1 Samuel 3 Devotional

The God Who Calls by Name

“Then the LORD came and stood there, calling as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel answered, “Speak, for Your servant is listening.””1 Samuel 3:10 (BSB)

The chapter opens in a dim season. The word of the LORD is rare, visions are scarce, and the old priest can no longer see (3:1-2). Yet the lamp of God has not gone out (3:3). Into that silence the LORD speaks, calling a boy by name. Samuel does not yet know the LORD (3:7), so three times he runs to Eli. The LORD keeps calling until the boy is ready to listen, and then he comes and stands there, calling as before (3:10).

The first message is hard. It confirms the judgment already announced on Eli's house, because Eli did not restrain his sons (3:13). Samuel is afraid to tell it, but he holds nothing back, and Eli accepts it as the LORD's right to do as he sees fit (3:18). God's word is not always comfortable, but it is never empty. The LORD lets nothing Samuel says go unfulfilled (3:19). The God who patiently called Samuel still speaks through his word, and he is worth hearing out.

To think about: What would it look like for you to come to God's word today ready to listen rather than to speak first?