Hey, I’m planning on preaching on 1 Samuel 3:1-21 this coming Sunday (Jan 14, 2007). Its the reading scheduled for this Saturday (Jan 13). If you get a chance, I would be interested in hearing from you as to what jumps out at you in this passage. What questions does it raise? What do you hear God saying to you in this passage. I suggest keeping your comments brief and clear, for everyone’s benefit (and mine), and I will try to return the favour on Sunday, i.e. keep my comments brief and clear. Click on 
Comments to leave your thoughts.
Pastor Norm
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Was just wondering . . . how the Word of the Lord was commented to be “rare” in those days? Would it be that the rarity of the word of the Lord is the absence of it or merely the condition of being out of tune of the people?
The Lord was calling out to Samuel but Samuel did not recognize His voice. Verse 7 tells us that Samuel did not know the Lord. ” The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.” Which indicates to me that Eli was remiss in his teachings. However God is persistent; He does not stop calling us and when we choose to listen we clearly hear Him. Do I choose to take the time every day to listen for His voice? Do I tell of Jesus to others daily? I confess I fall short and ask God to continue to speaking so that I may respond.
Some observations and thoughts:
In vs 1, “In those days the word of the Lord was rare:”. The fact that God’s word was rare really struck me as odd. I wondered whether this was because Eli and his sons had greatly dishonoured the Lord. God had vowed to raise up a line of priests through Eli’s father. How discouraged and disheartened God must have been to see the future and dishonour through Eli and his sons. They were not men after God’s own heart and mind. But Samuel was pure of heart and full of promise and hope (vs 3 “The lamp of God had not yet gone out,”). It made sense to reveal God’s truth through him. How fortunate we are that the word and truths of the Lord are available to us everyday, especially if we seek with all our heart. It does not have to be a rare word. A recent bible study reminded me how important God’s word is, and that it can “thoroughly equip us for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3: 16-17). In this same study we learned how ungodly choices can negatively impact not only ourselves but future our generations. This is in keeping with the generational message and judgement in vs 13 for Eli and his family.
In vs 14 God says that “the sins of Eli’s house could never be atoned for..” Again I am reminded how fortunate we are that God sent His Son as the ultimate sacrifice and daily we can claim victory over our sin and flesh through Christ.
Some thots:-)
Once again the Word of the Lord comes to those we least expect it from. God uses a small child His truth to proclaim. We would have expected Eli to be in tune with God such as Zach.
The call of the Lord is persistent – three times – Peter comes to my mind.
Eli did teach Samuel the way of the Lord and once again I am reminded how important it is that one generation needs to tell the next the great and wonderful acts of the Lord. We all need to hear the voice of the Lord. How are we intune or on the same wave length so that we do hear/see the presence of God in our lives?
I praise God that His light never goes out. He always provides a way for His purposes to be fulfilled. Even when we think there is no more hope or Light, God opens our eyes of unbelief and we see how He continues His mercies and wonders to perform so that His Kingdom may come in His time.
Observations:
Samuel is a young boy.
God calls to him …
Samuel responds to Eli, but Ei is the wrong person.
God calls Samuel again.
Samuel again goes to the wrong person – Eli had not called him.
God calls Samuel a third time.
Samuel goes again to Eli – Eli had not called him.
Eli instead now, gets the picture and tells Samuel what he needs to do to respond if he is called again. At least now, Samuel is getting some guidance.
God calls Samuel a fourth time.
This time Samuel responds back to God and God continues
What is interesting to me is that the message that God tells this little boy Samuel seems far beyond what a little boy should have to deal with. God talks about bringing judgement on the leadership of the temple for the sins that Eli brought upon his house.
Why should a little boy be brought into this?
How hard it must have been for Samuel to have to tell the truth to Eli regarding the message that God told him that night.
But that step of faith, proved to be a stepping stone for Samuel to learn the honour of speaking the truth of God’s word in years to come.
Later in the passage in verse 20 it says, “And all Israel from Dan even to Beershebah knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the Lord.”
A prophet is confirmed by the truth of his words. Samuel held to speaking God’s message, whether he felt he understood it or not. He learned the virtue of merely, “trust and obey”.
Application: Sometimes, I wonder if God is calling out to me and I turn and run to the wrong person when I should turn and offer myself to the Lord. The times that I do quiet myself before the Lord, often I hear more … the Lord always has more to share then!
Sometimes, also, I feel like a child exposed to a world of politics and issues far above my ability. But the one thing that I am begining to understand more about God, is that He really does not wait until you have a masters degree in socialogy or solving the worlds problems. He only wants a willing heart who listens to Him and is willing to merely “trust and obey”. As Keith Green said in one of his songs “He’ll take care of the rest!” Yes, God will take care of the rest – it is His business to begin with. He only calls us to trust and obey in the simple requests that He conveys to us.