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When God Speaks: Samuel's Call in a Silent Age
May 15, 2026 · 17 min
Hear the call to listen and obey: Samuel's faithful response and Eli's warning about failing to restrain sinful sons.
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God's Voice Breaks the Silence 0:10 Good morning. Welcome to Stand on the Word. Thanks for joining me this morning as we look at first Samuel chapters 3 through 5 verse 21 of, chapter 3. Then the lord appeared again in Shiloh, for0:21 the lord revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the lord. Now I'm gonna tell you a friend, I love this passage. There's so much in this, so so we need to get started. Verse 1, chapter 3. Now the boy,0:34 Samuel, ministered to the lord before Eli, and the word of the lord was rare in those days. There was no widespread revelation. Now this first verse describes the spiritual condition of the nation. The0:45 meaning here of this word, that there was no word, no communication, or actions of the lord, that they were rare. Now they didn't hear from god. He wasn't communicating with them,0:57 or they weren't they they were not seeing god move. It was a spiritually barren time. Now that prompts the question is why. Was God giving them the the the the silent treatment?1:10 Why did he choose to stop communicating with his people? We're actually going to explore that question as we look at today's reading. Verse 2, and it came to pass at that time while Eli was lying down in1:22 his place, and when his eyes had begun to grow so dim that he could not see, and before the lamp of god went out in the tabernacle of the lord, with the tabernacle where the ark of god was, and while Samuel was lying1:33 down, that the lord said to Samuel, and he answered, here I am. So he ran to Eli and said, here I am, for you called me. And he said, I did not call. Lie down again. And he went and he lay down. Now just an observation1:45 here that it was Samuel that was serving Eli, not his sons. Most likely Samuel had become very dear to Eli as it was become it became increasingly evident that1:57 god's hand was upon this young man. Verse 6, then the lord called yet again, Samuel. So Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, here I am, for you called me. He said, I did not call my son lie2:09 down again. Now Samuel did not yet know the lord nor was the word of the lord yet revealed to him. Very important. Now for context, this biblical2:21 account is, is 1 that the children's bible stories often focus on because it's a great story. But in those stories, Samuel's often portrayed as a young child. He he was2:33 not a little child. Most likely, he was around the age of 20 or older. Now you say, what's that based on? We're not told his age in this passage. Okay? That it's not2:45 there. However, as we see in this passage, God calls him. Now some scholars see this as Samuel, who has been in the tabernacle serving since he was a small child, has entered2:56 the age of accountability, and so God is calling him. Now what is that age? Well, in Exodus, we see that it was those over the age of 20. That was the age of military service.3:08 But actually, for service in the tabernacle, you had to be 21 or 25 years old as a Levi. Now it's a very interesting modern research,3:21 shows that our brains are not fully developed until we're in the early or mid twenties. Alright? So our brains are still developing. And that's why, historically, we've not allowed adolescents to make life3:33 altering decisions until we've made things political like abortion and this gender ideology. We're allowing peep these young children to make life altering decisions. That's never been the3:44 case. Anyway, let's go on to verse 8. And the lord called Samuel again the third time. So he arose and went to Eli and said, here I am, for you did call me. Did Eli perceive that the lord had called the3:56 boy? Eli, the high priest, recognized finally that God was calling Samuel, so then he tells him what to do. Verse 9. Therefore, Eli said to Samuel, go lie down, and it shall be, if he calls you, that you must say, speak,4:08 Lord, for your servant hears. So Samuel went and he lay down in his place. Now the lord came and stood and called as at other times, Samuel. Samuel. And Samuel answered, speak for your servant hears. Then the4:20 lord said to Samuel, behold, I will do something in Israel at which both ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. In that day, I will perform against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house from beginning to4:32 end. Now we have the word of the the prophet, previously in our last session. For I have told him that I will judge his house forever for the iniquity look. Listen to this. For the iniquity which he knows4:44 we can't hide our eyes from what is wrong and say, well, we just didn't. You know? It wasn't our responsibility. It was. For the iniquity iniquity which he knows because his sons made themselves vile and he did not4:56 restrain them. I think that's very important. So, restrain them. I think that's very important. So so Samuel gets his message and, you know, he's really reluctant. He doesn't wanna tell Samuel. He doesn't wanna tell5:07 Eli this. Next morning, then Eli called Samuel and