Chapter 6. GOD SPEAKS TO SAMUEL
1 Samuel 3
Samuel’s relationship with God begins, not in this incident, but with his mother, before he was born. If ever there was a heart-breaking story it is Hannah and her longing for a child. She is married to Elkanah who obviously deeply loves her but good as he is he does not understand the deep despair his godly wife is having to endure because she is unable to have children. Over the years, and especially since we became a part of the adoptive community in Scotland, I have witnessed the heartache that people like Hannah have had to endure. I remember that we, after 9 years married and without children, were beginning to feel just a little of that sense of despair. It is from this incredibly painful situation that the story of Samuel evolves.
Hannah was in deep anguish – the language used would tend to suggest that this lady was deeply depressed. Here is how it is described:
10 In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the LORD, weeping bitterly. 11 And she made a vow, saying, “LORD Almighty, if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the LORD for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head.”
12 As she kept on praying to the LORD, Eli observed her mouth. 13 Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk 14 and said to her, “How long are you going to stay drunk? Put away your wine.”
15 “Not so, my lord,” Hannah replied, “I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the LORD. 16 Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief.”
17 Eli answered, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him.” [1 Samuel:1:10-17]
What happened to Hannah in her utter misery? She was still relating to God – she had not given up on God! Here is one of the great spiritual mysteries: adversity, sometimes great adversity, seems to drive some people to God and they experience him in a deeper way in their lives. Other people simply get angry with God and give up on him completely! Viktor Frankl in his book, “Man’s Search for Meaning” describing life in a Nazi concentration camp, describes how people responded to their imprisonment in hell on earth. Those people who had faith and hope survived longest or survived completely despite the extremity of their suffering and the inhuman treatment they had to face. People of no faith or hope simply did not survive – they were always the first to die. Now Hannah is in misery but she is still expressing faith. She is holding on by a thread but she has not given up on God! Frankl also notes that people have to find a meaning in and for their lives. Once they understand what the meaning is for their lives they will pursue this with a passion. Hannah had been praying for years that she might have a child. Elkanah, her husband had taken a second wife who had children and she was a thorn in Hannah’s side, continually taunting her. Elkanah obviously loved Hannah deeply but failed to understand his wife. He thought that his love and providing for Hannah was sufficient to make her happy and was disappointed when this was obviously not the case.
What gives meaning to our lives? For the person that plants their hopes in material aspirations their meaning in life will always be shallow and ultimately unsatisfying. Like the man in Jesus’ parable who built his house on the sand, that kind of foundation is weak in the face of the ultimate storms of life. Like some of the people in the concentration camp, take away their material prosperity and what was there left to hope for? The same is true of anything that we invest in heavily that has only got human boundaries – without an eternal perspective life has no ultimate meaning, but it often takes the storms of life to reveal this to us. The storm was raging in Hannah’s life and she was in a desperate, deep anguish – Hannah was hanging on by the finger tips, but she was hanging on!
But surely the love of a good husband should have been enough for Hannah? Again, some people believe that all of our problems will be solved if we can find the right partner in life and marry that person. Now, don’t get me wrong, there is almost nothing better in life than a good marriage but no human relationship is sufficient to fill the God-sized place that exists in our hearts. Augustine, a man who knew what it was to live the excesses of life, finally came to this conclusion:
“Thou hast made us for Thyself O God, and the heart of man is restless until it finds its rest in Thee.”
Hannah’s pain was that she needed a child but she needed God even more. God had a purpose for both Hannah and her child but she had to be taken to the place of almost desperation before she could see what this purpose was. Finally she says to the Lord:
“LORD Almighty, if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the LORD for all the days of his life…”
Israel needed a strong leader and Hannah was chosen to bear that leader into the world. Hannah needed to get to the point where the boy she would bear would not be an end in himself, but would be dedicated to the Lord. In this trying and difficult situation God is working his purposes out and driving Hannah to her knees because it is only there that she will understand God’s will? Did God speak to Hannah in all of this – the simple answer would appear to be, no! She is the one doing all the speaking and pleading. However God is speaking to her by delaying an answer in order that she might find the answer in her own heart – God is speaking in silence. Here is one of the great mysteries of life and the life of faith. We can often struggle to understand God’s will and plough on in prayer, seeking that will – God seems silent and inactive. But the Lord is hearing us and still working his purposes out – he is calling us to hang on and keep faith.
God eventually does answer her in the person of Eli the priest. He is often seen as quite a shallow individual, but though at first he misreads Hannah, thinking she is drunk, he eventually understands her predicament and offers her hope. Hannah needed to hear some words of hope after having poured out her heart in anguish to the Lord and Eli gave his blessing to her – a blessing that was to be prophetic – “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him”
Hannah is blessed with Samuel and you may think the story ends there but Hannah remembered what she had said to the Lord:
21 When her husband Elkanah went up with all his family to offer the annual sacrifice to the LORD and to fulfil his vow, 22 Hannah did not go. She said to her husband, “After the boy is weaned, I will take him and present him before the LORD, and he will live there always.”
23 “Do what seems best to you,” her husband Elkanah told her. “Stay here until you have weaned him; only may the LORD make good his word.” So the woman stayed at home and nursed her son until she had weaned him.
24 After he was weaned, she took the boy with her, young as he was, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the LORD at Shiloh. 25 When the bull had been sacrificed, they brought the boy to Eli, 26 and she said to him, “Pardon me, my lord. As surely as you live, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the LORD. 27 I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him. 28 So now I give him to the LORD. For his whole life he will be given over to the LORD.” And he worshiped the LORD there.
