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THE CALL OF SAMUEL CAME IN SHILOH
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 9
1 Samuel 3

Jeremiah 1:1-7

 

“But the LORD said unto me,
Say not, I am a child: for thou

shalt go to all that I shall send thee.”

 

THE CALL OF SAMUEL CAME IN SHILOH
 
The call of Samuel has similarities with that of a later prophet, Jeremiah. The call of the Lord came suddenly to Jeremiah, and he protested that he could not speak because he was a child. The Lord assured him that He had put His words in his mouth and he would declare what He would tell him. God spoke directly to prophets and raised them where they were and gave them power to speak for Him.
 
The Lord called Samuel at night while he was asleep. Samuel heard a clear voice calling his name. Three times this call came, and he went to Eli. He thought the priest Eli had called him. At last, Eli perceived that the Lord had called Samuel. So, he taught Samuel how to respond if the voice called him again. Since the close of the biblical canon, God does not speak through prophets, but through His written Word. The opening words of the epistle to the Hebrews were: “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets…” (Heb 1:1). The call of Samuel at this point showed the divine hand in the decision of his mother.
 
It was not long before Samuel heard God’s voice the fourth time. He responded, “Speak; for thy servant heareth” (1 Sam 3:10). Whenever the Lord called the prophets, His messages were usually corrective measures against those who had transgressed His commandments. The message in the call of Samuel was also bad news to Israel and the house of Eli. This was the Lord’s message in part: “And the LORD said to Samuel, Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle” (1 Sam 3:11). It was not a good message, and Eli the father was rebuked. God instituted corrective measures with far-reaching consequences as indicated in His message.
 
THOUGHT: God watches over all His people’s activities.
PRAYER: Father, may Thy Spirit fill my heart at all times that I may not sin against Thee.

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