The Call (1st Samuel 3:1-20)

 

[Title Slide] The Call (1^st Samuel 3:1-20)

 

There are several call stories in the Bible. God called Noah to build and ark. God called Abraham to leave his father and relatives and go to Canaan where God promised to make him into a great nation.

 

[Slide] And who can forget the calling of Moses? The former prince of Egypt, now runaway murderer, was hiding as a shepherd in Midian. He saw a burning bush. The bush burned with fire but was not consumed. As Moses drew near to check out this wonder, God called to him, “Moses, Moses!” and Moses responded, “Here I am.”

 

Notice the same beats in the calling of Samuel. Twice God called Moses’ name, twice Samuel’s. And both Moses and Samuel answer “Here I am.”

 

The calling of Samuel takes place during the period of Judges. Israel was not a unified nation, but rather a loose confederation of tribes. This period was marked by of ignorance of God. They had the law of Moses, but no one paid it any heed. The Book of Judges summarizes this period.

 

[Slide] In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit. (Judges 21:25)

 

As Israel did as they saw fit, God would hand them over to their enemies. Israel would cry out in their suffering, and God would raise up for them a deliverer, judges like Deborah, Gideon and Sampson. [Slide] Gideon delivered Israel from the Midianites, but the people worshiped his memory by setting up his golden ephod as an idol. [Slide] Sampson was set aside as a Nazarite, but he broke every vow. He even married a Philistine. He was a terrible example of how a man dedicated to God should live. And yet, God used Sampson, with all his flaws, to rescue Israel from the oppression of the Philistines.

 

1^st Samuel reminds us how bad things had gotten. It was a period of spiritual famine.

[Slide] The word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not widespread. (1st Samuel 3:1)

 

Eli was the aging high priest, obese and near blind. [Slide] His sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were worthless priests who had no respect for God or the people. Their names tell of their character. Hophni means fist fighter or handful. It speaks of how he forcibly took what he wanted for himself from the sacrifices of the Israelites. He grabbed it up by the fistful. Phinehas means “mouth of brass” which symbolizes bold, brazen, unashamed speech.

 

These so-called priests took the best cuts of meat from the sacrifices. In direct violation of the law of Moses, they ate fatty portions which were set apart as a holy offering for the Lord alone. Only after the fat was consumed by fire were the priests allowed to eat a portion.

 

[Slide] Then the priest shall turn these into smoke on the altar as a food offering by fire for a pleasing odor. All fat is the Lord’s. It shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations, in all your settlements: you must not eat any fat or any blood. (Leviticus 3:16-17)

 

Not only were they guilty of such selfish disregard for God and God’s people, they were also flirting and sleeping with women who served at the entrance to the tabernacle. Their sexual immorality and selfish behavior reached the ears of their father Eli. He confronted them, but did not to remove them from office.

 

[Slide] The word of the Lord was rare in those days. I suggest that it’s not because God wasn’t speaking. It’s because Israel’s spiritual leaders were not listening for God.

 

[Slide] But God had not abandoned his people. The Lamp of God had not yet gone out. The lamp of God, also called the menorah, was a golden lampstand set in the holy place of the tabernacle. It was a symbol of God’s presence.

 

Israel lived in a period of widespread ignorance of God, and poor spiritual leadership. The sons of Eli are described as not knowing God. Even young Samuel was ignorant of God, but God was still calling.

 

[Slide] The Lord called out to Samuel, but he thinks it’s Eli calling. He goes to Eli saying, “Here I am, for you called me.” Eli rouses. “Go back to bed, I didn’t call you.” This happens 3 times. Eli realizes on the 3^rd time that Samuel is hearing The Lord call. So, he instructs Samuel, the next time he calls for you say, “Speak Lord, for your servant is listening.” [Slide] And that’s what Samuel did.

 

God told Samuel that destruction was coming for Eli and his wicked sons. That was a heavy burden to lay on a young boy, but Samuel shared the doom-filled prophecy at Eli’s insistence.

 

So what are we to make of this story? First, it’s good news that God’s lamp has not gone out, even in a time of widespread ignorance of God. What I notice in many of the call stories in the Bible, [Slide] God tends to call in times of trouble.

 

We are living in such a time in America. It’s not that the word of God is unavailable. It’s that our hearts are set on other things. We’ve created idols of our own choosing. Spiritual blindness in America may be widespread, but the lamp of God, the divine presence that brings illumination, has not abandoned us to darkness. God is calling His church to be witnesses for Jesus Christ.

