“Speak, For Your Slave is Listening”
In 1 Samuel 3, The LORD is speaking to Samuel, calling his name, but he does not know it is The LORD speaking. Samuel thinks Eli is calling for him. Eli told Samuel that this was the LORD calling and that he needed to respond with “Speak for you slave is listening.” When Samuel did this, the LORD informed him of what would come and how he planned to judge Eli’s house. Samuel could have become frustrated because every time he got up, there was no one speaking to him, but every time he was called, he answered. God wanted to tell him something, and He could inform Samuel because he diligently obeyed the call and listened.
Many people today want a sign from God; they want Him to speak to them and tell them what He wants. The truth of the matter is that He already has. Through the inspiration of The Spirit and under the guidance of the hand of God, the scriptures were written down for us to read and obey. Paul talks about how the stories of the Israelites were written down for instruction. (1 Cor. 10:1-10) These accounts are not just stories for us to read to our children but a look into the very nature of the God we serve. Accounts like 1 Samuel give us insight into how the people of God served Him. We can see what He expects those who follow Him to do. Even though we were not the immediate audience of the scriptures, we are still the seed of Abraham and spiritual Israel. We are God’s people, and His commands in scripture are for us to follow, too. God has spoken, but we must listen. Like Samuel, we must listen to the call of God’s word.
When we approach the texts within the Bible, we need to approach them seeking the commands, lessons and ideas that God wanted the original readers to grasp. When we find these in the text, we must bring them to the 21st century and apply them to our lives.
Challenge
1. Look for a lesson God gave the original readers of 1 Samuel and see how you can use it today.
Example: The Son of Eli neglected the Law and angered God. We can see God does not
like it when we break His commands, so we should follow them.
2. See what hurdles you are struggling with this week. Find a text in scripture that speaks about them, and see what those people did to solve the problem and use it in your situation.
Example: Anger Issues: (Proverbs 19:11) More understanding of a situation tends to slow anger. Get all of the facts before you respond to a situation.