Samuel Called to Be a Prophet
Minister: |
Rev. Ronald Van Overloop |
Date: |
7/13/2014 PM
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Text:
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I Samuel 3:10
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Psalters: |
257, 121, 389, 88 |
- The grievous setting.
- Eli, high priest of tabernacle at Shiloh, experienced great spiritual griefs.
- First, he lived a very spiritually difficult time in the history of the church: end of the period of the judges.
- Second, his spiritually difficult ministry was because of his evil sons and the fact that he did little about it.
- But Eli had one great joy in his older years in the child Samuel who ministered before him (1).
- Samuel had been brought to the tabernacle by Hannah while still a small child (1:24-28).
- Additionally Samuel was a Nazarite for life (usually for a limited period of time).
- Samuel believed that he was there to do service, and he did so quickly and obediently.
- In Samuel Eli had a great companion, though he was an old man and Samuel so young.
- Now God calls Samuel to be a prophet so He can give more constant revelation to His people.
- At that time the ?word of Jehovah ?precious? (rare, scarce) because there was no ?open vision? (1).
- Open vision is God being readily available to any question and to giving communication.
- Since Moses almost 400 years earlier there was no revelation spread abroad to the whole nation by one who was a prophet
- Now that is going to change as God comes to Samuel (3:19-4:1).
- Samuel had grown to be a youth, sufficiently matured mentally and spiritually to receive the revelation.
- It began during a night when Eli and Samuel were asleep.
- God called out Samuel?s name, but he was not acquainted with the audible voice by which God spoke to His prophets.
- The old priest began to think about the repetition, and knowing Samuel?s character discerned it to be the Lord.
- At the fourth call, Samuel responded as directed by Eli and the Lord ?came and stood? in an objective appearance (15).
- The revelation was a prophecy of condemnation against the person closest to him (11-14).
- Of what Samuel is a picture, we have perfectly in the Lord Jesus.