God Came Down to Talk to Samuel

The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!”

Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”

1 Samuel 3:10

This is a familiar passage of Scripture to many of us, but we often read it and miss how God condescended or lowered Himself to call Samuel. Think about this. Entire armies of angels, powerful spiritual beings, stand at God’s command in Heaven ready to be dispatched at a moment’s notice. All of creation knows His voice and bends to His command. Every human on earth is at His disposal. And yet, He chooses Samuel who may have only been 12 years old at this time [Geneva Bible: Notes, vol. 1 (Geneva: Rovland Hall, 1560), 122.] to deliver His message to Eli the priest.

God came down and called not once, not twice, not three times... but four times in 1 Samuel 3 God called to Samuel. God didn’t give up on Samuel when he couldn’t figure out who was calling him. (Samuel thought he was hearing Eli the priest call to him.) No, God waited patiently for Eli and Samuel to figure it out, so He could give His message to His newest prophet.

Let this be a reminder to us that God is patient with His servants and knows how to bring us along at a pace we can understand. And let it be a reminder also that God delights in using the weak, the small and the overlooked to do His will. He could have sent an angel. He could have delivered this message of judgment to Eli Himself. He chose to use Samuel... this young man... for His glory.

But why Samuel? Throughout the Bible, God regularly chooses those who are already serving faithfully where they are for bigger things. Joseph was a faithful and righteous servant in Potiphar’s house, before he was chosen to be second in charge of Pharaoh’s house. Joshua was a faithful soldier, a faithful spy and a faithful assistant to Moses before he became the leader of all Israel. And Samuel was a faithful nazirite and Levite before he became a prophet of God.

Serve faithfully where God has put you. Don’t worry about how much attention or prestige you receive. Don’t worry about credit. Just faithfully serve the Lord with all you have. And God will patiently bring you along and will likely use you in bigger and bigger ways for His glory just like He did with Samuel.