A New Hope

 
  1 Samuel 3:1-21; 4:1a  
 

(Those of you who are Star Wars geeks will recognize that the title of today’s sermon is also the title of the first film. This is not accidental. Sometimes I choose sermon titles to amuse myself, and this is a case in point.)

After wandering in the wilderness for forty years, the Israelites have finally entered the land the Lord promised to them and begun the conquest. But, after the death of Joshua, the conquest is incomplete—some of the former inhabitants are allowed to continue to live in the land alongside the Israelites. These pagan people become a problem.

A weary pattern develops as the Israelites fall under oppression by one group, are delivered by God only to fall under oppression to another group. This is the period of the judges. The judges were the men, and sometimes women, who God raised up to deliver his people.

Soon, this pattern will give way to a stronger union under a king. Samuel will be the person who stands as a bridge between the old way and the new. He is the last of the judges and he is the one who anoints the new king—Saul first and then David.

So, let’s look at our passage—1 Samuel 3:1-4:1a. Remember that the chapter and verse divisions are not part of the original, inspired text. They are later additions.

The boy Samuel ministered before the Lord under Eli. (vs. 1a).

Samuel had been dedicated to the Lord by his mother, Hannah. She had been barren and had prayed to the Lord to give her children. She promised that if the Lord would allow her to become pregnant, she would give the child to the Lord.

The Lord answered her prayer and Hannah honored her promise, as soon as the child, Samuel, was old enough she brought him to Shiloh, to the house of the Lord, to serve there.

Eli, the high priest took Samuel in and trained him to serve as a priest before the Lord.

In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions. (vs. 1b).

This was a difficult time for God’s people. They now lived in the Promised Land, but all was not well. Israel was experiencing the silence of God. There had been no prophetic voice since the days of Moses. The scripture says,

18Where there is no revelation, people cast off restraint. (Proverbs 29:18).

And that is exactly what had occurred. There was widespread idol worship. There was immorality and violence. The times are described in the last verse of the book of Judges,

In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit. (Judges 21:25).

I don’t know of a better description for our own times than “everyone did as they saw fit”. I don’t know that you could say that the word of God is rare these days. We seem to have plenty of Bibles—plenty of sermons. Maybe what we have today is the embarrassment of riches. The Word is available, but we just don’t care.

A thousand years after Samuel, the prophet Amos would write,

"The days are coming," declares the Sovereign LORD, "when I will send a famine through the land-- not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the LORD (Amos 8:11).

Amos’s prophecy was fulfilled during the Babylonian Captivity. There was another famine for the word during the time between the Old and New Testaments. Hundreds of years elapsed from Malachi, the last OT prophet and John the Baptist, the first prophet of the NT period.

I would argue that there was famine again during the Middle Ages when the church kept the Word from the people—locking it away in a dead language. Until God moved in the heart of a young monk named Martin Luther. The Protestant Reformation began (500 years ago this October 31st), and the word of God was again read and heard in the language of the people.

And, today the Word is easily accessible, and easily ignored. We have a famine of the word, not because it is rare or hard to find, but because we simply choose to ignore it.

Israel was experiencing a famine of the word of God, but that was about to change.

One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the house of the Lord, where the ark of God was. (vss. 2-3).

This seems like a simply informational passage, but the wording suggests deeper meanings. Eli is described as nearly blind. This is intended as more than a physical diagnosis, it describes his spiritual condition as well.

His sons, Hophni and Phinehas were priests as well, but they were corrupt and immoral. 1 Samuel 2:12-17 shows how they were taking advantage of the people who came to worship the Lord in Shiloh for their own benefit. And Eli was aware of it.

“Eli was lying down in his usual place” implies another part of the sanctuary, perhaps even another building. Samuel, in contrast, “was lying down in the house of the Lord, where the ark of the Lord was located”. Eli may have been the high priest, but the boy Samuel was literally closer to God than he was.

“The lamp of God had not yet gone out”. The lampstand stood in the Holy Place just outside the curtain that concealed the ark of the covenant. It was supposed to burn throughout the night. But this means more than “It wasn’t morning yet”. It tells us that although the times were dark, God’s light had not yet flicked out.

What follows is an example of Old Testament humor as God calls Samuel three times before Eli finally figures out what is happening.

Then the Lord called Samuel.

Samuel answered, “Here I am.” And he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”

But Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.” So he went and lay down.

Again the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”

“My son,” Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.”

7Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD: The word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him.

A third time the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”

Then Eli realized that the Lord was calling the boy (vss. 4-8).

Neither Samuel nor Eli recognize at first that it is the Lord calling. Samuel, at least, has an excuse: Samuel did not yet know the LORD: The word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him” (vs. 7). I don’t think this means that Samuel was a non-believer. It is saying that Samuel didn’t recognize God’s voice because God hadn’t spoken to him yet.

Eli, however, has no excuse. He is the high priest—the mediator between the people and God. Part of his job description is to hear from God and tell the people what he is saying. It is indicative of his own spiritual coldness that he does not discern God’s voice more quickly.

But, let’s give credit where credit is due. Surely, Eli understood that God was bypassing him, the high priest, in favor of this youngster. And yet, he has the spiritual wisdom to tell Samuel how to respond.

So Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

10 The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” (vss. 9-10).

Three times the Lord had called Samuel’s name, now apparently, he puts in an appearance. “The Lord came and stood there” –some kind of physical manifestation—perhaps a theophany—a pre-incarnational appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ.

What the Lord will tell Samuel is shocking:

11 And the Lord said to Samuel: “See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make the ears of everyone who hears about it tingle. 12 At that time I will carry out against Eli everything I spoke against his family—from beginning to end. 13 For I told him that I would judge his family forever because of the sin he knew about; his sons blasphemed God, and he failed to restrain them. (vss. 11-13).

God is going to do something that will make everybody sit up and take notice. The sin of the house of Eli is about to come home to roost. God had warned Eli through an unnamed prophet in 1 Samuel 2:27-36 what would happen if Eli failed to restrain his sons’ sins.

14 Therefore I swore to the house of Eli, ‘The guilt of Eli’s house will never be atoned for by sacrifice or offering.’” (vs. 14).

This is terrifying! God is saying that no sacrifice will avail to atone for the sins of Eli’s sons. Does this mean that there are sins that are beyond the scope of God’s forgiveness? I don’t think so, but the sins of Hophni and Phinehas were particularly heinous because they were sins against the sacrifice. If you profane and reject the very thing that God has given to provide atonement for sins, then no atonement is left.

It’s true with the New Testament sacrifice as well.

26If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, 27but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. 28Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? (Hebrews 10:26-29)

Jesus is the only provision for our sin. If we reject him, there is no more sacrifice for us.

15 Samuel lay down until morning and then opened the doors of the house of the Lord. He was afraid to tell Eli the vision, 16 but Eli called him and said, “Samuel, my son.”

Samuel answered, “Here I am.” (vss. 15-16).

The Lord’s words are hard for Samuel. Eli has been like a father to him and he loves him. Samuel is experiencing the burden of the Word. To hear God’s word and then to be responsible for communicating it to others is not always a happy job.

Of course, the gospel proclamation of God’s grace brings great joy. To be able to tell people that God loves them—that he desires to have fellowship with them—that in Jesus their sins can be forgiven and they can have eternal life—is joyous. But, if we are honest in sharing the Good News, we must also be honest in sharing the bad.

People without Jesus need to hear that they are sinners—that they are condemned under the wrath of God—that there is nothing they can do to merit forgiveness. Before “Your faith has saved you” people need to hear “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.”

Christians try to soft-pedal this aspect of the Gospel. We fear calling people to repentance because it’s not a popular message. And everybody knows you gotta be popular.

Samuel doesn’t want to share what God has told him. But Eli insists:

17 “What was it he said to you?” Eli asked. “Do not hide it from me. May God deal with you, be it ever so severely, if you hide from me anything he told you.” (vs. 17).

I think Eli already knows. Remember he’d been warned before. Eli’s response is resigned,

18 So Samuel told him everything, hiding nothing from him. Then Eli said, “He is the Lord; let him do what is good in his eyes.” (vs. 17).

Eli is a hard person to figure out. He demonstrates some spiritual wisdom, but he is also spiritually ineffective. He knows what to tell Samuel to do when the Lord calls him, but he doesn’t seem to be receiving any word from the Lord himself. In chapter 2 he confronts his sons about their sin, but he is unable to get them to stop.

In verses 19-21 we have a summary statement,

19 The Lord was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of Samuel’s words fall to the ground. 20 And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba recognized that Samuel was attested as a prophet of the Lord. 21 The Lord continued to appear at Shiloh, and there he revealed himself to Samuel through his word. (vss. 19-21).

In many ways, Samuel is a type of Jesus Christ. He is both a prophet and a priest. He is not a king, but he is a judge, and he is the one who will anoint the king of Israel—first Saul, then David.

4:1a forms a perfect closing word,

And Samuel’s word came to all Israel. (4:1a)

Note how it contrasts with 3:1 – “In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions.”  Now, all Israel will hear the Word of God through his prophet, Samuel.

The rise of Samuel brought new hope to Israel. By the time he died Samuel had instituted a new royal line in Israel, a line that would continue until the coming of Jesus Christ, who would be the king whose reign would never end. But that line would culminate, not just in a king, but in one who would be both king and priest. Hebrews puts it like this:

19We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, 20where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek. (Hebrews 6:19-20)

Those who rely on human saviors will always be disappointed in the end. But those who rely on the only begotten Son of God, who has died for our sins and has risen again for our glorification will never be disappointed. That’s why we need to be praying for our leaders, that they’ll be led by the Holy Spirit in the way they lead us. That they’ll be so in tune with Jesus Christ that we won’t be let down.

Again, listen to what Hebrews has to say,

"Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. 15For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin" (Hebrews 4:14-15).

Samuel was chosen to bring God’s word, first to Eli, then to the people of Israel, but ultimately to us who read it here in 1 Samuel. There are so many examples of people who started well, but finished badly. But there is one example of a person who was tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin and who continues to intercede for us at the right hand of God as our great high priest—the Lord Jesus Christ.