Samuel

1. One of the great characters in the Old Testament is Samuel.

2. Unlike many Bible personalities, we have information about Samuel’s early years.

3. Over 140 verses make some type of reference to this great man of God.

IF WE LOOK AT THE LIFE OF THIS MAN FROM START TO FINISH WE FIND SEVERAL QUALITIES THAT CAUSED HIM TO STAND OUT AMONG OTHER HEBREWS. ONE OF THE CHAPTERS THAT HELPS US UNDERTAND MORE ABOUT SAMUEL IS 1 SAM. 3.

1) 1 Sam. 2:21 says Samuel “grew before Jehovah.”

2) According to 2:26, he “increased in favor” with both God and man.

3) Samuel was finally taken to live with a priest named Levi (1 Sam. 2:11).

4) Eli had some children who did not behave themselves.

a) Eli was old but he was not stupid; he knew what was happening (1 Sam. 2:22-23).

b) Eli had two sons who were very bad and God said their lives would not be spared.

c) Eli lived during an interesting time.

5) 1 Sam. 3 tells us there was a kind of “famine” in the land (there were no prophetic messages).

6) When Samuel came along, that began to change.

7) One night it was bedtime; Samuel was sleeping in the temple next to the ark.

a) Let’s start reading with verses 3-4 of 1 Sam. 3 – READ.

b) God called to Samuel but Samuel didn’t realize this was a call from heaven.

c) Samuel went running to Eli to see what the old priest wanted but Eli said he didn’t call for this child.

d) Verse 6 continues the story – READ.

e) Verse 8 says this happened a third time and this time Eli realized it was a divine message.

f) Eli gave the young man some instructions – verse 9 – READ.

8) Josephus says Samuel was teenager at this time (an early teen—12-13 years old).

9) Samuel was apparently still quite young but he was ready to be of service to the Lord.

10) If Samuel were in today’s world, there would be a lot of things he couldn’t do.

a) At the age of 13, he would not get a driver’s license.

b) Neither would he have his own credit card.

c) We would not expect him to be involved in full time employment.

d) In the Biblical account, we see a very special young person.

e) Samuel was a young man who was willing to be used in God’s service.

f) God called him out of bed and he was ready to go.

11) Samuel chosen to position himself for some type of divine service or at least Godly training.

12) He was staying in the temple and was close to the ark.

13) As a young man, Samuel could have chosen the path of Eli’s two sons.

14) Surely Eli’s older boys could have “shown him the ropes” concerning sin.

a) During my high school years I spent a lot of time with two other young men.

b) Both these fellows were extremely bright; one of them could have done anything he wanted.

c) This young man decided to enter into the military just like me.

d) We entered the same area of service, but we took two very different roads.

e) Steve chose to become involved with the crowd that liked to drink and party.

f) He was so intoxicated on various occasions his supervisor had to send out a truck to get him to work.

g) His hangovers were so bad he couldn’t see straight enough to drive.

h) The Bible says evil companionships can corrupt good morals and this is right.

i) Steve was a good young man in high school but he made some very bad choices shortly thereafter.

j) Rather than choosing the world or becoming involved in mischief, Samuel chose a life of service.

k) Choosing that life at a very young and tender age was very probably not too easy.

l) He surely had peers—perhaps several peers who were not making that same choice.

15) Today our young people can and usually will find themselves in this very same position.

16) Two paths are available to them, and they must make a choice.

17) Deciding at a young age to live one’s life for God will can make obedience difficult.

18) We have seen quite a few teens go through a rebellious stage.

a) This past week someone told me about a car with a convertible top.

b) A bunch of kids came along, cut the car’s top and threw a rock through some glass.

c) It was a very expensive car and a lot of damage was done.

d) We may have had an experience where some young people decided to key a car.

e) Choosing God is usually not the most popular choice and it is often a difficult choice.

f) If our young people are going to succeed in being obedient to God, they must make wise choices.

g) It is important to make good choices in regard to friends.

h) It is also necessary to make careful and sensible choices concerning activities.

i) Sometimes the choices in life are a little more complicated than “right and wrong.”

19) It was previously noted how Samuel’s age was very likely the early teen years.

20) He surely thought about his parents; he had come from a loving and good home.

21) There could have been a temptation to think and say, “I want to go back home.”

22) “I don’t want to live with this old priest; I want to be with my family.”

23) Being with this old priest and being with his parents were both good choices.

24) While both were good, both choices were not equal.

