Introduction

Well, with the birth of Samuel, we see a new era in God's redemptive plan. Not brand new, but certainly a new time, a new season in Israel. One man has well said that the birth of Samuel inaugurated a decisive period like the birth of Moses or of Jesus. A new era, the era of the monarchy was brought about by the birth of the king maker.

Now we know ultimately God made Saul and David king, but it was Samuel who functioned specifically as the prophet and as the one who anointed these men to the monarchy or to the kingly office there in Israel. Dalich, another commentator, says, with reference to Samuel's work, he calls it the establishment of a new age. He says, as Abraham is the father of believers and Moses is the mediator of the law, so Samuel is the father of the kingdom and the prophetic office. Again, I don't think that is an understatement.

Samuel took a place of priority in Israel's history at the end of the period of the Judges, at the establishment of the monarchy or the kingdom in Israel. And here specifically we find his call to the prophetic ministry in chapter 3. Chapters 1 and 2 detail his early life, his early ministry. Hannah's prayer of affliction in chapter 1, the Lord God answers and gives her Samuel. that lends itself to Hannah's prayer of exaltation or rejoicing or praising God in chapter 2 of Samuel.

And she made good on her vow. She delivered Samuel to the house of God in Shiloh so that he could minister there unto the Lord. Josephus, the Jewish historian, puts Samuel at about the age of 12 here in 1 Samuel chapter 3. So he's a young man, he's developed a bond with Eli, the priest in the house of God.

And so we'll look at four particular sections this morning in 1 Samuel 3. First, the scarcity of the Word of God in verse 1. Secondly, the preacher of the Word of God in verses 2-10. Thirdly, the threat promised by the Word of God in verses 11-18.

And then the prevalence of the Word in verses 19-41a. So it begins with scarcity, it ends with prevalence. It begins with a lack of widespread revelation, and at the appointment of Samuel, now everybody in Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew the word of the Lord God Almighty, which is indeed an act of mercy. I'll argue this morning, the fact that you have Bibles, The fact that there are churches that preach the Bible, the fact that you have sermonaudio.com and that you have access to a wealth of good, sound theological books is an act of God's mercy.

It is grace, it is kindness, it is goodness. The fact that He has given us these benefits If you are a child growing up in a Christian home, being exposed to the preaching of the Gospel, being exposed to a family altar, having parents who pray for you and parents who set forth the Word of God before you, there is no greater blessing. This is a chief benefit and a chief joy in life. As we move through the exposition this morning, we will see at the conclusion there is something worse than a famine for food.

In the days of the prophet Amos, God told the nation of Israel that there would be a famine, not for food, but for hearing the Word of God. And if you are one who delights in the Scriptures, again, may this be a time to reflect on the goodness of the Lord in calling you out of darkness into marvelous light through the vehicle of gospel preaching, and giving you new eyes, and giving you a new heart, and giving you an appreciation into sacred things. And may it be the case that in this coming year, we don't have neglected Bibles, but rather we use the Word of God. We avail ourselves of the Word of God.

We are where the Word of God is. We make sure of that. Spurgeon says, behold, your neglected Bibles hide your God. There's times when people say, I really want to know more of God.

I really want to experience more of God. I want more of the joy of the Lord. Are you reading your scripture? Well, no, not really.

That's like saying, I want to be in good shape, but I like to eat Big Macs three times a day. I don't like to get up early. I don't ever want to pick up anything heavy, and I'm certainly not going to exercise my cardiovascular system. But I want to be muscular, I want to be fit, I want to be trim, I want to be healthy, I want to be sharp and alert.

Well, the fact that you eat three Big Macs a day and won't get out of bed before 10 and that you won't pick up anything heavy and you won't exercise your cardiovascular system really argues against the desire that you have of being fit and trim and muscular. You see, Christians, it is not magic. It is not mysticism. It is not formulaic.

The way to grow in the grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is pretty simple. Pick up your Bible and read it. Pick up a good theology book and read it. Always prayerfully, to be sure.

And may I dare say, when the Bible is preached and taught, by men qualified by God and called by the Church, then you ought to be present so that you may grow in the grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus. For persons to say, I want to know more of God, who don't read the Bible, you simply do not want to know more of God.

Scarcity of the Word of God

Let's look at Israel in 1 Samuel chapter 3. Notice first the scarcity of the word. This book is the transition between the period of the judges and the monarchy or the kingdom in Israel. Now in Judges 4, Deborah was a prophetess.

There was a man who was a prophet in Judges 6, that at the time of Gideon, or just prior to the judgeship of Gideon, there was a man who prophesied to Israel. And just back from this chapter, in chapter 2, there was an old man, an old prophet, sent to the house of Eli to indict him with the promised threat of God's judgment. But beyond that, notice what the text says. The boy Samuel ministered to the Lord before Eli, and the word of the Lord was rare in those days.

