Samuel – Light in a Dark World | 1 Samuel 3

Illustration:  Robert Louis Stevenson, a novelist grew up in Scotland in the 19^th Century. In those days, streetlights did not just come on automatically; people were hired to light each one individually. One evening, as the lamplighters did their work, climbing their ladders, lifting the glass lid, lighting the torch, shitting the lid, climbing down, and moving onto the next lamp, young Stevenson was enthralled. As dusk settled into night, one light would be kindled, then another, and another. He turned to his parents and said, ‘Look, they are punching holes in the darkness.”

The light of God has punched a great hole in the darkness of the world through Jesus Christ, his death and resurrection. We live in an evil and dark world. Jesus expects his followers to be the light in a dark world.

HF: Samuel becomes a light in a dark world. Today, we are going to see how we came become light in a dark world.

1 Samuel 3:1 The Lord chooses a prophet.

1 Samuel 3:1 The boy Samuel ministered before the Lord under Eli. In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions.

1a. Remember Hannah had dedicated Samuel to the Lord. Samuel was ministering before the Lord under Eli, but in contrast Eli’s sons were doing all kinds of evil in the presence of the Lord.

1b. Visions were infrequent. In those days, the Lord would reveal himself to the prophets through visions. That sounds as if God was not revealing himself. The problem was that the word was not breaking through. It was not that God was silent, the problem was that his voice was not being heard. It was not breaking through. There was resistance to him. There was resistance like an iron wall in people’s ears.

It was difficult for God to be seen and it was difficult for God to be heard.

It is not surprising given what was going on with Eli and his sons. In this chapter, we will see that change. The Lord is choosing Samuel and Samuel will now be his prophetic instrument.

Why? What was wrong in those days? Remember the era best described in Judges 21:25  In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit.

That tells us what the problem was. The cause of resistance to God’s words primarily was faulty leaders. At least 3 times in 1 Samuel 2, the chapter before, there are stark contrasts the writer makes between the good leaders and the bad leaders. The bad leaders were the current crop of leaders, the sons of Eli, the High Priest. The good leader was the one that was being raised in the person of a little child, Samuel.

Contrast of Good & Bad Leaders | Good guys Vs Bad guys

 1 Samuel 2:11-12 the boy ministered before the Lord under Eli the priest.

Eli’s sons were scoundrels; they had no regard for the Lord.

 1 Samuel 2:17-18 ¹⁷This sin of the young men was very great in the Lord’s sight, for they were treating the Lord’s offering with contempt.

¹⁸But Samuel was ministering before the Lord—a boy wearing a linen ephod.

 1 Samuel 2:25-26 His sons, however, did not listen to their father’s rebuke, for it was the Lord’s will to put them to death.

And the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor with the Lord and with people.

The priests, the nation’s leaders were really bad. They were abusing the sacrificial system, stealing the offering, and even committing sexual immorality with women within the temple.

1 Samuel 2:22 Now Eli, who was very old, heard about everything his sons were doing to all Israel and how they slept with the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting.

Ongoing and unrepentant deeds of gross immorality, rebellion against YAHWEH: See the consequence.

Moving to 1 Samuel 3:13 ¹³For I told him that I would judge his family forever because of the sin he knew about; his sons blasphemed God, and he failed to restrain them (original is cursed God. There is no verbal curse but they cursed God by their behavior’s. You just don’t do that and get away with it.). ¹⁴Therefore I swore to the house of Eli, ‘The guilt of Eli’s house will never be atoned for by sacrifice or offering.’”

• Eli was a leader who would not correct his sons.
• A father not fulfilling his godly duties.
• A father who allowed his children to blaspheme God.

Consequence:

• God will judge his family.
• God will not accept their sacrifices and offerings.
• God will not hear them
• Therefore no word from God was heard

“You insisted on scorning my sacrifice and offering, It will not be available for you even if you seek reconciliation with God, I will not accept sacrifices and offerings from you.”

1. LEADERS WHO DO NOT SEE

The world has seen some good & godly leaders who have led their nation to prosperity, but predominantly the world has seen bad leaders. Bad leaders those who extinguish the light and keep the world in darkness.

