1 Samuel 3 vs 1-21

1 Samuel Chapter 3 Verse 1

·    That statement is interesting because the very existence of the Tabernacle meant that the Word of God was known, understood, even technically adhered to… Exodus Chapters 25 – 31 give specific details as to how to build the Tabernacle and what exactly to put in it and where… The physical word of God was prevalent…, so it appears the thrust of this verse is the final commentary of the statement, “There was no widespread revelation.”

·    The Hebrew is really intricate here in the phrase, “widespread revelation,” and its helpful. In the Hebrew, that phrase is more literally translated, “break through vision.” The word of God was out there, everyone had knowledge of it, access to it, but it wasn’t effectively personal to the point that it was making a difference wholesale. We are told here that it was rare, not prevalent…

·    Paul said something like this as well to Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:1-5, “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!” This is to know the word and to have a technical relationship with the things of God and yet not give yourself to it…

·    I’ve said before, you don’t receive revelation from God when the Word of God is given to you; you receive revelation from God when you give yourself to the Word. Until you do, you really don’t know, there’s no break-through vision, about the truth, the things of God! You don’t receive the revelation of God to you personally and without that, this is just a book of instruction or a life suggester…

·    Why? Why was this an issue at this time? Because of the priests. Eli and his sons. This is how they administered the things of God to the people and truly this is on them. I tell the ministry team often, don’t expect anyone to be more expressive, more heart-given to the worship and word than you… So, if you aren’t giving your heart, neither will they…

1 Samuel Chapter 3 Verses 2 – 7

·    Again, a truly interesting statement! We read in the previous chapter, 1 Samuel 2:11, “The child ministered to the Lord before Eli the Priest,” 1 Samuel 2:18, “Samuel ministered before the Lord, even as a child,” and even in this chapter 1 Samuel 3:1, “The boy Samuel ministered to the Lord before Eli,” and yet now we read, “Samuel did not yet know the Lord.” Somewhat staggering…

·    It’s just this simple that those that minister to the Lord don’t necessarily know Him! There is a MAJOR difference between simply serving the Lord and knowing the Lord!

·    Samuel has been put into a religious environment where there are procedures as to how to serve the Lord and that is what he is doing. Taking his cues and directions from Eli regarding what to do in the service of the Lord… But here we see what God is really after and that is personal one-on-one encounter, relationship and revelation!

·    God calls out to Samuel, who has been serving Him, and Samuel doesn’t know His voice! Jesus said in John 10:27, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” Anyone can operate in the confines of a religion very very well, but to follow God we must be able to hear His voice!

·    That is one of the fundamental differences between serving God and knowing God. Those that serve God religiously are following the voice of others…, even the reading and adhering to the word of God…, written yes by God, but you don’t know Him, can’t hear Him, you are following the person who penned the words… Those that know God, follow His voice! Which are you? And that is an aggressive question…, because that is not to say you follow God over people…, that is to say you follow God at His word without anyone else involved…! The mark of one who knows Him!!

1 Samuel Chapter 3 Verses 8 – 11

·    It was at the fourth call of the Lord that Samuel responded and one of the things I’d like to point out is that the message at the fourth call is the same as the message at the first call would have been if Samuel hadn’t of missed it.

·    I just want you to know that we serve a God of patience. Full of mercy. Quick to bless. Slow to anger. Rich in grace. Maybe you’ve missed the call of the Lord time and time again…, the message nor the Messenger has changed. His call comes again. For the situation, for the opportunity, for the ministry…, it is not possible that you are now forsaken if you’ve missed his calling in the past.

·    Sometimes we stop hearing His voice because our ears grow dim. But there is nothing in our lives that keeps us from what God has for us that cannot be overturned, restored, changed. All through a turning of your heart back towards God.

·    We have a ton of voices coming at us including our own and including the voice of the enemy. By knowing and opening your heart to the Word of God, you learn to discern the voice of God. It is not the will of God if it goes against the word of God! And yes, its that simple!

·    There is the reading and the learning of the word and then in the midst of you seeking the Lord, your heart hears the rhema word of God. That personal voice spoken just to you which is PURE revelation. The clicking of something, the heart understanding something, God revealing Himself to you… Where for the moment that is just a split-second but time almost stands still, you understand past what God is saying to you and you arrive at the why. You begin to understand not what God does but why He does it. You begin to understand the ways of God and not just the works of God. It’s then that you become a spiritual person, knowing God and being known by Him…

·    And then in you comes this response of Samuel, “Speak, for Your servant hears!” That’s a statement of open heartedness and that is the ear God speaks of over and over in the word, “He who has an ear to hear, let him hear…”

1 Samuel Chapter 3 Verses 12 – 15

·    That is a heavy word for young Samuel. According to Josephus, the Jewish historian, Samuel was only 12 years old at this time. It could however have been very revelatory for this young man. He had grown up his whole life watching the two sons of Eli abuse their father and others while making light of the work of God. And yet he served the Lord…

·    That must have been heavy for him. And here God says, after 12 years, I’ve seen it all…, someone will do something and that Someone is Me. I am intricately involved in all the dealings of men and nothing is lost on me. This is a major moment lesson for young Samuel that would no doubt shape his entire life and perspective… And perhaps this was comforting in a way for him personally…

·    AND, he’s still 12. He was afraid to tell Eli. He didn’t know that God already told Eli this… We read that last chapter… So, Samuel goes and lies back down, no indication of sleep, and then gets up faithfully to continue his work in the ministry.

·    Let me just make this statement, his work of the ministry before he knew the Lord looked one way, and then after he knew the Lord, personally encountered God, what changed? Not the ministry! He changed! He was now opening the door not for Eli nor for the people but for the God he himself knows!

1 Samuel Chapter 3 Verses 16 -18

·    It’s tough being on that side of the equation. Eli refused to restrain his sons even though he knew what they were doing was wrong. The word for restrain is “weakened,” Eli refused to weaken them… He allowed them to be and grow strong in misbehavior and revelry…, and he knows it. So, when the word of the Lord comes to pass upon him, his only response is, God will do what God will do… Although Eli’s situation is on him, it’s still hard to not feel sorry for him…

1 Samuel Chapter 3 Verses 19 – 21

·    The Lord was with him is the ultimate. Nothing compares to having the Lord with you and through Jesus God has availed Himself to all people for all of their lives. My role in that is to be being filled with the Holy Spirit. To hear the word (rhema) of God and to keep my heart open to Him (willing to change). That simple recipe yields a life filled with the presence and power of God. That is the simple recipe of the spiritual man.

·    Just like Samuel. None of his words fell to the ground which is a poetic way of saying that all he said was accurate and people gave ear to him. Respect came to him as a result of his proximity to God. Samuel becomes Israel’s last judge and first prophet. There were no prophets really from the time of Moses. Some that gave prophecy but no prophet… It was the time of judges… But through this one man, God pivoted an entire nation!

·    And we will see as we continue in this book that God continued to speak to Samuel and guide him… And it says here that the Lord appeared again… Just like He has appeared tonight, just like He desires to appear in your day tomorrow, “by the word (the business in the Hebrew) of God!”