… Here am I; for thou didst call me …
Part
Two – The Calling of Samuel
1
And the child Samuel ministered unto the Lord before Eli. And the word of the
Lord was precious in those days; there was no open vision. 2. And it came to pass at that time,
when Eli was laid down in his place, and his eyes began to wax dim, that he
could not see; 3.
And ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of
God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep; 4.
That the Lord called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I. 5. And he ran onto Eli, and said,
Here am I; for thou calledst me. And he said, I called not; lie down again. And
he went and lay down. 6.
And the Lord called yet again, Samuel. And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and
said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And he answered, I called not, my son;
lie down again. 7. Now
Samuel did not yet know the Lord, neither was the word of the Lord yet revealed
unto him. 8. And
the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and
said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And Eli perceived that the Lord had
called the child. 9.
Therefore 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. So Samuel went and
lay down in his place. 10. And
the Lord came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then
Samuel answered, Speak; for Thy servant heareth. 11. And the Lord said to Samuel,
Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that
heareth it shall tingle. 12. In
that day I will perform against Eli all things which I have spoken concerning
his house: when I begin, I will also make an end. 13. For I have told him that I will
judge his house for ever for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons
made themselves vile, and he restrained them not. 14. And therefore I have sworn unto
the house of Eli, that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be purged with
sacrifice nor offering for ever. (1 Samuel 3:1-14)
I have often claimed pointed out the Word of God
coming from the lips of a child has the same authority as the same word
proclaimed by an aged minister. I believe this is true because it is not the
authority of the person but rather the Word the person speaks which bears its
own authority. Samuel is a perfect example of this fact, and he was a
Child-Prophet. This is not to say that the aged and called elder who loves the
Word of God is not more able to teach its meaning and interpret its application
based on years of study and living.
Samuel, even before he was conceived, was consecrated
to the Lord at the Temple Altar of Shiloh by his believing mother. What use God
would make of Samuel, Hannah did not know; but she knew if Samuel were used of
the Lord, it would be with great purpose – and so it was. This is comparable to
mothers and fathers who dedicate their children to God in Holy Baptism. It is a
promise made by believing parents on behalf of infants who are unable to express
faith – just as Hannah had done while Samuel was not yet even conceived.
The invisible hand of the Lord works behind the veil,
and human eye cannot discern His plans or His works. But once revealed, His
works are altogether good and wise. The life of Eli fell far short of that
expected of a prophet of the Lord. His sons were degenerate and irreverent in
their priestly duties. God would need a strong man to replace Eli in due time,
and God saw that strong man in the countenance and heart of Samuel. The
Providence of God forever works to accomplish His predetermined plans for us. “5
Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to
himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6 To the praise of the
glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.” (Eph
1:4-6) To what end has God performed this mystery? To satisfy His own will and
not ours; and to glorify the GRACE with which we are claimed by God to the
disregard of anything we have done to deserve that GRACE. So God is working in
the shadows to bring about, with absolute certainty, His Holy Will. It is
always so!
The Hand of God deals in deliberate stages in
accomplishing His will and purpose. We see these stages revealed below:
I. The failure of the House of Eli as declared in 1
Sam 3:11-36
1. His sons, Hophni and
Phinehas, shall be slain in one day when the ark was taken by the Philistines.
2. Eli himself shall die
tragically when, in due time, as he sat at the gate to learn if the ark were
safe, the news of its loss to the Philistines caused him to fall over backwards
and break his neck in death. (1 Sam 4:18)
II. The Call of Samuel:
1. The summons of Samuel
(3:1-21)
2. The call to Samuel
(3:1-9)
3. The word to Samuel
(3:10-15)
4. The words related to Eli
(3:16-18)
5. The fame of Samuel
(3:19-21)
Eli was advanced in age when Samuel came to him to be
raised up in the House of the Lord. His human senses were dimmed with age. His
vision was poor and so was his hearing. But these are not fatal flaws. The fatal
flaws that arose in the soul of Eli were attributable to the poor vision of his
spirit in seeing the wickedness of his sons before the people, and his lack of
hearing and following the counsel of God. Many fine young ministers embark on a
burning desire to serve the Lord, and Him alone, only to fall victim along the
way to pride and greed. This was Eli’s failing. He enriched himself and his
sons on the largesse of the temple offerings.
Samuel is young and tender in the House of the Lord.
He has known no egregious and sinful lifestyle. The promises made by his mother
at Shiloh before his birth are burned, as with a hot branding iron, on the soft
sinews of his heart. A child so raised will adhere to the path laid out before
him by righteous counsel. “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when
he is old, he will not depart from it.” (Prov 22:6) This is an area of fidelity
to God in which modern America has disgracefully erred. We have turned our
children over to the public educators, media providers, and federal government
to be raised. Those entities have done the same tragic job in raising our
children as they have done in acting with honesty and integrity in the
execution of their offices.
The Call of Samuel begins with an intriguing manner: 1 And the child Samuel ministered
unto the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was precious in those days;
there was no open vision. (1
Sam 3:1) When the Gold is scarce, its value rises. When the
Word of the Lord cannot be commonly heard, it gains value to world in famine
for it. There was no open vision, just as that vision is also failing in
America, because the prophets were not worthy to receive it. Today in our land,
there are far more isolated Christians who remain faithful to the Word of God
than there are faithful ministers to proclaim the Word in courage and truth.
2
And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place, and his
eyes began to wax dim, that he could not see; 3 And
ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God
was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep; 4 That
the LORD called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I”
(1 Sam 3:2-4) It is amazing with what
immediacy the young ears of Samuel could hear the Voice of the Lord though he
knew not that it was the Lord. An obedient child is obedient to God and also to
those elders above him. 5. And he ran onto Eli, and said,
Here am I; for thou calledst me. And he said, I called not; lie down again. And
he went and lay down. Eli had heard nothing of the
voice of the Lord, so he attributed Samuel’s response to youthful imagination. 6.
And the Lord called yet again, Samuel. And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and
said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And he answered, I called not, my son;
lie down again. 7. Now
Samuel did not yet know the Lord, neither was the word of the Lord yet revealed
unto him. Sin dulls the spiritual ears, but Samuel’s ears were
clear and sensitive to hear God.
Have you ever wondered the source of the old axiom, “The
Third Time is a Winner!”? It probably comes from this third time that the Lord
calls Samuel. 8
And the LORD called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli,
and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And Eli perceived that the LORD
had called the child. Not by the Voice of the Spirit,
but by the voice of the child did Samuel realize that the Lord was calling
Samuel. He gave Samuel the advice to answer: Therefore 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. So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
The Lord will not cease to call a man once He has chosen Him as a vessel for
His service.
10.
And the Lord came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel.
Then Samuel answered, Speak; for Thy servant heareth. 11. And the Lord said to Samuel,
Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that
heareth it shall tingle. 12.
In that day I will perform against Eli all things which I have spoken
concerning his house: when I begin, I will also make an end. 13. For I have told him that I will
judge his house for ever for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons
made themselves vile, and he restrained them not. 14. And therefore I have sworn unto
the house of Eli, that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be purged with
sacrifice nor offering for ever. The Lord will also speak
this prophecy directly to Samuel only, for he was more worthy to bear it than
Eli.
Eli would later press Samuel to hear what the Lord had
spoken, and Samuel revealed all to the aging prophet. So the aged prophet
learns prophecy from the lips of a child. 18
And Samuel told him every whit, and hid nothing from him. And he said, It is
the LORD: let him do what seemeth him good” (1 Sam 3:18)
19
And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and did let none of his words fall
to the ground. (1 Sam 3:19)
Whatsoever the Lord spoke, Samuel related and was thereby preserved from false
prophecy. Would it not be a great joy if our modern preachers would only
proclaim what the Lord has said rather than speaking from the imaginations of
their hearts?
Samuel grew to become a great prophet in Israel.
Unlike Eli, who took filthy lucre (and allowed his sons to do so), Samuel took
not a single penny from the people for his services to God and the people.
Samuel’s final address to all of gathered Israel confirms his good character in
contrast to that of Eli: 2
And now, behold, the king walketh before you: and I am old and grayheaded; and,
behold, my sons are with you: and I have walked before you from my childhood
unto this day. 3 Behold,
here I am: witness against me before the LORD, and before his anointed: whose
ox have I taken? or whose ass have I taken? or whom have I defrauded? whom have
I oppressed? or of whose hand have I received any bribe to blind mine eyes
therewith? and I will restore it you. 4
And they said, Thou hast not defrauded us, nor oppressed us, neither hast thou
taken ought of any man's hand. 5
And he said unto them, The LORD is witness against you, and his anointed is
witness this day, that ye have not found ought in my hand. And they answered,
He is witness. (1 Sam 12:1-5)
We would be hard pressed to find any politician,
preacher, or lay person who could make such a proclamation and have the
concurrence of all of the people, but Samuel DID!
