Samuel Listens to the Voice of God
1 Samuel 3:1-21
Turn to 1 Sam 3. Have you ever had something in life and then you lost it and you realized that you may have taken it for granted. I mean, health is one of those things that we can take for granted, until we lose it. I am sure we could all relate to many things: fresh clean water, hydro, heat, shelter, food, eyesight, the list could go on and on. That many of us could be thinking that everything is good and then the Lord may decide to bring some kind of test or struggle or take something away from us, and we are left in despair. I believe that any of us who read through 1 Samuel 3 this week may have felt this way when reading the very first verse.
“Now the young boy Samuel was ministering to Yahweh before Eli. And word from Yahweh was rare in those days; visions were infrequent.”
1 Sam 3:1 (LSB)
Here we are reminded of the blessing we have in possessing God’s Word, that many of us have the Word of God in multiple translations. We have the Bible at our fingertips on our computers and our phones. Now remember when Eli and Samuel were alive, it was the time of Israel in the Promised Land. So, the only Scripture available would be the 5 books of Moses and the books of Joshua, Judges, and Ruth, and maybe the book of Job and some of the Psalms that Moses wrote. And for the majority of the common folks who did not have anything, as their known history of Israel would be by word-of-mouth, and it would seem that the beginning of 1 Samuel is a time when God is silent.
We also need to remember that we can sometimes think of Bible days as days of miracles and God speaking with men, or even when we read in books like 1 Samuel where the people served the Lord and then they walked away from him. And we may ask the question, “How can that happen? How could they do this when the Lord has been speaking to them?” Well, what we fail to understand is that often during these days, there are many years between the time when the Lord would speak. We will often read that forty years passed or sixty years passed. It would be like saying that something happened in 1965 and then in 2025 this happened. In other words, a lot would have changed.
And what also happened is that these generations would pass and there was no new Scripture being given to man. The days of the judges were ending and there was no king in Israel. And to be fair here, would not you and I feel completely lost? I mean, we know the truth about creation and the time of calling the people of Israel. We know of the judges and then God calling a king. We have the Psalms and all the other wisdom books: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Job. We have the prophets who foretold much about Christ and the end times. And if that was not enough, we have been given the life of Christ in four gospels. We have the history of the early church. Rich letters teaching us about doctrine and how the believer ought to live and we have the book of Revelation. So, how would we feel if one, they were taken from us? Though we would still remember much of them, but I am sure we would ache for the blessing of having those books in our hands again. But imagine if the Lord had never provided them for us in the first place. What if the life of Christ and the teachings of the apostles were just handed down to the next generations and not recorded. Would we not be calling out to God say, Lord, we need a word from You? Listen to the words of Amos:
“‘Behold, days are coming,’ declares Lord Yahweh, ‘When I will send a famine on the land, Not a famine for bread or a thirst for water, But rather for hearing the words of Yahweh. People will wander from sea to sea And from the north even to the east; They will go to and fro to seek the word of Yahweh, But they will not find it.’”
Amos 8:11-12 (LSB)
This is likely referring to the time between the Old Testament and New Testament when God was silent for four hundred years. Not only would the believer be uncertain of what God was doing, but he might almost feel abandoned by God. Yet in all this uncertainly, in this time of wondering of what God is doing, what we have in this chapter 3 as we have been progressing in this story is a glimmer of hope, as we do get a glimpse and a sense that God is acting despite the evil around. There are five statements that are highlights thus far: (1 Sam 2:11b) But [Samuel] ministered to Yahweh before Eli the priest; (1 Sam 2:18) Now Samuel was ministering before Yahweh, as a young boy girded with a linen ephod; (1 Sam 2:21) And the young boy Samuel grew before Yahweh; (1 Sam 2:26) Now the young boy Samuel was growing in stature and in favor both with Yahweh and with men; and (1 Sam 3:1a) Now the young boy Samuel was ministering to Yahweh before Eli.
