The Call

12. May 2009 by Bernice Davis.

Hello: 

Today we are moving on to the third chapter of Samuel and our text reveals to us the call narrative of Samuel. 

Here is the story below.I Samuel 3:1 The boy Samuel ministered before the Lord under Eli. In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions. 2 One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. 3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was. 4 Then the Lord called Samuel. Samuel answered, “Here I am.” 5 And he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” But Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.” So he went and lay down. 6 Again the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” “My son,” Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.” 7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord: The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. 8 The Lord called Samuel a third time, and Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” Then Eli realized that the Lord was calling the boy. 9 So Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place. 10 The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” We see in our text that though Eli had been sentenced by God that he and his family would be cut off, God still uses Eli to train up his faithful priest which would be Samuel.   Where Eli goes wrong with his two sons, He still gets another chance to get it right with Samuel.    

The text says that Samuel is serving before the Lord under Eli’s instructions.   We see from our text that Eli’s sight had grown dim which means that at this point he probably heavily depended on Samuel to carry out the duties of the temple since his own sons were not concerned about the things of God.   

One night as they lay, Samuel hears a voice.   This may not have been strange for Samuel seeing that Eli was almost blind and he may have easily been use to hearing Eli call him in the middle of the night if he needed something.  The text gives us some very strategic information about where Samuel was lying.  We read that he was lying in the temple near the ark of God.  In scripture the ark of God represents the presence of the Lord.    When Samuel heard the voice of God, he immediately ran to Eli to see what he wanted and Eli’s response was that he was not the one that called.    This scenario will take place a couple more times and Eli realizes that it is God that is calling Samuel.   Eli instructs the boy that the next time he hears the voice to just stay there and say: “Speak Lord, thy servant heareth.”   

There is also another bit of information that will help us in our understanding of this text.  The story opens with “in those days, the word of the Lord was rare, there were not many open visions.”  Samuel was not use to hearing the voice of the Lord, for he was living in a season where God’s word was rare.   

The voice comes again to Samuel and he obeys Eli’s instructions and says; “Speak Lord, thy servant heareth.”   

Tomorrow, we will learn what God would say to Samuel. 

Be encouraged! 

God Bless!!!!!!!  Don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily.

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