1 Samuel 3:1-20, Psalm 139:1-6, Psalm 139:13-18, 1 Corinthians 6:12-20, John 1:43-51
A). THE CALL OF SAMUEL AND THE FALL OF ELI.
1 Samuel 3:1-20.
I). HE IS CALLING YOU BY NAME.
1 Samuel 3:1-10.
The days of the Saviour-Judges were drawing to a close and, as in our own days, “the word of the LORD was rare” (1 Samuel 3:1). There was a dearth in the land, but not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the word of God (Amos 8:11). For the present, civil and religious power resided in a declining priesthood - but in time this would give way to a new order of prophets, then a new order of kings - culminating in the manifestation the King of kings.
1. THE CALL OF GOD (1 Samuel 3:1-8).
The name of Samuel means “the LORD hears” (1 Samuel 1:20). Eli’s name means “my God” - a name which appears again in Jesus’ cry of dereliction from the Cross (Matthew 27:46). There is a touch of irony in the fact that Samuel heard the LORD, but thought it was the old priest.
Although he was employed in the temple, Samuel did not yet know the LORD (1 Samuel 3:7). Churches sometimes do not lack workers, but working in a church is not what puts us on a right standing with God. It is necessary to have a personal encounter with the Lord.
Length of service is not what commends us to God, either. Eli, the old priest, was failing in his sight (1 Samuel 3:2). This was true physically, but also to a certain extent spiritually. Eli’s sons were turning out bad, and he chose to turn a blind eye to their sin (1 Samuel 3:13).
The call of God is what makes all the difference in our lives. We do not have to be on our death bed - or dying on a cross next to the Cross of Jesus (Luke 23:42-43) - in order to hear His word of mercy. Young people, we are exhorted to ‘remember our Creator in the days of our youth’ (Ecclesiastes 12:1). Older people, it is not too late to ‘seek the LORD while He may be found’ (Isaiah 55:6).
Mercifully, the LORD called young Samuel “before the lamp of God went out” (1 Samuel 3:3). This is not only a call to salvation, but also a call to a specific service. There is plenty of work to be done in God’s vineyard, but the labourers are few (Matthew 9:37).
2. THE RIGHT RESPONSE (1 Samuel 3:9-10).
Although he was losing his spiritual perceptiveness, Eli at last realised - after his sleep had been interrupted the third time - that it was the LORD who was calling Samuel (1 Samuel 3:8). Even in his spiritual drowsiness, the gift of discernment had not yet quite passed from him. We are reminded of another high priest who, solely on account of his office, prophesied things which were beyond his understanding (John 11:49-52). Sometimes the truth comes out of unworthy lips.
Three times Samuel had run to Eli. As far as the boy was concerned, since he did not know the LORD, he was being obedient. Every time his name had been called, he had dutifully run to his master saying, “Here I am!”
Now at last Eli gave him instructions in how, and to whom, rightly to respond: “Speak LORD; for your servant is listening” (1 Samuel 3:9). At the fourth call, Samuel responded, “Speak, for your servant is listening” (1 Samuel 3:10). Samuel did not at this point mention the name of the LORD.
We must test the voices we hear, in order to discern whether they are from God (1 John 4:1). Perhaps Samuel was still unsure of this whisper in the night. Or perhaps he feared to take the name of the LORD upon his lips in case he spoke unworthily.
The right response to the call of God is the willing response. The voice which the disciples heard in the mount of transfiguration instructed us to listen to Jesus (Mark 9:7). The mother of Jesus rightly advised the servants at the wedding feast to ‘do whatever he tells you’ (John 2:5).
The Good Shepherd is calling us by name (John 10:3). I wonder what specific service He is calling us to today, and what our response shall be? Speak Lord, for your servant is listening… ‘Here am I; send me’ (Isaiah 6:8).
II). A FAILING PRIESTHOOD.
1 Samuel 3:11-20.
What an initiation into the ministry of God’s Word! The boy Samuel was now informed of the judgment which the LORD had already given against the house of Eli (1 Samuel 3:12-14; cf. 1 Samuel 2:30-31). No wonder the LORD warned Samuel that it would cause both his ears to tingle (1 Samuel 3:11)!
This prophecy came at such a time as when ‘the Word of the LORD was rare’ (1 Samuel 3:1), there being ‘no widespread revelation.’ Days when there was a dearth in the land: but ‘not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the LORD’ (cf. Amos 8:11). Days like our own.
Samuel, too, ‘did not yet know the LORD’ (1 Samuel 3:7) - but that was about to change. Mercifully, the LORD called young Samuel ‘before the lamp of God went out’ (1 Samuel 3:3). This is both a temporal reference, and a spiritual one.
The priest Eli was blind in two senses. The old man’s eyes were dim of sight (1 Samuel 3:2); and, metaphorically speaking, he was turning a blind eye to the sins of his sons (1 Samuel 2:29). Yet he had been warned that the LORD would take both his sons in one day (1 Samuel 2:34)!
