“The boy Samuel ministered before the LORD under Eli. In those days the word of the LORD was rare; there were not many visions. One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in usual place. The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the house of the LORDD where the ark of God was.
Then the LORD called Samuel. Samuel answered, “Here I am.” 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…The Lord came and stood there, calling as the other times, “Samuel!” Samuel!”
Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”
And the LORD said to Samuel: “See, I am about to do something to Israel that will make the ears of everyone who hears about it tingle.”
I Samuel 3:1-5; 10-11
As I read this passage this morning, I was struck by some very disturbing thoughts. This is an incredibly hope-filled passage but it begins with a very damning couple of phrases. It ends with the word of LORD returning to God’s people and a young boy tuning his ear and heart to hear that word. The passage begins telling us he’s a BOY – he’s young, he’s not a seasoned veteran in following God or in knowing God’s whisper. But, that doesn’t bother God – God uses those most willing to be used and in this case it was a young boy.
This makes me think of the negative pieces of this passage. The first is the phrase “the word of the LORD was rare; there were not many vision.” Even as I type it, those two clauses make me shudder. I can turn on my TV or iPhone and hear whatever I want whenever I want. I can be surrounded by noise all day long. I can have deep meaningful conversations with those closest to me and offer greetings to people as I stand in line for my coffee. I can hear a lot of things going on, but hearing God’s voice requires a whole different ear and sometimes all these other noises make it darn near impossible to hear His Word. Is it possible that we can drown out the word of God – even those of us who are trying to hear Him?
The second thing that’s so troubling in this passage is the state of the High Priest. Later in the book of I Samuel, we not only learn that he was blind but that he had gotten very very fat. Now Eli didn’t live with a McDonald’s on every other corner – becoming fat was not normal in the ancient world. Rich folk got fat. The elite were large because they could afford it – they could take advantage of their position. Eli had gotten fat on being God’s shepherd!
In this passage, we read that his eyes were weak – was he blind naturally or is this a metaphor? Is it possible that Eli’s blindness is symbolic? Was he just blind to God and the possibility that God would engage His people? A fat, blind priest is a leader that has gotten comfortable and stopped seeking.
What a troubling combination of statements – God’s voice wasn’t being heard and those entrusted with listening and guiding had stopped seeking and listening but were instead comfortable with where things were. What an overwhelmingly awful place to be in. Is it appropriate to ask the question – are we in a similar time? Have we gotten so busy that listening to God’s voice isn’t happening? Could it be that His vision for His Kingdom to actually crash into our daily living as a reality has been blotted out by eyes that can’t see? Could it be that we have gotten comfortable with our religion and sat at the table of study and worship service indulging until we can no longer get out of our chairs and engage the noisy world around us?
Thankfully, it’s not all bad news for Israel (or for us) – God still chooses those willing, those who may not have the training, those who will take time to listen and use what we are taught for the kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven. I’m thankful for Samuel and I’m reminded this morning that the best way to start the day is with the lamp of God burning and the phrase “Here I am” stirring in my heart while open ears and heart are tuned to His Voice and Vision for this new day.