There was no widespread revelation. This probably indicates to us the judgment of God upon these people. If, as I've argued earlier, the presence of God's word is a blessing, And I've already cited or alluded to Amos 8 where he says there will be a famine for hearing the Word of God. We must conclude or imply that this was a time or season of judgment in Israel's history.

Again, when you work your way through the book of Judges, there are some heroes, there are some awesome things that go on, but there are recurring cycles of sin, there are recurring cycles of depravity, there are recurring cycles of God's people defecting from Him and not following after Him and doing those things which He says. So by means of judgment, He removes the work. You see this in the book of Revelation with the seven churches in Asia Minor. What is Jesus' threat to those churches that continue in Penitent?

I will remove the lampstand. In other words, I will shut that place down. If you continue to make a profession that is empty, a profession that is false, a profession that is fake, the Lord God says, I will remove the lampstand from the midst. The absence of God's Word is not a blessing.

The absence of God's Word is a bad thing, brethren. I've often wondered, if the state were to outlaw Bibles today, would it affect you at all? Would you say, oh now I can sleep in tomorrow because I don't have that Bible to read. Now I don't have to be bothered by my parents haranguing me to read the Bible.

Now, I certainly don't have to go to that church where that loudmouth preacher opens up his and tells me what it says, or at least tries to tell me what it says, because I don't always really pay attention. If the Word of God was withdrawn from your life right now, would it affect you? If you've got the Spirit of Christ, it would affect you. If you have Jesus in your life, if you are in union with Him, It may not affect you to the degree that it would have affected a Paul or a Daniel or a Spurgeon, but it will affect you.

The absence of the Word of God is judgment. Notice in Psalm 74, verse 9. It's one of those Psalms of Asaph where he laments, essentially, the absence of God, the presence of judgment. And in 74.9, he says, we do not see our signs.

There is no longer any prophet, nor is there any among us who knows how long. Yes, the fact that the Gentiles are trashing the tabernacle of the temple. Yes, the fact that the children of Israel are being led off into exile. Yes, to the fact that there are calamities and woes and trials and difficulties.

But notice what he says. There is no longer any prophet. When God takes the prophet from a people, this is not a blessing. When he takes the false prophets, when he brings judgment to bear upon liars, that's a blessing.

When he withdraws the lampstand, brethren, for the church at large, that is a blessing. If there is a local church that professes Jesus Christ and does not preach the word of the living God, that lampstand should be withdrawn. That is a boon to the people of God, whether they recognize it or not. Notice in Lamentations chapter 2, Lamentations is named because it is that.

It is Jeremiah the prophet's lament over the fall of Jerusalem. And in Lamentations chapter 2, Verse 9, our gates have sunk into the ground. He has destroyed and broken her bars. Her king and her princes are among the nations.

The law is no more. And her prophets find no vision from the Lord. Micah the prophet in chapter 3. Micah chapter 3.

Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah. In Micah 3.5, thus says the Lord concerning the prophets, who make my people stray, who chant peace while they chew with their teeth, but who prepare war against Him, who puts nothing into their mouths. Therefore you shall have night without vision, you shall have darkness without divination. The sun shall go down on the prophets, and the day shall be dark for them.

So the seers shall be ashamed, and the diviners abashed. Indeed, they shall all cover their lips, for there is no answer from God." And then Proverbs 29. Proverbs 29, verse 18. Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint.

But happy is he who keeps the law, That is the preferred interpretation or translation. The text does not say where there is no vision. Visionary leaders, full of zeal, full of charisma, full of ability to pep up the church and cause her to see her greater good. That's not the emphasis of verse 18.

Where there is no revelation, where there is no prophetic word, where there is no statement from the living and true God, the people cast off restraint. You look at a lawless society, what ought you to conclude? They have cast off the very restraint of God Most High. Listen to John Gill on Proverbs 29.18.

He says, So it was in the Gentile world before the gospel was brought into it. And so it now is in those places where the seven churches of Asia were, and in all Asia, which once heard the word of the Lord, even all that large country. And now it is not heard at all in it, but covered with Mahatmatin darkness. Maslow darkness.

Imagine living in a Muslim world or a Muslim nation. Imagine as a constant refrain that call to prayer. Imagine the absolute absence of any hint or trace of Christianity. You can wander through Walmart in December and hear, Joy to the World.

People aren't bowing to the Savior and glorifying Him. But that is absolutely absent in the Middle East. How difficult it must be for the believers there. How difficult it must be for the church, the Reformed Baptist Church in Islamabad.

Brethren, we ought to pray for them. Pray for believers that serve in the armed forces, that are away from their churches. Bill nails it. He says, and this is the case in all Popish countries, subject to the Sea of Rome, where the Word of God is not preached to the people, nor suffered so much as to be read by them.

