1 Then the boy Samuel ministered to the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was rare in those days; there was no widespread revelation. 2 And it came to pass at that time, while Eli was lying down in his place, and when his eyes had begun to grow so dim that he could not see, 3 and before the lamp of God went out in the tabernacle of the LORD where the ark of God was, and while Samuel was lying down, 4 that the LORD called Samuel. And he answered, "Here I am!" 5 So he ran to Eli and said, "Here I am, for you called me." And he said, "I did not call; lie down again." And he went and lay down. 6 Then the LORD called yet again, "Samuel!" So Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, "Here I am, for you called me." He answered, "I did not call, my son; lie down again." 7 (Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, nor was the word of the LORD yet revealed to him.) 8 And the LORD called Samuel again the third time. Then he arose and went to Eli, and said, "Here I am, for you did call me." Then Eli perceived that the LORD had called the boy. 9 Therefore Eli said to Samuel, "Go, lie down; and it shall be, if He calls you, that you must say, 'Speak, LORD, for Your servant hears.' " So Samuel went and lay down in his place. 10 Now the LORD came and stood and called as at other times, "Samuel! Samuel!" And Samuel answered, "Speak, for Your servant hears." 11 Then the LORD said to Samuel: "Behold, I will do something in Israel at which both ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. 12 "In that day I will perform against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. 13 "For I have told him that I will judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knows, because his sons made themselves vile, and he did not restrain them. 14 "And therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever." 15 So Samuel lay down until morning, and opened the doors of the house of the LORD. And Samuel was afraid to tell Eli the vision. 16 Then Eli called Samuel and said, "Samuel, my son!" And he answered, "Here I am." 17 And he said, "What is the word that the Lord spoke to you? Please do not hide it from me. God do so to you, and more also, if you hide anything from me of all the things that He said to you." 18 Then Samuel told him everything, and hid nothing from him. And he said, "It is the LORD. Let Him do what seems good to Him." 19 So Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. 20 And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel had been established as a prophet of the LORD. 21 Then the LORD appeared again in Shiloh. For the LORD revealed Himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the LORD.
Why God’s Word Becomes Rare (v. 1)
Even with the Written Scriptures
The Lord will speak. He is the speaking God. Men may try to bury his word, ignore it, and forget it, but his word will prevail. He is not like the world’s mute idols, whether totems or technocracies. His word makes reality what it is. His word will never return empty, for his word is joined to his omnipotence to accomplish his eternal purposes (Isa. 55:8-9). His word is as living and powerful as he is (Heb. 4:12). Sometimes he seems not to be speaking or withholds his word as chastening. But he knows his people need his word, and he will give it again. This passage opens with these contrasting bookends. On the one hand, God’s word was rare in the early days of Samuel (v. 1). They had the law of Moses, but they had been living in disobedience to the Lord. He withdrew the prophetic impulse as chastening. They had no living prophets to whom God was speaking to direct and encourage them.
At the end of the chapter, God’s word returns through Samuel (v. 21). He was established and recognized to be a prophet. Beginning with Samuel, God’s word was no longer rare. The heavens were opened again, and men were confronted in living and pressing ways with God’s claims upon them. The written Scriptures were then no dead letter due to man’s ingratitude and hardness of heart but the voice of the living God, as we see in Samuel and later in David. It is the same with us. We have the blessed Scriptures, but his word becomes “rare” unless the Spirit writes it upon our hearts with his living finger (2 Cor. 3:3). We must pray for him to be our teacher (1 John 2:27) and to show us wondrous things out of God’s law (Ps. 119:18). We must pray that the Head of the Church, our Lord Jesus, will raise up preachers and teachers to guide and protect and feed his flock as the faithful Shepherd. Otherwise, we can own the most beautiful Bibles but have worldly and cold hearts.
