Camp Fasting - Day 4

Calling

By: Rebecca Prajogo

Bible Read: The Lord Calls Samuel (1 Samuel 3)

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

One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. The 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. Then the Lord called Samuel.

Samuel answered, “Here I am.” And 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.

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.”

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

A third time the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”

Then Eli realized that the Lord was calling the boy. 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.

The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!”

Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”

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. At that time I will carry out against Eli everything I spoke against his family—from beginning to end. For 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. Therefore I swore to the house of Eli, ‘The guilt of Eli’s house will never be atoned for by sacrifice or offering.’”

Samuel lay down until morning and then opened the doors of the house of the Lord. He was afraid to tell Eli the vision, but Eli called him and said, “Samuel, my son.”

Samuel answered, “Here I am.”

“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.” So Samuel told him everything, hiding nothing from him. Then Eli said, “He is the Lord; let him do what is good in his eyes.”

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

During the time of this account, the Israelites were dying spiritually: the priesthood was corrupt (1 Sam. 2:12–17, 22–26), the ark of the covenant was not at the tabernacle (1 Sam. 4:3–7:2), idolatry was practiced (1 Sam. 7:3, 4), and the judges were dishonest (1 Sam. 8:2, 3). God had withdrawn His voice from the people, who had turned away from Him.

Yet amongst the spiritual decline of the Israelites, God desired a faithful servant and began a new work to raise a new priest: “I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who will do according to what is in my heart and mind. I will firmly establish his priestly house, and they will minister before my anointed one always” (1 Samuel 2:35). God chooses a young boy, Samuel, who at first does not even recognise God’s voice when he was called, for the Bible says at this time the boy “did not yet know the Lord” (1 Samuel 3:7). 

We see very clearly here the need there was for Samuel, for a revival among the people. This is obvious to us now, who can read and study Samuel’s story in hindsight. But when we find ourselves in the same situation, things may not be as clear. In fact, we may not even recognise God’s calling, just as Samuel did not realise that it was God’s voice that was calling out to him three times in the temple. 

We go on to see how God’s calling to Samuel is quickly tested. Following God’s revelation to him, Samuel is afraid to share the vision he received with Eli. Indeed, fear is the greatest obstacle in the way of obedience and faith to God. The fear of being rejected by others, of being different. Doubt begins to creep in: What if I was wrong? What if I fail? How can I accomplish what God has told me to do? Just like the story of Jonah, we may end up running in the opposite direction of our calling, driven by fear. But in Samuel’s story, we see how his fear of the Lord supersedes his own human fear. Ultimately, God’s calling for Samuel was vindicated, proven right and true, through his life as we read toward the end of 1 Samuel 3. The Lord “let none of Samuel’s words fall to the ground”, with “all Israel from Dan to Beersheba recognized that Samuel was attested as a prophet of the Lord”.

The calling God has placed on Samuel’s life is a grand one: Samuel becomes the last of the Judges and first of the prophets since Moses, going on to anoint the first two kings of Israel: King Saul and King David. Indeed, since his conception, Samuel’s story was a unique one, and following his birth, his mother had dedicated him to the Lord. Early in the history of Israel, God established the Nazarites as a unique category of people. They were totally devoted to God’s service (Num. 6) and became a living reminder to the Israelites of their call to be set apart from the pagan culture around them (Besides Samuel, the Bible has two other accounts of Nazarites: Samson and John the Baptist). These people were special, called fod God’s special purposes, and so are we. Psalm 139 reminds us how the Lord has created us (Psalm 139:13-15), down to our finest details, for His specific purposes (Psalm 139:16). In each of our lives, we have our own unique calling, gifts an experiences to realise said calling. Only God alone can establish such purpose, if we allow Him to, just as Samuel wholeheartedly did by surrendering himself fully to the Lord. 

Samuel’s story is a remarkable journey of God saving a lost people through His faithful servant. As the next generation, are we not to do the same? Having heard God, having been tested and stepping out beyond his fear, Samuel obeyed the Lord and became a prophet whose impact stretched far beyond his lifetime, changing the course of an entire nation. In our daily lives, following this pattern may look like self-renunciation, rejection, sacrifice, but ultimately, the Lord will vindicate the choice of obedience and faith we take.

Reference: The Bible + Grace London Podcasts