| “The word of the Lord was precious in those days … and Samuel was laid down to sleep … the Lord called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I. And he ran unto Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou calledst me” (1 Samuel 3:1, 3-5). |
| Samuel had been living at the tabernacle with Eli for some time, but he was still only a boy. The Lord wanted to give a message to Eli, and He had already sent a prophet to speak to him some time before this. Sadly, Eli had evidently not done anything about the serious message the prophet had given him. You can read about this in 1 Samuel 2. |
| Now the Lord was going to give another stern message to Eli, and He chose to give it through Samuel. But Samuel did not yet know the Lord personally, and when the Lord called him, he thought it was Eli that had called. Finally after the Lord had called three times, Eli realized that it was the Lord, and told Samuel to say, “Speak, Lord: for Thy servant heareth.” Samuel did this and received a solemn message from the Lord. You can read about this in 1 Samuel 3. |
| We can learn some important lessons from all this. First of all, it is not always an older person who is most faithful to the Lord. Although he was an older man, Eli was not a faithful priest, and the Lord spoke to Samuel instead of speaking directly to Eli. Secondly, we see that Samuel respected and obeyed Eli, and came immediately when he thought Eli had called him. Samuel was already in bed, and he could have pretended that he was asleep, or that he did not hear the voice that spoke to him. But Samuel responded right away, and eventually received a message directly from the Lord. When we are obedient to those in authority over us, it is pleasing to the Lord, and He will use us in His service. |
| Thirdly, we notice that it was a very sad message that Samuel received, for the Lord told him that He was going to judge Eli’s sons for their wickedness. More than this, the Lord would eventually destroy all Eli’s family for their sin. This was a hard message for a young boy to hear, but Samuel repeated it all carefully to Eli, when Eli asked him the next day. Sometimes, even as young people, we have to learn about some serious things that are happening in this world, and among the people of God. As we might say, Samuel had to “grow up quickly,” and take some real responsibility. Maybe some of you will have to do that too. |