• Bad leaders in the corporate world, like the Sathyam boss, Ramalinga Raju.
• Political leaders like Hitler, Gadhafi, Saddam Hussain and so on. Perhaps we have even seen bad leaders in our own country, leaders who ought to be ruling in justice and giving light but aren’t.
• Then bad leaders in the church. You wonder if there is any hope. The fact of the matter is that God is in the process of selecting his people who will be the instrument of light in a dark world.

What is true for leaders is also true for all of us. If we do not seek after God, we too will not see God.

You don’t seek, you don’t see.

Even though God is here waiting to be recognized, he goes unrecognized because we are not seeking him.

Illustration: Charlie Chaplin, the silent movie star in bygone era was quite a phenomenon. One of the bi-products of Chaplin’s immense popularity was the lookalike contests that sprung up around the world, even during his own lifetime. Contestants attempted to imitate Chaplin’s character that he played in those films.

One day Chaplin himself decided to enter one of those lookalike contests that was held in a San Francisco theatre. Chaplin did not even make the finals. Chaplin did not make the finals of a Chaplin lookalike contest.

God is willing to reveal himself. He is there if only we seek, if only we see, if only we recognize him. He does not force himself on us. If we don’t seek him, we will not see him, just like those bad leaders in 1 Samuel 3.

How are we to see him? How are we to seek? Let’s find out:

1 Samuel 3:2-3 ²One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. ³The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the house of the Lord, where the ark of God was.

In OT narratives, the setting is very important. Notice, the description of where they both are lying down:

Eli is in his place, in his bed, in his room somewhere.

Samuel though the text tells us was in the temple of the Lord where the ark of God was. There was a lamp in the tabernacle that was supposed to be kept on during the night until morning, and it was burning. It does not mean that he was in there with the ark, but he was nearby.

Eli was in his place, Samuel was in God’s place. The young man was right next to God.

There is a hint here. This is the first occurrence of the word ark in 1 Samuel. When God in the OT days dwelt among his people and little Sam is sleeping right next to the presence of God. This is a guy seeking after God.

We Can See God, If We Seek The Presence Of God.

The setting here is very important.

Now look again at 1 Samuel 3:2-3, three things three things that come between the statement of these two locations where Eli was and where Samuel was.

1 Samuel 3:2-3 ²One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. ³The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the house of the Lord, where the ark of God was.

• Dark Night.
• Eli’s eyes were becoming weak.
• He could barely see.
• The lamb of God had not yet gone out.

Notice the three things interposed between the locations of Eli and Samuel:

Rather redundant, but very deliberate writing.

The three in-between things, all deal with light and with sight. Things are dim and bleak and dark and no one can see.

It is darkness indeed, spiritual darkness. No one is seeking after God. The very mention of the location of Samuel in the temple where the ark of God shows that God is working. There is a little sparkle of hope.

• The fate of Eli and the fate of Samuel are crossing.
• The light of Eli is being extinguished, the other one is being kindled.

We know why Eli and Son’s lamp were being extinguished. They were really evil, rotten leaders.

But why was Samuel chosen? Why is his light being kindled? Why is his flame on the rise? Why does Samuel becomes a light in a dark world?

How can we be like Samuel? How can we see God?

• He longed for God’s presence. He was near the presence of the Lord.
• He ears heard the Lord.

1 Samuel 3:4-5 ⁴Then the Lord called Samuel. Samuel answered, “Here I am.” ⁵And he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” But Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.” So he went and lay down.

• Samuel responded to the call of Eli, his leader.

With those three words, “here I am,” we are introduced to Samuel. Those are the Samuel’s first recorded words in scripture, “Here I am.”

1 Samuel 3:6 Again the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” “My son,” Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.”

 Which means, “I am ready. Whatever you want, I’m open, expect Samuel did not know who was calling. 4 times Samuel says that in verse 4, 5, 6 and 8. He is willing. He is open. He is teachable.

• Samuel was willing and teachable.

