I Samuel Chapter 3
There is a description of the call of God on a young boy’s life given in this chapter. Samuel had been serving in the tabernacle, but he had not yet placed his faith in God. The Jewish historian Josephus wrote that Samuel was 12 years old at this time which seems accurate. It is a beautiful thing when a child answers the call of God and places his or her faith in Him. It should be our prayer that our children and our grandchildren come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ at an early age and then follow Him all of their days.
We don’t know if the call of God was in his heart or out loud, but it would seem it was an audible voice since he thought that Eli was calling out to him after they both had went to bed for the night. Samuel being a good servant to Eli, ran to see what might be troubling the old man. But it wasn’t Eli that was calling out to Samuel. If the Lord calls out to someone and they are wanting to hear His voice, He will confirm it. God wants us to hear what He has to say to us.
Let's Reflect
1. What does verse 1 tell us about how often God was speaking to men at this period of time?
2. If you take a peak back at verse 27 of chapter 2 you will see another time that God spoke to a man directly, an anonymous man. Notice that God did not speak directly to the high priest Eli. Does God speak directly to Eli in this passage?
3. How many times did God call out to Samuel? And when God did call out to him what did God say to get his attention?
4. After the third time of Samuel getting up and going to Eli’s bedside what advice did Eli give to the boy?
5. Verse 10 indicates that the Lord was present in the room with Samuel. This may have been a pre-incarnate visit of Jesus. However, the Bible does not tell us that Samuel saw anyone only that he heard the voice of God. What word in the verse tells us that the Lord may have been physically present in the room with Samuel?
6. God had a message that He wanted Samuel to hear. Who was the message for?
7. It is quite probable that Samuel at this moment placed his faith in God since He heard His voice and heard such a descriptive message given to him. Why was Samuel afraid to tell Eli about what God had said to him?
8. Eli spoke truth about God. Eli told Samuel that God is in control and He will do as He sees fit. This is something that will be very apparent in the life of Samuel. The last verse confirms that Samuel had placed his faith in God. What words confirm his faith?