And even in Reformed churches, for the most part, only a little morality is preached. I love what he says there. Even in reformed churches, only a little morality is preached. You can get morality at the Lions Club.

You can get morality at the Moose Lodge. You get Christ crucified in Christian pulpits. You get the gospel that Christ came into this world, sinners to save. The gospel isn't try a little harder, or be a little better, or conform a little more.

The gospel is that Christ has died, has risen again, and all those who by the grace of God look to Him will be saved. Gill nails that. I'm telling you, this is a reality. For the most part, only a little morality is preached, and not the gospel of Christ, so that here the people are perishing for lack of knowledge.

Back to 1 Samuel 3, Dale Ralph Davis says, The absence of the Word of God was a sign of the judgment of God, of Yahweh's withdrawing the light of His Word and allowing Israel to wander in the darkness she apparently preferred. You see, that's the point. God doesn't pull His Word back because He's vicious. He doesn't pull His Word back because He's mean.

He doesn't pull his word back because he has compromised his goodness. He pulls his word back in justice and in judgment. The idea is akin to Romans chapter 1 when Paul outlines the depravity of men. And he says, for this reason God gave them up.

Three times the text says that. God gave them up. That's judicial. That's justice.

That is righteous with God to do such a thing. And when Israel goes a-whoring from Yahweh, and she bows to Baal, and she offers her children to Molech, and she bows to Asherah, then don't think for a moment it's unfair for God to pull back His Word. It is judgment. Do not think it unfair for Christ to withdraw the lampstand from a church that has forgotten or neglected the necessity of preaching the truth, and ministers get up with hands in pockets and jokes on lips and entertainment just to make people feel good.

God will withdraw those lampstands.

Implications of the Word's Absence

What are some implications? Before we move out of verse 3, I'm sorry, verse 1 of chapter 3. First, the wretchedness of churches that do not preach the word. I know that there are times when I can sound critical.

Brethren, if it was the difference between the Moose Lodge and the Elks, if it was the difference between where you'd spend your Friday night in the company of these guys that wear these hats or these guys that wear those hats, it wouldn't be that big of a deal. You see, when churches exist to entertain people, or churches exist simply to grow, or churches exist for whatever reason other than 2 Timothy 4, Timothy preached the word. Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering.

For the time will come when they, the people of God, or the professing people of God, will not endure sound doctrine. And you know what they'll do when they do that? They'll go out and find teachers that will tickle their ears. Right now, somewhere, there are men standing in pulpits whose primary objective is to tickle the ears of people who don't want to hear God's truth.

You may not like it said that bluntly, you may think I'm offensive, you may think I've got an axe to grind. This is the word of God as Paul relates it in chapter 4 of 2 Timothy. Preach it Timothy, why? Because the time will come when they will not want it.

Isn't that beautiful? Imagine if Timothy, and I've said this before, emails the apostle Paul on a Monday. And Timothy's having a bad case of the Mondays. And he says to Paul, you know, the people that I'm preaching to don't want sound doctrine.

What should I do? Paul's email would be very quick, very clear, and very concise. Preach the word. Be ready in season and out of season.

Convince, rebuke, exhort. I'm not picking on Timothy. I'm using him as an example. I don't think for a moment Timothy would have thought this way.

Let's say, Timothy, for instance. So when Paul sends back that email, you hit replies, but Paul, I told you they didn't want sound doctrine. Paul then might write an email that says, I don't care what they want. Since when did the creature get to define the terms of his or her approach to the living God?

Since when do pots jump off of tables and say to the potter, I don't like this arrangement. You see, God has absolute authority. God knows us better than we know ourselves. And God says we need good theology.

God says we need lots of Bible. God says we need to be under a faithful ministry. Now, I'm sure that you would all agree with this if you take it back to your home. Your two-year-old says, I don't want this substantial nourishing meal.

I'd rather have a cream-filled cake. I don't care what you want. I legitimately and honestly don't care, little two-year-old, because I know what's best for you. I know that cream-filled cakes aren't going to make you strong.

They're not going to cause you to have good brain function. Eat your essential fatty acids and it'll help your brain and you'll get the nourishment you need. We don't reason in that respect, but today the church is anybody's business. Oh, we don't like this, we don't like that, we don't like this, so let's tailor a church to fit our peculiar needs.

It's a wretched thing, brethren. When did we redefine acceptable worship? Hebrews 12.28. We're to come to God acceptably.

Who defines acceptably? Us? Well, I don't like long sermons. I certainly don't like a man who raises his voice.

I certainly don't like to go past my lunchtime, so I'm going to find... That's not your call. God knows what you need. And I'm not saying this church is everything everybody always needs.

I'm saying the Bible provides a framework for you to find the church that does what God says for it to do. The wretchedness of churches that do not preach the Word. How about the blessing of churches that do preach the Word? Here's what Davis says.