Now young Samuel, through fear, chose not to reveal the vision to Eli (1 Samuel 3:15). After all, the boy was not told by the LORD to tell the old priest what he already knew. But Eli (whose name means ‘my God’) called Samuel (whose name means ‘God hears’), and he answered as before: “Here I am” (1 Samuel 3:16).
Eli asked Samuel, and threatened him: and Samuel told him everything (1 Samuel 3:17-18). And Eli recognised that it was the word of the LORD, and could only concede: “Let Him do what seems good to Him.” And so, it came to pass.
But, to his credit (perhaps), Eli was more upset at the capture of the Ark of the Covenant than at the death of his two wayward sons (1 Samuel 4:17-18). Eli died that day, too.
It is a sad situation when those who are meant to be lights in the church fall so sadly astray. But there is hope. God was going to raise up a new priesthood. One that would be according to His own heart (1 Samuel 2:35).
Now, after this experience, the child Samuel continued to ‘grow up before the LORD’ (cf. 1 Samuel 2:21); and “the LORD was with him and did not let any of his words fall to the ground” (1 Samuel 3:19).
The dearth of the word of the LORD was over. “And all Israel knew that Samuel had been established as a prophet of the LORD” (1 Samuel 3:20).
If we did not know better, we might wonder whether this new priesthood would come from the Ephraimite boy who was already serving so well in the tabernacle. But this new priesthood would not come from the family of Samuel. On any account, Samuel’s sons would be just as bad as those of Eli (1 Samuel 8:3) - which is what led the people to demand a king (1 Samuel 8:4-5).
Yet Saul failed in his kingship, and was wrong to arrogate the initiative of the priesthood to himself (1 Samuel 13:8-9; 1 Samuel 13:13-14). ‘The man after God’s own heart’ turned out to be David (cf. Acts 13:22). And the promised perfect priesthood is ultimately fulfilled in ‘great David’s greater Son’: our Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus appeared in the Temple as a baby, without being noticed by many more than two people (Luke 2:22). Then Jesus appeared in the Temple as a boy of twelve, and astonished all who heard His wisdom (Luke 2:47). Jesus came to establish a new covenant, and to make the once for all, final, and satisfactory sacrifice for the sins of His people (cf. Hebrews 9:28).
Now the Lord creates a new worship and a new people, and establishes a priesthood of all believers.
B). KNOWN BY GOD.
Psalm 139:1-6, Psalm 139:13-18.
What convinced me of the reality of the God of the Bible - 'the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ' (Ephesians 1:3) - was not intellectual argument, but personal encounter.
This occurred in two phases: first in a sense of guilt and dread at the presence of God on account of my very real sinfulness (Isaiah 6:5); then (secondly) in an enormous sigh of relief when I finally yielded to Jesus, recognising all He had done for me. I found that the perceived darkness which had been pursuing me was nothing other than the shadow of the Almighty covering me (Psalm 91:1).
Psalm 139:1-6.
When we read Psalm 139, sometimes it is hard to tell whether we should read it with a sense of dread. The LORD knows me (Psalm 139:1). He knows everything I am doing (Psalm 139:2). He knows where I am going (Psalm 139:3). He knows my every word even before it is spoken (Psalm 139:4).
Or whether our sense of the LORD hemming us in (Psalm 139:5) has more to do with gratitude at His protection than with any sense of foreboding.
This might depend upon whether we are looking at the LORD from outside a personal relationship, or from within. Either way, the concept of an all-knowing God is quite incomprehensible to the finite mind (Psalm 139:6).
Psalm 139:13-18.
God’s knowledge of us far exceeds our knowledge of Him. It was not a bad thing that He hemmed us in when we were in our mother’s womb (Psalm 139:13). This should inform our ethics: it is the LORD who creates the embryo, each one individually (Psalm 139:14).
He was there for us before our beginning (Psalm 139:15). It is the LORD who numbers our days (Psalm 139:16).
The LORD has us in mind, for good (Psalm 139:17). Every morning we experience new mercies (Lamentations 3:22-23) - even in the midst of tribulations (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).
Each day when we awake - and ultimately on the day of resurrection - we are still with the LORD (Psalm 139:18).
C). THE REDEMPTION OF THE BODY: HOW THEN SHALL WE LIVE?
1 Corinthians 6:12-20.
This passage is a perfect weaving together of the doctrinal with the ethical.
It begins by dealing with what appear to be two slogans of the Corinthians.
First, something which we hear quite often upon the lips of certain Christians even in these days: “all things are lawful for me” (1 Corinthians 6:12).
After all, they argue, quoting one half of another verse: ‘we are not under law, but under grace’ (Romans 6:14).
[Let us cross-reference Romans 6:8-15 to find out what that verse is really teaching.
[First, the context is that of the death and resurrection of Jesus (Romans 6:8-10), and our death and resurrection in Him (Romans 6:11).
[Second, because of our union with Him, our bodies should not be surrendered to unrighteousness and sin; but we should yield ourselves to God, as those that are alive from the dead, and our bodies as instruments of righteousness in His service (Romans 6:12-13).
[Third, Paul emphasises, ‘For sin shall not have dominion over you…’ Why? ‘for you are not under law, but under grace’ (Romans 6:14).