Everyone else is blind to God and deaf to God, eyes are shut and ears are blocked; not Samuel He is ready, he is raring to go. He just does not know where to go.

One note regarding Samuel now

1 Samuel 3:7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord: The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.

This lack of recognition of God by Samuel looks very much like the statement of the lack of recognition of God by the sons of Eli in 1 Samuel 2:12 But there was a difference.

 1 Samuel 2:12  Eli’s sons were scoundrels; they had no regard for the Lord.

 Look at the difference between the description between the sons of Eli and Samuel.

Son’s of Eli had not regard for the Lord. Samuel did not yet know the Lord. The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.

1 Samuel 3:7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord: The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.

Listen, Samuel is in the temple of God and yet did not know the Lord..

• If the parents know the Lord does not mean children know the Lord.

It is not enough to have your parents know the Lord. His parents knew the Lord. He was dedicated. You can be baptized, raised up in a godly family, and grew up in the presence of the Lord but still cannot know the Lord. Ruth Graham wrote about the distress of a parent whose children does not seem to be following the Lord.” Father was a great evangelist but growing up, 2/5 children were not in the Lord then and were going off in their own path. Thank God who brought them back.

• Sleeping next to the ark of God, he never knew the Lord.

Being in garage does not make your car, being in church does not make you a Christian. You can be in a Christian environment, Christian family, Christian school, Christian ministry, and yet not know the Lord. That was the case for Samuel

• Ministering before the Lord does not mean you always know the Lord. Remember, He was ministering before the Lord:

1 Samuel 2:11 ..the boy ministered before the LORD under Eli the priest.

1 Samuel 2:18 But Samuel was ministering before the LORD.

1 Samuel 3:1 The boy Samuel ministered before the LORD under Eli.

You can even be used by God, miraculously. You can actually have a ministry that is God empowered and yet not know the Lord.

Sermon on the mount, Mt. 7:22 Many will say to me on that day, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name…. Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers.’

Samuel did not yet know the Lord.

• If I am not morally upright, I do not know him.
• If I am not doing what God commands, I do not know God.

1 John 2:4 Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person.

• If I do not love, I do not know God.

1 John 4:8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

1 Samuel 2:26 And the body Samuel continued to grow in stature and favor (goodness) with the Lord and with people.

But yet did not know the Lord.

Jesus picked up such heart in the pharisees, hypocrites.

Moving on,

That is another problem that happens when leaders are faulty. Not only is their generation that is starved, the next generation suffers as well when leaders fail. Everyone suffers, especially the next generation.

Not seeking God, not recognizing him, ignoring God is catastrophic.

Illustration: January 28, 1986; the world was reeling in shock and horror as 73 seconds after lifting off, the space shuttle Challenger bursts into flames, resulting in one of the worst space disasters in history. 7 Crew members, 6 astronauts and a civilian teacher died.

A later investigation of the disaster concluded that the reason the challenger exploded was because of the failure of a small rubber O-Ring in cold weather condition. Apparently the O-Ring manufacturer had warned NASA that the O-Ring would not function optimally in cold conditions. It needed to be at least 50 degrees centigrade for a safe launch. That day it was only 18 degrees and NASA ignored the manufacturer’s specifications, overruled the warnings and voted to launch. Disaster.

That is true for life as well. God the manufacturer is ignored at our peril. We forfeit the blessings, we forfeit joy, we forfeit fulfilment, we collapse.

God wants every child, to seek him. That was true of Samuel. He was open to listening. He was willing to see, he was ready to hear, he was looking, he was running to Eli. He was seeking after God. So we have a body who wants to seek. A boy who wants to see.

2. A Lad Who Wants To See

Even though God has shown himself to us through his word, knowing him does not happen automatically. God has done his part. He has revealed himself. Now it is our part. We have to be willing, teachable, listening. We must be seeking after God.

Four times in this section God calls Samuel. 3:4, 6, 8, 10. God is trying hard to get through, to break through that resistance.

• Are we seeking?
• Are we watching?
• Are we listening?
• Are we seeking after God?

The 4^th time God calls, Samuel responds from some direction from Eli.