It is a sign of God's grace when God's Word has free course among God's people. That is the teaching of 1 Samuel 3. If contemporary believers have a church where social activities, committee meetings, and nifty programs have not eclipsed the place of the Word of God, If the teaching of the Word of God stands at the heart of the church's life, if there is a pulpit ministry where the scriptures are clearly, accurately, and helpfully preached, then they are rich in the grace of God. It's beautiful.

So in 1 Samuel 3.1, we see the scarcity of the Word. And the word of the Lord was rare in those days, there was no widespread revelation. The rest of the chapter underscores the mercy of God. No widespread revelation, so what does God do?

He calls Samuel to the prophetic ministry. That's grace. That's kindness. That is God meeting an absence with His presence.

That is God speaking to the particular needs of the children of Israel.

The Preacher of the Word

Now notice the preacher of the word in verses 2-10. A lot of it reads pretty quickly and there are several times that Samuel hears this voice and he runs to Eli. We won't go through each and every one of it. Three times this happens.

Samuel goes to bed in his little bed. Eli's crashed next to him in his big bed, because by this time he was a hefty man. He probably needed a much bigger bed than little Samuel did. Notice in verse 7, it tells us specifically, it explains for us.

Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, nor was the word of the Lord yet revealed to him. This isn't an indictment. This isn't a judgment. This is an explanation.

This is not the same as that 1 Samuel 2.12 statement that Eli's sons did not know the Lord. Remember that Eli's sons are priests of God Most High. Eli's sons function in the house of the Lord God at Shiloh. Eli's son should have known the Lord.

This is simply an explanation as to why Samuel, when he heard this audible voice from on high, runs to Eli. Verse 7 explains, Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, nor was the word of the Lord yet revealed to him. And then in verse 8, Eli perceived that the Lord had called the boy. Therefore, Eli said to Samuel, verse 9, Go lie down, and it shall be, if he calls you, that you must say, Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.

So Samuel went and lay down in his place." Now, we are not prophets of God Most High. We simply are not. There is a different redemptive historical situation going on. When Eli tells Samuel, say, speak, Lord, for your servant hears, this is the call to the prophetic ministry.

This is the call to function on God's behalf to His people, to the covenant people. But certainly we ought to glean the application from this situation in Samuel's life. We don't come to the Word of God not to hear it, We don't come to the Word of God not to obey it. We don't come to the Word of God simply to reject it.

There ought to be this posture or this disposition. This ought to animate our souls when we come to Scripture. Speak, Lord, for Your servant hears. Speak, Lord, because I know the value of Your Word.

Speak, Lord, because I know the necessity of it. I have learned, I have proven, I have seen that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." Have you ever pondered the implication of that reality? Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Israel didn't learn the lesson, did they?

Jesus, the true Israel, learned the lesson. He knew the lesson. He appropriated the lesson. And it was with that sword drawn from Deuteronomy that he slayed the devil out in the wilderness so that he would not molest him any further.

Christ is tempted to turn these stones into bread. And what does Jesus say? He says, I'm going to live believing my Father. I am going to live based on the Word.

I'm not going to let experience dictate. I'm not going to let my hunger overtake me. I am going to cast myself in dependence upon my Father who is in heaven." Brethren, that's the point of man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth. Now certainly, if you don't eat bread for a given amount of time, you will die.

God's not anti-bread. God doesn't say, don't eat. He's highlighting the absolute importance of His Holy Word We need to value it and prize it above our bread. So Samuel has a disposition that we ought to imbibe.

And Davis makes the observation, and I tend to agree with him, this underscores God's patience. God's patience. I wasn't always the most patient father when my children wouldn't get out of bed. If I went in there and I gave him a little rattle and said, it's time to get up, when I came in the next time, my attitude was different.

It was different. Three times Samuel runs to Eli. Three times Samuel goes to the priest. God doesn't say, you rotten little kid, how is it that you haven't heard me?

How is it that you haven't responded to me? Just like our Lord Jesus demonstrates in the Gospels. Have I been so long with you and you still don't understand? I have other things to tell you, but you're not ready at this point.

You see, brethren, when it comes to me encouraging you to read your Bibles or to attend church, it's not with a heavy-handed fist from on high that's going to crush you if you miss Monday's devotions. Beware of the formula. I read my Bible five times this week and the blessings were not commensurate because we serve Yahweh and not Baal. We want to read our Bible so that we learn more of our God, not so that we get more of his blessings.

This is one of the dangers of a formulaic approach to devotion. Some people read in the morning. Some people read at night. Night-time readers shouldn't indict the morning-time readers.

The morning-time readers shouldn't say, I don't know how you could go a whole day without reading a Bible. Look it, as long as he's reading the Bible. Sometimes people wake up in the morning and the first thing they do is rub their eyes and grab a coffee and they get into the scriptures. That's not everybody's technique.