Now that phrase (vs 1) “young boy” reveals that Samuel is no longer a child, that he is likely now around the age of twelve or possibly a little older. We likely all know this story of the young Samuel when the Lord will call out to him. Many of us may were read that story long before we could read. It is interesting that the passage tells of the aging Eli, he is lying down and losing his eyesight, and all this is contrasted with the activity of Samuel who hears his name being called and is popping up and down out of bed.
Anne and I are very different when it comes to sleep. I can fall asleep very quickly but am a light sleeper. I hear everything. Anne takes much longer to fall asleep, but is a very deep sleeper. Now the problem of being a light sleeper is that you can tend to worry about grandkids if they are visiting, especially if they are just babies or even two years old and they are sleeping very soundly. And you are a light sleeper like me, you may end up worrying about them. As I will often get up to make sure those little hearts have not ceased to beat. You go into their bedroom and you place your hand on their chest and good to feel that air going in and out. So, I am usually thinking when they are visiting, come on give me grunts and groans so I do not have to get up.
But here we see the energy of this young Samuel in contrast to the tiredness of Eli, who has little control over his own rebellious sons. And of course, the great question for Israel is what will happen when Eli dies? Next in line, Hophni and Phinehas, his sons, now being contrasted with young Samuel who is so in tune spiritually. That even the priest of God seems to be past his time, with little spiritual influence. And the so-called successors who live as if they are spiritually dead. And then you have the young Samuel who is wide awake during the darkness. And the Bible has already told us that he is ministering, he is growing spiritually, and the Lord is using him. See, there is no less spiritual energy from those who are truly in tune with God, whether the times are dark or the times light. There is less spiritual energy from those who pretend to be godly for they are focused on sin and self and not God. Or from those who are tired spiritually, for they have lost their godly influence on others and seem to live with more fear than faith.
And in the dead of night the Lord calls out, Samuel! Now that would startle me in a hurry. Now we do not know if the voice could have been heard by anyone else. It could have been quite audible, but Eli is away from Samuel and he may have been hard of hearing. In any event, Samuel jumps out of bed, runs to Eli and says, “Here I am!” Now we must be impressed with the training here of Eli and the obedience of Samuel, that upon the sound of seemingly Eli’s voice, Samuel jumps out of bed and runs to Eli. “Here I am, Uncle Eli, ready for action!” I might try that on our grandkids some time!
But notice (vs 7) “Now Samuel did not yet know Yahweh.” That statement is hard to understand considering all that we know about Samuel. Does this mean the same thing that the Bible said about Hophni and Phinehas earlier when it says that they did not know God? Now we know the fact that the two sons did not know the Lord is pretty straightforward. They had rejected God, though they continued to present this façade of being ministers for God. Yet for Samuel it was different.
“Now Samuel did not yet know Yahweh, nor had the word of Yahweh yet been revealed to him.”
1 Sam 3:7 (LSB)
Woodhouse observes here that the boys did not know God because they had chosen a life of rejection and sin. For Samuel, it was different, and it shows us the need for God to reveal Himself to us. It is true, a rejection of God can be our rejection of His creation to truly see and know the Creator (Rom 1), but to really know God and to know salvation, we must also be called by God (Rom 10).
“‘Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?”
Rom 10:13-14 (LSB)
No one can truly be a man or woman of faith without God calling to them and doing a work in his or her life specifically and individually. It is true, that we gather here as a body of people, we sometimes say a body of believers, but ultimately, the question will come down to each of us individually, do you know God? For the picture we get in the Bible of our time before God at the end of our lives is always depicted as an individual before God. As God will know those who trusted Him by faith and He will know if that faith was tested and proven to be real. We do not walk into heaven as Elim Bible Chapel. We stand not completely alone before God, but with Christ if we have truly known Him, with a real faith that is known to God. As God’s “well done” to you, will be His response to a heart that truly trusted in Christ.