said, Samuel, my son. He answered, here I am. And he said, what is the word that the Lord spoke to you? Please do not hide it from5:19 me. God do so to you, and more so if you hide anything from me of all the things that he said to you. Now I wanna stop here for a moment. This I'm gonna go back to that first question IEli's Failure to Obey 5:31 asked. Why were they not hearing from God? This is why. This is why God had not been speaking. Eli, the spiritual leader, had not been listening. Right? If we fail or refuse to act5:43 upon the word that the lord has given us, see, he told Eli to correct his sons. He gave him warning, but he didn't do it. He didn't act upon the word that god had given him. And so if if we don't act upon5:55 the word that god has given us, don't expect god to keep communicating. In fact, refusing to listen will result in the inability to hear. The lord wanted to communicate to his people.6:07 So since Eli wouldn't listen, he spoke to Samuel. I also believe this is why Eli is described here. There's the imagery here. We don't wanna miss any of this. We we see a couple of times here where6:19 it's described that Eli could not see. His in fact, the next chapter says his eyes were set so that he could not see. Eli would not see, so he could not see. Now this is, you know, 1 of my6:31 favorite places to visit and teach when I go to Israel is Shiloh. It's the location where what we just read about unfolded. Shiloh is the place of the tabernacle. For 3696:43 years, people came from all over Israel to bring their offerings to the lord and to worship him because this was the location of the tabernacle, the place of his presence. And it's by the way, it's 1 of the places that6:55 we will go on our next tour coming up next year, lord willing, to Shiloh. Not many people go there because it's in it's in Judea, the area that's called the7:07 West Bank, and so a lot of tour companies won't go there. But we go there because it's a special place. And what captivates me about Shiloh is the fact that you can you can see by the stone perimeter7:19 the outline of where the tabernacle stood for nearly 4 centuries. You can also see hundreds of thousands of pottery shards on the ground all around. There's a lot of archaeological digs going on even today.7:32 These were the earthen vessels that were broken after the offerings were made to the lord. But this place filled with all of its splendor, and we spend time there praying after we do our teaching, The this place filled7:43 with splendor came to a tragic end when the glory of the Lord departed from the nation after the ark of the covenant was captured by the Philistines. You know, as as you stand there7:55 on that spot, which was the place of Jewish identity, the source of their strength for nearly 400 years, and when you read the account of Eli, you cannot help but be gripped by the8:07 sobering reality that Eli, even though he had the title of priest, failed as a father to be the spiritual leader of his home, and the8:19 result the results were both personal and national tragedy. And and, it just it's, it's gripping. And so in the next chapter, when we8:30 read the next chapter, we're gonna see that god fulfilled this message that he delivered to Samuel. And here's what here's what we need to to understand. Compromise in the home leads to corruption in the culture, and it8:42 has consequences for the entire nation. Look at verse 17 of chapter 3 here. And he said and and he said, what is the word that the lord has spoken to you? Please do not hide it from me. God do so to you and more so also8:54 if you hide anything from me of all the things that he said to you. Now this I read that again because this was Samuel's first test. Right? Would he honor and follow the lord whom he had just personally encountered,Obedience Restores Revelation 9:06 Or would he yield to the same human desire for acceptance that brought Eli down? I mean, think about it for a moment. Eli was like a father to Samuel. He'd been there since he was a child, a small child. And he had this9:18 message from god telling Eli that it was over. You messed up, and god was bringing judgment upon your home. I mean, the pressure upon Samuel. Eli did not restrain his sons because as9:30 we read in chapter 2, Eli honored them or preferred them more than god. Now let that sink in for a moment. Let me ask you, do parents do that today? Do they do they prefer their9:41 children over god? Do they affirm ungodly decisions that their children make because they they don't wanna lose the affection of their children?9:53 Well, unfortunately, I think they do. Some many parents do. And and the results may not be as dramatic as we read here, but anytime we put something before god, including our children, it10:05 doesn't end well. So what did Samuel do in this test? Well, look. Verse 18. Then Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him, and he said, it is the Lord. Let him do as it10:17 seems good to him. And so what's the result? Look at verse 19. Look at the result of this, of Samuel's obedience to to god, putting god first. Verse 19. So Samuel grew, and the10:29 lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan to Bar Beersheba, and that means again, that's a description from the entire country from top10:41 