The expensive word
Series: Like you and me | Bible text: 1 Samuel 3:1–21
Samuel was born into a time when the word of God was «dear». Completely clumsy and unaware, he began to listen to God’s speaking. He humbly obeyed his God and thus became a priest, prophet and centurion in one person, the likes of which had not been seen since Moses. From his experience we can learn a lot for our own communication with God. When we listen to Him and obey Him, we become blessed and a blessing to others!
Recently, when I was sitting on the chair in the hairdressing salon, the hairdresser told me about her experiences in Cuba. There are long queues of people in front of the half-empty shops. The next person is only allowed to enter the shop when another person leaves. With a lot of effort and a little luck, they can buy the bare necessities at horrendous prices. Cuba has inflation caused by crises. The result is inflation that barely allows residents to make a living.
«Man needs more than bread to live. He also lives from every word that comes from the mouth of God»(Matthew 4:4 NL). We are not only dependent on a bodily livelihood, but also on a spiritual one. There is also dearth in the Word of God: «The Word of God was dear at the same time»(1Samuel 3:1 Elb1905). The reason was a spiritual crisis. We desperately need the costly Word of God for sustenance. Are we willing to pay the necessary price for it?
When God is silent
About 3000 years ago, in the mountains of Ephraim, there lived a man named Elkanah who had two wives, Peninnah and Hannah. Hanna almost broke under the burden of her unwanted childlessness. In Shiloh, since Joshua, stood the tabernacle and here was also the centre of Israelite worship and their feasts. Eli was priest in the tabernacle at that time. Elkanah’s family also sacrificed every year in Shiloh. Hannah took this event as an opportunity to ask God for a child and promised to dedicate the requested child to God (1Samuel 1:11). And indeed – Hannah had a son and named him Samuel (heard by God). And when Hannah no longer nursed Samuel, she took him to Shiloh to Eli, so that Samuel might serve God in the tabernacle, as Hannah had promised God in her vow.
«In the meantime, young Samuel served the Lord by helping Eli. At that time, messages from the Lord were rare and visions were not frequent»(1 Samuel 3:1 NL). Israel experienced a time when God hardly spoke to them. Radio silence. Radio silence. It seems that God does not speak incessantly to people who do not want to hear. Even in our latitudes, the word of the Lord has become rare. God is not a silent God who sometimes speaks, but a speaking God who is sometimes silent. At that time – about 3000 years ago – the reasons for the «expensive word of God» were obvious.
«[…] Samuel slept in the sanctuary of the Lord, where the ark of God stood»(1 Samuel 3:3 NL). Samuel’s bed was in the Holy of Holies of the tabernacle. He slept next to the Ark of the Covenant, the most sacred object of the Israelites. In Moses» time, no Israelite, not even a priest, was allowed to enter the Holy of Holies. Even Moses was only allowed to enter the Holy of Holies once a year. The fact that Samuel had his night’s lodging there makes it clear to us that the tabernacle had degenerated into a junk room, it was neglected and God had moved out of the place where he wanted to dwell in Israel. The religious sell-out has taken on huge proportions. But «the lamp of God had not yet gone out»(1 Samuel 3:3a NL).
The sons of Eli were called Hofni and Phinehas. They, the officiating priests, enriched themselves with the offerings, «ate» even the best pieces of meat instead of consecrating them to God. That which actually belonged to God was ruthlessly consumed for themselves. In addition, the priests» brothers and sisters slept in the tabernacle with other women. Pretty brazen, those guys! Sin interposes itself between sender and receiver. «Listen! The Lord’s hand is not too short to help you, and he is not deaf that he will not hear you. No, your sins are a barrier that separates you from God»(Isaiah 59:1f NL).
We should not be surprised if messages from the Lord were rare. God’s Spirit withdraws where He is not wanted. Are we surprised that God’s Word has become rare in our own lives? Perhaps our heart has also become a junk room that desperately needs to be tidied up.
In our latitudes, a tremendous inflation of words is taking place. One theory is that the amount of information that reached a person in the Middle Ages during his entire life of 35 years on average corresponds to the amount of information that floods us today in a single day. In our lives it is often so noisy and restless that we cannot possibly hear the voice of the Holy Spirit. A wise rabbi said: «Everything important comes quietly. The rising of the sun, the beating of the heart, a thought of love and the speaking of God.» The consequence of such an inflation of words is a dearth of the Word of God. The Word of God is becoming expensive. There is also an inflation of pious words: a plethora of retrievable sermons from the best speakers in the world. Do we still perceive God’s word in this jungle of words? Maria Prean says: «We are so busy with our programme that it disturbs us when God speaks to us.» The silence of God is a sign that He wants to speak.
