This was the beginning of many revelations to Samuel. “Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground... And the Lord appeared again in Shiloh: for the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the Lord” (1 Sam. 3:19-21). Had the circumstances been normal, God would have spoken to the people in and through the high priest, according to His own appointment. But this being impossible, He spoke to and through the man with the willing ear. This is His way still. Our Lord said when giving utterance to His parables, “Who hath ears to hear, let him hear” (Matt. 13:9). Seven times in the addresses to the churches in Asia we meet with the words, “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.” This is clearly an individual thing. The mass in Christendom is more than ever indifferent to the will of the Lord, and the leaders in too many cases feed their followers with lies, for the predicted apostasy comes on apace. But the man who has the willing ear (shall we say, the circumcised ear?) will not fail to make advance in the knowledge of God and His word, to his own deep blessing, and to the spiritual advantage of all who are privileged to listen to his testimony. Each one of us might well pray:
“O give me Samuel's ear—The open ear, O Lord, Alive and quick to hear Each whisper of Thy word; Like him to answer at Thy call, And to obey Thee first of all.”
The young prophet did not fail to get the respect of the people. To every exercised heart it became apparent that although God in His righteousness was judging the priesthood, He was not abandoning His people. In the sovereignty of His love He had established a new link between Himself and them in the person of Hannah's first-born. “All Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the Lord” (1 Sam. 3:20).
In his subsequent ministry of intercession, Samuel is remarkably reminiscent of Moses (Jer. 15:1), and as the forerunner of the King he is equally suggestive of John the Baptist.