Samuel (“asked for of God”) of all the scribes of Scripture is quite unique. His birth resulted when his godly mother Hannah prayed. She was mocked for being childless, a shame for a woman of Israel wishing to bear the seed of the woman (Gen. 3:15).
She went with her husband Elkanah “yearly to worship and to sacrifice unto the Lord of hosts in Shiloh” (1 Sam. 1:3). The tabernacle was set up there, the place at that time where the Lord had chosen to place His name. But the priesthood and sacrifices were despised because of the wickedness of the priests, Hophni and Phinehas, Eli’s sons.
“In bitterness of soul” Hannah went to the temple (tabernacle) and prayed, weeping before God. She made a vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if Thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of Thine handmaid, and remember me... but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head” (1 Sam. 1:11).
As she prayed silently in her heart, Eli the priest, seeing her lips moving, thought she was drunken. Hannah answered, “No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I... have poured out my soul before the Lord” (1 Sam. 1:15).
Eli replied, “Go in peace: and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition.”
God answered her prayer and gave her a son whom she named Samuel.
When she had weaned Samuel, she took the young child and brought him to the house of the Lord in Shiloh. Sacrificing a bullock, they brought the child to Eli. She told him, “For this child I prayed; and the Lord hath given me my petition... also I have lent him to the Lord; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the Lord” (1 Sam. 1:27-28).
Samuel’s Growth Samuel was a Levite of the family of Kohath (1 Sam. 1:1; 1 Chron. 6:22,26-27). “Samuel ministered before the Lord, being a child, girded with a linen ephod” (1 Sam. 2:18). So he was an acting priest. His mother made him a little coat each year when she came with her husband, Elkanah, to sacrifice—no doubt a larger coat, for as the boy grew physically, he grew in spirit also.
We read of the Lord Jesus, “The child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom.... And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man” (Luke 2:40,52).
“The child Samuel ministered unto the Lord before Eli. And the word of the Lord was precious [rare] in those days.... Samuel did not yet know the Lord” (1 Sam. 3:1,7).
Samuel’s Call
When the Lord called Samuel as he lay down to sleep, Samuel went to Eli thinking he had called him. Eli said, “I called not; lie down again” (vs. 5).
The third time this happened, Eli perceived it was the Lord calling Samuel, so he said, “Go, lie down... and... if He call thee... say, Speak, Lord; for Thy servant heareth” (vs. 9).
“The Lord came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for Thy servant heareth” (vs. 10). He revealed the judgment about to fall on Eli’s sons because of their evil ways which he did not restrain. “Samuel told him every whit” (1 Sam. 3:11-18).
“Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him.” What Samuel said, the Lord did not let fall to the ground. “All Israel... knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the Lord.... The Lord revealed Himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the Lord. And the word of Samuel came to all Israel” (1 Sam. 3:19-4:1).
Samuel’s Service
Samuel urged the people, “Return to the Lord... put away the strange gods... and prepare your hearts unto the Lord and serve Him only: and He will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines” (1 Sam. 7:3). Samuel prayed to the Lord, and the people fasted and confessed, “We have sinned against the Lord” (vs. 6).
Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. But he mistakenly made his sons judges, for they took bribes and perverted judgment (1 Sam. 8:1,3).
The people asked for a king, since they wanted to be like the nations, and it grieved Samuel. The Lord told him, “They have not rejected thee, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them” (1 Sam. 8:7). Samuel did not choose the king. The Lord directed him to Saul, who was seeking his father’s asses. He anointed this tall, good-looking man. He was the kind of man the people wanted, and he went on well for a time.
Later he did not obey the word of the Lord. “Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly; thou hast not kept the commandment of the Lord” (1 Sam. 13:13). So the Lord chose David: “A man after His own heart” (1 Sam. 13:14). David was keeping his father’s sheep when he was called to be anointed by Samuel.
At the end of his life of service Samuel said, “I am old and gray headed... and I have walked before you from my childhood until this day,” and he called on the people to witness against him before the Lord: “Whose ox have I taken? or whose ass have I taken? or whom have I defrauded?... or... have I received any bribe?... and I will restore it you” (1 Sam. 12:23).
(Note: According to 1 Chronicles 29:29 and Jewish tradition, Samuel is considered to have written the first twenty-four chapters of 1 Samuel. See Handbook of the Old Testament by Walter Scott.)
T. A. Roach