1 Samuel 3 & 4 -- Samuel's Calling and Eli's Departure

One night, as a boy, Samuel heard God calling him.  "But Samuel had never heard God's voice, so he didn't know who was calling him ... Samuel's call and conversion occurred at the same time ... The Lord came and stood near Samuel as He spoke to him,"  my commentary said.

Samuel repeated what Eli had told him to say in answer, but he left out the word Lord.  "Why?  Samuel didn't yet have a personal knowledge of the Lord, so he couldn't know whose voice it was that had spoken to him," my commentary added.

"Samuel had a humble heart ... He had heard the voice of God and received the message of God, but he still got up early and went back to his old tasks ... This shows remarkable maturity on the part of a young boy ... Now we read that 'the Lord was with him.'"

In chapter 4, the Israelites went out to fight the Philistines.  After a stunning defeat, Eli's two sons took the Ark of the Covenant to the battlefield, but "they were merely using God to accomplish their own purposes.  Unlike Moses and Joshua, they didn't seek the will of the Lord, they weren't walking by faith, and they certainly weren't seeking to glorify God... God will not be used just to make sinful people achieve their own selfish purposes."

The Ark fell into enemy hands for the first time in history.  Eli's two sons were killed in battle, fulfilling the prophecy of the unknown prophet, and Eli fell backward, breaking his neck and dying when he was told the news.  The glory of God departed and God's special favor was gone.

Father God, I was saddened as I read these chapters.  The hardening of hearts toward You and Your goodness had been building up, and You had to choose to step away.  Please help me to keep my own heart open to Your direction.  Soften the hardened hearts of my sons.  Remind them of Whose they are, Father.

 

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford