August 7 - Here I Am

August 7 - 1 Samuel 3:1-21 - Here I Am

The story of Samuel coming into Eli's service by the faith of his mother Hannah fills the first two chapters of this book, but the story of Samuel hearing God's voice is one of my favorites. And there are so many intricate parts of this story that I seem to have skimmed over previously!

First of all, read 1 Sam. 3:1b, "In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions."

There have always been times when it seems as if the Lord is far from us, we don't feel Him as close, we don't hear His voice and we don't have any idea what it is that He wants us to do. This story, however shows us that even though that may seem to be what is going on, something is coming and the Lord is never far away.

The next detail that I love is that Samuel was lying in the temple of the Lord where the ark of God was. (1 Sam. 3:3)

Talk about setting yourself up to be a part of God's plan! We used to do a lot of prayer vigils in my father's churches as we prepared for spiritual events. For twenty-four hours, someone was in the sanctuary of the church in prayer. Mom and Dad generally took the wee hours of the morning. One morning about 3:30 am, Mom was in the front of the sanctuary with a hymnal and Bible, trying desperately to stay awake and also trying to stay a bit holy before God. There were candles lit on the altar, but not much more light. All of a sudden, BAM! Something fell to the floor and Mom flew out of the pew screaming. She didn't hear any more noise, but immediately hit her knees and began praying as loudly and rapidly as possible. That's how Dad found her when he showed up at the top of the hour. (A hymnal had fallen out of a rack in a back pew)

She placed herself firmly in the hands of God that night, in His house, before His altar. This is where God found Samuel. And He called to Samuel, who was just a boy. Since the voice of the Lord was rare, Samuel was sure that the only person who might call him was Eli, so he rushed to the old priest's side to offer his assistance.

After the third time, Eli realized that Samuel was actually hearing from the Lord and sent him back with instruction to offer himself to the Lord. His words to Samuel were encouraging and frightening. He promised to do something in Israel that would "make the ears of everyone who hears of it tingle." (1 Sam. 3:11) But, the Lord also assured Samuel that Eli's family would not be able to escape their sin.

Samuel and Eli dealt with all of that. Eli's response to the tough words from Samuel was "He is the Lord; let him do what is good in his eyes." (1 Sam. 3:18). If only we could allow God to live in our lives with that attitude.

So, after opening this chapter by telling us that the word of the Lord was rare and there weren't many visions, the close of the chapter tells a different story because of the faith of one young boy.

This boy grew to a man that walked with the Lord - "he let none of his words fall to the ground." (1 Sam. 3:19)

"And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba recognized that Samuel was attested as a prophet of the Lord. The Lord continued to appear at Shiloh, and there he revealed himself to Samuel through his word. And Samuel's word came to all Israel." (1 Samuel 3:20-4:1)

Years had passed with very little coming to Israel from the Lord. Samuel's obedience and devotion to the Lord brought about a change that transformed the nation of Israel!