Beware of formulaism. Beware of the manual that stipulates, thou must do it this way. Just do it. Let me borrow from Nike for a moment.

Just pick it up and put your face in it. And say with Samuel, speak Lord, for your servant hears.

The Threat Promised by the Word

Notice, thirdly, the threat promised by the word. The gravity of the situation. Verse 11, The Lord said to Samuel, Behold, I will do something in Israel at which both ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. That's a phrase or an idiom or a statement used in 2 Kings 21 and in Jeremiah 19 for judgment.

Something big is on the horizon. Something bad is coming. Those who hear it, it's like both ears will tingle. It's that way today.

We hear some news of some magnificent event. It's like our ears are tingling. We're riveted. We're rooted.

We're gripped. We're grabbed. We want to see what's happening. Notice the promised judgment that God stipulates through Samuel's words, verse 12, And that day I will perform against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house from beginning to end.

He's already spoken this in 1 Samuel chapter 2. For I have told him that I will judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knows, because his sons made themselves vile and he did not restrain them. For those of you who were not present at the Wednesday night studies, for those who have not read 1st Samuel 2 for any amount of time, in 1st Samuel 2.12 it tells us the root problem of Eli's thoughts. They did not know Yahweh.

They did not know the Lord. Oh, they knew who He was. They had a cognitive understanding. They were priests serving in the house of Yahweh, for instance.

But you see, they didn't know Him savingly. They didn't know Him experientially. They didn't know Him experimentally. They had no saving relationship.

And so in 1 Samuel chapter 2 it outlines what they did as the men who did not know the Lord. They stole sacrifices in the very house that they officiated the sacrificial system over. Men would come with their animals. Men would come with their offerings.

Men would come to worship the God of heaven and earth only to have these two thug sons take the meat for themselves. And the text is very descriptive. They would take big three-tined flesh hooks and throw them into the pot and whatever got up on there was for them. And if somebody dared to suggest, you know, you really need to burn the fat because it belongs to the Lord, then the sons of Eli would intimidate them.

They'd get upset with them. They'd frown them down. They'd scowl them out of the place. Do you know what effect this had upon Israel?

It made men despise the sacrificial system. See, brethren, at times our sin is such that it brings reproach to the cause of Christ. And then, if that wasn't enough, I mean, these are sons of the year. They lay with women outside the tabernacle.

These probably weren't prostitutes. The law in Exodus 38 stipulated there would be women who served at the house of God. Well, Eli's sons engaged in immorality with these women. Notice.

Verse 13, For I have told him that I will judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knows, because his sons made themselves vile, and he did not restrain them. Parents, grandparents, persons in authority, Eli is being held accountable because he did not restrain his sons. Yes, in chapter 2, he rebukes them, he speaks to them, But proper restraint would have looked like removal from the priestly office. Not a pat on the head and tell them to try harder.

Not a pat on the head to tell them, well, do better. Don't steal sacrifices anymore. Now there might come a point in time, not only do we tell them not to steal sacrifices anymore, but remove them from the potential place of even doing that activity. Listen to Gil.

Eli's Failure to Restrain His Sons

He restrained them not from their evil practices. He did not make use of his authority, neither as a father, and especially not as a high priest and the judge of Israel, who ought not only to have sharply reproved them, which he did not, but to have censured or punished them and turned them out of their office. or did not frown upon them, as in the margin of our Bibles. He did not knit his brows, or wrinkle up his face, and by his countenance show his displeasure at their proceedings, but in an easy, smooth, gentle manner he expostulated with them about them." So you read chapter 2, you say, well Eli did talk to them. Brethren, the time for talk was over.

The time for talk was over. You men have dishonored God. You may have brought the sacrificial system into reproach in Israel. Eli should have acted severely.

Brethren, going back to what I said earlier, in a bit of a different context, the church, the people of God, have no prerogative to tell God how he is to operate. Well, neither does your 5-year-old or your 15-year-old. The fifth commandment is binding. As Pastor Kim is reading and expounding on the book of Hebrews, there is something consistent and continuous between those two covenants.

It is God's moral law. It's tough. Been there, done that. It's tough to exercise restraint.

It's tough to tell the child you love, no. But you've got to do it. You've got to exercise restraint. Eli brought judgment upon his house.

Eli brought disaster upon his house. You see, for Eli, he inverted the order. You see, the first commandment precedes the fifth, but he put his family first before God. The best thing you can do as a parent is honor the first commandment.

The best thing you can do as a parent is to serve God. The best thing your children will ever acknowledge that you did in their lives is that they feared God. It's the best gift you can give. Be faithful to your God.

