August 24, 2021
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Reading along with us in 1 Samuel? Here’s today’s reading:
1 Samuel 3 (NIV)
The Lord Calls Samuel
1 The boy Samuel ministered before the Lord under Eli. In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions.
2 One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. 3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the house of the Lord, where the ark of God was. 4 Then the Lord called Samuel...........Continue Reading
Then Eli said, “He is the Lord; let him do what is good in his eyes.”
It appears Eli is aware and accepting of the judgement that is about to happen. He knows that he did not restrain his sons for their evil doings and God must deal with that accordingly. He also knows that God is placing Samuel in his place. Samuel needed Eli to open his eyes to the fact that God was speaking directly to him and that must have been such an awesome and overwhelming realization for Samuel.
This account reminds me that it is God who initiates. Samuel did not know God yet but God called Him. Now what does that mean to me and those around me? I think I could say that I could only pray as much for certain things but God’s plan always prevails.
1Samuel 1
1 Samuel 3
1 Samuel 4-6
It is interesting that whenever God is doing a different thing, He often moves in miraculous ways. We have already seen the miraculous nature of Samuel’s birth and here God speaks to Samuel after being silent most likely due to the priestly disobedience. And how special it is for Samuel to hear directly from God and recognize from it the call that is on his life. It is good that Eli eventually recognizes that it was God who was speaking to Samuel and gives the proper response, that if God is speaking, we need to show we are ready to hear.
I am not sure what to make of Eli’s acceptance of his fate. On one level it is laudable that he accepts what God is going to do to him and his family and does not do anything to stand in Samuel’s way as God is replacing him with Samuel. But on the other hand it could just be Eli’s passive nature that let his sons walk all over him coming through again. And yet there is a lesson in both. We should certainly be willing to accept God’s will for us, but we shouldn’t be passive about things happening around us and to us. Maybe a little push back ala Moses or Abraham saying, God is there anything I can do to change this…repent in dust and ashes…..something?
“And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no widespread revelation.”
It’s interesting that there had been a pause in people hearing from the Lord. I was thinking also that perhaps it was because of Eli’s lack of obedience in training his sons. I was also thinking, as Pastor said, that he should not have just resigned to his fate, but rather consulted the Lord on what he could do to change it.