"Now the boy Samuel ministered to the Lord before Eli. And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no widespread revelation". (1 Samuel 3:1)
This week, we will consider Samuel’s call by the Lord. Samuel was a miracle gift that the Lord gave in answer to his mother, Hannah’s, prayer. He was also a gift that his mother gave back to the Lord after he was born. He was a gift from the Lord that was given back to the Lord.
The calling of Samuel is a clear picture of how God’s grace finds us when we don’t seem to qualify for what God wants us to do. Let us turn our attention to a couple of indications in the passage.
The first is that Samuel was not born into the priesthood family. Samuel was not a Levite. He was from the tribe of Ephraim, of which there was no mention of the priesthood. Yet, our passage tells us that Samuel ‘ministered to the Lord, before Eli’.
Although, his natural tribe did not qualify him for the service of the priesthood in Israel, God brought him in by grace. It appears that Samuel was able to minister to the Lord in Shiloh because his mother gave him totally as a gift to the Lord. Samuel’s mother’s act of faith and generosity opened a path for him into an area of operation that was closed to his family.
The second is the spiritual state of Israel. The passage describes the spiritual condition of the nation with these words, ‘the word of the Lord was rare in those days’. That phrase did not mean that God was not speaking; instead, it meant that people were not hearing from God.
Eli, the priest, had grown physically weak and ineffective as a leader; while his sons defiled the Temple with their immoral acts. This troubling state of Israel’s priesthood was the atmosphere that Samuel ministered in. In spite of the wrong things happening all around him, Samuel kept his heart for the Lord and ministered to the Lord in holiness.
Although from a non-priesthood tribe, Samuel ministered to the Lord. We learn about God’s grace from how He allowed Samuel into the priesthood. The Lord we serve can call people who may not have all the natural qualifications to do things reserved for a select group.
We cannot write ourselves off simply because of a natural limitation in our lives. The same God who bypassed the sons of Eli, who were from the priesthood family, to speak to an Ephraimite boy, can bypass many to reach out to you. May grace find you today.