After all the agonies of wanting this child, she is giving him up!! This is awesome, yet Hannah had come to realise that a greater purpose was being served by her action than simply the satisfying of her own needs. It is a wise parent who nurtures their child, yet who immediately hands them over to God! I believe that baptism, in part, is symbolic of us rejoicing in the birth of our child, yet at the same time handing them over to the better parent. It then becomes a joint venture where we and God work together for the best for that child. Any God-parent worth their salt will see the same principle.
Hannah now speaks to God and in speaking to Him speaks to us through her prayer in 1 Samuel 2:
1 Then Hannah prayed and said:
“My heart rejoices in the LORD;
in the LORD my horn is lifted high.
My mouth boasts over my enemies,
for I delight in your deliverance.
2 “There is no one holy like the LORD;
there is no one besides you;
there is no Rock like our God.
3 “Do not keep talking so proudly
or let your mouth speak such arrogance,
for the LORD is a God who knows,
and by him deeds are weighed.
4 “The bows of the warriors are broken,
but those who stumbled are armed with strength.
5 Those who were full hire themselves out for food,
but those who were hungry are hungry no more.
She who was barren has borne seven children,
but she who has had many sons pines away.
6 “The LORD brings death and makes alive;
he brings down to the grave and raises up.
7 The LORD sends poverty and wealth;
he humbles and he exalts.
8 He raises the poor from the dust
and lifts the needy from the ash heap;
he seats them with princes
and has them inherit a throne of honour.
“For the foundations of the earth are the LORD’s;
on them he has set the world.
9 He will guard the feet of his faithful servants,
but the wicked will be silenced in the place of darkness.
“It is not by strength that one prevails;
10 those who oppose the LORD will be broken.
The Most High will thunder from heaven;
the LORD will judge the ends of the earth.
“He will give strength to his king
and exalt the horn of his anointed.”
11 Then Elkanah went home to Ramah, but the boy ministered before the LORD under Eli the priest.
Read over these words. Pour over them and ponder them again and again, remembering who is speaking them and the circumstances under which Hannah is expressing herself. Then take yourself on the journey to another woman in the New Testament who was obedient to the will of God in the birth of her son – it is what we call the Magnificat in Luke chapter 1
46 And Mary said:
“My soul glorifies the Lord
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,
48 for he has been mindful
of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
holy is his name.
50 His mercy extends to those who fear him,
from generation to generation.
51 He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful
55 to Abraham and his descendants forever,
just as he promised our ancestors.”
56 Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.
What does all this teach us? In our adversity God may seem silent but suffering is often our greatest teacher where we learn to understand ourselves and God better. This is how C. S. Lewis puts it:
“God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”
So, we may be saying that we did not hear God speaking to us – maybe he was shouting!
Why spend all this time on Hannah when we should be looking at how God spoke to Samuel? Samuel’s physical and spiritual DNA was imprinted on him through the experience of his mother – in understanding her and her struggle with God, we surely understand him better!
So Samuel is in the care of Eli the priest. What kind of person is Eli? We are not told a great deal about him but what we do know is that his sons were a couple of rogues and he took no steps to intervene in their very dubious behaviour – for the sake of peace he turned a blind eye. He is a man who had obviously once known God well but compromise, carelessness and indifference had undermined his faith and connection with God – although, not completely. The follow passage from 1 Samuel 3 reveals an incredible interaction between God and Samuel, involving Eli.
1 The boy Samuel ministered before the LORD under Eli. In those days the word of the LORD was rare; there were not many visions.
2 One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. 3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the house of the LORD, where the ark of God was. 4 Then the LORD called Samuel.
Samuel answered, “Here I am.” 5 And he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”
But Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.” So he went and lay down.
6 Again the LORD called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”
“My son,” Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.”
7 Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD: The word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him.
8 A third time the LORD called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”
Then Eli realized that the LORD was calling the boy. 9 So Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
10 The LORD came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!”
Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”
11 And the LORD said to Samuel: “See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make the ears of everyone who hears about it tingle. 12 At that time I will carry out against Eli everything I spoke against his family—from beginning to end. 13 For I told him that I would judge his family forever because of the sin he knew about; his sons blasphemed God, and he failed to restrain them. 14 Therefore I swore to the house of Eli, ‘The guilt of Eli’s house will never be atoned for by sacrifice or offering.’”
I don’t want to go over the passage in too much detail. Suffice to say that God was speaking to Samuel and he failed to recognise the voice – thinking that it was Eli who was speaking. This must mean that when God spoke He did not do so other than with a human voice. God did not reveal himself in this instance in a spectacular fashion, but in a very ordinary manner. It was Eli, and not Samuel, who realised what was happening, which means that something like this had obviously happened in Eli’s own experience.
The critical verse for me is when Samuel follows Eli’s advice and says, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” I don’t know about you but this really hits home to me. When I am seeking the will of God, how often do I find a quiet place and with a sincere and open heart say to the Lord, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” Too often, I am speaking and speculating in God’s presence or in such a hurry because of my [often self-imposed] agenda that there is no time, inclination, desire or the self-discipline to spend time listening. There is of course another issue! Are we so inclined to be in charge of our own lives that we don’t really want to hear the words that may spiral our lives off in another direction?
Let’s at this point do a wee exercise, remembering that there is nothing in our lives so urgent or important that hearing from God is less significant. Find a quiet place, unplug the phone, put off the TV or radio and just go into the presence of God and speak Samuel’s words.
Are you back? Was it difficult to simply be silent? Was your mind distracted? Did you hear the voice of God? This calls for practice and discipline – and intent and desire!
“God does not speak to me!” Have you given him the opportunity to speak to you and do you really want to hear what he has to say?