Someone is Calling Your Name
Second Sunday after Epiphany 2006
Dr. Paul G. Humphrey
A little boy named Samuel lay in his bed one still night when he heard a voice calling out his name. Samuel! Samuel!
Little Samuel was different from other boys. He had never even had a hair-cut. He had been given away by his parents. And an old man named Eli took care of him. Eli was a kind man, but he was old and almost blind. It may have been that Samuel took as much care of Eli as Eli took care of him. Is it possible to be too kind when it comes to raising children, to just turn a blind eye to the evil that they do? Eli certainly spoiled his own children to the point that their focus was upon nothing but themselves. They certainly didn’t take care of Eli, nor did they honor or obey him. But, little Samuel treated Eli with the utmost of respect.
When Samuel heard his name called, he placed his feet on the cold floor and quickly made his way to Eli to see what he wanted.
Samuel’s mother had given him away for a noble reason. Her name was Hannah. Samuel’s father’s name was Elkanah. Elkanah had two wives, Hannah and Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah did not, and she was broken hearted because back in her day, not having children was frowned upon. And, she had to compete with another wife who continually reminded her that she had no children. But, Elkanah loved Hannah more than he loved Peninnah. When they went to Shilo, to the temple to sacrifice, he always gave Hannah a double portion of the sacrifice that he made at the temple.
None-the-less, Hannah wanted a child. In bitterness she made a deal with God, which we find in 1 Samuel 1:11
1 Samuel 1:11 And she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt
indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me,
and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a
man child, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his
life, and there shall no razor come upon his head. (Remember, I told you that he had never had a hair cut)
The Lord honored her plea and gave her Samuel, and when she weaned him, she took him to the Temple where he would serve the LORD.
As little Samuel heard his name being called, he went through the temple to the place where Eli slept. He said, “here I am, you called me.” Eli responded, “I didn’t call you, go back to bed.” So, little Samuel went back to bed. On that particular night, the Lamp of God had gone out.
1 Samuel 3:3
3:3 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;
Some translations and commentators say that the light was about to go out designating how late in the night that it was. These would have been the lights on the golden candlesticks before the ark. One of the lights would never go out. Yet, Eli is about blind, and has a task of maintaining the light. Eli is the priest in charge.
Eli was blind in more than one way. He was blind to the action of his own children.
As I mentioned before, Eli’s own children were evil, but they ran the temple. They were priests under his charge. They stole by force from the people bringing offerings there.
2:12 Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not the LORD.
2:17 Wherefore the sin of the young men was very great before the
LORD: for men abhorred the offering of the LORD.
2:18 But Samuel ministered before the LORD, being a child, girded
with a linen ephod.
Eli had failed in raising his own children. And, in doing so, he had failed in bringing light unto the children of Israel as well.
Yet, I would say to you that little Samuel was his pride and joy.
As little Samuel lay in his bed, once again, he heard a voice calling his name. Samuel! Samuel! The Bible tells, once again Samuel ran to Eli, saying “here I am, you called me.” And, once again, Eli said, I didn’t call you. Go back to bed.
2:22 Now Eli was very old, and heard all that his sons did unto all
Israel; and how they lay with the women that assembled at the door
of the tabernacle of the congregation.
2:23 And he said unto them, Why do ye such things? for I hear of your
evil dealings by all this people.
2:24 Nay, my sons; for it is no good report that I hear: ye make the
LORD’s people to transgress.
Eli knew how wicked his two sons were. He cared a little bit, but not enough to do anything about it.
I love the story about the mom & dad with a son who was a freshman in college. He blew off his freshman year. He wasn’t very responsible, didn’t make good grades, squandered his money, & finally came back home. His parents told him, “If you go back to school you’ll have to pay your own way.”
So he had to work that summer & not go on the family vacation. That was part of his punishment. The family went to Greece that year & the mom sent him a postcard, “Dear Son,” she wrote. “Today we stood on the mountains where ancient Spartan women sacrificed their defective children. Wish you were here.” [Source Unknown]
Eli had totally given up, though it doesn’t sound like he had put in much of an effort to begin with.
A prophet had come to Eli sometime back and told Eli that because Eli did not chasten his children, and because they abused the temple and the sacrifice, taking the choice morsels for themselves, that destruction was coming to his family. The prophecy of the LORD was that all of his descendants would live in grief and die in the prime of life.
3:8 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.
3:9 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.
How often is it that the LORD speaks to us, but we don’t recognize his voice?
How often is it that we allow our light to barely burn or go out? Eli had a responsibility to keep the Light of God burning in the temple, but because he was about blind, he couldn’t even see that light himself.
Israel was to be a light to the entire world. I suppose that the Light of God in the temple represented that. It was to always burn. It is the same with us; we are to be light for God. And, sometimes we can be blind to the task of bearing light in the world.
Are you keeping the light burning?
Are you hearing God speak?
3:10 And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times,
Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant
heareth.
A verse in one of my favorite songs says, “Word of God speak, pour down like rain, open my eyes to see, your majesty.”
3:11 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.
3:12 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.
3:13 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.
3:14 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.
3:15 And Samuel lay until the morning, and opened the doors of the
house of the LORD. And Samuel feared to shew Eli the vision.
Little Samuel didn’t want to tell Eli what the LORD had said. He was up all night.
3:16 Then Eli called Samuel, and said, Samuel, my son. And he
answered, Here am I.
3:17 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,
if thou hide any thing from me of all the things that he said unto
thee.
3:18 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.
3:19 And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and did let none
of his words fall to the ground.
Everything that the LORD said came to pass. And this same Samuel was the prophet of the LORD.
As we look at this story. On first glance, one might say, it is a story that says to raise up your children right. But that is not the bigger picture.
The bigger picture is about hearing God’s word.
It is about obeying God’s word.
It is about responsibility, not just Eli’s failed responsibility to his own children, but his responsibility to bring light to the children of Israel.
The fact that Eli was too blind to see was just an illustration of a much greater blindness.
Eli is complacent, though deep down he already knows the judgment that he faces.
There are preachers in the world today who fail to ever mention sin or repentance or salvation. Just as Eli was blind to the light of God in the temple, by choice, he decided to be blind to the sins of his own children who were priests like himself. Their light too has gone out, because they are blind to the word and will of God.
It is not just preachers. The light of our churches burns in the world in accordance with the will of each member to be light for God.
Do you hear him calling your name?
Do you hear him saying, carry my word into the world so that my light may shine through you?
Are we ever afraid, like little Samuel was?
Are we afraid that bringing God’s good news might be met with rebuke?
Soren Kierkegaard, the Danish philosopher, told a story about a goose who was wounded and who landed in a barnyard with some chickens. He played with the chickens and ate with the chickens. After a while that goose thought he was a chicken. One day a flight of geese came over, migrating to their home. They gave a honk up there in the sky, and he heard it. Kierkegaard said, "Something stirred within the breast of this goose. Something called him to the skies. He began to flap the wings he hadn’t used, and he rose a few feet into the air. Then he stopped, and he settled back again into the mud of the barnyard. He heard the cry, but he settled for less." [SermonCentral]
Friends, we are not in Eli’s position. Whatever mistakes that we have made in life, there is a way out. Jesus came to provide that way of forgiveness.
He calls to you, just as he called to Eli and Samuel. What will your response be?
