1 Samuel 3:1-21
1 And the child Samuel ministered unto the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was precious in those days; there was no open vision.
2 And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place, and his eyes began to wax dim, that he could not see;
3 And ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep;
4 That the LORD called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I.
5 And he ran unto Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou calledst me. And he said, I called not; lie down again. And he went and lay down.
6 And the LORD called yet again, Samuel. And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And he answered, I called not, my son; lie down again.
7 Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, neither was the word of the LORD yet revealed unto him.
8 And the LORD called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And Eli perceived that the LORD had called the child.
9 Therefore Eli said unto Samuel, Go, lie down: and it shall be, if he call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, LORD; for thy servant heareth. So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
10 And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth.
11 And the LORD said to Samuel, Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle.
12 In that day I will perform against Eli all things which I have spoken concerning his house: when I begin, I will also make an end.
13 For I have told him that I will judge his house for ever for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not.
14 And therefore I have sworn unto the house of Eli, that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering for ever.
15 And Samuel lay until the morning, and opened the doors of the house of the LORD. And Samuel feared to shew Eli the vision.
16 Then Eli called Samuel, and said, Samuel, my son. And he answered, Here am I.
17 And he said, What is the thing that the LORD hath said unto thee? I pray thee hide it not from me: God do so to thee, and more also,a if thou hide any thing from me of all the things that he said unto thee.
18 And Samuel told him every whit, and hid nothing from him. And he said, It is the LORD: let him do what seemeth him good.
19 And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground.
20 And all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was establishedb to be a prophet of the LORD.
21 And the LORD appeared again in Shiloh: for the LORD revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the LORD.
Again the contrast in the child Samuel to what goes before is emphasized: he ministered to the Lord before Eli. Eli witnessed his simple faithfulness to the Lord; but while he no doubt appreciated it it had no effect of stirring Eli to more wholehearted obedience. At this time the Word of the Lord was rare: conditions were such that the Lord did not reveal Himself as He had done to Moses, Joshua and some of the Judges. Verse 21 shows however, that Samuel became the one exception.
Samuel's first revelation from God comes at a time when Eli had laid down to sleep and his eyes had begun to wax dim. No doubt this is intended that we should apply it spiritually too. Formalism always becomes dim-sighted, while faith becomes wide awake. While the lamp of God in the temple was virtually ready to go out God had His own way of causing revival. Samuel had laid down, but was not asleep when God called him. The alacrity of the little boy's response indicates a beautifully obedient spirit. He ran to Eli, for there was no one else there, so far as Samuel knew. Eli could only tell him he had not called. At the second call, Eli ought to have been alerted by this unusual experience, but tells Samuel again to lie down. Not until the third time did he begin to realize that the Lord was calling Samuel. Samuel was so young that he did not yet know the Lord, and Eli then instructs him to wait for another call, and respond, "Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth."
All this was intended by God to stir the exercise of both Samuel and Eli. Certainly Samuel would remain wide awake for the fourth call, to which he responds, "Speak; for thy servant heareth." He omits the word "Lord," no doubt because he had not before been instructed as to the Lord Himself, which is all too possible even when surrounded by the formal acknowledgment of His things: in fact such things often tend to obscure the real knowledge of Himself.
The Lord's message to Samuel is dreadful. It may seem to us too terrifying for the ears of a little boy; but God is wiser than we in fact, it is the "little children" who are warned against anti-christ in 1 John 2:18. Samuel knew of the wickedness of Eli's sons, and it was necessary that he should also know God's thoughts about this. God's patience as to this would come to an abrupt end in His doing in Israel what would make every ear tingle. He confirms to Samuel what He had said before to Eli, that He would perform against him all that He had spoken as to his house: when once this began there would be no delay in its accomplishment.
Of course Eli would not have told this prophecy to Samuel, but God tells Samuel that He had told Eli that He would judge his house forever because of the iniquity that he himself was acquainted with and had not corrected. His sons made themselves vile and he did not restrain them. His mild protests were no restraint whatever. In contrast, God's words to him were confirmed by a solemn oath that this iniquity would never be purged with sacrifice or offering. For this willful sin there was no offering: God must act in judgment.
Samuel remained in bed till morning, but it is not said he slept. This first message of God to him would surely burn itself into his inmost soul, so that he would never forget it; but rather have impressed upon his heart the utmost respect for the holiness of the God with whom he had to do. We can easily understand his fearing to tell Eli what God had said. Similarly, any true prophet of God will have some measure of fear as to declaring the whole counsel of God, for he knows that it will not be always welcomed by men. But he must not give in to his fear, for when God speaks He will allow us no excuse for concealing His word.
Eli, calling Samuel, adjured him to tell him all that God had spoken. He surely realized that it would be no light matter of which God spoke to Samuel, and likely relating to the corrupt condition of the priesthood. Samuel responded by telling him everything, hiding nothing from him. Thus, at a young age, he acted as a true prophet of God. Eli could not but recognize this was God's solemn message to him, and speaks submissively, though he seems to have gotten beyond any thought of exercise to change matters himself. His was a pathetic state of passivity without exercise.
How different was the stirring exercise of Samuel's soul from his youth! The Lord was with him as he grew, and allowed none of his words to fall to the ground. How few indeed have a reputation of this kind! For if we are not given to harmful words, at least too often we allow useless words to fall from our lips, rather than always true and right words. But a character of this kind in a public place like the temple could not remain hidden: all Israel soon knew that he was established to be a prophet of the Lord. Shiloh was blessed by the appearance of the Lord, but it was only to Samuel, and this "by the word of the Lord." Today the word of the Lord to us has been completed in scripture, and only by this written word does He communicate His mind to His prophets now.