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1 Samuel 3: The Chickens are coming in to roost

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 was not giving new revelation. Prophets then were known as ‘seers’ because the
could see the unseen, the future, the hand of God. There was NOTHING from
heaven. Why would God do anything in through or for priests who did not know him?
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;
Not only was Eli fat and lazy he was going blind physically. He was already blind
spiritually.
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;
The lamp could not go out! It had been lit by God. It shed light thru the holy place on
the shewbread and the golden altar.
4 That the LORD called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I.
Just like Abraham when Samuel heard the voice of God he responded “Here am I.”
He thought it was Eli that had called him. He was probably getting into his early
teens. No one in his generation had heard the voice of God.
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.
Eli was not only blind he was deaf. He could not and did not hear the voice of God.
He thought Samuel was a bother and told him to go back to bed.
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.
No sooner had he lain down when he heard the call of God again. “Here I am.” When
Eli did not respond Samuel ran to his bed only to be rebuked again and told to go
back to sleep.
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.
God called Samuel a third time. This time Eli realized what was happening. Whether
had ever heard the voice of God or not he recognized it this time.
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.
Samuel was sent back to his bed with this instruction. If you hear the voice again,
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instead of responding Here am I, you tell God, Speak Jehovah for your servant is
listening.” Back to bed Samuel went.
10 And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then
Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth.
We get a new detail. God was visibly present when he called Samuel. This time he
called his name twice. Again like Abraham. And this time Samuel gave the right
answer. “Lord I’m ready to listen and obey.”
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.
This is where the cliche, “Were your ears tingling?” came from. Samuel, I am about
to flip this nation upside down. Everything is about to change. And the ears of
everyone who hears my plan will 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.
In one day I am going to bring the house of Eli down to nothing. I will remove him
and his sons from the priesthood and reduce the rest of the family to poverty. Both
Hophni and Phineas are going to die in the same day.
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.
I warned him twice. He would not heed. He continued to allow his sons to exploit
and abuse the people of Israel. My people hate the temple. Eli and his sons have to
go. There is no sacrifice they can offer that will change my mind.
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.
The experience and the message shook Samuel to the core of his being. He lay awake
the rest of the night.
16 Then Eli called Samuel, and said, Samuel, my son. And he answered, Here am I.
Now Eli called Samuel. He wanted to know what God had wanted.
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.
Tell what God said. Don’t hold anything back. Tell me exactly what he said.
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.
Samuel told Eli what God had said. And Eli, just fatalistically accepted the result.
19 And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and did let none of his words fall to
the ground.
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Samuel continued to grew in the Lord. He was totally surrened to the will of God.
He was faithful to every word God revealed both by obeying and by passing on what
God said.
20 And all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be
a prophet of the LORD.
He was established from Dan to Beersheba from north to south. He became the
universal prophet and judge. They saw God in him.
21 And the LORD appeared again in Shiloh: for the LORD revealed himself to Samuel in
Shiloh by the word of the LORD.
The word of God had been precious when God first called Samuel because he was not
revealing himself. Now that he had Samuel it was precious because Samuel was
preaching it.
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Chapter 4

1 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.
Samuel was now the single authority of God in the nation. The Philistines were
invading. They controlled the Mediterranean coast. They had chariots and walls. But
they could not permanently take the central mountains of Israel. Ebenezer = the
stone of help
2 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.
The Israelites went out to meet the Philistines without God. They were soundly
defeated and lost 4,000 men.
3 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.
They were dumbfounded. How could this happen to Israel? We are God’s chosen
people. But God is not a museum keeper!
4 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.
They ran to Shiloh and grabbed the ark of the covenant like a good luck charm. The
got Hophni and Phineas to come along and ran back to the battle.
5 And when the ark of the covenant of the LORD came into the camp, all Israel shouted
with a great shout, so that the earth rang again.
The children of Israel did not know God. They thought he was in the ark. They knew
they were going to win. They cheered and shouted.
6 And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, What meaneth the
noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews? And they understood that the ark
of the LORD was come into the camp.
The Philistines heard the commotion. They found out the ark was in the camp and
fear struck them.
7 And the Philistines were afraid, for they said, God is come into the camp. And they
said, Woe unto us! for there hath not been such a thing heretofore.
8 Woe unto us! who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty Gods? these are the
Gods that smote the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness.
9 Be strong, and quit yourselves like men, O ye Philistines, that ye be not servants unto
the Hebrews, as they have been to you: quit yourselves like men, and fight.
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Their leaders saw the panic and rallied them. If we are going to die let’s die fighting.
10 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.
11 And the ark of God was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were
slain.
It worked! They slaughtered the Israelites and captured the ark. They took special
note of killing Hophni and Phineas. God’s word had come to reality. Faith comes
from hearing and hearing from the word of God.
12 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.
13 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.
14 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.
Word from the battle was carried back to Shiloh where Eli was perched on his post.
Eli’s only concern was he had lost the ark. And it was true.
15 Now Eli was ninety and eight years old; and his eyes were dim, that he could not see.
16 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?
17 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.
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.
The shock of defeat hit Eli like a ton of bricks. He fell over backward and landed on
his neck and broke it.
19 And his daughter in law, Phinehas’ wife, was with child, near to be delivered: and
when she heard the tidings that the ark of God was taken, and that her father in law and
her husband were dead, she bowed herself and travailed; for her pains came upon her.
His daughter in law had a premature birth.
20 And about the time of her death the women that stood by her said unto her, Fear not;
for thou hast born a son. But she answered not, neither did she regard it.
She died in child birth. Her last act was to name her baby. Ichabod - the glory of the
Lord has departed.
21 And she named the child Ichabod, saying, The glory is departed from Israel: because
the ark of God was taken, and because of her father in law and her husband.
22 And she said, The glory is departed from Israel: for the ark of God is taken.
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