Key Text: Eli said unto Samuel, Go lie down: and it shall be, if he call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, Lord for thy servant heareth (1 Samuel 3:9).
The Book of Samuel records the story of the high priest, Eli (who was descended from Aaron a member of the hereditary Levitical Priesthood), at Shiloh during the birth of Samuel. We recall that Eli saw Hannah in the sanctuary and she explained, “I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit…and have poured out my soul before the Lord. The Lord remembered her, and she gave birth to Samuel (1:19). Hannah had sworn that if she were given a child, she would dedicate him to the Lord, and true to her word, as soon as Samuel was weaned at about the age of three, she brought the boy to Eli where he grew in “goodness and wisdom.” Eli’s own sons, Hophni and Phinehas, “knew not the Lord.” The two, serving as priests, used their office for their own lusts and pleasures: They disobeyed laws related to sacrifices and they lay with women who came to the tabernacle. When Eli heard the ugly stories, he rebuked his sons. But his words had no effect on the evildoers and Eli made himself an accessory to the sin of his sons by failing to restrain them. So, the first message which the young prophet (probably twelve years of age), Samuel, received confirmed God’s intention to reject Eli’s house (2:9).
We are told that Eli and Samuel both slept inside the temple, and Samuel at least slept in the chamber which contained the ark. Eli’s eyesight had begun to grow dim, which explains why Samuel thought Eli was calling for assistance. The third word that came to Samuel after his receptive response, “Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth” v 9. The dreadful content of this message was so shocking that it could cause the ears to tingle: Eli’s house is to be destroyed “because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not.” Eli knew that Samuel had had a supernatural communication, but he was yet sure of its origin. At Eli’s insistence, Samuel repeated the Lord’s words. But, Samuel resigned and said, “It is the Lord, let him do what seemeth him good” v 11-18. This is a formula for an oath common in the book of Samuel, which originated with the killing of a sacrificial animal and when the man taking the oath could implicate himself if he broke his word. Then “all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba (the people from the extreme north to the extreme south) knew and accepted Samuel as “a prophet of the Lord” v 21. AMEN!
P.S. What shows God that we are listening to Him? We can go to the Bible and hear God speak to us today. We can pray, talk, and live the Samuel Bible story by doing what God is saying. What have you done today to obey God?
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