The Lord speaks to Samuel
My mind keeps returning to this passage I read in my daily devotionals weeks maybe months ago. The passage is 1 Samuel 3:1-15;
1Meanwhile, the boy Samuel was serving 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 just gone to bed.
3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was sleeping in the Tabernacle* near the Ark of God.
4 Suddenly, the Lord called out, "Samuel! Samuel!"
"Yes?" Samuel replied. "What is it?"
5 He jumped up and ran to Eli. "Here I am. What do you need?"
"I didn't call you," Eli replied. "Go on back to bed." So he did.
6 Then the Lord called out again, "Samuel!"
Again Samuel jumped up and ran to Eli. "Here I am," he said. "What do you need?"
"I didn't call you, my son," Eli said. "Go on back to bed."
7 Samuel did not yet know the Lord because he had never had a message from the Lord before. 8 So now the Lord called a third time, and once more Samuel jumped up and ran to Eli. "Here I am," he said. "What do you need?"
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, `Yes, 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, "Yes, your servant is listening."
11 Then the Lord said to Samuel, "I am about to do a shocking thing in Israel. 12 I am going to carry out all my threats against Eli and his family. 13 I have warned him continually that judgment is coming for his family, because his sons are blaspheming God* and he hasn't disciplined them. 14 So I have vowed that the sins of Eli and his sons will never be forgiven by sacrifices or offerings."
15 Samuel stayed in bed until morning, ......"
There are several things that struck me when I read this passage. First, visions and messages were rare and uncommon. Kind of makes you think things aren't so different today. You hear so many people aggrandize the Biblical past without reading what was written. Even in Samuels day the Lord did not speak to many people.
Second, when he did speak to people, you know what, they didn't always recognize it. I hear lots of believers say they can't hear or are waiting or are not sure. I can so identify with that. I question whether I hear God or if I know what to listen for. And if I do hear God do I react correctly or am I like Samuel and getting up and taking action before I stop, wait and listen for the Voice of God. Mostly, I think I hear him and jump up and go talk to someone else who is not God. Kind of like Samuel.
Third, what to listen for. I so often cloud my thinking with opinions of others, books (not the Bible) or my own perfect expectations. When maybe I just need to lay there in bed say 'Yes, Lord, your servant is listening', Be Silent, and Listen. And not just for one minute. Maybe 5,10 15 minutes or however long it takes. Or maybe I even need to get down on my knees, in silence. Waiting patiently, listening for the still small voice, like Elijah, and not the fire, the earthquake, or the wind. Oh yeah, and maybe I should be prepared for the fact that I might Not exactly like what I hear, he may want to do something shocking in my life, to see how much faith and trust I have in him. How far I will go to follow when he speaks.
1Meanwhile, the boy Samuel was serving 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 just gone to bed.
3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was sleeping in the Tabernacle* near the Ark of God.
4 Suddenly, the Lord called out, "Samuel! Samuel!"
"Yes?" Samuel replied. "What is it?"
5 He jumped up and ran to Eli. "Here I am. What do you need?"
"I didn't call you," Eli replied. "Go on back to bed." So he did.
6 Then the Lord called out again, "Samuel!"
Again Samuel jumped up and ran to Eli. "Here I am," he said. "What do you need?"
"I didn't call you, my son," Eli said. "Go on back to bed."
7 Samuel did not yet know the Lord because he had never had a message from the Lord before. 8 So now the Lord called a third time, and once more Samuel jumped up and ran to Eli. "Here I am," he said. "What do you need?"
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, `Yes, 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, "Yes, your servant is listening."
11 Then the Lord said to Samuel, "I am about to do a shocking thing in Israel. 12 I am going to carry out all my threats against Eli and his family. 13 I have warned him continually that judgment is coming for his family, because his sons are blaspheming God* and he hasn't disciplined them. 14 So I have vowed that the sins of Eli and his sons will never be forgiven by sacrifices or offerings."
15 Samuel stayed in bed until morning, ......"
There are several things that struck me when I read this passage. First, visions and messages were rare and uncommon. Kind of makes you think things aren't so different today. You hear so many people aggrandize the Biblical past without reading what was written. Even in Samuels day the Lord did not speak to many people.
Second, when he did speak to people, you know what, they didn't always recognize it. I hear lots of believers say they can't hear or are waiting or are not sure. I can so identify with that. I question whether I hear God or if I know what to listen for. And if I do hear God do I react correctly or am I like Samuel and getting up and taking action before I stop, wait and listen for the Voice of God. Mostly, I think I hear him and jump up and go talk to someone else who is not God. Kind of like Samuel.
Third, what to listen for. I so often cloud my thinking with opinions of others, books (not the Bible) or my own perfect expectations. When maybe I just need to lay there in bed say 'Yes, Lord, your servant is listening', Be Silent, and Listen. And not just for one minute. Maybe 5,10 15 minutes or however long it takes. Or maybe I even need to get down on my knees, in silence. Waiting patiently, listening for the still small voice, like Elijah, and not the fire, the earthquake, or the wind. Oh yeah, and maybe I should be prepared for the fact that I might Not exactly like what I hear, he may want to do something shocking in my life, to see how much faith and trust I have in him. How far I will go to follow when he speaks.
posted by JC Boggeman | 12:03 PM
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