It's interesting. Samorah says, Eli's house had despised the sacrifice and offering, 2.29, and hence these things will not have any efficacy on their behalf. Though normal or inadvertent sins of priests could be expiated by offering, Eli's sons had sinned defiantly and their guilt could not be removed. Verse 14 underscores the absolute necessity, the absolute reality that they would indeed receive the punishment of God.

Now notice, verse 15, So Samuel lay down until morning, and opened the doors of the house of the Lord. And Samuel was afraid to tell Eli the vision. Come on Samuel, you're a prophet of God most high! He was afraid to tell Eli the vision.

If Josephus is right, he's a 12 year old boy. This is his first message. This wasn't go stand out on the street corner and tell sinners God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. This is march right in there to a man whom you have affection with.

Twice in the chapter, what does Eli call Samuel? My son. They lived together, they worked together, there was that fatherly affection shown by Eli to Samuel, and no doubt Samuel showed respect and honor to Eli as a father figure. Remember, this is Samuel's life.

Hannah made good on her vow. Hannah gave to the Lord this young man. He lived at the tabernacle. He lived in Shiloh.

He did not live with his mother and his father. So naturally Eli would be the man that he would associate as father. Imagine the very first message Samuel is given. Go tell Eli that he's doomed.

Brethren, do not underestimate verse 15. Samuel was afraid to tell Eli the vision. Have you ever had to give somebody a message from the Lord? Have you ever had to reprove somebody or call upon somebody to faithfulness?

Is that easy for you? Does it come naturally to you? How does Paul tell the Ephesians to pray in Ephesians 6? He says, "...and pray for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may speak the gospel boldly, as I ought to speak." How did Paul have such power in preaching?

Because the people of God prayed for him. That was one of the things that came out through the eyes of Spurgeon. Spurgeon said, at some point in his life, I know my people pray for me. What's the secret of your success, C.H.?

My people pray for me. That's it. That was the engine room. That was the boiler room.

That's what made the whole thing go, was that the people of God were praying. And Paul understood that in Ephesians 6. And he asks for prayer that he may speak the gospel boldly as I ought to speak. Samuel, sorry, verse 16.

Eli called Samuel and said, Samuel, my son. He answered, here I am. Davis says, there is always this tension in the Word of God, and any authentic messenger of that Word knows and lives in it. If a preacher, for example, never places you under the criticism of God's Word, never tells you your sin, but only smothers you with comfort, you must wonder if he is a phony.

You must wonder that. I really hope that after you leave here, you're somewhat happy, but I hope that if the Word of God is accurately preached, there's some conviction. The Spirit is doing His work. The Spirit convinces, He reproves, He exhorts, He builds up, He strengthens, He fortifies.

We eat food and we get the nutrients that it was designed to promote in our bodies. If you only ever go to a church that ever makes you feel good, One wonders if the truth is being preached. I remember hearing a series by a famous, famous man that was called a pastor. I don't know if I can make that any more clearly.

He shouldn't have been called a pastor. His sermon on the Beatitudes, the Be Happy Attitudes. I mean I could only get through a couple, never anything about sin, never anything about God, You can be a better, happier person. Is that why the Savior sat on the mount in Matthew 5?

Was to bring everybody this message that you can be a better, happier person? No. He didn't. Davis continues, if his preaching contains only the judgment note and seldom offers comfort and encouragement, one must ask if he actually cares for God's people.

You see, there's extremes. Be happy, be happy, be happy. Be miserable, be miserable, be miserable. That's not how the Word of God is.

The whole counsel of God affords information, dogma, doctrine, data, for both misery and rejoicing, for both misery and redemption, for both misery and the comfort of Christ to His flock. Davis says, if one has a high regard both for the truth of God, even if it's judgment, and for the troubles of the church, he will retain the proper tension in the biblical world. He will both afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted. Amen.

That's what preaching ought to be. He will afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted." Now, it's been my experience that people that need to be afflicted don't get afflicted, and people that need the comfort get afflicted. I mean, you can't... I don't know how that all works.

You know, I've preached sermons with, you know, at least in my head, you know, there's this person or persons. I don't typically do there's this person. There might be there persons. People need to hear this and need to get serious.

And some dear soul that I didn't even think of will come up and say, I'm crushed. That just slayed me. Well, the Spirit is working. Spirit knows that person more than I do.

You see, my categorization did not include that. The Spirit is infinitely wise and he does what he pleases for the good of his people. So Samuel does what is a difficult task. Verse 18,

Samuel's Faithful Delivery of Judgment

Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him and he said, it is the Lord, let him do what seems good to him. You see, Eli did not restrain his sons. Eli did not seem to have his head in the game, but in certain times and instances he does reveal to us something of this. He is submitting to the sovereignty of God.

In the next chapter, when the Ark is taken out to battle, first thing Eli asks the messenger is the Ark of the Covenant okay? Is the Ark okay? Yeah, your sons died, Israel lost, the Ark has been captured. He doesn't fall off his perch when he hears about his son's death.

