Jan 15, 2012
1 SAMUEL 3:1-10 (11-20) NRSV
1Now the boy Samuel was
ministering to the Lord under Eli. The word of the Lord was rare in those days;
visions were not widespread.
2At that time Eli, whose eyesight
had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his
room; 3the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in
the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was.
4Then the Lord called, “Samuel!
Samuel!” and he said, “Here I am!” 5and ran to Eli, and said, “Here I am,
for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” So he went
and lay down. 6The Lord called again, “Samuel!” Samuel got up and went to
Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, my
son; lie down again.” 7Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word
of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. 8The Lord called Samuel
again, a third time. And he got up and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for
you called me.” Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the
boy. 9Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down; and if he calls you,
you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went
and lay down in his place.
10Now the Lord came and stood
there, calling as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your
servant is listening.” 11Then the Lord said to Samuel, “See, I am about to
do something in Israel
that will make both ears of anyone who hears of it tingle. 12On that day I
will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from
beginning to end. 13For I have told him that I am about to punish his
house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming
God, and he did not restrain them. 14Therefore I swear to the house of Eli
that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be expiated by sacrifice or offering
forever.”
15Samuel lay there until morning;
then he opened the doors of the house of the Lord. Samuel was afraid to tell
the vision to Eli. 16But Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son.” He
said, “Here I am.” 17Eli said, “What was it that he told you? Do not hide
it from me. May God do so to you and more also, if you hide anything from me of
all that he told you.” 18So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing
from him. Then he said, “It is the Lord; let him do what seems good to him.”
19As Samuel grew up, the Lord was
with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. 20And all Israel from Dan
to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was a trustworthy prophet of the Lord.
***
I could preach a word about
Samuel, and his call. Even though it takes a few times for him to hear it, it
is about the most straightforward action in this passage. God calls. Samuel
answers. I could preach about that, but I think the simple picture on the front
of your bulletin tells that story well. Besides, listening to Samuel’s call
story, is like listening to a Goody-Two-Shoes, their stories just aren’t as
interesting as the people who have ventured off the beaten path.
To me, Eli is the complex one,
and God beyond mysterious in this passage.
But I’ll start with some background on Eli. For decades Eli has served
as the priest of the temple of the Ark of the Covenant. He has borne sons who
have continued the priestly lineage and now reign in their own temples. His
sons have become very corrupt, and Eli is old enough to know, he cannot change
them. So instead, he mentors Hannah’s son Samuel.
I imagine Eli elderly, in his
90’s, having seen deep change in the world around him. Yet, he sits in near
blindness, blindness to the physical world around him, and blindness to God’s
spiritual world he once knew. The passage tells us, “The word of the Lord was
rare in those days; visions were not widespread.”
And this is one of those points in
the passage where God easily becomes the most interesting character in the
story. Why was the word of the Lord rare in those days? Why were visions of God
not widespread? Why are there times we do not hear from God? Why are there
times we do not hear from God? Some commentators on this passage wondered, “Was
God being silent to a corrupt priesthood?” and I think that’s a fine guess. It
seems to fit the narrative, but I resist the simplicity of “bad things happen
to bad people, and good things to only the goody-two-shoes.” I think God is a
little more complex than that.
The passage continues setting the
scene, “the lamp of God had not yet gone out,” and in part it’s talking about
the physical lamps that surrounded the Ark of the Covenant. It’s also describing
the time of early morning, before the sun had risen. Lamps were needed to light
the room. Yet, I think there is a deeper meaning here. “The lamp of God had not
yet gone out.” God was still there. For whatever reason, God was silent, but
God was still present. “The lamp of God had not yet gone out.”
But I don’t like that word,
“yet.” Was it going to go out soon? Will the lamp of God yet go out? Can the
lamp of God go out? What does that say about God? That word, ‘yet,’ makes God,
and God’s timing complex. What did God know, that Samuel and Eli did not? What
does the, ‘yet,’ foreshadow? Is it later when the Ark of the Covenant is
stolen? Is it that literal? Or is God, and God’s timing a little more complex?
Thinking about God’s timing makes
me wonder, why did God choose to call Samuel on that day? Why not the day
before, or the day after, years before, or years after? Was there immediacy
about that day, or was it random, as if God had been on summer break, silent
for a while, and then got bored, and decided to go back to work. The passage
says, “Now,” Why now? I bet you can relate to this question. Have you ever
asked God, “Why now?” How many times have your prayed to God about timing? Can
something hurry, a transplant, unemployment, an end to war, and an end to
suffering, the coming again of Christ?
Can something wait, a divorce, a confrontation, a death, God’s call on
us? Have you ever prayed to God about timing? Or asked God, “Why now?” God is
an interesting, hard to figure out character. The action here is not Samuel’s
doing. Samuel was in not in a hurry. Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the
word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. You see, Samuel, in this
passage is not the most complex character.