This whole story reminds me of the great hymn, Holy, Holy, Holy. “Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty! Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee.” As Samuel rises to hear from God and to answer God. Verse 3, “Holy, holy, holy! though the darkness hide Thee.” The voice of God had been silent in the land of Israel. “Though the eye of sinful man Thy glory may not see.” This revelation of God was not made known to Eli or to his sons. And “Only Thou art holy, there is none beside Thee.” This line is taken almost word-for-word from Hannah’s praise last week (2:2) “There is no one holy like Yahweh; Indeed, there is no one besides You, Nor is there any rock like our God.”
So, you have to wonder about the spiritual condition of the nation of Israel. When this place of sacrifice was full of injustice, immorality, and insincerity, and possibly the reason that Eli was not quick to realize that God was speaking was that God had been silent for so long. Jesus told the parable of the seed that was sown and most of it fell on deaf ears. Though for some it actually created some excitement for a while, but for most of them, it proved to be unfruitful. But there were a few that the seed over time flourished and grew, and it resulted in a fruitful and proven ministry. But just prior to Jesus giving this sort of warning with the parable of the seeds, He quoted Isaiah 6, “For the heart of this people has become dull, And with their ears they scarcely hear, And they have closed their eyes.”
Easy to see a lesson in our own lives in this. That yes, there may be times when we come to church and we hear from God, or yes, we are faithful in doing our morning devotions when we read the words of God. Yet in our innermost being, in that place where we should be so excited about the things of God, our hearts may have become dull and cold and our ears scarcely hear and we have closed out eyes. I always remember hearing a guest speaker saying to one of our sons when he was responding to God’s leading in his life as a teen. He said to him, do not ever lose that soft heart towards God. And a hard heart is not really a hard thing to diagnose. In other words, we are not exactly jumping out-of-bed spiritually like Samuel. That spiritually God is speaking, God is working, God is moving, but we are sleeping with the blankets pulled over our heads.
So, Eli tells Samuel to respond to God if he is called again and Samuel responds by saying, “Speak, for your slave is listening.” But that response in saying that Samuel was hearing or listening means more than hearing the words. It literally means that Samuel was listening with the intent of obeying. Now I do want to caution here of us today using such language as the Lord spoke to me. We have just read earlier this week in our “church read” in Hebrews:
“God, having spoken long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days spoke to us in His Son.”
Heb 1:1-2a (LSB)
So, we are told that in Old Testament times the Lord would speak to the people through His prophets, but then there is a transition of God’s primary means of speaking to His people was through His Son Jesus Christ. And then the further transition to speaking through His Word as Paul told Timothy:
“All Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be equipped, having been thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
2 Tim 3:16-17 (LSB)
That we can confidently say that God’s Word today is the primary way in which God would speak to us. And even when His Spirit leads us, that leading is always within the truth and the counsel of God’s Word. So, Samuel heard the voice of God, and it was not just a voice, but the passage tells us (vs 10) that God actually came and stood. Now we do not know anything more than this. We are not told if Samuel saw anything, but that God came and stood signifies that this was more than just a dream that Samuel had, for God had directly come to Samuel. And here in the land of Israel when God had been silent and the land was dark spiritually, God breaks that silence by speaking to one young boy, who the Lord had chosen to use. A young boy that was given to a faithful Mom, and this Mom lived during a time and in a situation that was very difficult, and yet she had a full trust in the sovereignty of God. The heartache you might find yourself today, or the time of uncertainty that you may be going through maybe relationally, financially, work-related, whatever, there is blessing and benefits in trusting in the sovereignty of God, to have a faith like Hannah that will not be shaken. Though strong faith is not a trouble-eliminator, strong faith is a trouble-overcomer.
Though we learned this story as children, we may not have learned about the message that God gave to Samuel. As the message doesn’t match the “nicety” of the story. I didn’t look, but I am not sure that in our children’s Bible storybooks, after describing this wonderful story of Samuel rising in the night and responding to God that it goes on to say:
“And Yahweh said to Samuel, ‘Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel at which both ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. In that day I will establish against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. And I have told him that I am about to judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knew because his sons have been bringing a curse on themselves, but he did not rebuke them. Now therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.’”