1 Samuel 3:9 So Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

 1 Samuel 3:10 The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”

This time Samuel does not run. He knows who is calling. He is ready to listen right where he is, right in his place. Probably flat back on his bed. There he lies. In the process of listening to God, he says nothing. He just listens. There is no conversation here with YAHWEH at all. It is all Samuel listening in this chapter.

The only speech that is reported direct from Samuel is, “Here I am,” and “Speak Lord for your servant is listening.”

God speaks, we listen. That is the response we ought to have, “Lord, here I am.”

In 1 Samuel 3:11-14, God tells Samuel that night about the imminent fate of Eli. This was spoken through a man of God in 1 Samuel 2. The Lord confirmed it again. The consequence of the great evil they were doing. God was going to wipe them off from leadership positions.

The next morning, Eli asks Samuel what God had told him:

1 Samuel 3:17-18 ¹⁷“What was it he said to you?” Eli asked. “Do not hide it from me. May God deal with you, be it ever so severely, if you hide from me anything he told you.” ¹⁸So Samuel told him everything, hiding nothing from him. Then Eli said, “He is the Lord; let him do what is good in his eyes.”

Probably, many years down the line this happening.

1 Samuel 3:19-21 ¹⁹The Lord was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of Samuel’s words fall to the ground. ²⁰And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba recognized that Samuel was attested as a prophet of the Lord. ²¹The Lord continued to appear at Shiloh, and there he revealed himself to Samuel through his word.

Result of Samuel seeking God:

• The Lord was with Samuel.
• The Lord appeared at Shiloh
• The Lord revealed himself to Samuel through his word.
• All Israel from Dan to Beersheba recognized Samuel was the prophet of the LORD.

There might be leaders who will not see, but because there was a lad who wants to see, you will get a Lord who will reveal himself to be seen.

3. The Lord Will Reveal Himself To Be Seen

The LORD revealed himself to Samuel. This is the only time in the entire Samuel, the only time in the entire 1 & 2^nd Samuel, God appears or reveals himself. The only time. All because of one person who was willing to listen, who was willing to see, who was willing to hear, and willing to say, “Lord, here I am.”

Once you see the Lord, the Lord will use you.

Notice one other thing here:

1 Samuel 3:19 The Lord was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of Samuel’s words fall to the ground.

Is it Samuel’s words or is it God’s words?

Look at the context of this passage as to the word “word.”

1 Samuel 3:1 In those days the word of the Lord was rare..

1 Samuel 3:7 The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.

1 Samuel 3:9 ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’”

1 Samuel 3:10 Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”

1 Samuel 3:11 And the Lord said to Samuel: “See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make the ears of everyone who hears about it tingle.

1 Samuel 3:12 At that time I will carry out against Eli everything I spoke against his family—from beginning to end.

1 Samuel 3:17 “What was it he said to you?” Eli asked. “Do not hide it from me. May God deal with you, be it ever so severely, if you hide from me anything he told you.”

All these are instances of God’s word.

All of those are God’s word. Every word, thus far is God’s. So whose word is it in 3:19?

1 Samuel 3:19 The Lord was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of Samuel’s words fall to the ground.

It has got to be God’s word. Every other occurrence in 1 Samuel 3 is God’s word. God is trying to break through and finally he does, because there was one little boy with an open ear and a seeing eye. A little boy who was willing to say, “Lord, here I am.” That is pretty much all that Samuel does in this entire chapter, “Lord, here I am.”

This is all that is expected of us when the Lord speaks, “Lord, here I am.”

Seeking after God, through his word.

That is the mandate not just of God’s leaders, but everyone of God’s children.

The result of doing that.

Look at the final words of that story: You have a word here.

Whose word is it? It is the word of Samuel. This is clearly Samuel’s word. This is the only time Samuel’s word shows up.

1 Samuel 4:1 And Samuel’s word came to all Israel.

At the end of the account, after the leadership has changed. When the boy who wants to see, sees the Lord who will be seen, and the result was that God’s words becomes Samuel’s word. God’s words become Samuel’s words and his words become God’s words. The two are rather indistinguishable.

