Learning to know God’s voice – Samuel called (1 Sam 3:1-14)

My husband told me a few times that when he is finishing off projector duty at the end of a church service, he can often pick out my voice in the entrance hall from the din of other voices even though I am not a particularly loud speaker. Intimate knowledge of a person makes one attuned to their voice too. The boy Samuel, however, does not know the Lord yet (1 Sam 3:7) and so it is no surprise that he cannot recognise His voice. He has learnt about the Lord and the basics of what it means to live by His will from Eli and God’s word for him is indistinguishable at this stage from his instructor’s. Our reading reflects on how he comes to encounter God directly and how through that he learns to know God’s voice.

Given the sorry spiritual state of the priesthood at this time that we have seen in chapter 2, we are not surprised to hear that God rarely spoke or gave visions (1 Sam 3:1). Sin dulls our spiritual senses so that we do not hear from God. We may read Scripture, but it is only dead words on a page. This principle is reinforced in the story through the physical particulars described (see below). Biblical storytelling is normally quite sparse and only mentions details that are significant for the story, often showing the spiritual reality mirrored in the physical world.[1] Thus, the reference to the lamp of God is symbolic of Him as light and the fact that it is still burning (v.3) reflects the reality that God has not given up on shining light into His people’s lives even though those occasions are rare. In contrast, we learn that Eli’s eyesight is dim (1 Sam 3:2), which is not surprising in old age, but here it also points to the deeper reality of Eli losing his spiritual sight too. Despite all that, God is using him to instruct this young boy in how to respond (1 Sam 3:9). I find it fascinating that God does not directly explain to Samuel his mistake or correct him but uses human instructors and this highlights the importance of our human role in teaching God’s ways to those in our care.

What then explains God’s choice of Samuel? First, we have read repeatedly about Samuel’s service (1 Sam 2:11, 18; 3:1) and how he grew ‘before the Lord’ and gained favour both with God and people (1 Sam 2:21, 26; cf. Luke 2:52). He is genuine and sincere. Further, the reading today highlights his willing spirit when he responds repeatedly to what he thinks is the old man’s call (1 Sam 3:5, 6, 8) even though it is inconvenient in the middle of the night. Secondly, Samuel lies down in the temple where the ark is (1 Sam 3:3),[2] which symbolises God’s presence. Thus, he is in the place where God can be heard. Once he encounters the Lord the first time, he will continue to grow in knowing God in relationship and become attuned to his voice.

As a teenager, the thing that spurred me on to seek God was the realisation that while my friends in the Bible study group heard from Him and had answered prayers, I have not experienced anything like that. It was only as I answered God’s call on my life the first time that hearing from Him became a reality. Like Samuel, we also need to be willing to respond and follow, as well as be in a place where God can be heard. For us, this isn’t a physical location but a spiritual one. If we live in known sin and resist God, then we will increasingly become dull in our hearing like Eli and can expect to discern only faint echoes of His voice. May we seek Him with all our heart.

[1] Christians can feel uncomfortable with the idea that biblical writers are ‘artful storytellers’ rather than just relate the facts of ‘what really happened’ in a pedestrian fashion. However, this is no different from how we share our testimonies, where we include some details and omit others and arrange them in such a way that we communicate effectively the message we want to give.

[2] Samuel was likely sleeping in the main part of sanctuary rather than in the actual Holy of Holies, which was off limits (Lev 16:2), except for the high priest once a year on the Day of Atonement.

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