1 Samuel 3:1 - Meaning and Application

To prepare for the account of God first revealing himself to Samuel, we are told two things here. First, Samuel was faithful in serving God as far as his age and role allowed. Though he was only a child, he ministered to the Lord before Eli, the priest and judge of Israel. This made Eli’s sons look even worse, because they rebelled against the Lord, while Samuel served him. They ignored their father’s warnings, but Samuel was attentive and obedient under Eli’s eye.

Samuel’s good conduct is especially praised because he was surrounded by bad examples and still did not drift. He kept growing in faithfulness instead of slipping backward. This was also preparation for the honor God would soon give him. The one who is faithful in little things can be trusted with more. Young people should aim for humility and diligence, because those are often the best path to honor. The people best fitted to rule are often those who first learned how to obey.

Second, we are told how rare prophecy was in those days. The word of the Lord was precious, meaning it was scarce. Now and then God sent a man with a special message, as in (1 Samuel 2:27), but there were no settled prophets whom the people could regularly consult. Since prophecy was so uncommon, it was especially valuable to everyone who knew its worth. There was no open vision, meaning no one was publicly known to be receiving visions from God.

This likely happened because the sin and corruption in the tabernacle, and no doubt throughout the nation, had provoked God to withdraw the Spirit of prophecy for a time. But now he was preparing to raise up a more faithful priest, and Samuel’s calling was an early sign of that. God’s way of revealing himself to Samuel is described carefully because it was unusual.

Eli had gone to bed. Samuel had seen to him and then lay down himself, probably in a nearby room, ready to help if needed during the night. Eli was growing old, his eyesight was failing, and he was likely retiring early because he was no longer fit for active work. His sons may have had more freedom because Eli kept to himself so much. His dim eyes were also a fitting consequence of his earlier failure to restrain his sons.

Samuel lay down before the lamp of God went out. This probably means he was sleeping near enough to the holy place to do so by that light, before the smaller lamps had gone out, likely near midnight. Until then, he may have been occupied with prayer, reading, or some service in the sanctuary. We can expect God’s gracious visits when we are steady and diligent in our duty.

Then God called Samuel by name, and Samuel thought it was Eli calling him. He got up and ran to Eli, saying, “Here I am.” This shows Samuel’s eagerness and readiness to serve, even at night. It also shows his innocence and inexperience, since he did not yet know this was God’s voice. We often make the same mistake, hearing God speak through Scripture or providence and thinking it is only a human voice or ordinary event.

Eli told him he had not called him, but he did so gently. He did not scold Samuel for being too eager or call him foolish. He simply told him to go back and lie down. Masters should be considerate of their servants’ rest, just as servants should be quick to answer. Samuel went back and lay down. Many hear God’s word and say, “Here I am,” but because they do not recognize God’s voice in it, the effect soon fades away.

The call came a second and third time, and Samuel made the same mistake each time. God kept calling until the call would be effective. Divine grace repeats its call until it brings the person to come. God’s purpose will stand.

Samuel still did not know it was the Lord calling him. He knew the written word and understood God’s will in that sense, but he did not yet know how God spoke to his prophets in this unusual way, by a quiet voice. This was new to him. Someone more familiar with dreams or visions might have recognized it sooner, but this manner of speaking was unfamiliar. Even those who know much about God should remember that they once were like children, still learning the basic things of faith. We should not despise small beginnings. Samuel stumbled for a time before he learned better, but later he understood his duty more clearly.

People often mistake the inward witness of the Spirit in the hearts of believers, and then they lose its comfort. In the same way, the Spirit often presses on the consciences of sinners, but they misunderstand that too, so they lose the good that conviction could have done for them. God speaks once, yes, twice, but people do not notice it (Job 33:14).

Samuel went to Eli the second and third time, and the voice may have sounded like Eli’s, since the child was very near him. He spoke to Eli with confidence, “You called me” (1 Samuel 3:6-8), meaning, “It could not have been anyone else.” Samuel was willing to come whenever he was called, even by Eli, and that showed a dutiful and active spirit. That kind of character fits a person for the favor God is about to show, because God often chooses to use such people.