Spiritual Deafness Due to Man’s Neglect, Rebellion, and Worldly Cares
God’s word is not rare because he is not speaking. In fact, his voice has “gone out to the end of the earth” (Ps. 19:1-4). Men cannot open their eyes without being compelled to see his glory (Rom. 1:18-21). Man knows that the true God exists, owes his life to him, and exists to serve him. But, when we rebelled against the Lord, we gouged out our eyes and pulled off our ears. This is the reason our Lord often said, “He who has ears to hear, let him ear” (Matt. 11:14; 13:9,43; Mark 4:9; Luke 8:8; 14:35). On account of sin, men lose their ability to hear God’s word. They are struck with spiritual deafness to punish their rebellion. Imagine how many Bibles there are now in the world, but comparatively few read God’s word and hunger for it as newborn babes. Then, they wonder why they have so many problems and sins in their lives, so many psychoses, and so little light and hope. There are more sermons available at any one moment today than there have been since the world began. But sinners are rebellious against the Lord’s word and neglect it to pursue their own interests. They will hear man’s word readily enough, but they will not hear God’s word of repentance and faith toward Jesus Christ unless he gives new ears and a new heart. Thus, God’s word can become exceedingly rare because men are not receptive to it. Worldly cares also choke out the word so that it loses its effect upon us. It can lose its effect upon preachers and teachers, who should always be zealous and faithful to speak God’s word, but they are not. In all these instances, the rarity of the word is man’s fault. And when men turn away their ears from hearing, the Lord judges their ingratitude with deafness (Matt. 13:13-14).
Because God’s Word a Gracious, Sovereign Gift
But ultimately, God’s word becomes “rare” because to have his word is a gracious, sovereign gift. We cannot control its possession, progress, or growth. We cannot produce the hearts that will receive it with faith or the men whom he will use to proclaim it. Though we need good training, seminary graduates do not guarantee that we will retain the force and influence of God’s word. In the days of Amos, the gravest threat was a “famine of hearing the words of the Lord” (Amos 8:11). God’s word can become rare in a time of judgment. This might be personal, as in a season of disobedience that the Lord chastens by closing his word so that it does not profit. He seems silent, as David lamented (Ps. 28:1). It might be corporate, as in Laodicea, when the Lord’s people had grown self-contented and complacent, lukewarm to the Lord. They were in danger of having his lampstand removed, losing the gracious influences they once enjoyed.
Whenever we are tempted to neglect God’s word or to disobey his voice, we should tremble with the gravity of closing our ears to God’s word. Do we want his word to become rare in our lives? In our churches? Our Savior’s words are spirit and life. When we come to sermons or pick up our Bibles, we should believe that God’s word is a treasure beyond comparison. It is the rock upon which we survive the storms of life. His word is the light on our path, the promises upon which faith feeds, the key that unlocks heaven’s gates. God’s word is the living voice of Jesus Christ calling us to new life (John 5:25).
Samuel’s First Call and Commission (vv. 1-18)
While Faithfully Serving the Lord before Eli (vv. 1-3)
As with so many of God’s gifts, graces and calls, he gives more when we faithfully use what he has given – so that “whosoever has, to him shall be given, and he shall have abundance” (Matt. 13:12). The rule of God’s kingdom is good stewardship with even one talent will result in more talents, more opportunities to serve our Master, and more joy in serving him. Samuel served the Lord in many small tasks around the tabernacle – opening doors, cleaning up, and especially waiting upon Eli. He was now old and almost blind. Being heavy, he could not move well. His sons were such a great disappointment and embarrassment that Eli found joy in Samuel and depended upon him. It is uncertain how much to make of God calling Samuel before the lampstand went out that day, but perhaps there is a word of hope here. However bad the times may be and unfaithful God’s servants may be, he will not so forsake his church that all light will go out. He will blow on it in time, so that it blazes up again. After helping Eli shut up the tabernacle for the day, Samuel laid down to sleep – not too far from Eli, in one of the little cubicles that were built in the tabernacle courtyard.
