1 Samuel 1:25-28
²⁵Then they slaughtered the bull, and brought the boy to Eli.
²⁶She said, “Oh, my lord! As your soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you, praying to the Lord.
²⁷For this boy I prayed, and the Lord has given me my petition which I asked of Him.
²⁸So I have also dedicated him to the Lord; as long as he lives he is dedicated to the Lord.” And he worshiped the Lord there.
1 Samuel 3:1-14
¹Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord before Eli. And word from the Lord was rare in those days, visions were infrequent.
²It 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), ³and 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, ⁴that the Lord called Samuel; and he said, “Here I am.”
⁵Then 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.
⁶The 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.”
⁷Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, nor had the word of the Lord yet been revealed to him.
⁸So 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.
⁹And 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.
¹⁰Then the Lord came and stood and called as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for Your servant is listening.”
¹¹The 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.
¹²In that day I will carry out against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end.
¹³For 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.
¹⁴Therefore 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.”
Devotional
Called on time
▪︎ Did you often have to be called this morning to be able to go to church on time?
▪︎ Was it sighing or groaning?
▪︎ Do you go to church reluctantly, because you have to, or do you go to church with a happy feeling in your heart?
Perhaps you are ashamed of this and you dare not say that to your friends.
Do you feel at home in the silence of God’s House, the place where God’s message of love to people is heard so clearly? What a miracle.
He sends His Son into a hopelessly dark, divided, fighting world, where people hate and take each other’s lives.
In that darkness may the light of the Gospel shine.
The Word has become flesh.
It won’t be too long before Christmas again, does that heavenly peace that will be talked about then also live in your heart?
Samuel knew this sense of peace.
His deepest wish was to be close to the Lord.
So he served with Eli in the temple of the Lord.
How much sin young Samuel saw around him.
Eli’s sons behaved very wickedly, but Samuel remained honest and upright.
The Lord speaks to Samuel.
He gets his commission directly from God.
Don’t think this won’t happen again.
God still has much to tell us.
▪︎ He calls you too.
▪︎ Didn’t you hear?
▪︎ He keeps calling you.
▪︎ He won’t forget you!
▪︎ Do you listen to His voice?
▪︎ Or can you not hear His voice?
Maybe you should turn off a few jammers first!
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