Samuel's Call

Order of Service

• Call to Worship — Psalm 9:1-2
• Hymn — Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken
• Prayer of Invocation
• Confession of Faith — Belgic Confession, Article 1
• Scripture Reading — 2 Samuel 22:26-51
• Baptism of Eloise Grace Jones
• Prayer
• Offering
• Prayer
• Hymn
• Sermon
• Closing Hymn — He Leadeth Me
• Benediction — Romans 15:5-6

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Sermon Title: Samuel's Call

Scripture: 1 Samuel 3:1-4:1

I. God's Word Speaks into the Void

A. The context: a spiritual famine in Israel

1. The word of the Lord was rare; there was no frequent vision (1 Samuel 3:1)
2. This is the era of the judges, when "everyone did what was right in their own eyes"
3. God's silence is his severest judgment on a rebellious people — Amos 8:11

B. God speaks into darkness as he once spoke over the void at creation

1. Samuel is the instrument through whom God breaks his silence and restores his word to Israel

C. The final and fullest word comes in Christ — Hebrews 1:1-2

1. Illustration: the Kimyal people of Indonesia receiving the New Testament in their own language for the first time
2. Their pastor's prayer echoed Simeon holding the infant Jesus — to have God's word is to hold Christ
3. The Bible read and proclaimed every Sunday is cause for the same praise

II. God's Word Speaks in a Surprising Way

A. Samuel is a mere boy, not the seasoned high priest Eli

1. The Hebrew of verse 1 literally means "youth" or "young lad"
2. God repeatedly chooses the unexpected: David the shepherd boy, Moses at the burning bush, the disciples at their fishing nets

B. Samuel had not yet received a special revelation — "Samuel did not yet know the Lord" (1 Samuel 3:7)

C. Samuel is presented as a foil to Hophni and Phinehas

1. Hophni and Phinehas: sleeping with women at the tent entrance, stealing sacrifices
2. Samuel: sleeping near the ark, faithfully tending the sanctuary lamp (Exodus 27:20-21), dutiful and ready

D. Application: we prepare for God's surprising call by faithful service in whatever station he has placed us

1. Live like Hophni and Phinehas — God's surprising call will be a call of judgment
2. Live like Samuel — God's surprising call will be a welcome call of salvation

III. God's Word Speaks Hard Things

A. The message Samuel receives is a word of judgment on Eli and his entire house (1 Samuel 3:11-14)

1. Eli is Samuel's father figure and mentor, making this an especially painful word to deliver
2. Samuel was afraid to tell Eli the vision (1 Samuel 3:15)

B. True courage is doing the right thing even when afraid

1. Abraham ascending the mountain; Jeremiah delivering words of judgment — both were afraid yet obeyed
2. Christians often spiritualize avoidance: "God hasn't called me to that" or "I'm not gifted that way"
3. Obedience to the gospel requires courage; God blesses courageous, obedient children

C. Eli's response models humble submission to God's word: "It is the Lord; let him do what seems good to him" (1 Samuel 3:18)

1. Even a flawed antagonist can speak wisdom — the Bible deals in reality, not Disney-style characters (cf. Job's friends)
2. The hardness of God's word for sinners lies partly in its finality — we want it malleable; it is not
3. Expository preaching through whole books forces preachers and congregations to face hard words they might otherwise avoid

IV. God's Word Speaks to His Corporate People

A. The pattern in 1 Samuel 3:19-4:1 moves back and forth between Samuel the individual and all Israel

1. Samuel grows → all Israel from Dan to Beersheba recognizes him as prophet → the Lord reveals himself to Samuel → the word of Samuel comes to all Israel
2. God's word to the individual is always in service of his redemptive plan for his people

B. Every individual call in Scripture advances God's corporate redemptive purposes

1. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Samuel, David, the prophets, John the Baptist, the disciples — each called for the sake of God's people
2. Genesis 3:15 — the seed promise drives the whole redemptive story forward
3. Solomon's request for wisdom is pleasing to God because it is for the benefit of the people he serves

C. Application: a helpful gauge of one's Christian walk — does this serve the church of Jesus Christ?

1. Colossians 3:16 — "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly" so that you may teach and admonish one another
2. Personal sanctification and personal devotion are real and vital, but the word received personally is meant to be a blessing to the body
3. Early Protestant practice: "The word of God for the people of God"