Samuel and Eli
And the child Samuel grew in stature, and in favour both with the LORD and men
(1 Samuel 2:26).
Samuel’s life is told within the context of five relationships: His relationships with his mother Hannah, Eli the High Priest, the nation of Israel, Saul the first king of Israel, and David, Israel’s shepherd king. But above all was his relationship with God. Hannah laid the foundation of Samuel’s life. She has left us some important practical lessons about the ministry of a godly mother. This ministry was rooted in the responsibility to pray for our children before they are even born and throughout the rest of their lives. She was a worshipper of God who was willing to sacrifice for her child, and she created a home that became the centre of Samuel’s great ministry. This was the mother Samuel had, and her commitment to him prepared Samuel for a life of service for God.
But Samuel’s relationship with Eli was of a different kind. When we first meet Eli, he mistakes Hannah’s spiritual behaviour for drunkenness. We soon discover that God held him responsible for the appalling behaviour of his sons, who held high positions as priests. In her obedience to God, it seemed Hannah had given her son into the hands of a man who lacked spiritual leadership and tolerated gross immorality in his own family. God held Eli responsible for the spiritual corruption at the heart of Israel’s decline. But Hannah had not given her son to Eli, but to the God who had given Samuel to her. Hannah’s faith was in God, and God began to work in Samuel’s heart in the midst the darkness of Eli’s house.
Despite being in such a problematic situation, Samuel grew in favour with God and men, a statement reminiscent of the Lord Jesus in Luke 2:40 and 52. In 1 Samuel 3:1, we learn that things were at such a spiritual low in Israel that God’s word was rare. When God’s word does come, it is to Samuel when he is still a boy. On the one hand, this is very condemning, because there was no adult that God could use. On the other hand, it demonstrates that God was working in a new and fresh way. Samuel did not know God, nor had the word of God been revealed to him (3:7). And as God speaks to him, Samuel mistakes it for Eli calling him. The old man eventually realises that God was speaking to the boy and gives him some wise advice: “Speak Lord, for Your servant hears.” This attitude marked Samuel for the rest of his life. What God said, he did. When we discover the same childlike ability to listen and to do what God asks us, we experience His presence and power.
God’s message to Samuel was not a happy one. It foretold the judgement of Eli’s house. When Eli asks Samuel what God had said, the boy is not marked by pride that God had spoken to him above all others, but with a sadness that He spoke in judgement. Like the Lord Jesus, Samuel’s ministry was characterised by grace and truth.
Following this meeting with God, we learn that “Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him” (3: 19), he was “established as a prophet” (v. 20) and “the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel” (v. 21). To be a useful servant of God, we have to be prepared by and learn from the Lord directly. It is no good living our lives off other Christians’ experiences. God’s word has to have a direct effect in our hearts so we can fulfil His purposes and witness to His reality, no matter how dark the day.
