Text Study - 1 Samuel 3:1-4:1 - The Call of Samuel

Prayer of the Day

Beckoning God, in the stillness of the night you called Samuel into your service. Call us into service with a voice we are able to hear, and give us hearts to come when we are called. We pray this in the name of Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen.

Reading: I Samuel 3:1-4:1

After the Exodus and the establishment of Israel in the land of Canaan, a period of about 250 years followed in which Israel was a loose association of tribes with no central ruler. The books of Samuel tell the story of Israel’s transition to a monarchy, beginning with the calling of Samuel as God’s prophet.

¹Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the LORD under Eli. The word of the LORD was rare in those days; visions were not widespread.

²At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his room; ³the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was. ⁴Then the LORD called, "Samuel! Samuel!" and he said, "Here I am!" ⁵and ran to Eli, and said, "Here I am, for you called me." But he said, "I did not call; lie down again." So he went and lay down. ⁶The LORD called again, "Samuel!" Samuel got up and went to Eli, and said, "Here I am, for you called me." But he said, "I did not call, my son; lie down again." ⁷Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, and the word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him. ⁸The LORD called Samuel again, a third time. And he got up and went to Eli, and said, "Here I am, for you called me." Then Eli perceived that the LORD was calling the boy. ⁹Therefore Eli said to Samuel, "Go, lie down; and if he calls you, you shall say, 'Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.'" So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
¹⁰Now the LORD came and stood there, calling as before, "Samuel! Samuel!" And Samuel said, "Speak, for your servant is listening." ¹¹Then the LORD said to Samuel, "See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make both ears of anyone who hears of it tingle. ¹²On that day I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. ¹³For I have told him that I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them. ¹⁴Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be expiated by sacrifice or offering forever."
¹⁵Samuel lay there until morning; then he opened the doors of the house of the LORD. Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli. ¹⁶But Eli called Samuel and said, "Samuel, my son." He said, "Here I am." ¹⁷Eli said, "What was it that he told you? Do not hide it from me. May God do so to you and more also, if you hide anything from me of all that he told you." ¹⁸So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. Then he said, "It is the LORD; let him do what seems good to him."
¹⁹As Samuel grew up, the LORD was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. ²⁰And all Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was a trustworthy prophet of the LORD. ²¹The LORD continued to appear at Shiloh, for the LORD revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the LORD. ^4:1And the word of Samuel came to all Israel.

COMMENTARY & QUESTIONS

1. What questions do you have about this reading? 
2. The setting has jumped again this week. As the introduction to the text notes, approximately 250 years has passed between the time of the Exodus and the end of the period of the Judges in Israel’s history. After settling in the land of Canaan, the Israelites established tribal lands and the city of Shiloh became the religious center where the Ark of the Covenant was kept.
1. The “temple” to which this reading refers is likely the tent sanctuary held over from the Exodus and not a permanent structure. Scholars believe there was no permanent Temple until the reign of Solomon.
3. “We are told that the ‘lamp of God had not yet gone out’ (v. 3). At its most literal level, this expression may indicate the time prior to dawn. Priestly protocol called for the burning of lamps in the sanctuary from evening to morning. But this phrase may convey multiple levels of meaning…this story opens with the vocabulary of sight and insight. Visions are infrequent. Eli’s eyesight is growing dim; he cannot see. The lamp has not yet gone out. This visual vocabulary prepares us for an ironic contrast. The boy Samuel sleeps near the ark, which is a source of divine presence and illumination, but he cannot perceive what is really happening, whereas the priest Eli, nearly blind and sleeping apart from the divine presence of the ark, finally perceives that the Lord is speaking to Samuel…the expression may refer both to the near extinguishing of divine vision in Israel and to the waning of Eli’s literal vision as well as his role as a priestly source of spiritual vision.” (Bruce Birch, The New Interpreter's Bible, v. 2: I & II Samuel. (c) 1996 by Abingdon Press. p. 992.)
1. Have there been times in your life when you’ve found it difficult to “see” what God is doing? 
2. What about times when you’ve confused the voice of God for that of something else?
3. Thinking in the opposite direction, have there been times when you were absolutely certain you could see what God was doing, and why?
4. Again, the opposite direction: have you been certain you heard God’s voice clearly and completely? 
5. Looking back on all of these times, were you correct? Incorrect? In what ways? 
4. Have you ever given or received harsh news like Samuel must give to Eli? What was that like? 
1. How would the world operate if we all heard and spoke God’s word with the gentleness of Eli and the humility of Samuel?