1 Samuel 3
God talks to young Samuel
Samuel hears a voice calling his name
1Visions and prophecies from God were rare when Samuel was a young boy working for Eli.2One evening, Eli had gone to bed. His eyesight was failing, and he could barely see anymore. So Samuel would help him whenever Eli called. 3That night, Samuel was sleeping in the worship center, near the chest [1] that held the Ten Commandments. He kept the lamp [2] burning inside the worship center.
4The LORD called the boy by name, “Samuel. Samuel.” The boy said, “I’m here.” 5He ran to Eli and said, “I’m here. You called?” Eli said, “No, I didn’t, my boy. Go back to bed.”
6The LORD called Samuel again, “Samuel. Samuel.” The boy went to Eli and said, “I’m here. I heard you call.” Eli said, “No, my son, I didn’t call for you. Go back and lie down.”
7Samuel never had contact with the LORD, so he didn’t recognize his voice. 8The LORD called Samuel a third time. And again Samuel went to Eli and said, “I’m here. I heard you call me.” It finally dawned on Eli that the LORD was calling the boy. 9Eli told Samuel, “Go back to bed and if you hear someone calling you again, say this: “Yes LORD, I’m listening.” So Samuel went back and lay down.
God appears to Samuel
10This time the LORD appeared, standing. [3] Once again he said, “Samuel. Samuel.” The boy said, “Yes LORD, I’m listening.”11The LORD said, “Pay attention. I’m about to do something for Israel that will shock everyone. 12I’m going to deliver on a promise I made to punish Eli and his entire family.
13Eli knows what I’m going to do because I told him. I said that he and his descendants would suffer the consequences for what he has done. He let his sons run wild. He knew they were committing any disgusting sins they wanted. And he knew they were treating their God like trash. But he didn’t stop them. [4]
14No sacrifice or offering will ever erase the guilt Eli has brought on his family. The consequences will affect them forever. [5]
Samuel breaks bad news to Eli
15Samuel didn’t get up until morning when he opened the entrance to the worship center. He was afraid to tell Eli about his vision.16Eli called him, “Samuel, my son.” Samuel answered, “I’m here.”
17Eli asked, “What did he say to you? Tell me everything. If you hold anything back from me, God will punish you severely.” 18So Samuel told him every word. Eli’s only response was, “He’s the LORD. He’ll do what’s right.”
Samuel grows into a trusted prophet
19Samuel grew up. And God fulfilled every prophecy Samuel delivered to the people. 20Everyone in Israel—from the city of Dan in the northern hills to Beersheba in the southern desert—knew Samuel was a prophet of the LORD, and a man they could trust.21The LORD continued to appear to Samuel there in Shiloh, giving him messages for the people.
Footnotes
The chest is better known as the Ark of the Covenant, the most sacred relic among Israelite ancestors of the Jewish people. It was a wooden chest plated with gold all over. Inside that chest was a golden jar with some manna, Aaron’s almond wood staff that budded, and stone tablets engraved with the Ten Commandments. Covering the chest was a lid with figures representing glorious celestial beings called cherubim. This was the place where God’s people found forgiveness (Exodus 25:10-22; Hebrews 9:4-5).
Priests were supposed to keep lights burning all night in the worship center (Exodus 27:21).
The writer later describes this as a vision (3:15). Prophets often received visions at night and in dreams they sometimes called “visions of the night.”
Eli tried to stop his sons from sinning (2:23-25), but he didn’t try hard enough.
See notes for 1 Samuel 2:33, 35.
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