1 Samuel 3:1-9 Complete Jewish Bible
3 The child Sh’mu’el continued ministering to Adonai under ‘Eli’s direction. Now, in those days Adonai rarely spoke, and visions were few. 2 Once, during that period, ‘Eli had gone to bed — his eyes had begun to grow dim, so that it was hard for him to see. 3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out; and Sh’mu’el had lain down to sleep in the sanctuary of Adonai, where the ark of God was.
4 Adonai called, “Sh’mu’el!” and he answered, “Here I am.” 5 Then he ran to ‘Eli and said, “Here I am — you called me?” But he said, “I didn’t call you; go back, and lie down.” So he went and lay down. 6 Adonai called a second time, “Sh’mu’el!” Sh’mu’el got up, went to ‘Eli and said, “Here I am — you called me.” He answered, “I didn’t call, my son; lie down again.” 7 Now Sh’mu’el did not yet know Adonai; the word of Adonai had not yet been revealed to him. 8 Adonai called, “Sh’mu’el!” again, a third time. He got up, went to ‘Eli and said, “Here I am — you called me.” At last ‘Eli realized it was Adonai calling the child. 9 So ‘Eli said to Sh’mu’el, “Go, and lie down. If you are called again, say, ‘Speak, Adonai; your servant is listening.’ Sh’mu’el went and lay down in his place.
The Word of God for the Children of God
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Today’s verses begin with the note that “the word of the LORD was rare” and “there were not many visions” in those days.
Eli the priest was growing old, and his sons had dishonored the Lord through disobedience and abuse of their role as priests who were supposed to serve God.
In the midst of this silence and this trouble, Samuel began to serve in the house of the Lord, where the ark of God was.
The ark contained the two tablets of the Ten Commandments and served as a continual ongoing remembrance that God was still present among his people.
When God woke him in the middle of the night, Samuel didn’t know who was speaking.
He thought it might be Eli.
Eventually Eli realized the Lord might be speaking to Samuel, and then Samuel received the instruction directing his future and his role in God’s kingdom.
The posture that opened up that future for Samuel was one of listening.
Despite the fact that God gave us two ears and only one mouth, we now live in a world that unleashes a torrent of words.
We need space and peace and silence in order to give our full attention to, hear and focus on God’s Word to us today, as provided for us in the Bible.
God invites us: “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10).
Is God is still speaking in this 21st Century (2026)?
Hebrews 4:12-13 Legacy Standard Bible
12 For (A)the word of God is (B)living and (C)active and sharper than any two-edged (D)sword, and piercing as far as the division of (E)soul and (F)spirit, of both joints and marrow, and (G)able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And (H)there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are [a](I)uncovered and laid bare to the eyes of Him to whom we have an account to give.
Are we listening?
Nehemiah 8:1-3 Legacy Standard Bible
Ezra Reads the Book of the Law
8 And all the people gathered as one man at the square which was in front of (A)the Water Gate, and they said to (B)Ezra the scribe to bring (C)the book of the law of Moses which Yahweh had commanded to Israel. 2 Then (D)Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly of men, women, and all who could understand when listening, on (E)the first day of the seventh month. 3 And he read from it before the square which was in front of (F)the Water Gate from [a]early morning until midday, in the presence of men and women, those who could understand; and all the ears of the people were attentive to the book of the law.
We heard something odd. We were not sure who, what.
We find ourselves today standing on the threshold of a profound revelation, a revelation coming to us from the mouth of God, pages of the Old Testament, from the life of a young boy named Samuel. But what were we listening to?
The story of young Samuel apprenticed to Eli to learn the ways of worship and order in the Temple.
It is a story of the boy Samuel learning devotion, of listening, of obedience, and of a life lived in full acknowledgment, recognition, alignment with God’s will.
It’s a story speaking to each of us, inviting us to tune both our ears to the divine dialogue, heed the heavenly directive, harmonize our lives with the holy decree.
Mother Teresa once said, “God speaks in the silence of the heart. Listening is the beginning of prayer.”
This statement resonates deeply with our topic today. Like Samuel, we are called to listen with our whole being to the divine truths God reveals to us.
Hearing the Divine Dialogue
In the passage we’ve just read, we see a young boy named Samuel.
He’s in the temple, serving under Eli, the high priest.
It’s nighttime, and Samuel is lying down to sleep.
Suddenly, he hears a voice calling his name.
He assumes it’s Eli, so he runs to him, only to be told that Eli didn’t call him.
This happens not once, not twice, but three times. Each time, Samuel hears the voice, assumes it’s Eli, and runs to him. Each time, Eli sends him back to bed.
Pause here for a moment:
Imagine being Samuel.
You’re just a boy, serving in the temple, trying to do your duty.
You hear a voice calling your name in the night.
You reasonably assume it’s your mentor, your teacher, the high priest.
But each time you run to him, he tells you he didn’t call you.
It’s confusing, isn’t it?
It’s disorienting.
You might even start to doubt your own senses.
But here’s the thing: Samuel was not mistaken.
He did hear a voice.
It just wasn’t Eli’s voice.
It was the rarest of the rare occurrence …. the voice of God.