 

[Slide] Second, Samuel didn’t realize he was hearing God calling his name. Eli needed to guide Samuel. We, too, need to train our hearts to hear God’s voice.

 

[Slide] Dallas Willard wrote in his book Hearing God, that we must situate our lives near God, seeking a close intimate relationship. Samuel slept near the ark of the covenant ‘neath the glowing lamp of God. We too must locate our lives close to God. Practice prayer, meditation, study and other spiritual practices. Put yourself where God tends to show up. God shows up with the oppressed and poor, the needy and forgotten. Serve them in the love of Christ. God shows up in sanctuaries where the word of God is honored with obedience. God shows up to humble hearts that seek him.

 

Samuel told God, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” The Hebrew word we translate as listening, means to hear, heed and obey. Like young Samuel, sometimes God asks us to do something difficult. Be ready to obey His call.

 

Dallas Willard encourages his readers to be open to the many ways God speaks to us. God speaks to us as we study the Bible. God speaks to us through prayer. God speaks to us through friends. I told some of my friends I was thinking about going into ministry. They each responded, “That doesn’t surprise me. You’d make a good one.” I finally realized that was God speaking to me through them. God speaks to us through events. [Slide] When the World Trade Center towers fell on 9/11, there was a surge in church attendance for a brief period. They came searching for answers. God was calling them to places of worship.

 

God speaks through nature and works of art, music, film, literature and other creative expressions.

 

[Slide] And God speaks to us, one to one, in a personal conversation as with a friend. Now if you’re like me, you don’t have a lot of experience hearing God. Whenever a preacher said God told him something, I thought to myself, “Sure you did!” I didn’t believe God spoke to people. I prayed my whole life and I never heard God speak. I never heard God call my name. You see, the problem wasn’t God. It was me. My heart was set on things other than God. I said my prayers at night, but it was a one-way conversation. No one ever taught me to be silent and listen for God.

 

But God was calling out to me, I just didn’t know it. As young as 11 or 12 years old I had people in the church ask me if I ever thought about becoming a minister. I had zero interest. I couldn’t think of anything more uncool or boring. But that kept coming up over the years, people in church asking if I ever thought about being a minister.

 

In my college years, I went the way of the prodigal son. Partying, hellraising. We even had a theme song, Highway to Hell by AC/DC. And it took its toll on me. I was dying inside.

 

My hometown pastor saw it. He pulled me aside and told me, “God wants you to go into the ministry.” I was like, “O really? God spoke to you and told you that? Uh-huh.” He just smiled and, “God told me to tell you that He wants you to go into the ministry. I’ve told you.”

 

I knew how I was living was wrong, but I was going to have my fun! One night feeling empty and depressed, I decided to go for a walk. I noticed the sounds of a vacuum cleaner coming from a church door. [Slide] The light from the church entrance beckoned me to cross the street. I stumbled over, not really knowing what I wanted. The woman sweeping the entryway tuned off the vacuum and politely listened, as I mumbled something about seeing the pastor. She directed me to the parsonage. Almost by autopilot, I ended up in the pastor’s study.

 

I told the pastor I’m looking for a church with young people my age, I hadn’t been able to find one. (LIE). He said that most of the congregation was older folks, but there was a small Sunday school class of college aged young adults. I was welcome.

 

But then the pastor took me by surprise. He looked me straight in the eyes and said, “I hear you say you’re looking for a group your own age, but aren’t you really looking for God in your life?” I was pinned to the chair. I couldn’t breathe. He maintained his stare and I felt the eyes of God boring into my soul. I barely got out the word, “Yes.” He took my hands and prayed for God to come into my life. I walked away into the night renewed. I wept tears of joy. I had met an old friend that night, Jesus. He never stopped calling me. Even to this day, the call to be His echoes in my heart.

 

[Slide] I don’t know how you’ve experienced God calling you, but I know God is calling… every one of you to be witnesses for Jesus. So, situate yourself close to God through spiritual practices. Be ready to obey when He calls you to do something specific. It might be as simple as picking up the phone and calling someone on your heart. And keep yourself open the many ways God speaks, through His word, through music, through friends, through events, arts, and nature. Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling. Be ready for the lamp of God has not yet gone out!