Bible Commentaries
1 Samuel 3

Verses 1-21

Chapter 3

Chapter three,

The child Samuel ministered unto the Lord before Eli. And the word of the Lord was precious [or scarce] in those days; there was no open vision. [God just wasn't speaking to man.] And it came to pass, when Eli would lie down in bed at night,... Samuel went into his bedroom; And Samuel heard a voice calling him, and he said, Here am I. And he ran into Eli, and he said, Did you call me? And Eli said, No, I didn't call you; go back to bed. Samuel went back to bed again. And he heard the voice, Samuel, Samuel. And he went running in, he said, Here I am what do you want? He said, I didn't call you go back to bed, kid. Samuel went back to bed again and again he heard the voice saying, Samuel, Samuel, he went running in and said, Surely you called me what do you want? [The old man began to get the picture at this point and he figured that, "Hey maybe God is speaking to t

his boy."] So he said, Go back to bed, if you hear your name being called again, say, Speak, my Lord; for your servant heareth. So Samuel went back to bed. And he heard the voice, Samuel, Samuel. And he said, Speak my Lord; for thy servant heareth. And the Lord said to Samuel, I'm gonna do a work in Israel, [that when the people see it,] or hear it their ears are going to tingle. In that day I'm gonna perform against Eli all of the things which I have spoken concerning his house: and when I begin, I'm gonna finish. For I have told him that I will judge his house for ever for the iniquity which he knows; because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not ( 1 Samuel 2:1-13 ).

Here is something to me that is very interesting, something that we had better take note of. It was his refusal to discipline his sons that brought the judgment of God upon his house. His refusal to discipline them in their actions. Fathers, you have a responsibility in the disciplining of your children. Don't shirk that responsibility. Eli did not discipline his sons. He allowed them to go on with these actions, and thus God promised that He was gonna judge the house.

And therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli, that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be purged with sacrifices nor offerings for ever. [They can't offer any sacrifice to cleanse them.] Samuel lay until the morning, and he opened the doors of the house of the Lord. But he was afraid to tell Eli the vision. And Eli called Samuel, and he said, Samuel, my son. And he answered, Here am I. And he said, What is the thing that the Lord said unto you? I pray that you will not hide it from me: for God do so to thee, and more also, if you hide any thing from all of the things which God said. [Boy, that isn't fair, you know lay something like that on you, "Tell me and God do the same to you and more also if you don't tell me every thing that God said."] So Samuel told him every thing, did not hide any thing from him. And he said, It is the Lord: let him do what seemeth him good ( 1 Samuel 2:14-18 ).

Now this is quite an attitude for the old man, a submission unto the judgment of God. "It is the Lord: let Him do what seems right." A commitment of himself to that judgment, that promised judgment of God.

So Samuel grew, the Lord was with him. And all of Israel from Dan to Beersheba realized that Samuel was established to be the prophet of the Lord. And the Lord appeared again in Shiloh: and the Lord revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the Lord ( 1 Samuel 2:19-21 ). "