Second Sunday after Epiphany: OT, 1 Samuel 3:1-10              

1 Samuel 3:1-10

One of my favorite characters in the Old Testament is Samuel. Why? I think it is rooted in the very text we will consider today, sometimes labeled as “The Calling of Samuel.” Samuel has been given to the priest Eli by his faithful mother Hannah. The promise kept, the boy now serves the LORD under this aging priest whose own family practice has left much to be desired and will be the cause of grief in the days to come. But one night as Samuel is ready to go to bed he hears the voice of the LORD for the first time. It was a period when “the word of the LORD was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision” (1 Sam. 3:1). Over the course of several exchanges between a bewildered little boy and the seasoned priest, the elder instructs his young servant to lie still and listen AND to respond.

Now think of it. Direct revelation. The kind the “big boys and girls” in the Bible get. Weighty. Challenging. Eternity-changing stuff. And this is coming for the first time, in the middle of the night to a little man promised to God’s service by his mom. It is a stunning picture. Upon his treasured response, “Speak, for your servant hears” (v. 10), a relationship begins that will mark God’s people of Old and New Testaments. Samuel learns to listen to God’s Word, to speak it, and to bless the whole of Israel, you and me included.

But a brief glance at a couple lines leading into this encounter speak to God’s faithfulness. And it is that faithfulness that brings forth the Word to Samuel and to all who will listen far into the future. Verse two begins, “At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see …” and is followed by the opening lines in verse three, “The lamp of God had not yet gone out …” Both men were lying down in their own place, in the temple where the ark of God was located. Samuel’s “light” was dimming and would soon be extinguished, but the light of the LORD, not on your life. Remember, the comment that the word of the LORD was rare in their day. Rare not absent. And no matter how seemingly rare or absent His Word is to us, it is never gone completely. Matthew says, “a smoldering wick he will not quench” (12:20b). The light of God’s Word to His people is never, ever extinguished completely.

In the beginning was the Word, the Word sounded and has not been silent since. And will never be. This Sunday as you and I have the astounding privilege of hearing the Word of the Lord read, taught and preached, may we take the counsel of dear old Eli to Samuel and respond with, “Speak, for your servant hears.” If we will, His light in us will never go out.