Samuel had been given to the Lord to be used by God. This was a time when things were uncertain for the Hebrew children. They knew that God existed, but still they struggled serving Him. God was so upset with their sins that He rarely talked with them.
I Samuel 3:1- 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.
God wants people to know His will. That's why He gave Moses the law to give to the children of Israel. Now, God was going to see if Samuel would be faithful.
I Samuel 3:2-4- 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; 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; That the LORD called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I.
Eli was failing at his tasks. First, the lamp of God was never suppose to go out; it was always suppose to be lit. Next, Samuel didn't really know the Lord. Eli was suppose to be teaching him. When God called Samuel, Samuel thought Eli had called him.
I Samuel 3:5-8- 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. 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. Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, neither was the word of the LORD yet revealed unto him. 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.
Poor Samuel had been running back and forth from his room to Eli's room. Finally, Eli realized that it was the Lord that was calling Samuel.
I Samuel 3:9-10- 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. And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth.
Samuel was going to hear from the Lord God Almighty. The God that created the universe. The God that sent the flood. The God that rained down fire and brimstone on Sodom and Gomorrha, and plagued Egypt. This Lord was going to talk to a small boy.
I Samuel 3:11-14- 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. 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. 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. 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.
God told Samuel what he planned for Eli's family. He told him that Eli's sons would be killed on the same day, and that Eli would also die because he didn't stop his sons from sinning.
I Samuel 3:15-17- And Samuel lay until the morning, and opened the doors of the house of the LORD. And Samuel feared to shew Eli the vision. Then Eli called Samuel, and said, Samuel, my son. And he answered, Here am I. 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.
Poor Samuel! God had told him death and destruction were coming to the man that raised him, and now the man wanted to know what God had said.
I Samuel 3:18-21- 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. And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the LORD. And the LORD appeared again in Shiloh: for the LORD revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the LORD.
God was going to prove that He spoke to Samuel. And, He was going to show that Samuel was the prophet that He had chosen. When Samuel said that something would happen, God made sure that it did. And because of this, Israel knew that God was looking out for them.
The Israelites were still at war with the Philistines. The same Philistines that Samson was fighting years earlier! And, now they were fixing to battle again.
I Samuel 4:1-3- And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out against the Philistines to battle, and pitched beside Ebenezer: and the Philistines pitched in Aphek. And the Philistines put themselves in array against Israel: and when they joined battle, Israel was smitten before the Philistines: and they slew of the army in the field about four thousand men. And when the people were come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, Wherefore hath the LORD smitten us to day before the Philistines? Let us fetch the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of Shiloh unto us, that, when it cometh among us, it may save us out of the hand of our enemies.
The Israelites still didn't understand that God was everywhere. They thought if they brought the Ark of the Lord out of the Tabernacle that it would help them win the battle. They didn't pray and ask God to help them. They didn't confess their sins. They thought they could use the ark like a magic weapon to defeat their enemies.
I Samuel 4:4, 10-11- So the people sent to Shiloh, that they might bring from thence the ark of the covenant of the LORD of hosts, which dwelleth between the cherubims: and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God. And the Philistines fought, and Israel was smitten, and they fled every man into his tent: and there was a very great slaughter; for there fell of Israel thirty thousand footmen. And the ark of God was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain.
God's promise had come true once again. Both of Eli's sons were killed on the same day. But, the enemy now had possession of the ark of God.
I Samuel 4:12-17- And there ran a man of Benjamin out of the army, and came to Shiloh the same day with his clothes rent, and with earth upon his head. And when he came, lo, Eli sat upon a seat by the wayside watching: for his heart trembled for the ark of God. And when the man came into the city, and told it, all the city cried out. And when Eli heard the noise of the crying, he said, What meaneth the noise of this tumult? And the man came in hastily, and told Eli. Now Eli was ninety and eight years old; and his eyes were dim, that he could not see. And the man said unto Eli, I am he that came out of the army, and I fled to day out of the army. And he said, What is there done, my son? And the messenger answered and said, Israel is fled before the Philistines, and there hath been also a great slaughter among the people, and thy two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God is taken.
A man had escaped the battle and came to Shiloh to tell the people what had happened. Eli called him over and asked him to repeat the account.
I Samuel 4:18- And it came to pass, when he made mention of the ark of God, that he fell from off the seat backward by the side of the gate, and his neck brake, and he died: for he was an old man, and heavy. And he had judged Israel forty years.
Eli, too, died for not teaching his children the ways of the Lord. He judged Israel for 40 years.
But, that wasn't the end of God's judgement. His daughter-in-law, Phinehas' wife, died also. She died when she had her baby early. She name him Ichabod, which means "The glory is departed from Israel", because the ark of the covenant of God was in the enemies possession.
You can't put God in a box. And you can't pull Him out whenever you want to use Him, and ignore Him the rest of the time. People think if they own a Bible that they have the power the God. But, that's like thinking God is in a box called a Bible.
To really have the power of God, you must read the Bible and live what is in it. God's Words are only powerful for you if they are in your heart and mind.