I go back to Eli. In Eli’s
lifetime, the Word of the Lord had been revealed to him. Eli had been the one
who heard God’s call. Eli’s sons were the ones who were supposed to continue
Eli’s call. Yet, it was Eli, who recognized that God was no longer calling him.
God was calling Samuel. The passage states, “Then Eli perceived that the Lord
was calling the boy. 9Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down; and if
he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’” So
Samuel went and lay down in his place.” Eli knew the word of the Lord. Eli knew
the call was not for him. Eli knew he was being replaced. How hard to be
elderly, to have served faithfully, and to know you are being replaced by a
boy. Eli not only knew, but he knew what the Lord might say. Before this passage Eli had heard of the
impending wrath of the Lord toward his family. He could have easily not wanted
Samuel to listen, in case the same thing was said. Yet, Eli did not try to hold
onto his power, or the power of his sons. He took his power, and gave it to Samuel,
reminding Samuel to be a servant. Eli served God by telling Samuel to listen.
Samuel’s call is Christ like, but Eli is like Mary, “Here am I, the servant of
the Lord, let it be with me according to your word.” Eli, like Mary, ends the
life he knows, and gives it over to the Lord. Like Mary, the life Eli gives,
ends with the death of his sons. Still, Eli tells Samuel to listen.
Then the Lord said to Samuel,
“See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make both ears of
anyone who hears of it tingle. 12On that day I will fulfill against Eli
all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. 13For
I have told him that I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity
that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain
them. 14Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s
house shall not be expiated by sacrifice or offering forever.”
I am not sure, who at this point
I feel more empathy toward, Eli or Samuel. The scriptures says, “Samuel lay
there until morning;” and I imagine him wide awake suffering with the knowledge
of his friend, teacher, and an adopted father, and Eli’s family about to die. I
imagine Samuel lying there waiting, just as I imagine Christ before his
crucifixion. Can you imagine his night? Can you imagine the burden he knows?
Then in the morning, like Christ
accepting his death and the will of the Lord, Samuel, “opened the doors of the
house of the Lord.” Can you imagine the weight of those doors? Morning has come,
the night is over, the lights surrounding the Ark of the Covenant, have been
put out for the day. Samuel must face
Eli. When have you carried the silent grief of a loved one? What was the
hardest thing you ever had to tell someone? Samuel’s plight is all too human,
yet the situation divinely ordained. Why does God tell Samuel and not Eli? Why
does God not tell exactly when this punishment shall occur? How long must Eli
live in fear? Why does God work like that? Why must we only get parts of God’s
will, and not the full story?
I think of Eli, up all night too.
I think of him wondering what God has told Samuel. I wonder if from the other
room he heard too. I think of Eli questioning the future. I imagine Eli rising
and without seeing Samuel’s face, knowing the news is not good. Have you ever
just known? Have you ever felt like God told you the answer before the answer
really came? Eli is blind, but this he sees. Eli also must face the new day.
Eli knows before Samuel has said a word. He knows and so he threatens that the
same evil occur to Samuel if he does not share. “What was it that he told you?
Do not hide it from me. May God do so to you and more also, if you hide
anything from me of all that he told you.” Eli knows the news is bad. I wonder if Eli makes this threat in order to
set Samuel free from the truth he holds.
So Samuel told him everything and
hid nothing from him. Samuel has done what he is supposed to do. But Eli does
what is unbelievably hard to do. Eli says, “It is the Lord; let him do what
seems good to him.” Eli again opens up to the with the Lord’s will, even with
the deep grief it carries. Eli becomes the goody-two-shoes, not because he has
always done what is right, but because he has found the right thing to do
amidst grave circumstances. Eli gives the perfect answer. “Thy will Lord, not
mine.” Like Christ, Eli takes the cup. Eli’s answer shows great faith that the
Lord’s work is for good, and great faith in the Lord to do that good. I have
already seen this great faith among you as you both grieved the death of one of
your own, and yet commended him to God, knowing God’s goodness. Eli has this
same assurance, this same faithful servant hood.
“As Samuel grew up, the Lord was
with him and let none of his words fall to the ground.” I don’t know why God
waited to punish Eli and his family until Samuel was grown. Was it a gift to
Eli for his servant hood, or so Eli could prepare Samuel? Those all seem too
simple. I don’t know why God waited with
Samuel and Eli. I don’t really understand God’s timing. I don’t know why we
have to wait for Christ to come again. Those parts of the plot are beyond
knowing.
So as I read this narrative, and
watch our own, I gather two things. God is constant, even when God is silent.
And God is constant, even when waiting.
And in silence, and time of waiting, we are called to faithful servant
hood, just like Eli. God is constant, even when God is silent. And God is
constant, even when waiting. And in
silence, and time of waiting, we are called to faithful servant hood, just like
Eli. That to me, is the interesting part.
