"Watching and Listening for God's Call" II

I Samuel 1-3

The book of Samuel starts off where the book of Judges (the most violent of all the Old Testament books) left, with a nation that is separated from God. In the words of I Samuel 3:1b,

“In those days, the word of the LORD was rare; there were not many visions.”

I Samuel begins with the loving relationship between Elkanah and Hannah. Elkanah had two wives, Peninnah and Hannah. They become rivals because Peninnah can have children but Hannah cannot (echoes of Sara and Hagar). Peninnah makes fun of Hannah because “the LORD had closed her womb.” I must admit my discomfort with the biblical language here. Is God getting credit for things that are not his doing? I have similar questions when the Old Testament credits God for war tactics (burning cities to the ground, killing every person and animal, etc) that were simply the common tactics of the day and time. Does God decide who will be fertile or not or is this a situation that happens in nature that is part of the chance elements of nature? After all, the act of conception itself is a chance process in which millions of sperm attempt to attach to an egg. As one book reads, "you're one in a million." Do we see God as the source or the manipulator of the events of our lives or do we see God as present in the midst of it all? When we pray to God for help and we see him as the one who caused the painful situation in the first place are we really going to be open to the help He has to offer? As a pastor, I am with people who are dealing with situations like this: the diagnosis of a terminal or disabling disease for a parent or friend, or worst of all, a child; the collapse of a relationship about which one of them had been praying to God fervently for reconciliation; etc. If we see God as the one who causes the situation, what kind of friend and comfort will God be allowed to be? Elkanah, her husband, loves Hannah deeply and tries to help her cope, but to no avail.
Finally, her prayers are answered, just as Eli the priest had said would happen in chapter 1, verse 17. Hannah gives birth to a son, who name has a double meaning, either “asked of God” or “God has heard.” Both fit the story of Samuel.

Hannah dedicates Samuel to the LORD’s service, allowing him to live with Eli and serve in the temple. Chapter 2 includes Hannah’s exultant Psalm of praise and thanksgiving. Notice the common themes with Mary’s “Magnificat” in Luke 1:46-55. Chapter 2, verse 11, casually mentions that the child’s father goes back to Ramah (mentioned in Matthew’s version of the Christmas story in Herod’s slaughter of the children) while the boy stays with Eli.

Hophni and Phineas, the two sons of Eli, are horribly corrupt: greedy, sexually promiscuous, and oppressive of the people. I remember an African-American woman preaching during a Lenten Series in Odessa, Texas who said bluntly, “You know, sometimes the devil can crawl right up in this pulpit and speak.” Every self-aware person who follows the call of God knows the very real risk and even likelihood of having corruption enter our ministry (whether we are clergy or laity). For that reason, we must diligently test our motivations and behaviors. The contrast between the corruption of Eli’s sons and the innocent Samuel in chapter 2 verses 18-21 is vivid (the linen ephod, the new robe made each year for him by his mother (who ends up giving birth to five more children!).

Samuel will be a transitional figure between the judges and the monarchy, an early form of a prophet. Samuel’s call comes not at the age of 80 (like Moses) but as a young child. Samuel hears an audible voice calling his name. Throughout scripture, God knows peoples’ names. Jesus says in John 10 that he is the “good shepherd” who calls his own sheep by name. How different this is from the common understanding of people that God is distant and inaccessible.

While people hear the voice of God audibly in scripture, most of us do not share that experience. The voice of God for us tends to be in thoughts, urges, words from friends or family, and circumstances that seems to communicate to us in a special way. How do you respond when someone says, “God spoke to me?” Do you question whether it happened? Do you wonder why God “spoke” to them but not to you? I think we are called to “test the spirits” to see whether what is spoken actually comes from God. I appreciate the honesty of this passage in that it admits that God’s voice can be confused with human voices (including our own). The Bible is clear, however, from the opening verses of Genesis to the closing verses of Revelation, that God does speak. The problem in our own day is that we are so addicted to what we can control that we are not open for God to speak. In addition, we have filled our lives with such noise and activity that we are unable to be quiet enough to listen.

Samuel ends up needing Eli’s help to understand that God is speaking. Hearing God speak is rarely a solitary activity. We learn from those who have heard God before and we seek confirmation that what we have heard is true. As an ordained United Methodist minister, my calling comes from God and is confirmed by the Church. As I servant lead in God’s Church, I continually seek the council of other pastors and laity to be as sure as possible that I am hearing God rightly. So part of listening for God’s call for ourselves also involves helping others hear God’s call.

The challenge for Eli is that the call of Samuel is done in judgment of his own family’s failure to follow God’s call. Are we open for God to call people who will challenge and correct us? It seems that Eli regrettably resigns himself that what Samuel’s call communicated was true. Hopefully, we will be more teachable before we get to that point. Have a great day as you listen further for the call of God on your life.