1 Samuel 3:1-13
“Speak Lord, Your Servant is Listening”
October 15, 2023
Have you ever heard me say that mean old people were mean young people? Though I do realized that pain has a way of changing ones behavior. That is why I often say that, “hurting people, hurt people.” What that means is simply that sometimes when folks treat you badly it does not always mean that they are a bad person, but they are simply under poor pain management. I have learned over the years, even though sometimes it catches you off guard to not take it personally. Over the years I have had conversations with many pastors, and would you believe that we all agree that the same people who were rebellious in the 80’s are the same people who are rebellious today? Would you believe that some of the same people that respected and loved their pastor in the 80’s are some of the same people that respected and loved their pastor today? We have found that most people develop a core character and over the years of their life they really never deviate from that core character that was developed in their youth. Today I want to preach about the boy Samuel who grew up to be the man Samuel but always maintained a consistent level of integrity. How you will be perceived tomorrow begins today. Samuel was born in the times known as the era of the judges. Israel was stuck in a habitual pattern of rebellion against God, which resulted in God allowing them to be oppressed by enemies, which caused the people to cry out to God, to which God would provide a judge to help deliver them from their oppression. Usually for the lifetime of the judge, things would go well. But once the judge died the people would grow comfortable, and take their blessings for granted, they would forget God and rebel against him and so the cycle would continue. Samuel lived at the end of the period of the judges and ushered in the period of kingship. He was the last judge in Israel (1 Samuel 7:6) and first prophet of Israel (Acts 3:24). He functioned as a priest (1 Samuel 2:18) and was a great man of faith (Hebrews 11:32).
His Character - Samuel was brought to work for the priest as a child. His mother Hannah promised God that if He gave her a son then she would give him back to the service of the Lord. She kept her promise, and the Bible says that Samuel was first and foremost a servant of the Lord. He ministered TO THE LORD before Eli, but make no mistake about it, he served the Lord but under the leadership of Eli. Eli was flawed but that was God’s issue not Samuels! Because Eli served the Lord. If we can ever develop that character that it does not matter where we work or who we work for, WE SERVE THE LORD. Colossians 3:23 And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ. We are servants of the Lord in all that we do! Eli was a flawed priest and a flawed father who did not discipline his own sons Hophni and Phinehas (Chapter 2) when they dishonored God and did vile and disgraceful acts and were having sex with the women that served at the sanctuary. But Samuel did not follow the elder brothers, he ministered before the Lord even as a child he was recognized for his integrity. Paul says, “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” Philippians 4:8
His Calling - Some believe that Samuel was around 12 years old when God spoke to him. That night, he was serving Eli in the tabernacle when he mistook God’s voice for his mentor’s. Not once, not twice, but three times. Despite his unfamiliarity with the things of God, Samuel’s eagerness to respond was undeniable. Each time, he ran to Eli immediately after his name is called. It got me thinking about the importance of being ready to listen and to serve. Samuel had availability. That’s why he was able to pay attention to God once Eli guided him to the right source of the voice. Like Samuel, many of us aren’t familiar with the voice of God. It is easy to doubt if we heard correctly at all, or attribute what we heard to other sources. That is why we have to be intentional in spending time with God, so that we grow to recognize the way He speaks. 1 Peter 2:9 says, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” Remember that God did not wake Eli to call Samuel. Eli was not responsible for Samuel’s calling he was responsible for Samuel’s training. The scripture adds the comment that “in those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions” (3:1). We already know from earlier comments by the writer that Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, who also served with him as priests were utterly worthless. They cared nothing for the Lord (2:12). They were the very worst kind of religious leaders: cynical unbelievers who treated religion as a racket just to make themselves rich. So spiritual conditions in Israel were just about as bad as they could get. In addition to official corruption among the priesthood, there was no prophet, or spokesman, who could declare the truth of God’s word to the people, no vision to be shared from the Lord. In these circumstances young Samuel received his call to ministry as both a judge and a prophet of the Lord. God will not for long leave himself without a witness among his people. Just when it looks like things are totally corrupt, when spiritual conditions seem hopeless, the Lord will raise up new servants to proclaim his word, teach his truth, and call people back to himself. Young people, God is calling you today because we are living in a time where the word of the Lord is rare, and God is calling you to stand for Him in this dark world. Though Eli’s slowness to recognize what was going on may serve to further the picture of spiritual darkness, he does eventually understand it is the Lord calling Samuel (3:8) and wisely counsels him to respond as a servant should, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening!”
His Courage – The boy Samuel had to tell an adult what thus saith the Lord, that Eli did not retrain his sons when he knew they were vile! The Bible teaches in 1 Timothy 4:12 Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Yes, he was afraid to tell Eli the truth of the Word v16, so he went about doing church work until Eli asked him “What was the Word of the Lord?” Young people, you can’t hide when God has given you a Word of Truth! God said through the Psalmist, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt; open your mouth wide, and I will fill it” (Psalm 81:10). God said to Joshua, “Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest” Joshua 1:9. Nelson Mandela said, “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” Jesus said, “You will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.” Matthew 10:18 Telling God’s truth requires moral courage. Telling the truth of God is scary. Telling people what God said about a certain situation, or topic can be unpopular. It is easy to say nothing, it takes courage to speak. True courage is a rare trait. And without it, it is very unlikely that we will tell others the truth. One of the early church fathers, the Archbishop of Constantinople said, “We must not mind insulting men, if by respecting them we offend God.” We need to be able to tell God’s truth even if it upsets others, but let’s be careful that it is the truth of the message that is upsetting them and not the attitude of the one who tells it. I think we see in the text a clue as to how truth should be told. I’d like to suggest that if we are telling truth that is hard to hear, we do it with this same tone in our voice. God has made His will known to us. He has revealed it in His Word and within the pages of God’s Word we find truth which we need to make known. As a boy Samuel learned to tell God’s truth. It became a foundation upon which he built a life of integrity and earned the respect of the nation he served and the blessings of the God he loved. So shall we if we follow his example. Did you know that Jesus did not want to go to the cross? But because of His courage, we have salvation!
