The deterioration of the priesthood was largely
responsible for why there was a famine of God’s Word. Who could blame God
for not speaking when the leaders who were entrusted to instruct His Word and
guide His people were abusing their ministry for personal aggrandizement? They
never took the ministry seriously. How could the Word of God be heard when the
people responsible to instruct it could not even bother to study and be
acquainted with it themselves. For if they themselves are not well acquainted
with the word, how could they teach others? Hophni and Phinehas, seasoned
ministers, were deplorable and did not take their role responsibly. So sadly, chapter
3 verse 1 of 1 Samuel reads, “And word from the Lord was rare in
those days, visions were infrequent.” It will also be a sad day when pastors
and ministers of God stop studying and practicing the Word of God for
themselves! Worst still, if they do not care if the Word of God is well-taught
and understood.
Fortunately, Israel had a faithful God. Even in the
darkened time, a light was slowly emerging. Samuel, we learn was that little
light. He was an intern, learning the ropes from Eli. Welcoming affirmations
were said about him. In 1 Samuel 2:11, we are told: “And the boy ministered to
the Lord in the presence of Eli the priest.” In 1 Samuel
2:18, we read, “Samuel was ministering before the Lord,
a boy clothed with a linen ephod.” In 1 Samuel 2:21, the word said, “And
the young man Samuel grew in the presence of the Lord.” Then in 1 Samuel
2:26, we are told: “Now the young man Samuel continued to grow both in stature
and in favor with the Lord and also with
man.” Now we find in the opening line of 1 Samuel 3 this testimony of him. It
says, “Now the young man Samuel was ministering to the Lord under Eli.”
Verse 2 tells us that Eli was getting
old. His eyesight was getting dim and he could not see and was lying
down and resting. The emphases of these verses are the parts that say that
“vision was infrequent.” And that both Eli and Samuel were lying down. Eli was
“resting in his place,” whereas Samuel “…was lying down in the temple of
the Lord where the ark of God was….” The contrast
became obvious when we read that God called out to Samuel, while Eli was
bypassed. The young Samuel was new in the ministry. Hence, he
was not accustomed to the voice of God. So, when God called out to him, he
thought that Eli was calling him. For three occasions, He mistook God’s voice
to be Eli’s. The old priest on his part was also not as sharp. It was not until
the third time that he discerned that God was calling out to Samuel. It was
then that he taught him to respond to God by saying, ‘Speak, Lord, for
Your servant is listening.”
Many things could be gleaned from these nine
verses, and we will look at two critical ones. Firstly, we must be poised to
listen to God’s Word. And the best place to hear it is to be like Samuel,
resting before the presence of God. Secondly, we need to cultivate an ear to
hear from God, a heart to respond to Him and a mind to seek Him constantly. May
these following words of the poet and Presbyterian minister, James Drummond
Burns be our prayer:
Oh, 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.
Oh, give me
Samuel's heart!
A lowly heart
that waits
Where in Thy
house Thou art,
Or watches at
Thy gates,
By day and
night, a heart that still
Moves at the breathing of Thy will.
O give me
Samuel’s mind
A sweet
unmurmuring faith
Obedient and
resigned
To Thee in
life and death;
That I may
read with childlike eyes,
Truths that
are hidden from the wise.
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