It is somewhat startling to read in 1 Samuel 2:18 that the child Samuel was “girded with a linen ephod”; for Samuel, although a Levite, was not of the priestly house. Only one other person outside the family of Aaron is ever spoken of as wearing an ephod
- David, on the occasion of his bringing up the Ark of the Lord from Kirjath-Jearim to Zion (2 Sam. 6:14). These circumstances make the Lord’s change of attitude towards Israel more vivid. The Aaronic priesthood under the head continued to perform its functions on behalf of the people in the sanctuary, but the high priest was no longer the medium of communication from the Lord. Samuel and David, prophet and king, symbolize the glorious One who is coming, in whom all the offices that man's need requires will be blessedly combined.
In a solemn message to Eli by an unnamed man of God, the Lord confirmed the promise of a king and showed plainly where the priesthood would stand thenceforward. “I will raise Me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in Mine heart and in My mind: and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before Mine anointed forever” (1 Sam 2:35). Let the reader compare this with Numbers 27:18-23. There Joshua is bidden to “stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall ask counsel for him after the judgment of Urim before the Lord: at his word (i.e. Eleazar's word) shall they go out, and at his word they shall come in.” Now the priest, although faithful, and working according to the Lord’s mind and heart must walk before the king. Moreover, the title “the anointed,” hitherto understood to refer to the High Priest, should henceforward belong to the king.