The Call of Samuel

3:1 Now the boy Samuel continued serving the Lord under Eli’s supervision. Word from the Lord was rare in those days; revelatory visions were infrequent.

 

God had not given any divine revelation to Israel in centuries. 

 

3:2 Eli’s eyes had begun to fail, so that he was unable to see well. At that time he was lying down in his place, 

 

The unnamed prophet of God predicted that the rebellious house of Eli would experience blindness and immature deaths.

 

3:3 and the lamp of God had not yet been extinguished. Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord as well; the ark of God was also there. 

 

One of the duties of the Levitical priests was to take care of the lamp in the tabernacle. They were to put oil in it and keep it burning. Eli was old, he was losing his eyesight, and the lamp was about to go out. 

 

3:4 The Lord called to Samuel, and he replied, “Here I am!” 

 

Jehovah broke His divine silence and called out to Samuel. Often, charismatics will misuse this verse to make the claim that God also made a divine call to them. They will claim that “Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever." They will insist that just as God called Samuel in the middle of the night, so did God call them to the prophetic office during the middle of the night. The problem with this line or argument is that 1 Samuel is a historical book which recorded Old Testament history. Doctrine for the church age dispensations comes not from the recorded historical events of the Old Testament, but from the letters of Paul.

 

Jesus is the same in His person and character, but He often uses different methods throughout history to communicate with His people. Before the Bible was completed, He used prophets, tongues, and words of knowledge. Now that the Word of God is completed, He teaches through the written Word of God. The Holy Spirit is the teacher. Pastor-teachers are the method, The Apostle Paul gives this divine method of instruction for the modern church in Ephesians 4.

 

Therefore, beware of modern charismatics who say “The Lord spoke to my heart,” or “Gold told me" or "I have a word for you". When modern charismatics make statements like this, then they are elevating their human words to equality with Scripture.

 

3:5 Then he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But Eli said, “I didn’t call you. Go back and lie down.” So he went back and lay down. 

 

Samuel did not recognize the voice of God yet, because he was not saved. He thought that the voice of God was the voice of Eli.

 

3:6 The Lord again called, “Samuel!” So Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But Eli said, “I didn’t call you, my son. Go back and lie down.”

 

Jehovah did not give up. He called Samuel a second time. Samuel still did not recognize the voice of God, meaning that he was still not saved.

 

3:7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord; the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. 

 

The Holy Spirit confirmed that Samuel did not yet know Jehovah. The first two calls were calls to salvation. Samuel rejected both of them.

 

3:8 Then the Lord called Samuel a third time. So he got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me!” Eli then realized that it was the Lord who was calling the boy. 

 

Jehovah called Samuel to salvation for a third time. Eli recognized this call was from God, but Samuel did not.

 

3:9 So Eli said to Samuel, “Go back and lie down. When he calls you, say, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” So Samuel went back and lay down in his place.

 

Samuel needed a human agent to explain to him the call of God. According to Romans 10, “faith comes by hearing, and hearing from the Word of God.” Paul explained this divine call and human agent responsibility of salvation in Romans 10. God could call everyone into salvation by His own voice,  but He chooses to make the call by utilizing human agents.

 

3:10 Then the Lord came and stood nearby, calling as he had previously done, “Samuel! Samuel!” Samuel replied, “Speak, for your servant is listening!” 

 

Jehovah made His fourth and final call of salvation to Samuel. Because of the testimony of Eli as the human agent, Samuel now could understand this call of salvation. Samuel responded with belief. He was now ready to be called into service.

 

No one knows the age of Samuel at this time. He may have been a child, a teenager, or a young man. If there is an age of accountability, then it may be much older than humans want to speculate. Whatever the age of accountability may be, Samuel had reached it. God will now hold him responsible. 

 

In the Book of Numbers, a man was not drafted into war until he was twenty. The Levites did not begin their service until they were twenty-five. Priests began to serve at age thirty. Only those Israelites who were under twenty were allowed to live and enter into the Promised Land.

 

3:11 The Lord said to Samuel, “Look! I am about to do something in Israel; when anyone hears about it, both of his ears will tingle. 

 

Jehovah was now calling Samuel into service. Jehovah was going to make some shocking changes to Israelite society.

 

3:12 On that day I will carry out against Eli everything that I spoke about his house – from start to finish! 

 

God was about to remove the house of Eli from the Levitical priesthood.

 

3:13 You should tell him that I am about to judge his house forever because of the sin that he knew about. For his sons were cursing God, and he did not rebuke them. 

 

Jehovah was choosing Samuel to become the last official Judge and the first official prophet of Israel. God chose Samuel to relay this prophetic information to Eli. 

 

3:14 Therefore I swore an oath to the house of Eli, ‘The sin of the house of Eli can never be forgiven by sacrifice or by grain offering.’”

 

God predicted that the Levitical priesthood house of Eli would fall. Now, he will begin executing this prophecy.

 

3:15 So Samuel lay down until morning. Then he opened the doors of the Lord’s house. But Samuel was afraid to tell Eli about the vision. 

 

God gave Samuel a tough first job. Samuel was afraid to tell his teacher about his demise.

 

3:16 However, Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son!” He replied, “Here I am.” 

 

Eli sensed that Samuel had been called by God. Eli sensed that Samuel had a negative message for him. 

 

3:17 Eli said, “What message did he speak to you? Don’t conceal it from me. God will judge you severely if you conceal from me anything that he said to you!”

 

Eli expected a bad message, but he told Samuel that it was a sin to conceal even a negative message from God. This is why pastors are not to tickle the ears of their congregations. They are to tell the truth of the written Scriptures, even if it is not popular with the people. They are to tell the good news. They are to encourage and build up the saints. They are also to warn the saints by exposing evil. Only the mature believer can recognize evil, because it is so deceptive and so subtle. The man without Bible doctrine from the entire counsel of the Word of God has no chance of discernment. The demonic enemies know his weaknesses in Bible doctrine. They will exploit it. 

 

3:18 So Samuel told him everything. He did not hold back anything from him. Eli said, “The Lord will do what he pleases.”

 

Samuel gave Eli the entire message from God. Samuel confirmed what the unnamed prophet had originally told Eli. Eli heard the same prophecy from two different witnesses who did not collaborate. Eli accepted the message from God. Eli confirmed that Samuel was a prophet. 

 

 3:19 Samuel continued to grow, and the Lord was with him. None of his prophecies fell to the ground unfulfilled. 

 

Samuel gave other short-time prophecies. Every one of them were fulfilled, confirming that Samuel was a true prophet of God according to the guidelines given in Deuteronomy 18. God’s prophets were to be 100% correct on every prophecy, or they were stoned to death for being a false prophet.

 

3:20 All Israel from Dan to Beer Sheba realized that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the Lord. 

 

All of Israel realized that Samuel was a prophet from God. God’s divine silence had been broken. 

 

3:21 Then the Lord again appeared in Shiloh, for it was in Shiloh that the Lord had revealed himself to Samuel through the word of the Lord.

 

Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever in His person and character, but not in His methods. A new era was under way. Revelation through priest and ephod was being replaced by revelation through prophets.