Bible Study - 1 Samuel Chapter 3
Bible Study - 1 Samuel Chapter 3
| 1 Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord before Eli. And word from the Lord was rare in those days, visions were infrequent. |
Again, Samuel is stated to be serving Yahweh, and not the Chief Priest Eli. It is only before Eli, not under him. Implied is that Eli's leadership was inadequate, and Samuel served Yahweh properly despite Eli. But this service did not require a relationship with God to accomplish. Word from Yahweh is rare and visions are infrequent most times throughout scripture and history. It is easy to make the mistake that documentation in scripture means this is common. We should remember that scripture covers thousands of years. And the writers tend to focus on the unusual. Rare is the normal condition, despite claims by fake "prophets" today. Prompting of the Spirit is common today. But that is different from an audible and visible appearance. It should be noted that operating in unrepentant sin separates us from God, which makes this sort of thing even more rare. |
| 2 It happened at that time as Eli was lying down in his place (now his eyesight had begun to grow dim and he could not see well), |
The details in verses 2 & 3 are usually lacking in most scripture. These details common to 1st & 2nd Samuel which make these scriptures so enjoyable to read, and so much easier to picture what is depicted. Eli's "place", where he slept, was in the tent of meeting, but not in the inner tent of holies. His failing eyesight is symbolic of his failing as Chief Priest. |
| 3 and the 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, |
The lamp of God illuminates the outer sanctuary at night, and would have enough oil to last until morning. That it hadn't gone out means it was still night. This implies that it was late enough that the time was not easily recognized by someone who wakes. Samuel's place to sleep was in the holy place, the first part of the inner tent. The curtained off second half was the Holy of Holies and housed the Ark of the Covenant. This was a position of responsibility for a young man who had shown responsibility in his temple duties. In essence, he was the one "on call" during the night, like a doctor at the hospital. |
| 4 that the Lord called Samuel; and he said, "Here I am." |
Yahweh calls, but Samuel doesn't know it's God. Samuel calls out in response, as he had many times when a more senior priest called him. He thinks it's Eli, and immediately responds to let Eli know he heard. There is an important principal here that most westerners have difficulty with. Even though scripture makes it clear that Samuel was serving Yahweh and not Eli, this was to say that Samuel's actions were right no matter what those above him did. And even though Eli was not right with God, he was still the Chief Priest. So Samuel quickly responds to Eli's call and instructions, as he should. He just discerns right from wrong and sets the wrong aside, still giving respect to the Chief Priest. Westerners typically hold pastors either in high esteem or total disgust. The truth is, all have fallen and come short of the glory of God. When a pastor is wrong, we still owe them respect. We just don't listen to the things that are wrong, and take in the things that are right. (Be like the Bereans!) As for me, I pray that some time someone will be in a place to offer correction, and they will willingly receive it. But so far, it has not been my place to be that person for a pastor. |
| 5 Then he 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. | After his initial response, he runs to Eli and again speaks the proper response to Eli's call. Eli probably thought Samuel had been dreaming, and sends him back to bed. |
| 6 The Lord called yet again, "Samuel!" So Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, "Here I am, for you called me." But he answered, "I did not call, my son, lie down again." | Yahweh calls again, and again Samuel responds thinking it's Eli. This time Eli calls him "my son" sending him back to sleep. |
| 7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, nor had the word of the Lord yet been revealed to him. | Samuel had been ministering to Yahweh, but didn't have a personal relationship with Him and had not yet begun to study the scriptures. His temple duties had not yet reached that level. Thus, he was probably still young at this point, certainly under 12 years old. |
| 8 So the Lord called Samuel again for the third time. And he arose and went to Eli and said, "Here I am, for you called me." Then Eli discerned that the Lord was calling the boy. |
Eli's discernment is almost certainly his own reasoning, not a divine revelation. Even though Eli was so sinful and disrespectful to God he had been condemned and was facing harsh punishment, God was still using him to fulfill His will. We have this tendency to view people as either heroes or villains. And we try to cover for or justify the bad behavior of the "good guy", or discount the good behavior of the "bad guy". The reality is no one is all good or all bad. For example, people try to soften the sins of Samson, trying to say we don't know what he did. Judges 16:1-3 is explicit. Samson saw a prostitute and had sex with her. The Gazites lay in wait to catch him in the morning when the city gates were opened. But Samson just lifted the gates and their posts right out of the ground and carried them to the top of a mountain. Samson was clearly a pig of a man elsewhere. The reason a man stays with a woman who is bringing him harm is because he is sleeping with her. That is the case with Samson and Delilah. Sex makes you stupid outside marriage. But in marriage it is the novocaine that makes marriage possible. The reason Delilah could do all these elaborate things to Samson without waking him up was he was passed out drunk. (Only the not cutting the hair was for Samson, the no drinking and no unclean food was for his mother. Nazarite vows are only taken voluntarily by adults.) |
| 9 And Eli said to Samuel, "Go lie down, and it shall be if He calls you, that you shall say, 'Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening.'" So Samuel went and lay down in his place. |
Eli uses his knowledge to instruct Samuel how to proceed. Eli may have messed up so bad his line was going to be ended, but that didn't mean he was ignorant about God. On the contrary, he knew God and about God. He just didn't do what he should have. Lots of men failed to discipline their sons at this time. But Eli failed to discipline priests under him operating under his authority. Leaders in the church are held to a higher standard by God. |
| 10 Then the Lord came and stood and called as at other times, "Samuel! Samuel!" And Samuel said, "Speak, for Your servant is listening." | The language "came and stood" means that this time it was more than just hearing, but it was a vision as well. Verse 15 tells us that Samuel got up and stood in respect, even though it isn't specified here. |
