1 Samuel 1: 19-28; 3: 1-21.
The birth of Prophet Samuel was uncommon as it came about after years of barrenness by his mother, Hannah. And when it came, it was a very big blessing. After everything, the LORD directed the mother on what she should do to ensure that the child Samuel lived right in order to fulfill the essence of his calling before God. Samuel’s father was Elkanah.
At the ripe age, he was presented to God as a servant of the LORD, in Shiloh, where the sons of Eli were, and they were all together, called to serve the LORD.
“And Elkanah went to Ramah to his house, but the child (Samuel)did minister unto the LORD before Eli the priest”. As Samuel sat on his ministering corner, he heard a voice. And off course, he would naturally believe it must be Eli’s. But it was not. The second time, Eli perceived that it would be God’s voice and then told him (Samuel) what he should do.
That call strangely came to Samuel (who was not known to answering such calls) as a surprise . Yes, it was , and he answered him. Thus began the journey of a prophet.
He was told everything that he would do to the house of Eli in the interaction between him and God. Samuel relayed everything to Eli accordingly since Eli requested it. As expected, Eli didn’t say anything as a plea to the LORD Almighty . He simply noted that he is God and, therefore, should do what seemeth right in His eyes. And of course God did what He purposed to do. Eli’s entire family perished in the process.
That is the story, but there are qualities and strengths of character demonstrated by Samuel that made him a man beloved of God.
For the entire period he was with Eli , he never argued with Eli, the sons of Eli or any of the family members. He was always seated where he should be and was never found doing anything that was contrary to his office. As a child- youth priest, he was never involved in any debate, argument, or discussion that involved the priestly order or any of the things involved in the order. He was simply learning and on his own. In our modern understanding, we would say Samuel went about minding his own business. But his mastery over the affairs of human behavior and the way to follow them came out cleanly with his treatment of his relationship with King Saul and the people. He behaved as if there was nothing wrong , although everything was wrong with Saul , and by extension, the people.
He showed wisdom in the affairs between him and Saul by applying the principle of self – preservation in everything. He showed deep- rooted self- exclusion from the crowd when that was the best thing to do. Samuel was deeply involved in the running of things that were part of King Saul’s Israel. However, he did it with wisdom. He didn’t commit himself with absolute forgetfulness . He knew he was in a danger zone and literally applied himself unto wisdom. At a point, he told Jonathan, the second in command, that he had a family gathering. And so he went.
By applying this principle, Samuel was able to checkmate a number of evil darts thrown at him by Saul. Saul threw evil darts at Samuel severally, but God gave him victory. None of them torched him.
When Saul acted outside the law, Samuel wasn’t there. He had no hand in whatsoever Saul did. He only came and saw that Saul had disobeyed the LORD.
“And Samuel said , When thou was little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel?
“And the LORD sent thee on a journey and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed”.
“Therefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the LORD , but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the LORD?”1 Samuel 15: 17-19.
Having a divine mandate, everything that Saul did against Samuel , none came to fruition. At a point, Saul himself had to go to Ramah to look for Samuel to kill him. But all to none effect. ” And he went thither to Naioth in Ramah , and the spirit of God was upon him also, and he went on ,and prophesied, until he came to Naioth in Ramah.
“And he stripped off his clothes also , and he prophesied before Samuel in like manner, and lay down naked all the day and all the night. Wherefore they say, Is Saul also among the prophets? “.1 Samuel 19:23-24.
Having examined the life of Samuel, what was the result of the man trying to kill him? I believe that the result was a total collapse of Sauls kingdom, brought about by God Himself.
The greater challenge would be for the man who is working before God now, in this present life. How obedient are you to the dictates of the God whose call you answered? What would be the result when this same God would demand an answer of how you went about your call? Did you do that which was only pleasing in the eyes of Him that called you? The time is still good for repentance now, for God will abundantly pardon the sins of the people He had created. Confess now and make everything right. Ask for forgiveness and retrace your steps. It is well with you in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Pastor Luke Okoro can be reached at +2348051000462.
