Heeding God's Word

I Samuel 3:1-20

“Did you hear what I said?”  How many times have those of us who are parents said that to our children, or married people said that to their spouse?  I will admit that sometimes one of my children have said something to me, and though I heard them talking, my mind was somewhere else, and I didn’t hear what they said.  We could miss something important being said when we don’t pay attention, and this is particularly important when it comes to God.  Our Scripture passage for today tells of two people who needed to listen to God speak to them, and how important it is to act upon what we hear.

As our passage begins, young Samuel is living with the priests at the Tabernacle, where the Ark of Covenant is kept.  He had been given to the Lord as a very young child, and is under the care of the priest, Eli, who is an elderly man at this time.   It is the middle of the night, and all of the priests and those who assist in the Tabernacle are asleep.  Samuel would be sleeping just outside the Holy Place, with the others.  Verse 1 says that “the word of the LORD was rare” at this time.  This was a time of very little prophetic activity.  This was during time of the judges, before the monarchy in Israel, and faith in God and living for Him was at a very low ebb throughout the country.  Religious leaders were rarely preaching His Word to the people, and the people certainly weren’t following what they knew, many preferring to follow the false gods of the other nations.

As young Samuel is lying down and sleeping God calls his name (vs. 2 - 9).  At first he doesn’t recognize that it is the voice of God calling him, and neither does Eli, the priest, who Samuel wakes up.  This happens three times, and finally it dawns on Eli that God is speaking to the boy.  Eli was slow to recognize that God was speaking to Samuel.  His spiritual perception was not what it should have been as a priest and judge in Israel.  As we shall see, Eli had drifted far from where he should have been.  How often have we failed to hear and respond to God’s word to us, whether from Scriptures, the preaching of our spiritual leaders, or godly counsel from others? Samuel, being quite young, was learning to hear and respond to God’s Word.  When he realized it was God, he responded “Speak, for Your servant hears.”  That should always be our response when we know that God is trying to tell us something.

God’s first message to Samuel was one of impending destruction, not exactly a pleasant one to hear (vs. 11 - 14).  Sometimes the message that God might have for us is not always one we may enjoy.  It might not always be politically correct, or one that makes people in the pews on Sunday feel good. Throughout the Bible there were many prophets and preachers who were publicly chastised for preaching tough messages, rather than ones of constant peace and “you’re all good, people”.  God’s message to Samuel that evening confirmed what had been spoken earlier by another prophet (I Samuel 2:27-36).   Eli’s sons, as part of the priestly line, served at the Tabernacle, but their behavior was abominable by having sexual relations with women outside of the tabernacle, eating what they desired of the sacrifices, etc.  Eli knew this, but refused to reprimand his sons.  This unknown prophet came and told Eli that because he preferred his sons before God and His Word, God would cut off his line.  The message to Samuel that night confirmed what that earlier man of God had said.

Eli had never reproved or restrained his sons from their grievous sins (I Samuel 2:12-17).  God had spoken to him about this, but he did not listen to His Word.  It went in one ear and out the other.  He didn’t want to make his sons angry at him by correcting them, which he should have been doing from their earliest days, so they never would have gotten to the point that they did such abominations. Eli’s sons were dearer to him than the Lord was. Correcting our children and grandchildren is a very important task for Christian parents. The Bible is replete with examples of parents who failed at this.  Eli did not listen to the Lord, and now he would pay the price, as recorded in I Samuel 4.

The Lord’s presence was with Samuel.  He was God’s choice of a man to serve Him.  Everything Samuel said with Divine authority came to be (vs. 19).  He was a true prophet of God.  He not only listened to what the Lord said to him, but he acted upon and obeyed.  That’s what is important - both listening to what God says to us, and also acting upon it.  Let us strive to be like Samuel, and not like Eli