#413 Speak Lord, I'm Listening

And the child Samuel ministered unto the Lord before Eli. And the word of the Lord was precious in those days; there was no open vision.

2 And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place, and his eyes began to wax dim, that he could not see;

3 And ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep;

4 That the Lord called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I.

5 And he ran unto Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou calledst me. And he said, I called not; lie down again. And he went and lay down.

6 And the Lord called yet again, Samuel. And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And he answered, I called not, my son; lie down again.

7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, neither was the word of the Lord yet revealed unto him.

8 And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And Eli perceived that the Lord had called the child.

9 Therefore Eli said unto Samuel, Go, lie down: and it shall be, if he call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth. So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

10 And the Lord came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth.

11 And the Lord said to Samuel, Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle.

12 In that day I will perform against Eli all things which I have spoken concerning his house: when I begin, I will also make an end.

13 For I have told him that I will judge his house for ever for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not.

14 And therefore I have sworn unto the house of Eli, that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering for ever.

15 And Samuel lay until the morning, and opened the doors of the house of the Lord. And Samuel feared to shew Eli the vision.

16 Then Eli called Samuel, and said, Samuel, my son. And he answered, Here am I.

17 And he said, What is the thing that the Lord hath said unto thee? I pray thee hide it not from me: God do so to thee, and more also, if thou hide any thing from me of all the things that he said unto thee.

18 And Samuel told him every whit, and hid nothing from him. And he said, It is the Lord: let him do what seemeth him good.

19 And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground.

20 And all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the Lord.

21 And the Lord appeared again in Shiloh: for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the Lord. 1 Samuel 3

Be still and in the quiet, with the lights and distractions of this world put aside, hear that still, small voice. Those who say they need a fresh word daily are hilarious to me now, as I was to those who wanted to explain to me reformed doctrine. We say we want to hear from the Lord, but we refuse the way He speaks or seek another voice. I didn't recognize the sound of His voice, and preferred to make my own, but here He speaks, through His word. There are things in there I don't at first like, that are most difficult for me, and to follow it would be to choose God over the things He has made. Samuel is in a quiet state, probably quite stunned, and of no desire to tell the man that has been to him as a grandfather, a priest, a surrogate family, that God's judgment will be soon upon him. You haven't restrained your sons, and God has spoken to you on this matter, even before he sends a speaker, before that utterance which now falls from the mouth of babes, there was the law, you were the keeper of the law. This is Shiloh, a holy place and you have allowed it to become a den of thieves, for your sons to sacrifice the value of the women that come here, to the worship of their appetites. They have robbed the sacredness of this place, and though it would bare God's name, there is none of His presence here, till now, and it is to judge. Eli accepts it, acknowledges that it is of the Lord, what can he say, the Just has spoken? Are you sure you are a Christian, a person of the book, do you go to it when you want to know the mind of God or do you stick your thermometer into the armpit of the world? If I was to ask you what God says on any matter, my affairs, drug addiction, laziness, gluttony, adultery, Who God is, Christ is, what the Bible is, how would you handle it? Eli was afraid to confront his children, but God's word stood, and they fell. I will say this for Eli, it has to be painful none the less, yet he gives good counsel to Samuel, and it must break the heart of the priests that the boy is the one who God will speak through. But he doesn't allow him to make the same mistake as himself, "God do so to thee, and more also, if thou hide anything from me of all the things He said unto thee." Just say what God said, don't put your spin on it, please don't water it down, because you don't have that authority, it is as God says, we don't change God. 

Then Jesus entered the temple courts and began to drive out those who were selling there. 46He declared to them, “It is written: ‘My house will be a house of prayer.’ But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’” 47Jesus was teaching at the temple every day, but the chief priests, scribes, and leaders of the people were intent on killing Him.…Luke 19:45-47

Command and teach these things. ¹² Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. ¹³ Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. ¹⁴ Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through prophecy when the body of elders laid their hands on you.

¹⁵ Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. ¹⁶ Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers. 1 Timothy 4: 11-16