This is where things get interesting.
You see, Samuel didn’t recognize God’s voice.
He didn’t know it was God who was speaking to him.
Why?
Because “Samuel did not yet know the Lord: The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.”
First encounter:
Samuel didn’t recognize God’s voice because he didn’t yet know God.
He hadn’t yet had a personal encounter with God.
He hadn’t yet experienced God’s presence, God’s power, God’s love.
He was serving in the temple, yes.
He was performing his duties, yes.
But he didn’t yet know God.
Knowing God: You see, we can’t recognize God’s voice if we don’t know God. We cannot hear the divine dialogue if we are not in a relationship with the Divine.
So, how do we come to know God?
How do we enter into a relationship with the Divine?
Well, it starts with an encounter.
It starts with an experience of God’s presence, God’s power, God’s love.
It starts with opening our hearts to God, inviting God in, allowing God to touch us, to transform us.
This is what happened to Samuel:
After the third time, Eli realized that it was God who was calling Samuel.
So he instructed Samuel to go back to bed and if he heard the voice again, to say, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.”
Samuel did as Eli instructed.
He went back to bed.
And when he heard the voice again, he responded, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.”
And in that moment, Samuel had his first personal encounter with God.
He experienced God’s presence, God’s power, God’s love.
He entered into a relationship with the Divine.
He began to know God.
And from that moment on, Samuel was able to recognize God’s voice.
He was able to hear the divine dialogue.
He was able to respond to God’s call.
Heeding the Heavenly Directive
As we continue to reflect on Samuel’s experience, we find ourselves drawn into the heart of his encounter with God.
It’s here, the quiet stillness of the night, Samuel hears a voice calling his name.
This is not an isolated incident in the biblical narrative:
Throughout the Scriptures, we see God reaching out to His people, calling them by name, guiding them, instructing them, leading them.
From Abraham to Moses, from David to the prophets, God’s voice echoes through the ages, a constant, unchanging call to His people.
Samuel’s response to the call:
Each time he hears his name, Samuel gets up and goes to Eli.
He doesn’t ignore the call, he doesn’t dismiss it as a dream or a figment of his imagination.
He responds immediately, obediently, faithfully.
This is a powerful lesson for us.
Like Samuel, we are called to respond to God’s voice, to His divine directive, with immediate obedience.
We are not to question, to doubt, to hesitate.
We are to get up and go, to respond with faith and trust, knowing that the One who calls us is faithful and true.
Eli’s role in this narrative:
Eli, the priest, the mentor, the spiritual guide, plays a crucial role in helping Samuel recognize and respond to God’s call.
It’s Eli who discerns that it’s God who is calling Samuel.
It’s Eli who instructs Samuel on how to respond to God’s call.
Eli’s role underscores the high importance of spiritual mentorship, of having someone in our lives who can guide us, instruct us, help us discern God’s voice.
Like Eli, we each need spiritual mentors who can help us navigate our spiritual journey, who can help us, encourage us, to recognize and respond to God’s call.
Word study: The Hebrew word for “call” used in this passage is “qara.”
https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h7121/kjv/wlc/0-1
This word is used extensively throughout the Old Testament, often in the context of God calling out to His people.
For instance, in Genesis 12:1, God “calls” to Abraham, instructing him to leave his country and his people and go to the land that God will show him. In
Exodus 3:4, God “calls” to Moses from within the burning bush, setting him on a path to deliver the Israelites from Egypt.
In each of these instances, “qara” conveys a sense of divine directive, a true heavenly mandate.
The persistence of God’s call: God doesn’t call Samuel just once and then give up when he doesn’t respond correctly.
He calls him again and again, patiently, persistently, until Samuel recognizes His voice and responds appropriately.
This persistence is a powerful reminder of God’s relentless pursuit of us.
He doesn’t give up on us when we fail to respond correctly.
He doesn’t abandon us when we miss His call.
He keeps calling, reaching out, pursuing us, patiently, persistently, lovingly.
The personal nature of God’s call: God doesn’t call out to a crowd.
He calls Samuel by name.
He reaches out to him personally, intimately.
This personal call underscores the personal nature of our relationship with God.
He knows us by name.
He calls us individually, personally.
He seeks a personal, intimate relationship with each one of us.
Harmonizing with the Holy Decree
As we immerse ourselves in the divine narrative, we find ourselves drawn to the idea of harmonizing with the Holy Decree.
This is the moment where our hearts, having heard the voice of God, align themselves with His will.
It is the act of surrender, of yielding to the divine directive, and of allowing God’s Word to shape our lives.
The Word of the Lord Revealed:
It’s the beacon that guides us on this path of alignment.
It is the divine truth that illuminates our understanding, the heavenly wisdom that informs our decisions, and the sacred instruction that directs our steps.
It is the Word of God, revealed to us through the Holy Scriptures, that provides the melody to which our lives are to be attuned.
Receiving the Word:
This is not a passive reception, but an active engagement with the divine truth.
It involves an open heart, a receptive mind, and a willing spirit.
It requires us to be still before God, to listen attentively to His voice, and to allow His Word to penetrate the depths of our being.
Apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans, the Apostle Paul writes, “Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ” (Romans 10:17).
This passage underscores the importance of receiving the Word.
Our faith is built on the foundation of God’s Word, and, likewise, it grows as we continually receive and internalize this divine truth.
Responding to the Word:
This is the point where our faith moves from the realm of belief into the realm of action.
It is the moment when our understanding of God’s Word translates into our obedience to His commands.
A.W. Tozer writes: “The man who has God for his treasure has all things in One.” This quote captures the central essence of responding to the Word.
When we treasure God’s Word in our hearts, it becomes the driving force behind our actions.
It shapes our values, influences our choices, and determines our priorities.
Living out the Word:
This is the practical application of God’s Word in our daily lives.
It is the tangible expression of our faith, the visible manifestation of our obedience, and the practical demonstration of our alignment with God’s will.
Living out the Word is not a sporadic act, but a consistent lifestyle.
It is not confined to specific areas of our lives, but permeates every aspect of our existence.
It is not limited to our interactions with fellow believers, but extends outward to our dealings with all people.
Sharing the Word:
This is the outward expression of our inward alignment with the Holy Decree.
It is the proclamation of God’s Word to others, the sharing of the divine truth that has transformed our lives, and our invitation to others to experience the same transformation.
Sharing the Word is not a duty, but a privilege.
It is not a burden, but a joy.
It is not an obligation, but an opportunity to participate in God’s mission of bringing His Word to all people.
As we close our time together today, let’s remember the story of Samuel, a young boy who learned to recognize and respond to the voice of God.
His story isn’t just an ancient tale from a distant time.
It’s a living testament to the reality that God speaks to us, even today. He calls us by name, longing for us to hear His voice and respond with a willing heart.
We’ve all had our ‘Samuel moments’, times when we’ve heard something, felt something, but we weren’t quite sure what it was or even who it was.
Maybe, like Samuel, we’ve mistaken God’s voice for someone else’s.
But the more we listen, the more we learn to recognize His voice.
And the more we respond, the more we align ourselves with His will.
God is always speaking, always reaching out to us.
1 John 4:7-21 Legacy Standard Bible
God Is Love
7 (A)Beloved, let us (B)love one another, for love is from God; and (C)everyone who loves has been [a](D)born of God and (E)knows God. 8 The one who does not love does not know God, because (F)God is love. 9 By this the love of God was manifested [b](G)in us, that (H)God has sent His [c]only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love, (I)not that we have loved God, but that (J)He loved us and sent His Son to be (K)the propitiation for our sins. 11 (L)Beloved, if God so loved us, (M)we also ought to love one another. 12 (N)No one has beheld God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His (O)love is perfected in us. 13 (P)By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. 14 We have beheld and (Q)bear witness that the Father has (R)sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.
15 (S)Whoever confesses that (T)Jesus is the Son of God, God (U)abides in him, and he in God. 16 (V)And we have come to know and have believed the love which God has (W)in us. (X)God is love, and the one who (Y)abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17 By this, (Z)love has been perfected with us, so that we may have (AA)confidence in (AB)the day of judgment, because (AC)as He is, so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love; but (AD)perfect love casts out fear, because fear [d]involves punishment, and the one who fears is not (AE)perfected in love. 19 (AF)We love, because He first loved us. 20 (AG)If someone says, “I love God,” and (AH)hates his brother, he is a (AI)liar; for (AJ)the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, (AK)cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21 And (AL)this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God (AM)should love his brother also.
We love because he first loved us.
It’s in the Doing
John speaks directly to the heart of love as he writes,
“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God.”
Loving is not an abstract, optional concept.
It originates with God, and we pass along God’s love in our relationships with others.
Lewis Smedes put it this way in his book Love Within Limits:
“God’s love song is in many ways like other great love songs. Our challenge is to find ways to bring the heavenly rhapsody down into our own worldly realities.”
How true—and how difficult!
Only one person, Jesus, lived out perfectly the demands of perfect love, and he was crucified.
Living with one another gets messy, and people can be so difficult!
We live with family, friends, and neighbors who often seem determined to test even our desire to love.
But God didn’t command us to like one another. Jesus, after stating that the greatest commandment is “Love the Lord your God . . .” reminded everyone that the second is this: “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37-39).
That is not an optional command.
Jesus also described it as a new command and gave the reason for us to obey it: “As I have loved you, so you must love one another” (John 13:34).
Jesus expects us to obey his commands.
And he promises he will help us.
His words are words of love, of guidance, of correction, and of comfort.
He speaks to us not because He needs to, but because He wants to. Because He loves us. And that, dear friends, is the most beautiful truth we can hold onto.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit ….
Praying …..
Romans 15:1-6 Legacy Standard Bible
Bearing the Weaknesses of Others
15 Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of (A)those without strength and not just please ourselves. 2 Each of us is to (B)please his neighbor [a]for his good, to his (C)building up. 3 For even (D)Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, “(E)The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me.” 4 For (F)whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through the perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. 5 Now may the (G)God of perseverance and encouragement grant you (H)to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus, 6 so that with one accord you may with one [b]voice glorify (I)the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
