Today we will be reading the same Scripture as yesterday, but the repetition allows us to know the verses well and to see the story anew. Be mindful to not skim the passage even though you just read it yesterday.

Read 1 Samuel 3:1-14.

Just like yesterday, name another attribute of God that you notice in these verses.

The list is endless, but today we will focus on the fact that God is persistent.

As we discussed yesterday, Samuel is quick to respond to God’s calling. He is immediately obedient. This obedience was demonstrated to Him through his own father and mother. Elkanah faithfully brought his family to the temple in order to make their sacrifices. This was commanded of them by God. Hannah, too, was faithful in her worship of God and obedient in her giving of her firstborn to the Lord. Obedience was modeled for Samuel in very real ways through his family.

Disobedience was also modeled for Samuel. Second Samuel 2:12 & 13 describe Eli’s sons as “scoundrels who had no respect for the Lord or for their duties as priests.” They had no regard for the sacredness of the altar of the Lord and treated temple-goers harshly (2 Sam. 2:16). They were also known for seducing “the young women who assisted at the entrance of the Tabernacle” (2 Sam. 2:22). Eli’s sons were defiant, rebellious, and irreverent. This was no secret to the people in the temple or to those who came to the temple, so it would have been obvious to Samuel as well. He lived and served among men who held sacred titles but who lived according to the world.

Elkanah and Hannah would have been aware of the behavior of Eli’s sons, yet they continued to go to the temple for sacrificing and for praying, in obedience to God. They did not equate the temple with the unholy men who served in it; they equated the temple with their holy God.

Samuel saw both obedience and disobedience in poignant ways, and he chose the road of obedience: “But Samuel, though he was only a boy, served the Lord” (1 Sam. 2:18).

In the passage we read yesterday and today, Samuel’s allegiance and his obedience were directed toward Eli, not toward the Lord, but he obeyed Eli because of who Eli represented. Samuel had been serving the Lord by serving Eli in the temple. He knew about God. He knew the sacraments and the rituals that were required of priests, and he helped to carry those out in the temple. However, Samuel did not yet know God personally (1 Sam. 3:7). So, God called him and didn’t cease calling him until Samuel responded. He was persistent in His pursuit of this young boy.

God is persistent, but He will not force us into following Him or listening to His call. Samuel chose obedience, just as his parents did. He responded to God’s persistent calling. He came to know God personally and followed Him.

God is also personal. He calls Samuel by his name. He makes Himself known to Samuel during a time of quiet, a time when God knew Samuel would be able to respond. He knows when we sleep and when we rise. He knows our names. He meets us where we are.

Reflection Questions:

Where have you seen God’s persistence in your own life?

Where have you seen God’s personal nature meeting you where you are/were and reaching out to you in personal ways?

Thank Him for these moments and ask Him to reveal these characteristics to you more and more.

As we look at several attributes of God this week, knowing who He is (or being reminded of who He is) should shape who we strive to be. This leads to the next reflection question:

In what area of your life is God asking you to be obedient to His persistent personal calling? 

Ask Him to work in you and to convict you when you are not following Him in these ways.

Perhaps there is a situation in your life where leaders have let you down or you’ve seen hypocrisy in the church and it’s caused you to turn from God. This has led you to equate the Church with unholy people rather than with a holy God. Ask the Lord to work in your heart and to heal the wounds that people have caused. Ask Him to help you to stay obedient to His call and to keep your eyes fixed on Him.

Read 1 Samuel 3:1-14 one final time.

Once again, name an attribute of God that you notice in these verses.

Notice how the word “LORD” is written in 1 Samuel 3:1. When LORD is written in all capital letters in the Bible, it refers to the Hebrew word YAHWEH. The significance of Hebrew names for God is lost in our English translations, but the meanings are important.

When God spoke to Moses in the burning bush in Exodus, Moses said to God, “If I go to the people of Israel and tell them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ they will ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what should I tell them?’” (Ex. 3:13). God replied that Moses should call Him, “I AM WHO I AM” (Ex. 3:14).

“I AM” and YAHWEH are often used interchangeably throughout the Bible, particularly in the Old Testament. This name speaks to the self-existence and eternality of God. He is because He is. His existence doesn’t depend on anyone else. He has always existed and He will always exist. He is ever-present and self-sufficient. The use of YAHWEH in this passage in 1 Samuel is not accidental or coincidental.

We know 1 Samuel 3:1-14 extremely well by now. We know that God calls Samuel three times before Samuel responds to Him. We also know that Samuel only comes to understand that it is God who is calling him because Eli points this out to him. Knowing that God is YAHWEH, the all-powerful and ever-existent God, we can confidently say that God did not need Eli to alert Samuel to whose voice was calling him. On the very first mention of Samuel’s name, God could have made it very clear to Samuel who He was. He could have declared His presence and His power in an instant, but He didn’t.

We know that God is all-powerful, but in these verses He chooses to harness that power. He doesn’t force Samuel to follow Him, nor does He use His might to make Samuel listen. Instead of revealing that He is powerful, God reveals that He is a purposeful God. There is purpose in His choosing to use Eli in Samuel’s calling. He chooses to use Eli to help Samuel discern the voice of God. In so doing, God also got Eli’s attention. Our calls very rarely, if ever, only concern us.

Read 1 Samuel 3:15-21. Here we clearly see that Eli’s interest was peaked by God’s speaking to Samuel. Samuel was nervous about sharing God’s word with Eli because it had to do with the demise of Eli’s family. God’s purposefulness is evident in two ways in these verses.

1. By including Eli in Samuel’s call, God awakened Eli’s senses and desire to hear from Him. Eli was quick to ask Samuel the next morning what it was that God said. He wanted to know the word of the Lord. When Samuel told Eli the prophecy he had received, Eli responded with “It is the Lord’s will. Let him do what he thinks best” (1 Sam. 3:18). Eli was confident in the Lord and His words. He was confident that this prophecy had come from God Himself because of the events of the previous night.
2. By including Eli in Samuel’s call, God put Samuel in a position of choosing whether or not to be obedient in sharing the prophecy. Samuel was put to the test when Eli asked him to share what the Lord had said. As had been his practice, Samuel obeyed. This was a relatively low-risk, but necessary, test. Sharing truth as a prophet would never be easy, but Samuel needed to see that obedience to the Lord was more important than how others would perceive him because of the words he shared. Eli’s quick response of faith and humility toward God would have been an encouragement to Samuel to continue to share God’s truth, even in higher-risk situations. Verse 19 tells us that as Samuel grew up, “Everything [he] said proved to be reliable.” His reliability and trustworthiness began with this first test in his calling.

God is purposeful in His plans for Samuel, just as He is in His plans for us.

Reflection Questions:

As you look at your life, can you think of a time when you eventually saw purpose in a difficult season or situation? Thank God that He is a God of purpose.

Because God is purposeful, we, too, should strive to live life with purpose.

What area of your life do you need to relinquish because it doesn’t add to the purpose to which God has called you? What area(s) of your life do you need to give more attention to because they correspond to how God is asking you to live?