01/21/2024
“Speak, For Your Servant Is Listening”
1 Samuel 3:1-21
Here is some food for thoughts and prayers for today and beyond.
This passage begins with “In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions (v.1)” and ends with “The Lord continued to appear at Shiloh, and there he revealed himself to Samuel through his word (v.21).”
Why was the word of the Lord rare in the beginning and the situation reversed dramatically at the end?
• The Contrast
− Eli and his sons
“Why do you scorn my sacrifice and offering that I prescribed for my dwelling? Why do you honor your sons more than me by fattening yourselves on the choice parts of every offering made by my people Israel? (1 Samuel 2:29)”
“This sin of the young men was very great in the Lord’s sight, for they were treating the Lord’s offering with contempt (1 Samuel 2:17).”
Lack of God’s revelation was not due to lack of religious leaders and system. There were priests – Eli and his two sons – who served at the house of the Lord. They did not serve the Lord but themselves, however.
− Hannah and her son
“O Lord Almighty, if you will only look upon your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head (1 Samuel 2:11).”
“Samuel was ministering before the Lord – a boy wearing a linen ephod (1 Samuel 2:18).”
“The boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the Lord (v. 2:21b).”
“The boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor with the Lord and with men (v. 2:26).”
“The boy Samuel ministered before the Lord under Eli (v.1a).”
Unlike Eli and his two sons, Hannah and her son Samuel serve the Lord and live their lives ‘before the Lord.’ It was their inner disposition and quality – serving the Lord and living ‘before the Lord’ – that separated Hannah and Samuel from Eli and his sons.
• The Call
“The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening (v.10).”
The Lord calls the boy Samuel, not the priest Eli. He called the boy Samuel because he was ready to listen. He calls anyone who serves ‘before the Lord’ and ready to listen! He calls people regardless of their title, position, status, age, knowledge, experience….
• The Conclusion
“The Lord continued to appear at Shiloh, and there he revealed himself to Samuel through his word (v.21).”
The word of the Lord was rare because the priests – Eli and his sons – were not serving the Lord but themselves. They were not ready to listen. But, Hannah and her son Samuel possessed the inner disposition and quality – serving the Lord and living ‘before the Lord.’ They were ready to listen. The Lord called Samuel and reversed the rarity of the word of the Lord situation dramatically by continuing to appear and reveal himself to him through his word!
Let us
− Be still and rest in God’s presence (before the Lord).
− Be open and listen in God’s presence (before the Lord).
− Be obedient and serve in God’s presence (before the Lord).
Being and living in God’s presence is an inner disposition and quality. In God’s presence, the Lord speaks, and we listen, “Speak, for your servant is listening (v.10b).”