There was also a special purpose in Samuel’s repeated trips to Eli. At last, Eli realized that the Lord had called the child (1 Samuel 3:8). This would humble Eli, because he would see it as another sign that his family was being set aside. God had something to say, but he chose to say it to Samuel, Eli’s young servant, not to Eli himself. It would humble Eli even more later, when he discovered that the message was for him, and that it had come through a child.

This also led Eli to ask what God had said to Samuel, and that would confirm the truth of the message beyond doubt. No one could say Samuel had only imagined it, because Eli himself had already understood that God was about to speak. Yet he still did not know the content of the message until Samuel told him. Even the mistakes and weaknesses of the people God uses are ruled by God’s wisdom and turned to serve his purpose.

At last, Samuel was ready to receive a message from God, not to keep it to himself, but to be a full prophet, one whose message would be made public and clearly known. Eli, seeing that it was the Lord calling Samuel, instructed him what to say (1 Samuel 3:9). He acted honestly here. Though it was a shame to him that God passed him by and spoke to Samuel instead, he still helped Samuel respond rightly. If Eli had been jealous of this honor, he could have tried to block it. He might have told Samuel to go back to sleep and ignore it as a dream. But he was better than that. He gave Samuel the best counsel he could, to help him grow.

Older people should do the same for younger people who are rising and may soon be more honored than they are. They should help and teach them freely, without envy. We should never fail to instruct those who come after us, even if they will soon be preferred above us (John 1:30). Eli’s instruction was this: when God called again, Samuel should say, “Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.” He had to speak as God’s servant and show that he wanted to know God’s mind. He needed to be ready to listen and willing to obey. Then we may expect God to speak to us when we prepare ourselves to hear him (Psalm 85:8; Habakkuk 2:1). When we read God’s word or listen to it preached, we should come with that same attitude, ready to submit to its command and power: “Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.”

It seems that God spoke the fourth time in a slightly different way. As before, he called Samuel by name, but now he stood and called. This suggests that Samuel saw some visible appearance of God’s glory, a vision standing before him, like the one before Eliphaz, though he could not make out the form of it (Job 4:16). That convinced him it was not Eli calling, because he now saw the voice that spoke with him, as Revelation says (Revelation 1:12). God also repeated Samuel’s name, “Samuel, Samuel,” as though he delighted in saying it, or to show clearly who was speaking. God has spoken once, twice I have heard this (Psalm 62:11). It was an honor that God chose to know him by name (Exodus 33:12), and the call was powerful because it came to him personally by name, as with Saul, Saul. God had also called Abraham by name (Genesis 22:1).

Samuel answered as he had been taught, “Speak, for your servant hears.” Good words should be put into children’s mouths early, along with fitting expressions of reverent and godly feeling. That helps prepare them to know divine things better and to live in holy fellowship with them. Young people should be taught what to say, because they cannot shape their speech well on their own in a world clouded by darkness. Samuel did not jump up and run as he had before when he thought Eli was calling. This time he lay still and listened. A calm and settled spirit is better prepared for divine truth. We should keep down restless thoughts and passions, and let everything in the soul be quiet and peaceful. Then we are ready to hear from God. Everything else must be silent when he speaks.

Notice, though, that Samuel left out one word. He did not say, “Speak, Lord,” only, “Speak, for your servant hears.” That made room for the message he was about to receive. So Samuel was brought into close knowledge of God’s words and visions of the Almighty, and this happened before the lamp of God went out (1 Samuel 3:3) in the temple of the Lord. Some Jewish writers gave that a deeper meaning. They said that before Eli fell and before the Urim and Thummim, the priestly means of seeking God’s guidance, were darkened for a time, God called Samuel and made him an oracle. From that came their saying that as one righteous person’s light goes down, another’s rises (Ecclesiastes 1:5).