Daily Devotions
August 29th, 2013 by Pastor Solley1 Sam 3:1-10 And the child Samuel ministered unto the Lord before Eli. And the word of the Lord was precious in those days; there was no open vision. 2 And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place, and his eyes began to wax dim, that he could not see; 3 And ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep; 4 That the Lord called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I. 5 And he ran unto Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou calledst me. And he said, I called not; lie down again. And he went and lay down. 6 And the Lord called yet again, Samuel. And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And he answered, I called not, my son; lie down again. 7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, neither was the word of the Lord yet revealed unto him. 8 And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And Eli perceived that the Lord had called the child. 9 Therefore Eli said unto Samuel, Go, lie down: and it shall be, if he call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth. So Samuel went and lay down in his place. 10 And the Lord came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth.
God’s choice to keep the lamp burning in Israel in those dark days was the child Samuel. But why Samuel? There are several things to consider. First, his parents. (1 Sam 1:1-3 Now there was a certain man of Ramathaim-zophim, of mount Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephrathite: 2 And he had two wives; the name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah: and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children. 3 And this man went up out of his city yearly to worship and to sacrifice unto the Lord of hosts in Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the Lord, were there.) When one thinks of the parents of Samuel there is more said of his mother, Hannah, than his father Elkanah as perhaps there should be. But Elkanah was as well a man of faith, a man that worshipped God. Samule was raised in a Godly home and was taught by both parents to know and worship the Lord. Then there is Eli the priest. (1 Sam 3:1 And the child Samuel ministered unto the Lord before Eli. And the word of the Lord was precious in those days; there was no open vision.) Eli was an old man here and many things had slipped under his spiritual leadership. His sons had gone astray and were robbing God and the people in the temple, there was no open vision as we see in verse one. That is God was not openly speaking to the nation or even to Eli at that time. But Eli in spite of these faults, and they are faults that led to sin that God had to judge, still knew enough to train young Samuel to listen for and obey the voice of God. God didn’t choose Samuel because he would become something but because he was already something for the Lord. How important then to bring our children up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord? How important to bring them to the house of God to hear the preaching of the Word of God from the man of God? Our children need what Samuel received and they can have it because we can give it.