Patiently, Gently, Clearly (vv. 4-10)
The Lord began calling Samuel. He did not know it was the Lord. He had no experience in receiving word from the Lord and thought Eli was calling him. By the third time, Eli suspected that the Lord was calling to Samuel. Whatever else Eli was, he had not lost all heart for the Lord, and he was not afraid for Samuel to be advanced at the expense of himself or his sons. He told Samuel to say, “Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.” Samuel did not say “Lord” when the voice came again. He was a believer, but he was an inexperienced youth. The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. Even so, God’s calling to Samuel was not frustrated or impatient. He did not throw Samuel’s youth in his face or chide him for getting it wrong. His calling to Samuel was gentle – no visions of heavenly hosts or revelations of his holiness, as with Isaiah and Daniel. It was more a “still, small voice.” His call was effectual. We are changed by his word – the printed page is revealed to us as it is in fact the living voice of Jesus Christ – like him reading from the scroll of Isaiah in Nazareth. The words were objectively, historically, eternally true. When he read them, they were words of fire and fulfillment upon once dead hearts. We should seek for the Lord to speak to us, to call us, not to be a preacher but because we now have the privilege of having him speak with us in his word. We have the Holy Spirit. We should seek him and hunger for him until he answers our prayers and comes to us with his quickening life. He will. He baptizes with the Spirit all his disciples so that we know his voice and follow him. Let us pray more for this, and he will not be silent. He will patiently and gently teach us.
A Hard Word for the House of Eli (vv. 11-14)
Samuel did not receive an easy first word and commission. Eli did not heed the word of the man God sent some years earlier. Now, the Lord will act to defend his word and his worship. “The ears of everyone who hears about it will tingle.” He will perform the word against Eli and against his house. Can anything be more terrible than to hear that because of our unfaithfulness and disregard of God’s word he is against us and our children? Eli was responsible for his sons – by not restraining them, he became a party to their sins. There is no offering to atone for these sins. Eli had been warned, and he sided with his sons against the Lord. He may have disagreed with them, even rebuked them, but he did not remove them, whatever the cost to himself, his reputation, or livelihood. Knowing, persistent rejecting of God’s word when one knows it to be true is an evil for which there is no sacrifice. The New Testament also teaches this (Heb. 10:26-31; 12:25). If we took these warnings to heart, we would not pardon ourselves so easily and live so comfortably with our sins. But when we grow soft and effeminate under outward peace and blessing, soul-pampering, excuses, and “maybe tomorrow” take the place of “working out our salvation with fear and trembling.”
In one phrase, the Lord establishes the certainty of his word: “When I begin, I will also make an end.” He is referring to his warning against Eli’s house through the man of God. By sending that unnamed messenger, the Lord set his judgment in motion. Had Eli repented, all, perhaps, might have been redeemed. He did not repent, and thus the warning will now come to fruition. As it is true that “he who began a good work in you will perform it until the day of Christ Jesus” (Phil. 1:6), it is equally true that his warnings, once begun and not resulting in repentance, will surely and terribly be fulfilled. The Lord does not leave his works undone. This is one reason we can count upon the Lord to fulfill his promises to us. He began his great work of taking us to be his people, and he will complete it. He began the work of gathering all things under the headship of his Son by raising him from the dead and exalting him to the highest heavens. Now, he is completing that work by harvesting the nations by the gospel. He will complete that work. Every knee will bow to Jesus Christ his Son and confess that he is Lord. Even at a personal level, when we begin to walk with the Lord Jesus, he is both Author and Finisher of our faith (Heb. 12:2). Is he our Shepherd? He will guide us. Did he give us his Spirit? He will sanctify and perfect us. Does he give us gifts and graces? He will use them to build his church. Even the best men leave much unfinished, but not the Lord – his works are perfect.