He doesn't fall off his perch when he hears that Israel loses. You know what sends him to his death? It's when he heard that the Ark of the Covenant had been captured. A tough one to figure out, but there are hints and places along the way that he wasn't Satan.

The Prevalence of the Word

And then finally, the prevalence of the word is given to us in verses 19 and following. So Samuel grew, the Lord was with him, and let none of his words fall to the ground. All Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, knew that Samuel had been established as a prophet of the Lord. Then the Lord appeared again in Shiloh, for the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the Lord.

The prophet matures, the Lord God continues His faithfulness, He is recognized by Israel, and all Israel becomes the benefactor of the word of the Lord as it comes through the mouth of Samuel. We begin with no widespread revelation in those days to the place now where God Most High has his man with his message for his people and their well-being in approaching the monarchy.

Application

A couple of lessons quickly and then we close. First, the role of Samuel the prophet. We shouldn't jump into passages or jump into texts, pull out a few helpful antidotes, and then leave. We should understand what's going on in redemptive history.

We should understand what the context is about. We are moving, transitioned from judges to kings. Samuel is key in this ordeal. Samuel has the role of king-maker under God Most High.

One commentator explains it this way. We now see Samuel at the point towards which the whole story has led from the time before his birth by God's action through the notes of his growing up. He had served God as a child in the temple, but now he serves all Israel as a prophet. Samuel took, in God's plan, a very high role according to the grace, the plan, the purpose of God Most High.

We don't praise Samuel from whom all blessings flow, but we need to recognize in redemptive history Samuel was a very significant figure. First and foremost, because of the fact that he is God's prophet, speaking God's word to God's people.

Absence of Revelation as Judgment

Secondly, The absence of revelation is the judgment of God. Amos chapter 8. Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord God, that I will send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord. They shall wander from sea to sea and from north to east.

They shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the Lord, but shall not find it. For those of you who have been here for any time, you'll have remembered that I have cited, probably many times, sorry that I only have the experiences that I have and the books that I've read. There's a book by Ian Murray called The Puritan Hope. It's on revival and the interpretation of prophecy.

And he's citing a Puritan pastor. And this Puritan pastor is preaching to the people of God. And this Puritan pastor personifies God to the people. He says, because you have despised my word, because you have neglected my ordinances, because you have neglected my house, you've neglected my Sabbath, you've neglected all of these gifts and all of these means and all of these blessings that God has provided.

This Puritan pastor, personifying God, says, because of that, I will take your Bibles. And then the pastor personifies the people to God. And he says, we are sorry. We have wronged you.

We have sinned against you. We have forsaken your house. We have forsaken your day. We have forsaken your ordinances.

We have forsaken your word. But take not thy Bible. He says, on behalf of the people, take our houses. Take our coaches.

Take our fields. Take even our children, but take not thy Bible from us." Brethren, you don't know what happened after that sermon. But I gotta tell you, if I was in that audience that day, I believe I would have went home and read my Bible. It's powerful.

It's Amos 8. It's what God says. There's something worse than not having food, brethren. There's something worse than not having water.

There's something worse than not having earthly comforts, and that something worse is not having your Bible. The blessing of God is seen in the presence of the Word. Private reading. Oh, here he comes.

He's going to guilt manipulate us and tell us to read McShane's calendar. No! Just read your Bible. It's amazing.

You just pick it up and you open it and there's words on the page. It's really amazing the way God made us. We got eyes, we got brains, we got function. We look at something and we can understand it.

It really is amazing. Pick it up. Take it in. Ingest it.

Feed upon it. Read it. Remember, you just do it once, or you do it twice, and then you say, well, I just didn't see any effect. I'll use the gym analogy.

January 1st, or the week of January 1st, you always see a bunch of new people join the gym. People want to get fit. They want to look good. They go for a week, or two weeks, or three weeks, and say, I didn't really get anything out of it.

Well, try it for 3 years, or 6 years, or 12 years, or 15 years, or 20 years, or 30 years, or 40 years, and see what you get out of it. It's an amazing thing. The Bible's the same. I tried reading the Bible, and I didn't really get anything out of it.

Well, pick it up again, because the problem is not with it. The problem is always with you. You need to reinvest some time. I love Spurgeon's rules for hearing the Word of God.

This comes from the parable of the sower. In his sermon notes, those little volumes that I have over here, he says, here, these are profound rules, just pay attention, here, with reference to the Word of God, whether private or public, here, H-E-A-R, here, That's dazzling, isn't it? You mean I don't have to go live on a mountain to get holy? No, you need to hear.

Just use those two things. Praise God for the design of the human head. He wants you to listen twice as much as He wants you to speak. He's given you two ears and one mouth.

Respect the ratio. This is James' message. Be swift to hear and slow to speak in the context of receiving the Word of God. Hear.