| 11 The Lord said to Samuel, "Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel at which both ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. | This is the first time Samuel is used as a prophet of God. God gives information to Samuel as his messenger. The phrase "both ears will tingle" is a poetic way of saying the news is so momentous and shocking, like they would react to a terrible disaster. |
| 12 "In that day I will carry out against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. | Here Yahweh is reaffirming what was prophesied about Eli's house by the man of God in chapter 2. And He is saying these things are about to happen. |
| 13 "For I have told him that I am about to judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knew, because his sons brought a curse on themselves and he did not rebuke them. | Again, this confirms that the man of God was speaking for the Lord. There is a very informative point here. God says Eli knew what was going on. In addressing his sons Eli distances himself from the bad behavior and only refers to hearing the people talking about it. God knew that Eli knew it all along and did nothing about it. Eli did not "rebuke" them. Other translations, (ESV, NIV, NKJV, NRSV,) use the word "restrain" for kahah, which better conveys the meaning than rebuke as restraining requires action and/or consequences. A rebuke can be merely verbal or it can mean consequences were imposed. Eli's sin was that he was all talk and no action. He should have handed out consequences for the bad behavior of the priests under him before it reached that level of evil. "Brought a curse" is meqallim, which is literally they were blaspheming. The NLT puts it very well saying that Eli didn't discipline his sons. (Although the verb tenses should be past tense.) |
| 14 "Therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever." |
Even a priest who sins bad enough that the sin brings guilt on the people of Israel could give an offering to the Lord by sacrificing a bull. (Leviticus 4:3-12.) But Eli, Hophni, and Phinehas blasphemed the sacrifices and offerings to the Lord. So He will no longer accept these things from them. Literally, their sins will no longer be covered by offerings and sacrifice. It should be noted that Judaism is nomistic system, not a works based justification. (This is very difficult to understand by westerners as we have no frame of reference.) Obedience to the law, including offerings and sacrifices for the forgiveness of sins did not in themselves justify a sinner. This was not a magic formula, nor a works-base salvation. God's grace is what justified a sinner even before Christ. By sacrificing for the covering of sin, a sinner identifies with God and as one of His chosen people. But no animal, grain, or drink sacrifice can really atone for sins. Their sins are actually atoned for by God's grace to His people. |
| 15 So Samuel lay down until morning. Then he opened the doors of the house of the Lord. But Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli. | After the Lord had gone, Samuel lays down. I doubt he slept after that experience. Then he goes about his duties, opening the doors so the people of Israel can come worship. It is no wonder he was afraid to tell Eli about his vision. No one wants to be the bearer of bad news, especially to the boss. But this was very, very bad news. |
| 16 Then Eli called Samuel and said, "Samuel, my son." And he said, "Here I am." | Despite everything Samuel still behaves righteously, responding to Eli quickly and with respect. For Eli's part, he again refers to Samuel as "my son." The human tendency here would be towards jealousy that God spoke directly to Samuel instead of Eli. But it doesn't seem to be the case here. In fact, it seems that Eli was eagerly waiting to hear what God said. |
| 17 He said, "What is the word that He spoke to you? Please do not hide it from me. May God do so to you, and more also, if you hide anything from me of all the words that He spoke to you." |
It must have been apparent that Samuel was reluctant to tell his vision to Eli. It may have been that Eli asked more than once before what is recorded here. But it is more likely that Samuel's reluctance was clearly written on his face. And Eli knew that meant more bad news for himself. Eli uses very formal language, starting with the question, then making a request, and finishing with compulsion. |
| 18 So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. And he said, "It is the Lord; let Him do what seems good to Him." |
Samuel tells it all. It should be noted that God didn't instruct Samuel to do anything with what he had been told. It is compliance with the authority over him that is the reason Samuel shared what he was told. Regardless of motivation, relaying the word of God is the duty and office of a prophet of Yahweh. Eli's reception of God's word is interesting. He has not been doing his duty to discipline the priests under him, and allowed blasphemous behavior. But confronted again with God's judgement he accepts it with composure and self-control. This is the reaction of a good man when confronted with his own sin. |
| 19 Thus Samuel grew and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fail. |
So Samuel was a young man, not fully grown when he heard from the Lord the first time. The last phrase is literally that God did not cause any of Samuel's words to fall to the ground. Put simply, God spoke through Samuel always, and Samuel was always true to God. 1 Samuel 9:6 says that Samuel's reputation was that all he said came true. |
| 20 All Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the Lord. |
From Dan to Beersheba is descriptive language for the whole of Israel as those two locations were the north and south borders of the nation. A prophet of Yahweh does not necessarily receive direct speech and visions from God. Although if God does it is confirmation of their office. But the clear and only sign for others to know is that what the person says is always true. Those that are proven false, even if it's just now and then, are no different than the cold-reading charlatans like John Edward and other frauds. Real prophets are always true, and don't use the vague language frauds use so their victims will fill in the details. |
| 21 And the Lord appeared again at Shiloh, because the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the Lord. | Essentially, this is saying that because Samuel was a prophet of God at the temple, God was again at Shiloh, the city of the Tent of Meeting. The very strong implication is that God's word had been absent for some time before Samuel became a prophet. |
Scripture quotations taken from the NASB © The Lockman Foundation.