BIBLE READING

1 Samuel 3 (abridged)

The Lord Speaks to Samuel

 

The boy Samuel ministered to the Lord before Eli. The word of the Lord was rare and precious in those days; there was no frequent or widely spread vision. 

Eli, whose eyesight had dimmed so that he could hardly see, had lain down for the night. The lamp of God had not yet gone out in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was kept, and Samuel was also lying down, when the Lord called, "Samuel!" He ran to Eli and said, "Here I am, for you called me". But Eli told him, "I did not call you; lie down again." So he went and lay down. Again the Lord called him, and again he went to Eli, who sent him back to bed. For the Lord had not yet revealed his word to Samuel.

When the Lord called Samuel a third time, Eli told him, "Go, lie down. And if He calls you, you shall say, Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening." And the Lord came and stood and called as at other times, "Samuel! Samuel!" Then Samuel answered, "Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening."

The Lord told Samuel, "I am about to do a thing in Israel at which both ears of all who hear it shall burn. Soon I will do all that I have warned concerning Eli and his house, from beginning to end. I will judge and punish his house forever. He has tolerated iniquity; his sons cursed themselves (blaspheming God) and he did not restrain them. Therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that their iniquity will not be purged with sacrifice or offering; never shall it be be atoned or purged."

Samuel lay until morning; then he opened the doors of the Lord's house, afraid to tell the vision to Eli. But Eli called Samuel and asked him: "What is it He told you? Pray do not hide it from me." So Samuel told him everything, hiding nothing. And Eli said, "It is the Lord; let Him do what seems good to Him."

Samuel grew; the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground (i.e. Samuel never spoke falsely). All Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was a true prophet of the Lord. And the Lord continued to appear in Shiloh and reveal Himself to Samuel through his word.