Samuel Speaks for the Lord.
1 Samuel 3:15-21 NLT
15 Samuel stayed in bed until morning, then got up and opened the doors of the Tabernacle as usual. He was afraid to tell Eli what the Lord had said to him. 16 But Eli called out to him, “Samuel, my son.”
“Here I am,” Samuel replied.
17 “What did the Lord say to you? Tell me everything. And may God strike you and even kill you if you hide anything from me!” 18 So Samuel told Eli everything; he didn’t hold anything back. “It is the Lord’s will,” Eli replied. “Let him do what he thinks best.”
19 As Samuel grew up, the Lord was with him, and everything Samuel said proved to be reliable. 20 And all Israel, from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south, knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the Lord. 21 The Lord continued to appear at Shiloh and gave messages to Samuel there at the Tabernacle.
Examine the Scriptures
1 Samuel 3:15-21 NLT
Samuel Speaks for the Lord
15 Samuel stayed in bed until morning, then got up and opened the doors of the Tabernacle as usual.
- Samuel started his day by carrying out his routine duties.
“Doors” are an indication that the Tabernacle in this passage was a more permanent structure than the one used in the wilderness.
He was afraid to tell Eli what the Lord had said to him.
- Samuel was afraid to tell Eli of God’s plans for him and his family.
This may have been out of respect for Eli’s position as High Priest.
Samuel was a young man and Eli was the High Priest.
This may have been out of fear for his own safety. (See verse 17)
16 But Eli called out to him, “Samuel, my son.”
Eli addressed Samuel as his son.
Almost all translations us the words “my son”.
The call Samuel received from Eli was similar to the call Samuel previously received in 3:4-5.
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.
This time it was Eli calling and Samuel knew it was Eli.
“Here I am,” Samuel replied.
17 “What did the Lord say to you?
- Eli recognized the fact that the Lord had spoken to Samuel.
Now in those days messages from the Lord were very rare, and visions were quite uncommon. (1 Samuel 3:1)
Tell me everything. And may God strike you and even kill you if you hide anything from me!”
- Eli called down God’s judgment on Samuel if he refused to tell everything he knew.
This expression was used on other occasions in the Old Testament.
Ruth 1:17 NLT
17 Wherever you die, I (Ruth) will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord punish me severely if I allow anything but death to separate us!”
2 Samuel 3:9 NLT
9 May God strike me (Abner) and even kill me if I don’t do everything I can to help David get what the Lord has promised him!
2 Samuel 19:13 NLT
13 And David told them to tell Amasa, “Since you are my own flesh and blood, like Joab, may God strike me and even kill me if I do not appoint you as commander of my army in his place.”
1 Kings 19:2 NLT
2 So Jezebel sent this message to Elijah: “May the gods strike me and even kill me if by this time tomorrow I have not killed you just as you killed them.”
This is clearly a very solemn appeal.
This comment may have been very intimidating to Samuel.
- A prophet’s assignment can be a very challenging and difficult assignment. It is not easy to tell people something they may not want to hear.
- All throughout the Scripture both the prophet and their message were frequently rejected by the people the message was directed toward.
Nehemiah 9:26 NLT
26 “… They turned their backs on your Law, they killed your prophets who warned them to return to you…
Acts 7:52 NLT
52 Name one prophet your ancestors didn’t persecute! They even killed the ones who predicted the coming of the Righteous One—the Messiah whom you betrayed and murdered.
Luke 13:34 NLT (Jesus speaking)
34 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God’s messengers!
18 So Samuel told Eli everything; he didn’t hold anything back.
- Samuel was taking on the role of a prophet of God.
“It is the Lord’s will,” Eli replied. “Let him do what he thinks best.”
- To his credit, Eli humbly accepts God’s judgment.
19 As Samuel grew up, the Lord was with him,
- As Samuel grew up, the Lord was with him.
Many of changes are taking place in this chapter.
A major change:
Previously:
1 Samuel 3:7 NLT
7 Samuel did not yet know the Lord because he had never had a message from the Lord before.
Application
Jesus’ promise to the disciples and to us.
John 14:16-18 NLT
16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. 17 He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you. 18 No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you.
and everything Samuel said proved to be reliable.
All that Samuel spoke was fulfilled.
Deuteronomy 18:21-22 NLT
21 “But you may wonder, ‘How will we know whether or not a prophecy is from the Lord?’ 22 If the prophet speaks in the Lord’s name but his prediction does not happen or come true, you will know that the Lord did not give that message. That prophet has spoken without my authority and need not be feared.
Jeremiah 28:9 NLT
9 So a prophet who predicts peace must show he is right. Only when his predictions come true can we know that he is really from the Lord.”
20 And all Israel, from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south,
The territory of all 12 tribes of Israel. (refer to a map of Israel.)
knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the Lord.
- The reliability of Samuel’s message made it evident that God was speaking through him.
21 The Lord continued to appear at Shiloh and gave messages to Samuel there at the Tabernacle.
The Lord continued to give messages to Samuel.
- God reopened the lines of communication with Israel through Samuel.
Previously:
3:1 Now in those days messages from the Lord were very rare, and visions were quite uncommon.
Samuel’s role as a prophet was under way and would last for a lifetime.
A new era had begun.
1 Samuel 4:1 NLT
1 And Samuel’s words went out to all the people of Israel.
- Samuel was God’s spokesman for all of Israel.
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- Samuel started his day by carrying out his routine duties.
- Samuel was afraid to tell Eli of God’s plans for him and his family.
- Eli recognized the fact that the Lord had spoken to Samuel.
- Eli called down God’s judgment on Samuel if he refused to tell everything he knew.
- A prophet’s assignment can be a very challenging and difficult assignment. It is not easy to tell people something they may not want to hear.
- All throughout the Scripture both the prophet and their message were frequently rejected by the people the message was directed toward.
- Samuel was taking on the role of a prophet of God.
- To his credit, Eli humbly accepts God’s judgment.
- As Samuel grew up, the Lord was with him.
- The reliability of Samuel’s message made it evident that God was speaking through him.
- God reopened the lines of communication with Israel through Samuel.
- Samuel was God’s spokesman for all of Israel.
