will cover these sins. 27 There is only the terrible expectation of God’s judgment and the raging fire that will consume his enemies.
- If we deliberately continue sinning after we have received knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice that will cover these sins.(Hebrews 10:26 NLT)
- Eli understood the seriousness of his son’s behaviors.
1 Samuel 2:22-25 NLT
22 Now Eli was very old, but he was aware of what his sons were doing to the people of Israel. He knew, for instance, that his sons were seducing the young women who assisted at the entrance of the Tabernacle 23 Eli said to them, “I have been hearing reports from all the people about the wicked things you are doing. Why do you keep sinning? 24 You must stop, my sons! The reports I hear among the Lord’s people are not good. 25 If someone sins against another person, God can mediate for the guilty party. But if someone sins against the Lord, who can intercede?” But Eli’s sons wouldn’t listen to their father, for the Lord was already planning to put them to death.
God spoke to Samuel and Samuel was ready to listen.
*****************
- The time of the judges was a period of extremely limited (“rare” or “uncommon”) prophetic activity.
- Eli was almost blind, both physically and spiritually.
- Samuel sleeping in the Tabernacle near the Ark of God symbolizes Samuel’s nearness to God, in contrast to Eli and his sons.
- Samuel did know about the Lord but he had not yet encountered the Lord in a personal way.
- The events in this narrative indicate that Eli’s spiritual perception was not what it should have been, as the high priest and judge of Israel.
- When Eli finally discerned that Samuel was being addressed by the Lord, he advised Samuel respond to God, not to him (Eli).
- The doubling of the name calls attention to the seriousness of the moment.
- Eli had instructed Samuel to identify himself as God’s servant.
- God gave Samuel the same message Eli had received from “a man of God”.
- Eli was implicated in the sins of his sons because he did not intervene with judgment. If his sons were blaspheming God, they should have been stoned.
- If we deliberately continue sinning after we have received knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice that will cover these sins.(Hebrews 10:26 NLT)
- Eli understood the seriousness of his son’s behaviors.