God’s Word Communicated and Accepted (vv. 15-18)
Samuel knew all that was happening in Eli’s household. He may have been troubled that Eli did not do more to restrain his wicked sons, but Eli’s failures did not diminish Samuel’s respect for Eli. He respected the office and loved the man in the office, at least for his work’s sake (1 Thess. 5:13). Samuel did not want to share this vision with Eli. He was afraid, a fear born of affection and grief, and also perhaps uncertainty of Eli’s response. But Eli knew that something had been said and demanded to know the full word from the Lord. He declared a curse upon Samuel if he withheld anything. This made Samuel’s commission a little easier. He told Eli everything. Eli’s response was: “It is the Lord.” This is another way of saying, “The Lord has spoken.” He will do what is good and right. Eli’s response, in my mind, indicates his fundamentally passive nature. He humbly accepted the Lord’s word, for he felt it was pointless to resist or remonstrate. But he only acquiesced without any change or energy toward personal and family reformation. It is not a mark of faith to accept God’s word stoically, because one cannot do otherwise. When we hear God’s word, we must respond with active faith, humility, willingness to obey, and action based upon his word, whether promise or command.
The Word of God Returns through Samuel (vv. 19-21)
The Lord Was with Him
Following this first call and commission, Samuel’s life took a clear trajectory. He was marked out to be a prophet (v. 21). The key part of this is that “the Lord was with him” (v. 19). It was because of God’s presence and power in Samuel’s life that “none of his words fell to the ground.” We cannot emphasize too highly the grace of God’s restored presence to us. Through the blood and intercession of Jesus Christ and the inner witness and working of the Spirit, we draw near to our Father with confidence (Eph. 2:18). The Lord stood with Samuel. He upheld him. All believers in the Lord Jesus now have this great promise – “I will be with you” (Matt. 28:20). And, “My grace is sufficient for you” (2 Cor. 12:9). This is what gives us boldness to live for the Lord and overcome the fear of man (Gal. 1:10). We are children of the living God, and he will never leave us. Even when we must deal with hard matters in society, church, and home, we never do so alone. It is the power of Christ working in us that enables us to be faithful (Col. 1:29) – when we must confess Christ before hostile men, or correct our children for Christ, or suffer for doing what is right. The Lord is with us. “Christ in us” is the “hope of glory” – that we live not in whimsical relation with him, following every feeling and fad men devise. He is with us by covenant, by blood, and by the indwelling Spirit. He cannot leave or forsake us, for he purchased us by his precious blood to be his prized possession, his beautiful wife, his perfect church, God’s own temple.
Nothing More Important than God’s Word
Eli forfeited this blessing. It was offered to him in grace. Why did the Lord send the man of God but to warn him and call him back to the right way? Had Eli heeded the Lord’s word, things would have gone very differently. His sons might have repented. So much in our lives depends upon whether or not we hear, believe, and obey the Lord’s word. So many blessings are lost due to disobedience, and so many impossible situations are redeemed by hearing the Lord’s voice and doing what he says. This is as we should expect it to be. The Lord created us to hear his voice. Our Savior’s words are “Spirit and life” (John 6:63). They give life. By abiding in his word, we bear much fruit – even the desert sin creates can blossom as a rose garden! He does the impossible, and he works most for us when we are most submissive to his word – not doing our own thing, thinking our own thoughts, drowning in our own doubts. Christ Jesus is the Word of God, and there is nothing in our lives more important than his word. Children, be like Samuel and hear it early. Hear it now. Respond in faith. Devote yourself, as Samuel did, to serving the Lord – not as a passing thought but as a serious commitment – “Lord, what will you have me do? By your strength, I will do it. I will be your servant and devote myself to you.”
All of us must renew this commitment daily – to live by every word of God. The word of man in the world and in our hearts can drown out his word. We must hear him. His sheep hear his voice, and follow him – not favorite gurus, but Jesus Christ himself, the living Word. Make much of the preaching of his word, your worn-out Bible, your thoughts thinking his thoughts. Patiently continue studying and meditating upon his word. You will grow. His word cannot be stopped in your life. The more you abide in his word, the sharper your appetite becomes for his voice and fellowship. And the more you abide in him, the more he will be with you. When he is with you, you have nothing to fear. Hope springs! Light grows! Sin flees! Glory and joy and peace follow him wherever he leads – even in the fiery furnace, valley of the shadow of death, or simply the daily tests of faith.
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