[And listen! ‘What then? Shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? Emphatically not!’ (Romans 6:15).]
We all know that the Son came to ‘make us free,’ and that when He does so, ‘we shall be free indeed’ (John 8:36). However, that does not give us a licence to be irresponsible. We are set free, at best, to ‘serve’ the LORD - even if that does put us ‘in the wilderness’ in relation to our past activities and acquaintances (Exodus 7:16).
Paul’s reply to the Corinthians’ slogan is not to deny it, but to point out the danger of their attitude. Yes, says Paul: “All things are lawful to me, but not all things are expedient. All things are lawful to me, but I will not be brought under the power of any” - i.e. anything other than God (1 Corinthians 6:12).
Going on from there, Paul picks up the second slogan: “Food is meant for the stomach, and the stomach for food” (1 Corinthians 6:13). Well, says Paul: “and God will destroy both the one and the other.”
I wonder if Paul suspected that there were some among his first readers who were using this slogan about FOOD as a metaphor for SEXUAL IMMORALITY? After all, there were some in the church in Corinth who were tolerating incest. And some seemed to be excusing themselves for participating in pagan temple activities - which included not only feasting, but prostitution.
It is for this reason, perhaps, that Paul opens out the point to the wider issue, (more pertinent to our generation): that our bodies are not meant for fornication, but for the Lord.
But the passage is peppered with theological gems.
First, “God has both raised the Lord (Jesus), and will raise us by His power” (1 Corinthians 6:14). The primary reference here is to the resurrection of the body of Jesus, and therefore to the resurrection of the body of the believer.
Second, “Anyone united to the Lord becomes one spirit with Him” (1 Corinthians 6:17). This is held in contradistinction to the forbidden “one body/one flesh” relationship with a prostitute (1 Corinthians 6:16).
Third, “Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit” (1 Corinthians 6:19). This individualises the wider teaching that the church is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16-17).
Fourth, “You are not your own. For you are bought with a price” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). And what a price! The blood of God’s dearly beloved Son!
What better motive to “glorify God” in our bodies (1 Corinthians 6:20).
D). MISSION TO GALILEE.
John 1:43-51.
1. PHILIP.
The first chapter of John’s Gospel, having opened with a declaration of Jesus as God (John 1:1), closes with Jesus seeming to make an ordinary human decision: to go ‘walkabout’ into Galilee (John 1:43) - perhaps to visit the home of His new disciples Andrew and Peter (John 1:44). Yet this was not an arbitrary choice of destination, but it was made with the set purpose of seeking out and recruiting another disciple. This is, in embryo, what Jesus has been doing on our behalf all along: seeking and saving that which was lost.
In Galilee, Jesus found Philip of Bethsaida, whom He commanded - with all the authority of His kingship - “Follow me” (John 1:43). Philip was no doubt ripe for the picking (despite his Greek name and the Gentile reputation of his hometown), as is evidenced in his knowledge of certain Old Testament prophecies concerning the Messiah. Yet when Philip ran to his friend Nathanael, he did make a common mistake as to the identity of Jesus, naming Him “Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph” (John 1:45) - somewhat perplexing Nathanael, who could remember no prophecy about any good thing coming out of Nazareth!
Yet God does use our clumsy attempts at evangelism, even when we blurt things out in the excitement of the moment without having fully thought them through. Philip managed to recover from the artlessness of his testimony to Nathanael with the encouragement to “Come and see” (John 1:46). Disputation is often counter-productive, so the Lord (who had called Philip without any intermediary) now enabled His new recruit to add wisdom to his enthusiasm, and used him as His mouthpiece to call Nathanael.
2. NATHANAEL.
To Nathanael’s credit, despite his misgivings, he went with Philip. How different his life would have been if he had remained in the grip of prejudice and misunderstanding! The Lord knows everything, and Jesus immediately demonstrated His divine knowledge of Nathanael’s character and whereabouts (John 1:47-48).
Jesus honoured Nathanael as “an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile” (John 1:47). One of the marks of the godly man is his sincerity: his true heart, and his lack of guile (cf. Psalm 32:1-2). No doubt Nathanael was a pious Jew, awaiting the revelation of Messiah.
Nathanael was astonished at Jesus’ miraculous knowledge (John 1:48). When Jesus added that he had seen Nathanael sitting under the fig tree before Philip had called him, Nathanael lavished a plethora of Messianic titles upon Jesus (John 1:49): Jesus would have denied any of these if they were not all true! Jesus told Nathanael that “you (singular) shall see greater things than these” (John 1:50).
Jesus also added, “Hereafter ye (plural) shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of man” (John 1:51). Perhaps when Jesus had seen him under the fig tree, Nathanael had been meditating on Jacob’s vision of the ladder (cf. Genesis 28:12) - but the use of the plural “ye” indicates that the promise “ye shall see…” belongs to all of God’s people. Jesus, as both “Son of God” (John 1:49) and “Son of man” (John 1:51) is the ladder connecting heaven and earth, providing access to God for all of His people.
