Jan 19th
1 Samuel 3:1-10
Meanwhile, the boy Samuel served the Lord by assisting Eli. Now in those days messages from the Lord were very rare, and visions were quite uncommon.
2 One night Eli, who was almost blind by now, had gone to bed. 3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was sleeping in the Tabernacle[a] near the Ark of God. 4 Suddenly the Lord called out, “Samuel!”
“Yes?” Samuel replied. “What is it?” 5 He got up and ran to Eli. “Here I am. Did you call me?”
“I didn’t call you,” Eli replied. “Go back to bed.” So he did.
6 Then the Lord called out again, “Samuel!”
Again Samuel got up and went to Eli. “Here I am. Did you call me?”
“I didn’t call you, my son,” Eli said. “Go back to bed.”
7 Samuel did not yet know the Lord because he had never had a message from the Lord before. 8 So the Lord called a third time, and once more Samuel got up and went to Eli. “Here I am. Did you call me?”
Then Eli realized it was the Lord who was calling the boy. 9 So he said to Samuel, “Go and lie down again, and if someone calls again, say, ‘Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went back to bed.
10 And the Lord came and called as before, “Samuel! Samuel!”
And Samuel replied, “Speak, your servant is listening.”
Did you notice that Samuel ministered before the Lord before actually knowing the Lord?
Wild.
It reminds me of Science Mike who talked about leading his daughter to Christ when he himself didn’t believe in God in his autobiography. He was struggling with his faith but has since returned to the Christian life.
I don’t know what’s more interesting. The fact that Samuel was so faithful even though he didn’t know God or the fact that God picked Samuel even though he didn’t know God.It automatically makes me think of young people. Perhaps the reason why we struggle so much with our faith is because we have only known God through the stories of other people and we have not come to know God for ourselves. It’s interesting also how God calls Samuel, and Eli cannot hear the same voice as Samuel. That must mean that Samuel knows God differently than the way Eli knows God. But Eli knows enough about God that he knows God is talking to Samuel. But Eli doesn’t know what he’s saying to Samuel. A lot of twists and turns.
Either way, all of these topics are wildly interesting to me and I am likely going to preach about it on Tuesday. For today, reflect on these questions:
“Are you serving God without knowing God?”
“Is the God you know only known through the stories of others?”
“Have you heard God’s voice for yourself?”
“Have you decided who God is as your self? Using what you have learned for others of course.”