It is your wisdom to know what God says. Hear well. God's teaching deserves the deepest attention. It will repay the best consideration.

Hear often. Waste no Sabbath nor any one of its services. Use weekday lectures and prayer meetings. Hear better.

You will grow the holier thereby. You will find heavenly joy by hearing with faith." You see, we haven't addressed the potential that there could be the presence of the Word There could be widespread revelation. There could be a closed canon and five Bibles in every home. Or a sermon audio at the end of every finger click.

Or, you know, libraries full of good resources and books. Notice I pointed that one. You can take those books, but not that one. But it could be, you gotta think about this, the lack of spiritual appetite.

You say you go to the buffet and they got all those gorgeous meals there, all those gorgeous foods set out there, but if you're not hungry, you're not going to eat. Maybe the problem isn't the absence of the word. Maybe the problem is the absence of an appetite. Davis again says, starvation may not come from absence of food, but from lack of appetite.

But God's Word, written, preached, welcomed, is the token of God's grace to God's people.

Gospel Call to Unbelievers

And finally, if you are not a Christian this morning, if you are not a believer in Christ this morning, the fact that you are here and I've seen you before indicates to me that you know something of the way of salvation. We seek, every Lord's Day, to preach and proclaim the Gospel. The Gospel is not a feeling. The Gospel is not an idea.

The Gospel is an objective truth concerning the life and the death and the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. The response to the Gospel, by the grace of God, is to believe it. Christians don't go to heaven because they're better people, Christians go to heaven because they have a glorious Savior. Christians go to heaven because, by God's grace, they believe the truth as it is in Jesus.

And when we believe the truth as it is in Jesus, all our sins are washed away. Isn't that beautiful? All our sins are washed away. The blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses us from all sin.

I mean, that's enough right there to end and praise God from whom all blessings flow. But it doesn't stop. Not only are the sins washed away, but we need to be clothed in a righteousness not our own. We need to have kept the law in its entirety.

But, of course, we haven't done that. But those who, by the grace of God, look to the Lord Jesus, not only receive the forgiveness of sins, they receive the righteousness of Christ, imputed to them, and received by faith alone. It's like in the prophet Zechariah. That filthy priest, Joshua, standing before the Lord God, and Satan is there to accuse him before God.

Before Satan can even open up his mouth, God says, the Lord rebuke you, Satan. God knew the condition of filthy Joshua. God knew that this high priest representing Israel was full of sin. God knew this and he orders his angels to take his filthy garments off and to clothe him with rich robes.

That's the beauty of the gospel, isn't it? I'm also going to assume, if you've been here for any amount of time, that it's by faith in that message. It's by belief in the truth. If you are not a Christian, you ought to ponder Romans 10.17.

Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. 1 Corinthians 1.21. For since in the wisdom of God the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message. Preach to save those who believe. James 1.18.

Of His will, Of His will, He brought us forth by the Word of Truth. So what's my point, unbeliever? Be where the Bible is. Be where the Scriptures are taught.

Be where the Scriptures are preached. Be where the Scriptures are read. Read them yourselves. Jesus told the religious leaders, you search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have everlasting life.

That was not disputed by the Lord. The Lord acknowledges as much that in the Scriptures you have everlasting life. What was disputed is what Jesus goes on to say, these are they which testify of Me. It was not an indictment that the Jewish leaders sought the scriptures for eternal life.

It's that they rejected the Christ who was set forth as the means of eternal life. If you're an unbeliever, don't miss church. Don't miss opportunities. Don't miss those things which God uses to bring sinners out of darkness into marvelous light.

Believe and you shall be saved. Believe and you will enter into this new year praising God from whom all blessings flow. Let us pray.

Closing Prayer

Our Father, we thank you for your word and we thank you for the Holy Spirit. And again, we acknowledge that it's his power alone that can take these things and make them effectual to sinners. I pray that you would do this in our midst. I pray as well, Father, for believers that you would remind us, cause us to reflect upon how important the Word of God is for our growth in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Help us as well to be a very prayerful people, to commune with you in the secret place And our Father, go with us now and bring us together again that we may worship you in spirit and in truth. And we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Scripture References

• Exodus 38
• Deuteronomy 8:3
• Judges 4; 6
• 1 Samuel 2; 2:12; 2:29; 3; 3:1; 3:7; 3:9; 3:12; 3:13; 3:15; 3:16; 3:18
• 2 Kings 21
• Psalm 74:9
• Proverbs 29:18
• Lamentations 2:9
• Micah 3:5
• Amos 8:11-12
• Zechariah 3:1-5
• Matthew 5
• John 5:39
• Romans 1; 10:17
• 1 Corinthians 1:21
• Ephesians 6:19-20
• 2 Timothy 4
• Hebrews 12:28
• James 1:18
• 1 John 1:7