1 Samuel 3:10, commentary and pictures

The Lord Himself came and stood and called Samuel by name as at the other times, after the boy had three times hurried to Eli thinking the voice was his, until Eli perceived it was God and told him how to answer. He passed by the aged priest to commune directly with the child because the sins of Eli and his house had shut out His Spirit, and He committed to young Samuel a solemn message of judgment upon Eli's house. In choosing a child He showed that youth is no barrier to hearing Him and serving Him, for He claims young men and children as His helping hand and messengers, fitting them for His work, and He still instructs and molds the minds of youth today to share truth and do a work others cannot do. Samuel could be so used because even while surrounded by the most corrupting influences and unholy ministers he walked untainted with spotless character by loving God and keeping close to heaven, proving that the young may have principles so firm that the strongest temptations cannot draw them from allegiance. His answer is the model for every servant, a humble, attentive readiness to listen, receive direction and obey, which comes when self is crucified and the stubborn will subdued, and which calls God's people to awaken from spiritual lethargy to the Spirit's voice.

Night Call Details

The Lord Himself came and stood and called by name as at the other times. Three times Samuel had mistaken the divine voice for Eli's and hurried to Eli's bedside, until Eli perceived it was God calling and instructed Samuel how to answer. When the call came again Samuel answered in Eli's words but omitted the word Lord, so overwhelmed with awe that the great God should speak to him that he could not recall the exact wording.

God passed by Eli the aged high priest to commune directly with the child Samuel. The sins of Eli and his sons had shut out the presence of the Holy Spirit so that God could not communicate with them, making this passing by a bitter yet deserved rebuke to Eli and his house. The rebuke fell because Eli failed to restrain and train his children, dishonored God, and failed his sacred charge. In that night call the Lord revealed to young Samuel what would happen to Eli, entrusting to the boy He had accepted for service a solemn message of judgment upon Eli's house.

God Uses Children

The call came to Samuel while he was still a child, and God passed by the aged Eli to speak and commune directly with the boy, choosing him over the elder for service and hearing. Youth did not prevent him from serving and hearing God, for he had been educated for the Lord from an early age and in his youth. He was thus prepared even as a youth for sacred work, answering in readiness to hear and serve, showing that God works with young people who give themselves to Him.

In this the Lord claims young men as His helping hand, for Samuel was a mere child when the Lord used him to do a good and gracious work. The Lord called him and made him ready to serve as His messenger, fitting people of every age and even children for His work and making them His messengers. Samuel's life illustrates that God can use the young to do good and gracious work.

He was a child surrounded by the most corrupting influences, seeing and hearing things that grieved his soul while the sons of Eli, who ministered in holy office but were controlled by evil, polluted the whole atmosphere around him and fascinated men and women daily with sin and wrong. Yet he walked untainted with spotless robes of character, having no fellowship with or delight in the sins that filled Israel with fearful reports, because he loved God and kept his soul in such close connection with Heaven that an angel was sent to talk with him about the sins corrupting Israel. His example proves youth may have principles so firm that the most powerful temptations will not draw them away from allegiance, by uniting their ignorance to divine wisdom and their weakness to divine strength and being so united to God and angels as to be as those who see not and hear not evil.

The call proves that God honors the young and watches over children, noting with intense interest the characters they form. Samuel had been given to the Lord by his mother's solemn vow before his birth and brought to the tabernacle to minister before the Lord as a child, and to him was committed a solemn message in his youth. His history shows that God reveals Himself to children and that their lives teach what God expects of children and youth. As the Lord called the child Samuel to make His message known, He still communicates with children and youth today, instructing them and molding their minds, and calls children to share the truth with others. Youth are more impressible, and when organized, instructed, trained and disciplined, God can raise up from them a large army of soldiers to win souls and do a work adults cannot do, while He still sends His messages to older persons as He did to Eli, but because they become set in their own course they do not hear with a firm will to obey His voice.

Servant's Ready Answer

Samuel's answer expresses a servant's humble, attentive readiness to listen to God when He speaks. It is willingness to receive His direction and to hear and obey Him. It is also mental preparedness to understand what God says. That response should rise from every heart, and it stands as the example for God's servants as they carry out their work.

Those sent to do important work should be able to look to heaven with that same listening readiness to receive direction. That willing readiness comes when self is crucified and the stubborn will is subdued, leaving the servant ready to listen and obey. The answer is a call for God's people to awaken from spiritual lethargy and become attentive to the Spirit's work. It also expresses that God remains free to communicate through whomever He chooses, including prophets, and that the proper response is to offer oneself as a listening servant ready to hear the Lord speak through those He chooses.