seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
1 Samuel 3:1 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.
Samuel answered, “Here I am.” 5 And he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”
But Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.” So he went and lay down.
6 Again the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”
“My son,” Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.”
7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord: The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.
8 A third time the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”
Then Eli realized that the Lord was calling the boy. 9 So Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
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.
Samuel answered, “Here I am.” 5 And he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”
But Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.” So he went and lay down.
6 Again the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”
“My son,” Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.”
7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord: The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.
8 A third time the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”
Then Eli realized that the Lord was calling the boy. 9 So Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
The commentary this morning is from the easy English site.
This chapter describes the first time that God spoke to Samuel. This is the start of his work as a prophet of God. In the days of Moses and Joshua, the Lord often spoke to the leaders of the Israelites. But after the days of Joshua, the people did not always worship the Lord with their spirit. Instead, they often worshipped foreign gods. Even the priests were wicked, so God did not speak to them. A vision is like a dream but the person is awake. It is one way that God speaks to people.
Samuel had grown. He was a young boy now, not a little child. Samuel probably did more work in the house of the Lord because Eli could not see very well. The ‘ark’ was a wooden box that had gold all over the outside and inside of it. It contained the ten commandments (laws) that the Lord gave to Moses on Mount Sinai (Exodus 20 and 25:10-22). Another name for the ark is ‘the ark of the covenant’. The ‘covenant’ is the agreement that God made with Abraham. God said that he would bless Abraham and his family for ever (Genesis 12:1-3 and 15:1-21). The ark was holy. It was in the house of the Lord on behalf of God. God separated the ark from the people. The people could not go near the ark because of their sin (Leviticus 16).
The lamp was also in the house of the Lord (Exodus 25:31-40). It needed oil to burn. The priest had to light it every evening. Samuel slept in the house of the Lord. He had to make sure that the lamp did not go out until the morning (Leviticus 24:1-4).
Samuel served in the house of the Lord. But this was the first time that the Lord spoke to him. Samuel heard the Lord’s voice but he thought it was Eli. It was rare for the Lord to speak directly to people in those days. We do not know whether Eli had ever heard the Lord’s voice. But he taught Samuel the proper way to reply to the Lord.
Samuel had grown. He was a young boy now, not a little child. Samuel probably did more work in the house of the Lord because Eli could not see very well. The ‘ark’ was a wooden box that had gold all over the outside and inside of it. It contained the ten commandments (laws) that the Lord gave to Moses on Mount Sinai (Exodus 20 and 25:10-22). Another name for the ark is ‘the ark of the covenant’. The ‘covenant’ is the agreement that God made with Abraham. God said that he would bless Abraham and his family for ever (Genesis 12:1-3 and 15:1-21). The ark was holy. It was in the house of the Lord on behalf of God. God separated the ark from the people. The people could not go near the ark because of their sin (Leviticus 16).
The lamp was also in the house of the Lord (Exodus 25:31-40). It needed oil to burn. The priest had to light it every evening. Samuel slept in the house of the Lord. He had to make sure that the lamp did not go out until the morning (Leviticus 24:1-4).
Samuel served in the house of the Lord. But this was the first time that the Lord spoke to him. Samuel heard the Lord’s voice but he thought it was Eli. It was rare for the Lord to speak directly to people in those days. We do not know whether Eli had ever heard the Lord’s voice. But he taught Samuel the proper way to reply to the Lord.
This is from the blueletterbible.org.
God didn't speak often, and when He did, it was a word of judgment!
Eli was blind. He was blind physically.... but he was also blind when it came to his sons and what they were doing to worship. I wonder what went through his mind when he realized that God was talking to Samuel. I wonder.... did he see his doom? Was he relieved?
