Samuel, one of the great prophets of salvation history, was
the son of Hannah and Elkanah, conceived only after Hannah (Elkanah’s second
wife) pleaded with God for a child.
Hannah promised God that, should he allow her to bear a son, she would
dedicate the child to the service of God with a nazirite vow.
Once Samuel, whose name means “Because I asked God for him,”
was weaned, Hannah took him to the temple, where he remained in the service of
the Lord under the priest Eli. It is
during this time that Samuel hears a voice calling him in the night. Believing it to be Eli, he runs to him; the
third time this occurs, Eli realizes that the Lord is calling Samuel, and tells
Samuel to respond, Speak, Lord, for your
servant is listening. This is the
beginning of Samuel’s life as a prophet.
Thereafter, Samuel will go on to become the last of the
Hebrew judges as well as the first major prophet to prophesy within
Israel. He will organize the people and
lead an army against the Philistines.
Later, when the Israelites insist on having a king to rule over them,
Samuel will anoint both Saul and David.
Samuel was open to hearing God’s voice. If God spoke to us today, would we be ready
to respond, Speak, Lord, for your servant
is listening?
The image below is a 19th-century stained glass representation
of the young prophet Samuel and the priest Eli by Edward Burne Jones, from the
Vyner Memorial Window, Oxford Cathedral.
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