Scripture reading: Psalm 139:1-5.

Sermon text: 1 Samuel 3.

“We’ve been here before.” Most people who hear me say this think I’m simply making too much of history. However, when I hear someone lamenting the state of society today, I can’t help myself. I know society seems bad today, but today’s sermon text reminds us that, regardless of how things look today, we’ve seen worse.

You can’t find much worse than the society in Samuel’s time. By the time of Samuel’s life in the eleventh century B.C., the Hebrews had lived in the Promised Land of Canaan for roughly 300 years. In that time, the descendants of Aaron’s son Eleazar had served as the priests of Israel at the tabernacle, located at Shiloh.

Unfortunately, while some Hebrews remained faithful to the Mosaic covenant, many had lost faith in God and in His covenant with His people Israel. By the time of Samuel’s birth, even the priesthood suffered from unbelief. Eli, the high priest, had tried to remain faithful and direct the nation, but it proved difficult when even his sons lived in disobedience to the covenant. You can read their sins in chapter 2, where you’ll find the this description: “Now the sons of Eli were worthless men. They did not know the LORD” (1 Samuel 2:12). Hophni and Phinehas, Eli’s sons, had descended to the point of stealing sacrifices from the worshipers and engaging in sexual immorality in the sanctuary itself.

Samuel began his service at the sanctuary in this atmosphere. It says much about the spiritual apostasy of the nation when the passage tells us, “The word of the LORD was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision.” Even Eli the priest had gone for years without hearing anything from God. Eventually, God sent a prophet to Eli who prophesied, “This that shall come upon your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, shall be the sign to you: both of them shall die on the same day. And I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who shall do according to what is in my heart and in my mind. And I will build him a sure house, and he shall go in and out before my anointed forever” (1 Samuel 27-36).

While the spiritual life of the nation had descended into immorality and empty ritual, the boy Samuel had already begun serving in the tabernacle. Early in the morning, Samuel heard the voice of the LORD, the God of Israel. Samuel responded correctly — saying, “Here I am!” — but he failed to recognize the true speaker. Samuel believed Eli had called him; even though he had grown up in the sanctuary of God, Samuel didn’t recognize the voice of God. “Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, and the word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him.”

The LORD called Samuel 3 times; Samuel responded all 3 times. Finally, on the third time, Eli realized God was speaking to Samuel. “Therefore Eli said to Samuel, ‘Go, lie down, and if he calls you, you shall say, “Speak, LORD, for your servant hears.”’”

Can you imagine Samuel’s excitement when he realized the covenant God of his people had chosen him as his prophet? This must have both astounded and concerned the young boy, especially when he received God’s message. “Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel at which the two ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. On that day I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end.” Everything prophesied by the prophet in chapter 2 would come to pass. “And I declare to 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. Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.”

The words of God frightened Samuel; he “was afraid to tell the vision to Eli.” I believe we can empathize, because the God who spoke to Samuel has not changed His opinion about sin. As Samuel ministered to the nation, “all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established as a prophet of the LORD.” The phrase “from Dan to Beersheba” described the length of the nation from north to south. Even in the fractious tribal nation, everyone recognized Samuel as the spiritual leader of Israel.

As we read this passage today, some of the words bother us. Yet, this passage should also embolden and encourage us during the season of Epiphany.

For one thing, we need the warning that God gave to Eli. When we look at the state of the Church today, we see much that needs fixing. Years ago, I read a book entitled, The Coming Evangelical Crisis. This book, released in 1997, predicted much of the so-called “church” we see today: The emphasis on entertainment, the use of gimmicks to build numbers, and the shallowness of much of what passes for Christian worship. Events of the past week — in which 2 popular “pastors” released books on sex — prove the point.

God hasn’t changed His mind about false worship. Worship helps define us as Christians; therefore, worship is never an option for the Christian. My father was fond of saying that anyone in our community knew when not to visit us; everyone knew they wouldn’t find us at home on Sunday morning at church time.

However, our worship must genuinely demonstrate our relationship with God as well. Eli and his sons kept the rituals; they daily performed the rituals of sacrifice, but the sacrifices meant nothing to them. Our worship must demonstrate that we have a living, vital relationship with God, not that we know the prayers and songs by memory.

We also can take encouragement from this passage. Even in the midst of apostasy, some Israelites maintained their covenant relationship with God; some Israelites remained faithful. God has never forgotten His people, and God has always maintained His relationship with those who have faithfully worshiped Him.

God revealed His faithfulness especially in the birth, and life of Jesus, His divine Son. Remember the prophecy given to Eli? Listen to the prophecy again: “I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who shall do according to what is in my heart and in my mind. And I will build him a sure house, and he shall go in and out before my anointed forever.”

Late in his life, Samuel would anoint a young boy, David, as the true king of Israel. Laster generations would call him “a man after God’s heart” (Acts 13:22). God promised David, “Moreover, the LORD declares to you that the LORD will make you a house” (2 Samuel 7:11). Jesus, David’s Descendant, has become the faithful High Priest. As the author of Hebrews wrote, Jesus became “a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God” (Hebrews 2:17). With His death on the cross, Jesus made atonement for our sins; He has become our sacrifice, and His blood has accomplished our redemption.

We have this fact to encourage us as well: We no longer have to worry about the rarity of the Word of God. St. John wrote, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). With the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, God will always speak to the world through His people, the Church. As we studied in Experiencing God, God speaks to us through the Holy Spirit by using “the Bible, prayer, circumstances, and the Church to reveal Himself, His purposes, and His ways.” Since we live in the New Covenant, we have the benefit of the Holy Spirit’s presence in our lives from the moment of our conversion until the moment of our deaths.

The Holy Spirit will use the Church to speak to the world, to proclaim the gospel of Jesus to those who need His salvation. No longer does the world have to long for the word of God; we carry it with us, in our lives, in our worship, and in all that we do. Someone in your life needs you to say, as did Samuel, “Speak, for your servant hears.” When you hear the word of God, obey the call to proclaim the good news of Jesus, our High Priest and King.