to bottom. From Dan to Beersheba, knew that Samuel had been established as a prophet of the lord. Then verse 21. Then the lord appeared again in Shiloh.10:53 Why? Because someone was listening. For the lord revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the lord. The result was that Samuel honored god. He chose to honor god, and god11:05 honored Samuel. And the people were the beneficiaries because the presence of god god was once again known in the land. I I wanted to just go back. I I just wanna compare the first verse of11:16 chapter 3 with the last verse. Here's the first verse. In the word of the lord was rare in those days. There was no widespread revelation. And then the last verse that we just read, then the lord appeared again in11:26 Shiloh, for the lord revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the lord. What was the difference? What made the difference from verse 1 to verse 21? Because 1 young man listened11:38 to and obeyed god, putting God first. Now as I mentioned, chapter 4 contains the narrative of the initial fulfillment of this tragic prophecy against Eli's house.11:51 Using the ark of the covenant, which represented the presence of God as little more than a good luck charm, Eli's 2 sons carry this ark into12:02 battle against the Philistines and the ark is captured. Now word comes back to Eli that Israel is defeated. The ark is captured and his 2 sons are dead. He falls12:14 off the stool, breaks his neck, and he dies. His daughter-in-law is with child. She goes into premature labor, gives birth, and dies. I mean, it just12:26 what tragedy? All because he would not correct his sons. Look at verse 20. And about the time of her death, this was, this was12:38 Eli's daughter-in-law. About the time of her death, the woman who stood the women who stood by her said to her, do not fear, for you have born a son. But she did not answer nor did she regard it. She wasn't12:49 concerned about the the child at this point. But the she named the child Ichabod, saying the glory has departed from Israel because the ark of the Lord had been13:01 captured and because of her father-in-law and her husband. And she said the glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured.13:13 So I think she had more spiritual insight than hers her husband and her father-in-law, who was the priest. You see, here's the tragedy. All of this could have been avoided. All of13:25 this could have been avoided. Now I know God worked out his plans, you know, Romans 8 28, but it could have been avoided if Eli the priest would have listened to and obeyed13:37 god. I mean, it's that simple. I know that's challenging. But if we will listen to and obey god but here's here's a warning that we see in this passage. If13:49 we refuse to listen and obey to god, don't expect him to continue to hear to to speak. And and and that even you know, how does god speak today? He speaks through his word. And and I am so grateful to have14:00 so many of you on this journey, and I I hear from so many of you how you the lord is speaking. You ministering to you, encourage you, strengthening relationships. And people have come to know the lord14:12 personally through this journey. But when the lord speaks when the lord speaks through his word, we've got to respond. You know, the it's this is not a this is not a study of14:24 history. It's not a theological study. It is a practical application of the word of God as we take this journey through. And Jesus, as he prayed for us in John chapter 17, a verse that14:36 I've referenced recently, he said, lord, I I pray you don't take them out of the word, but that you sanctify them by your word. Your word is truth. See, we're being sanctified on this journey. That means when the the14:48 Holy Spirit shows us something and and maybe in this passage today, maybe someone needed to hear this, that, you know, we we we've may not have our priorities right, where15:00 we've we're more concerned about our children liking us and rather than them honoring god by us guiding15:11 them and directing them. And and and we need to respond obediently to what the word of god is telling us. Because if we don't, we can't expect15:23 god to continue to speak to us. Father, we thank you for your word this morning, and, I'm just grateful grateful for your word. Grateful that you are speaking to us through your word. And I pray that we15:35 would be like Samuel, not Eli. We would be like Samuel. Yes, lord. Your servant is listening, not Eli. Lord, who refused to hear and it came to a15:47 place where he could not hear. He would not see, and it came to a place where he could not see. Lord, may we listen, and may we see, and may we obey. For we pray this15:59 in Jesus' name. Amen. Alright. Thanks for joining in this morning. Until next time, keep standing on the word.16:08 Today's study comes from the Stand on the Word Bible Reading Plan available for free at f r c dot o r g slash bible. By following along in just a few minutes a day, you16:19 can read through the entire Bible in just 2 years. Learn more and request the free reading guide at f r c dot o r g slash bible.In this video 0:00 God's Voice Breaks the Silence5:29 Eli's Failure to Obey8:56 Obedience Restores Revelation
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