1 Samuel
Chapter 3
Samuel’s Calling
The boy Samuel ministered to the Lord under Eli’s care in a time in which the word of the Lord was rarely heard. Visions were not seen.
One night, Eli was lying down in his room, half blind as he was.
The lamp of God was still lighted, and Samuel also lay in the house of the Lord near the Ark of God.
Then the Lord called: “Samuel! Samuel!” Samuel answered: “I am here!”
And ran to Eli, saying: “I am here. Did you not call me?” But Eli said: “I did not call. Go back to sleep.” So he went and lay down.
Then the Lord called again: “Samuel!” Samuel stood up and went to Eli, saying: “You called me; I am here.” But Eli answered: “I did not call you, my son. Go back to sleep.”
Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.
But the Lord called Samuel for the third time; and he went again to Eli, saying: “I am here for you have called me.” Eli realized that it was the Lord calling the boy.
So he told Samuel: “Go, lie down, and if he calls you again, answer: ‘Speak, the Lord, your servant listens.”
Then the Lord came and stood there calling: “Samuel! Samuel!” as he did before. And Samuel answered: “Speak, for your servant listens.”
Then the Lord spoke to Samuel: “Look, I am about to do something in Israel which will scare everyone who hears about it.
On that day, I will carry out what I told Eli regarding his family. All will be fulfilled from beginning to end.
For I told him that I was about to sentence his family forever. He himself knew that his sons were blaspheming God, but he did not stop them.
This is why I have cursed the family of Eli. Their sin shall never be atoned for by sacrifice or any offering.”
Samuel lay down until morning and rose up early. Then he opened the doors of the Lord’s house. Samuel was afraid to tell Eli about the vision.
?But Eli called him and said: “Samuel, my son.” Samuel answered: “I am here.”
Eli asked: “What did the Lord tell you? Do not hide it from me. Fear the punishment of God if you hide from me even one thing he told you.”
Samuel told him everything, and Eli said: “He is the Lord. Let him do what seems good to him.”
Samuel grew. The Lord was with him and made all his words come true.
All Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, knew that Samuel was the Lord’s prophet.
The Lord would appear at Shiloh. There, he revealed himself to Samuel by giving him his word.
Commentaries
Samuel’s Calling.
The triple call that Samuel responds to by addressing the elderly Eli shows the confusion and uncertainty the people face as they move forward. It can be said that the primary focus of this passage is not Eli or Samuel, but the Word of God that breaks into the darkness and shadows, sparking the beginning of Samuel’s new life. Thus, it is the Word of life that calls him to serve, which is fundamentally aimed at life. Samuel, previously under Eli’s guidance, will now serve the Word alone. It is God himself who calls this human instrument to do new things, and Samuel becomes well-known throughout Israel, from north to south, not for his merit, but because he served the Word.