1 Sam 3:11-14 (LSB)
I would suggest that this message given to young Samuel must mean that one, he was old enough to remember what God had said, and old enough to know that this was true and certain and that it meant terrible news for Eli. Now before we move on here, think of Samuel after hearing from God (vs 15) laying down in bed until morning. There have been times when I have had a bad dream, where you are in some predicament and woke up in the morning and were so grateful that it was a dream. Yet there is no indication here that Samuel thought this was merely a dream. Because the voice was so real and worrisome to Samuel that he was afraid to tell Eli. In fact, God had already warned Samuel that the hearing of this truth would cause people’s ears to tingle. “Tingle” or that they would turn instantly. Like when we might hear of something so startling that it makes your head rapidly move. Wow! No! That’s terrible news, that is not a dream! And I believe we have to notice the words, that God was going to do something in Israel. This is not like we are watching on TV a volcano or flood or earthquake somewhere else in the world. This is something that was going to occur right here. And this message from God tends to hit us hard as humans as we see firsthand here the results of a God who at times reveals His wrath. A verse that we looked at last Sunday night was from Isaiah 63:
“In all their distress He was distressed,
And the angel of His presence saved them;
In His love and in His mercy
He redeemed them,
And He lifted them and carried them all the ancient days.
But they rebelled
And grieved His Holy Spirit;
Therefore He turned Himself to become their enemy; He fought against them.”
Isa 63:9-10 (LSB)
We do tend to see God so much in the first part if these verses. That God was distressed because the people were distressed, and therefore, He redeemed them in His love and mercy. But we see less of God in His response to their rebellion, that He would become their enemy and fight against them. Woodhouse wrote this:
“The judgment of God against human wickedness is always a terrible thing to contemplate. It is hardly possible for us, embroiled as we are in the sinfulness of humanity, to see clearly the rightness of God’s ways. It is very important for us to take care and humbly listen to the word of God, not passing judgment on it, but allowing it to illuminate our minds.”
John Woodhouse, 1 Samuel: Looking for a Leader 80
We may even feel sorry for Eli at this point and feel that God is being too harsh. This old man who has to deal with his sons and who has taken Samuel under his belt. After all, Eli may be struggling with some of the same sins we might struggle with. And he is getting older. Maybe he does not have the energy anymore to deal with everything that is going on a darkening Israel. Remember I said at the beginning of this study that many times when studying narrative passages in the Bible, it is hard to know whether someone’s actions were good or not. And the reason is because God does not always speak. But I believe when God does speak, we must listen. And regarding Eli, God speaks. (vs 12) in that day I will establish against Eli. That God will (vs 13) judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knew because of his sons, he did not rebuke them. (vs 14) and that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice. Again, we might defend Eli, that yes, that he did not restrain his sons. And we might defend him by saying, it was not for a lack of trying. But here is a warning here for us. All this discussion, if we were having a Bible discussion about this passage is that we might become the judges of Eli. In other words, this seemed a little harsh on Eli. Listen to Woodhouse:
“The trouble with all this is that Eli is not being judged by us. It is the Lord who said that his sons were blaspheming and that he did not do what he should have done. It is not for us then to sit in judgment over the Lord. He is the God of knowledge, by whom deeds are weighed. There is a certain arrogant absurdity in responding to this passage as though we know more about Eli’s innocence (from the few pages that we have!)—and have a keener sense of justice—than the Lord does!”
