The story of Samuel is found in 1st Samuel chapter 3

Influential Men of the Bible: Samuel

The story of Samuel is found in 1st Samuel chapter 3

Samuel’s name comes from the Hebrew name Shemuel (meaning Name of God). He was a Levitical priest regarded as the last of the judges and also the first of the prophets. His father Elkanah and his mother Hannah who had pray so earnestly that she would conceive a child (1 Samuel 1:1-2, 20), took him at a very young age to Shiloh and consecrated him to The Lord, serving under Eli the priest (1 Samuel 1:23-2:11).

One night when Samuel was just a little boy sleeping in the temple he heard someone calling his name. God had been silent for years, and was rarely heard or seen. Samuel thought Eli had called him so he ran to him. Eli told him to go back to bed that he had not called him. This happened three times. On the third time, Eli told Samuel that if he heard it again, to answer “speak Lord for your servant is listening”. It did happen, Samuel did answer, and God did speak and the message was for Eli! This marked the first time that God spoke directly to Samuel. According to what God spoke to the young boy, Eli’s sons were blaspheming God and he had done nothing to stop them. God had been constantly warning him that judgment was coming. It was now pay day! Their sentence…the evil of Eli's family can never be wiped out by sacrifice or offering. Samuel dreaded having to tell this to Eli, but he did. Eli accepted the sentence with the words “It is the Lord’s will, let him do what he thinks best (1st Samuel 3:18). Eli’s sons died in battle as they carried the ark. Upon hearing the bad news about his sons’ death he fell backwards off a chair and broke his neck (chapter 4:17-18). Samuel was eventually chosen by God to succeed Eli.

I can remember a song I used to hear when I was a little girl. “When he calls me, I will answer…I’ll be somewhere listening for my name” When God’s people listened to Him, the outcome was always the best for their situations, but when they didn’t, it spelled disaster. The saints of old used to sing this song, because they understood that in order to succeed, you must hear the voice of God. Eli the chief priest and his sons had stopped listening to God. As a result the people wandered away from God. God needed someone who would listen. He found young Samuel. When God called his name, Samuel responded. Through Samuel, God brought reformation to the temple and the people. In this time of economic crises when so many people have grown weary, could it be that we too have stopped listening to God? Is it too hard to hear above the noise of daily bad news. God is calling for someone who would pray so that he can bring change. Let’s be encouraged by Samuel’s inspiration. Find a quiet place where you can hear God. If you respond, He’ll speak words to you that will be life changing!