25) Our young people need to learn how to choose right over wrong and the best over what is simply good.

IN THINKING ABOUT YOUNG SAMUEL’S READINESS TO BE OBEDIENT WE FIND A SECOND POINT FROM OUR TEXT: HE WAS NOT ONLY WILLING TO SERVE, HE WAS EAGER TO SERVE.

a) Samuel received a call (which he thought was from Eli) and his response was immediate.

b) Samuel received a second and similar call and his response was instant.

c) Samuel received a third call and again he didn’t wait to respond.

i) It is possible to be obedient to God, but only obey if we are compelled.

ii) We know that we can often make people respond by force.

iii) Sometimes we can nag people into doing something.

iv) If nagging and force do not work, maybe we can use shame, humiliation and guilt.

v) In our Christian lives we should strive to not only be willingly obedient, but be quick to obey.

vi) 1 Tim. 6:18 says “be ready to distribute.”

vii) Tit. 3:1 – be “ready unto every good work.”

viii) We may view these passages from the standpoint of Samuel.

ix) Samuel could have heard the first call, been directed back to bed, and thought “okay.”

x) It was just a false alarm and getting up just once was not that bad.

xi) What about the second time he was called?

xii) If this had been us, would we have been as eager to get up and again respond?

xiii) What about the third time we heard a voice?

xiv) I imagine there would be some who would have just tried to shout to Eli:

xv) “Are you really calling me this time? Is it truly you? Just tell me what you want.”

xvi) Here is a young man who was eager to obey. He quickly responded three times.

xvii) How does our readiness to engage in Christian service compare to Samuel’s?

2) Jesus said if we are faithful over a few things we will be a ruler over much.

3) We see this principle in Samuel’s life; he was faithful over a little.

4) He became a great man. He is in the “hall of fame” (Heb. 11:32).

5) Great people are to learn how to respond with readiness even if doing that is not convenient.

6) If we cannot do this little (small) thing, how can we be faithful with much more?

A THIRD POINT SEEN IN SAMUEL’S WILLINGNESS TO OBEY IS HIS WILLINGNESS TO HEAR. IF WE THINK ABOUT PEOPLE, WE CAN PROBABLY NAME SOME FOLKS WHO WOULD HAVE HEARD THE VOICE BUT PULLED UP THE COVERS SO THEY COULDN’T HEAR ANYTHING.

a) Samuel was ready to hear (listen).

b) A person may be ready and even eager to obey, but they may not listen to what God really wants.

c) Samuel knew exactly what the message from God was and it concerned him (15b).

d) Samuel received heaven’s message and Eli asked for him to repeat it.

e) Let’s pick up with verse 18 – READ.

2) There are certain things that distinguish people who profess the name of Christ.

3) One thing is found in this text.

4) If we truly want to serve God, we will listen to God’s entire message in His word.

a) This past week I listened to a man who had a very interesting viewpoint.

b) After about 15 minutes of his program I had a partial understanding of his unusual doctrine.

c) He claimed that he had special knowledge and that we are still under the Old Testament.

d) He strongly implied that the entire New Testament is wholly untrustworthy and contradictory.

e) He said Jesus could be a pretty good man but He is not the Son of God and the savior.

f) After this man bashed the New Testament for several minutes he said, “Let’s turn to a verse.”

g) He directed readers to 2 Pet. 1:20 – no passages of Scripture is of private interpretation.

h) He said this verse “proves his case” about his stance on the Old Testament.

i) If the New Testament is false, why on earth would someone cite a New Testament verse for authority?

j) I listened to a man who did not do a good job hearing the Word of God (either testament).

5) It is often not easy to hear the Scriptures; Jesus said in Jn. 16 that heaven’s word will convict people.

6) We can find verses that say things that say we are not on the right track.

7) It is not always convenient to follow God’s word.

8) It is our job to hear God’s word, hear all that it says, and do what it says.

9) Listen to the word Samuel had to hear – 1 Sam. 3:12-14 – READ.

10) Samuel had a difficult message to relay, but he was faithful in expressing God’s plan.

11) If a young man can hear the Word of God in its fullness, surely all of us can too.

12) If a young person from the Old Testament could obey when it was difficult, we can too.

13) Let no one say when it comes to spiritual things, “I can’t do that.”

a) God has not given to us a system that is too hard to follow.

b) We may do better with some parts of the New Testament than others.

c) We all have strong points and weak points.

d) All can obey the gospel of Christ. Tonight we ask if each one here has done that?