1 Samuel 3:1-10

The Lord Reveals Himself to Samuel

v. 1. And the child Samuel ministered unto the Lord before Eli, as a special servant of the Sanctuary, under the immediate direction of the high priest. And the Word of the Lord was precious in those days, it rarely happened that the Lord sent a message by direct prophetic announcement; there was no open vision, literally, "there was no vision spread abroad," made public frequently. There was lacking, on the one hand, a pious, God-fearing priesthood and, on the other hand, an appreciation of the divine Spirit's work through the Word. "Jehovah had indeed promised His people to send prophets, who should reveal to them His will and counsel, Deuteronomy 18:15 ff. ; Cf Numbers 23:23; but since divine Revelation presupposes willingness to accept the truth on the part of man, the unbelief and the disobedience of the people was able to hinder the fulfillment of this and similar prophecies, and God could in punishment deprive the idolatrous people of His Word. " (Keil. )

v. 2. And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place, namely, to sleep at night in the room reserved for him, and his eyes began to wax dim that he could not see, this being added by way of parenthesis, in order to explain the action of Samuel, who supposed that Eli was calling him to assist him in some manner,

v. 3. and ere the lamp of God, the large candlestick with its seven lamps, whose oil was replenished every morning, since they went out toward morning, went out in the Temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep,

v. 4. that the Lord called Samuel; and he answered, Here am I. So Samuel was sleeping in one of the rooms which were built in the court of the Tabernacle for the use of the priests and Levites who happened to be on duty, and it was toward morning.

v. 5. And he ran unto Eli and said, Here am I; for thou calledst me. That was the conclusion which he naturally drew, and his faithful willingness took him to the room of Eli as quickly as he could get there a fine example to many a young man of our days. And he, Eli, said, I called not; lie down again, evidently supposing that Samuel had merely dreamed he was being called. And he went and lay down.

v. 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. He was again, as a faithful servant, ready to do his master's bidding; there was no peevish discontent in his voice for having been called out of his rest. And he, Eli, answered, I called not, my son; lie down again, still believing that the young man was being misled by some illusion of the senses.

v. 7. Now, Samuel did not yet know the Lord, neither was the Word of the Lord yet revealed unto him. This is added by way of explanation. Samuel did not yet possess the special, direct knowledge of God, for this was given only by an extraordinary Revelation of Jehovah, in dreams and in visions, and this form of manifestation was at that time practically unknown in Israel; hence his ignorance.

v. 8. And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, still with the same cheerful willingness which disregarded its own comfort, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. He was ready for service day or night, and without the slightest irritation. And Eli perceived that the Lord had called the child. This was the conclusion which Eli reached from his knowledge of God's manner of dealing with His prophets.

v. 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, ever obedient, even while he may have wondered about the strangeness of the command, went and lay down in his place.

v. 10. And the Lord, who had at first manifested Himself merely by His voice, came, and stood, in a vision which must have been plainly visible to Samuel upon awakening, and called as at other times, Samuel! Samuel! Then Samuel answered, Speak, for Thy servant heareth. Samuel is not only an example of obedience, but also of willingness to hear the voice of the Lord. Like him all believers should open their ears and hearts to God and give heed to the voice which comes to us in the Word.