When you see the Lord, the Lord’s words become your words.

Thereby Samuel becomes a light in a dark world, the channel for God’s words for an entire nation, blessing poured out to an entire nation because of this one person who said, “Lord, here I am.”

Here is another criterion in becoming a light in a dark world.

• Hannah taught us the importance of praying, requesting and returning.
• Samuel teaches us that if we want God to use us as lights, we must seek him through his word, his words must become our words.

When we seek God in his word, we see him.

For that to happen, we must keep ourselves in the scriptures, immerse ourselves in the scriptures.

If reading and meditating scripture is not a daily habit, let me urge you to being it. Find an undistracted time during the day and commit to reading scripture, seeking and seeing God in his word.

Try a method that suits you. Maybe it be a fewer verses, or a large chunk. Whatever is your way of reading the scripture, here is what I want you to do: Start your reading of God’s word by these 4 words, “Lord, Here I am.”

Every time you open the scripture, at least think those 4 words, “Lord, here I am.”

Illustration: On the night of April 14, 1912; the Ocean liner Leyland liner Californian had progressed 1500 miles to her destination in Boston Harbour. An immense field of oceanic ice had halted its progress and the liner had reversed engines and parked as a precautionary measure. It was midnight and second officer Herbert Stone was alone at the bridge, glanding over the water and he noticed a white flash go up, coming from what looked like another distant steamer following them. Puzzled he picked up his binoculars, and there were 4 more flashes. He notified the captain, the morse, signal lamp was used again and again, no answer. Three more flashes and finally everything went blank.

It was not until 4 am the next morning, they figured out what all the strange lights were all about. The distant steamer had intended those flashes of lights as distress signals. The Leyland liner Californian, only 9 miles away might have rushed to the aide of the Titanic, expect for one thing.

The Titanic was also sending other distress calls, not just by flares but also by radio. Leyland liner Californian was well within the range of those messages. But the Californian radio operator, fresh from training school was fast asleep in his cabin. So that night, the second officer watched the distress flash light signs for the Titanic and watched the sinking of the Titanic, because there was someone who was not listening.

The nearest ship to answer the Titanic`s distress calls, the Cunard liner Carpathia, arrived about dawn to find the shivering survivors in a score of little boats amid a mass of floating deck chairs and other debris.

But the Leyland liner Californian, and she was stopped in the ice only a few miles away to the north. Her wireless operator had gone to bed only minutes before the Titanic sent her first distress call.

Not listening, not seeing, not seeking leads only to disaster. That is not the way we can become lights in a dark world. Instead, God calls us to see, to listen, and to seek him in his word.

Seek him in his word, see him in his word, and hear him in his word.

Every time you open the word, being with the 4 words, “Lord, Here I am.”

Life Application Points:

• Samuel is a good example of obedience. Samuel is depicted as an obedient servant. One who responds immediately to his master, first to Eli, then to the LORD.
• The Lord is seeking people like Samuel even today. The Lord is willing to revive his broken relationship with his people through those who honor him.
• The Lord reveals himself to those who seek after him.

John 1:4-5 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

Extra Notes: In the OT, God made himself known to his people by both speaking and acting. That is, by both word and event. Revelation in the OT, is not found in a word that arises by blind interpretation from an event. That is, by inference from historical experience.

Rather, revelation in the OT, consists I n a word that is subsequently confirmed by an event. The words of God and the acts of God fit together in a manner in which God commits himself verbally to do something, and then confirms that word as a reliable word by doing precisely what he said he would do. There are innumerable examples of this to be found in the OT.

Without God’s acts  the words would be empty. If God did not do what he said he would do his words would be of no value.

Without his words his acts would be blind. Without word revelation the meaning of history would always remain a mystery. You only have to look around and try to interpret history today by observation of the historical process. Evey one of those comes up with a different conclusion.

Without his words the acts would be blind.

Geerhardus Vos, The Idea of Biblical Theology

What is it to know God?

The Lord is a person.

It is not just intellectual knowledge but experience knowledge.

It is to know who he is as the one who he is.