THE CALL OF SAMUEL
I Samuel 2-3

In those days there was no king in Israel and everyone did what was right in his own eyes. There was no frequent word from the LORD.

But the LORD intervened! He acted to deliver His people from evil within and without. As He would do a thousand years later, He sent a baby. A baby who became a man, a prophet and a maker and breaker of kings: Samuel.

Chapter 3 is about vision. Eli had once known the Lord but he was old – perhaps 98, which was ancient in those days where the average lifespan was in the 30's. His vision once keen in his youth was now clouded. Likewise, with the diminishment of his faculties, he had delegated the priesthood to his sons, who were not holy men, but rascals, thieves, and adulterers. They stole meat dedicated to God, and they stole women who would one day be delegated to their husbands.

Contrast! These stories are full of contrasts. Samuel slept near the light; Eli away from the temple, nearly blind. His sons and the boy Samuel are opposites. Eli is retiring; Samuel is beginning.

At that point Samuel does not yet know the LORD, Yahweh, the God of Abraham and Moses. He knew about Him, but had not encountered Him. Probably at the time the lad was about 12, give or take a year. The Lord called me to ministry at 11, so I know life-changing experiences can happen early. For whatever reason, the LORD could no longer get through to Eli. So He proceeded to speak to the as yet unrecognizing Samuel. Was he called Sammy then? At any rate Yahweh called him three times, and each time he ran to wake Eli and see what he wanted. The third time, Eli tumbled to what was happening. Had he heard that voice in times past?

His directions to the lad were on target. When Sam said, “Speak LORD, I'm listening,” the Lord not only spoke, but appeared. The Book doesn't tell us how He appeared, but throughout the OT He most often shows up as the Angel of the LORD, or a man. He gave Samuel news of judgment on the house of Eli. The old priest had assumed the priesthood would be handed down through inheritance – thus he had installed his sons. But God makes clear throughout the history, as well as in all of scripture, thaat his promises always depend on human obedience. A life dedicated to sin, cancels that promise as it canceled the two sons!
Eli's old integrity was coming back. An unnamed prophet had already predicted his downfall, so the message was no surprise. The old priest directed Samuel to tell him what Yahweh had said with no holding back. Once again he heard the propetic message, this time from his successor.

Scripture says of Samuel as it later says of Jesus that he continue to mature into a well-rounded man of God. The Lord was with him, and “did not let his words fall to the ground.” That is, his prophesies came true, proving they were from God. A new authority was heard in Israel, one the people could trust!

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Now let's back up and look at the second chapter. It begins with the magnificent Song of Hanna. This poem is comparable to the Psalms. Indeed one commentator suggests there may have been a pool of hymns known in Israeli worship that both Hanna and David dipped into and perhaps altered a bit.

Notice some things especially:
:3 Yahweh is a God who knows! Compare Him to the dumb idols, dumb both because they could neither speak nor know.
:5ff – God reverses the fortunes of many. Hanna's praise was about the barren having children, but she includes many others He rescued.
:8 He is the Creator God who rescues His people.
:9f A major theme of the book. Not by strength nor might but in His power. (I caan do all things in Him who strengthens me.)


Eli's sons were scoundrels. They violated rules in the Law about how priests randomly select meat and demanded the best. If someone objected they could meet violence. Nowadays we call that extortion.

Those same young priests tell us they pressured the women who served at the temple into sexual relations.  Whether they raped the girls or merely took advantage of their willingness, this was immoral and by no means the way a priest would be expected to act. Eli made at least one futile effort, probably more unrecorded, to correct his sons, but they ignored him.

Note the writer contrasts Samuel and the sons of Eli, his faithful innocence against their hardhearted selfishness and blasphemy. God is about to make some changes!