John Woodhouse, 1 Samuel: Looking for a Leader 80
Wow! that is one of those statements that I can read and be rebuked for our sometimes arrogance over the Scriptures. And I thought that statement by Woodhouse should be in the front of every Bible study manual. That kind of respect and honour and reverence for everything God has said and everything that God has done! That when God declares His will, we would bow before it. And the source of this rejection is because these boys would not listen to their father, which is the same result for us if our ears are dull towards our Heavenly Father. If we sit here in church and somehow believe that our goodness or our judgment is going to override the judgment of God. The writer of Hebrews warned:
“For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries … How much worse punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled underfoot the Son of God … For we know Him who said, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay.’ And again, ‘The Lord will judge His people.’ It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
Heb 10:26-27, 29a, 30-31 (LSB)
One of the things that struck me when reading this story was this question: Why did God choose to tell Samuel this news and not Eli? Why wouldn’t God reveal all this to Eli? We do sense from the story the awkward retelling of the news by Samuel to Eli, as Eli demands that Samuel be honest with him. Well, there are three things that are so important in this story and help answer the question of why God chose to tell Samuel.
- A Shift in Leadership
God was not only bringing the leadership of Eli to an end, He was also establishing a new leader. Therefore, God was going to deal with the new leader. Now we would all agree that the leadership of Eli was very weak at best. And who knows how the words of God may have been related to others if they had come to Eli. Yet there was no question of God’s decision in it coming to Samuel.
“Thus Samuel grew, and Yahweh was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground.”
1 Sam 3:19 (LSB)
All the words of Samuel now would be held highly for they would be the words of God. And the result:
“So all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of Yahweh.”
1 Sam 3:20 (LSB)
Why did God choose to tell Samuel this news and not Eli?
- A Voice of Innocence to Eli
Now when I use the word “innocence” here, I am not suggesting some kind of perfection in the heart of Samuel. But this Word of God coming to Eli must have struck him hard as he realizes he has lost his privileged position. And he caused his own undoing as (vs 13) the Lord directly says that Eli did not rebuke his sons. A place where many who grow older might find themselves because of various sins and therefore live out their days with regret. In Lamentations there is an outcry from God on the city of Jerusalem for their unfaithfulness. And Jeremiah writes their response, “Yahweh is righteous; For I have rebelled against His command.” If there is a silver lining in the life of Eli it is his similar response to the words of God to Samuel about his demise.
“So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. And he said, ‘It is Yahweh; let Him do what seems good in His eyes.’”
1 Sam 3:18 (LSB)
Here Eli acknowledges that the judgment of God is right and good even when it is against himself, as he seems to realize the true reason he has lost his position and why Samuel is now leader. Finally, why did God choose to tell Samuel?
- A Warning to Samuel
As he is warned not to make the same mistake. That as a chosen leader by the lord, he was in such a responsible and accountable position. In other words, see what happens Samuel to one who I have chosen to lead and yet who is not obedient to Me. This was likely a lesson that Samuel would never forget, as he would have to live with the heartache of a good friend who did not fully trust in Yahweh. Three quick lessons in closing:
“And Yahweh appeared again at Shiloh, because Yahweh revealed Himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of Yahweh.”
1 Sam 3:21 (LSB)
Lesson #1 – We can simply say that God spoke to Samuel and Samuel listened to the voice of God and Israel had its new leader and (vs 21) celebrates all this, because the voice of God was again in the land of Shiloh in Israel. Imagine if we could ever say that about our Canada, that the voice of God was again in the country of Canada! And this simple lesson is so profound in our daily lives as parents and influencers and ministry workers. For we could say: that God simply spoke to a Dad through His Word and that Dad listened to the voice of God and that family had a godly leader; or that God simply spoke to a Mom through His Word and that Mom listened to the voice of God and that family had a godly loving Mom; or that God simply spoke to a young person through His Word and that young person listened to the voice of God and that family or that school or circle of people had a godly friend.
Lesson #2 – From this story we learn that simple obedience brings opportunity and privilege, while ongoing disobedience and dullness to the voice of God can strip it all away. Important older folks and young people to obey God’s voice when you hear today
Lesson #3 – May we take the Word of God as the words of God because it is always His judgment and not ours. May this understanding bring greater excitement and obedience to our study.
Let’s pray. Father, for what we know not, teach us. For what we have not, give us. And for what we are not yet, make us. And all God’s people said, amen.