When God speaks
«Our God is coming and he will not be silent»(Psalm 50:3 NL). This is what happened with Samuel: He is lying on his mattress in the Holy of Holies. He is probably just falling asleep between day and dream. «Suddenly the Lord called out: «Samuel!» «Here I am!» Samuel replied. He jumped up and ran to Eli. «Here I am. You called me.» «I did not call you,» Eli replied. «Lie down again.» And Samuel went and lay down again»(1 Samuel 3:4f NL). Almighty God speaks, but Samuel does not realise that it is God. And the old priest Eli, an image of the institutional church, sends him back to sleep. Are people in our church more likely to be led to hear or to sleep? Are we satisfied if our sermons are listened to and approved or do we empower people to be Christians on their own?
God wants to say something, but tragically he can’t get through to us. We have a communication problem. It’s like a radio receiver. God’s radio waves, his speaking, would be there. But we have tuned into the wrong channel. Maybe it’s because I don’t expect God to talk to me. Or I no longer know his voice because many other voices are louder around me.
It is no coincidence that Samuel heard the voice of God in the night. At night, other sounds fall silent, it is still. Our life has become loud and fast. Even if it has become difficult, we must have space for silence with God. A walk, just you and your heavenly Father, an hour in the evening with the Bible, not every day, but once in a while, a good book that helps you move forward. If you don’t have time for all that, then it’s high time to change something in your life. Although I depend on God’s speaking in my work – especially when writing sermons – I struggle to hear His voice in my office. But when I cycle from Seon to Dürrenäsch on my way to work, it is much easier for me. With a little distance from everyday life and letting go of one’s own thoughts, God’s words suddenly become audible.
In Samuel, God speaks into a grievance. God wants to bring life to what has died. He also likes to do this in our lives. Often the voice of God can be heard in the area of our tensions.
After the Lord had called three times, Eli noticed something and says to Samuel: «Go and lie down again, and when you are called again, answer, «Speak, Lord, your servant hears.» So Samuel lay down again in his place»(1 Samuel 3:9 NL).
That is impressive: «Say, Lord, your servant hears.» Such an attitude of heart is a very good basis for hearing God’s voice. The concept of «I the boss – God my servant» prevents communication. Why should God speak when I am in charge of my own life anyway and only need God as a gango? God is not a teddy bear that you can play with for a while, then leave in the corner and bring out again when you feel like it. God is God. We cannot dispose of Him.
Samuel apparently heard God’s voice acoustically. That is rather less the case with us. Hearing God for us means, to call my subjective experience, created in a prayer relationship, divine information.
When man obeys
At the great forks in the road of my life, I have often perceived God’s speaking so clearly that the only question left for me was whether I wanted to be obedient or not. Obedience meant departure and a yes to the challenge. We are by no means dealing with a harmless god who scratches our necks from time to time. When God speaks, he often presents us with a real challenge. Samuel was given the task of pronouncing judgement on the family of his foster father Eli. With trembling and trepidation he obeys the will and command of God. Meekly and humbly he bears the sacred burden of the reformer and prophet.
After the calling of Samuel, as the event of that night was later called, everything remained the same on the outside, but something changed: It is now God who has begun to speak in Shiloh. Just as after a great drought the cleansing thunderstorm, before it breaks, sends forth isolated large drops, so God’s word now begins to happen in Shiloh. But now God has opened the ear of Samuel, made him his mouth, priest, prophet and centurion in one person, as there has been none since Moses. «And Samuel began to preach to all Israel»(1 Samuel 3:21 Elb1905). Preaching, what is that? But God is now present in this preaching. «The Lord continued to appear in Shiloh and deliver messages to Samuel there in Shiloh»(1 Samuel 3:21 NL). Of Samuel’s sermon it says: «And Samuel grew up, and the LORD was with him, and let none of his words fall to the ground.»(1 Samuel 3:19 Lut). Samuel hears, obeyed, was blessed and became a blessing. Not only he, but his whole environment benefits and is changed.
One commentator points out that no prophet and man of God was so clueless, so clumsy and «nailed down» at his calling as Samuel was here. That is normal! Was Peter a highly respectable appearance on the day of Pentecost? And Paul with the Athenians, in Corinth, Ephesus and Rome? Who was the little monk before the Diet of Worms? That is the encouragement of the day! Even if you feel awkward or even overwhelmed in communicating with your heavenly Father: That is normal!
And then it takes some practice. Of all the voices around me, I probably know my wife’s best. Because that’s the case, I recognise her words even from a babble of voices at a festival. It’s the same with the voice of God. The more we get used to them, the better we hear them in everyday life. So it takes a start and then a lot of practice.
«My sheep listen to my voice; I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish»(John 10:27f NL). This is the Question in the desire to hear God’s voice: Are we even his sheep? It is the intangible privilege of a follower of Jesus to hear his voice. It is his voice that creates life in and around us. It blesses us and makes us a blessing.
Possible questions for the small groups
Read the Bible text: 1 Samuel 3:1–21
- Why were the words of God «expensive» at that time? What kind of obstacles were there to God’s speaking?
- What did it take for Samuel to hear God speak?
- After this «listening experience», Samuel’s life was different. What was released in him?
- What would you need to change in your daily routine and priorities to make God’s Word more relevant in your life?
- How do you hear God’s words in your life? What do you do with them?
