Knowing the One who Calls

1 Samuel 3:1-7   The boy Samuel ministered before the LORD under Eli. In those days the word of the LORD was rare; there were not many visions.  2 One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place.  3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was.  4 Then the LORD called Samuel. Samuel answered, "Here I am."  5 And he ran to Eli and said, "Here I am; you called me." But Eli said, "I did not call; go back and lie down." So he went and lay down.  6 Again the LORD called, "Samuel!" And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, "Here I am; you called me." "My son," Eli said, "I did not call; go back and lie down."  7 Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD: The word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him.(NIV)

So many people today are called by God into His sacred work and yet are unable to identify the voice of the One calling. So many are Christians and are still not clear on the purpose for which God called them out of Darkness into His wonderful light (1 Pet. 2:9). The  Christian world is full of Christians who are living a life of formalism and fanaticism but have not yet perceived the God who saved them.

The young boy Samuel is a biblical example of those called and yet cannot identify their Caller. He was a promise of God to his mother Hannah who named him shemuel meaning "heard of God". Hannah vowed Samuel was to be the Lord's all the days of his life. The young boy grew up in the house of God as his mother promised; he eventually had the opportunity to be closer to God than any other child of his time. Samuel was even more committed and obedient to God than were the sons of Eli. However, something had not happened to the young boy; he had not yet known Yahweh personally. 

Samuel lived in a time when God's revelation was rare "In those days the word of the LORD was rare; there were not many visions" (1 Sam. 3:1). It is important to note that Samuel lived in the time where wicked are impiety had taken over the good that even religious leaders were not worth to be trusted (Eli's sons). Probably, God had temporary stopped His revelations because there was no man worthy to receive them. Today our world is in no way better than the time of Samuel; evil and wickedness had tremendously increased to the extend that many ministers of the Gospel are not receiving clear visions from God. Consider how the Christianity has shifted from sound doctrine to deception, from truth to lie, from virtue to immorality and even more. It is the midst of such evil that God called Samuel, and the focus of this message is how Samuel responded to the call. 

"The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was. Then the LORD called Samuel. Samuel answered, "Here I am" (1 Sam. 3: 3,4). Samuel was lying down in the temple where the ark of covenant was. If we have to go by the sanctuary compartments; the Holy of Holies was the place where the ark of God was. This picture already shows that Samuel was so closed of God and was indeed privileged to dwell in the very of God, where the lamp of God beamed on his face. Many of us today are privilege to be in the Light of God, the Light Jesus Himself is and offers to all those who diligently seek Him. 

Something astonishing happened; in verse 5 Samuel ran to Eli thinking he was the one calling Him. In verse 6 the call is repeated and yet Samuel fails to identify the One who called and ran again to the opposite direction toward Eli. How could Samuel have misunderstood the source of the calling when already so close to God. How could he have left God who was beaming on his face through the lamp to go and respond to Eli who was far away. The answer is found in verse 7 and it is clear, "Samuel did not yet know the LORD: The word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him". Samuel was in the temple every day, serving in the house of God but did not know the Lord as many Christians today and ministers of the Gospel who claim to be God children but haven't yet known God. Samuel failed to recognize the voice of the one calling due to his inexperience with the Lord. In John 17:3, Jesus said: "Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent". There can be no response to God's calling until we come to know Him; knowing Jesus is not only a mere verbal declaration but also a personal experience with Lord. 

My question for today is do you know the Lord and are able to recognize His voice calling for you? Would you today live a life that will draw you nearer and nearer to Him? Remember to know the One who calls you.