Speak, Lord, for Your Servant Hears

"The Calling of Samuel" by Joshua Reynolds

Click here to listen to this sermon.

“And the Lord came and stood, calling as at other times, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’ And Samuel said, ‘Speak, for your servant hears’” (1 Samuel 3:10).

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!

Biblical illiteracy is a growing problem in our nation and church. That probably doesn’t surprise you. But a recent survey shows just how far biblical knowledge has declined. The survey found that fewer than half of all adults can name the four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Many professing Christians cannot identify more than two or three of Jesus’ twelve apostles. 60% of Americans can’t name even five of the Ten Commandments. And 82% of Americans believe “God helps those who help themselves” is a Bible verse.

I think it is safe to say that we’re drawing ever closer to the state that Samuel found himself in as a young boy. Do you remember what it said in verse 1? “The Word of the Lord was rare in those days.” I think you could make the argument that the Word of God is more widely available now than it has ever been. The average American household has 4.4 Bibles. You can buy a Bible for $5 at any Walmart. Most of us have access online to dozens of translations of the Bible for no cost. I listen to an audio recording of the Bible. But with all the ways we have the Word of the Lord available to us, who is actually using it? Who is taking advantage of its accessibility and reading it and learning it? If the answers to those surveys is any indication, the Word of the Lord is rare in these days.

During this season of Epiphany, we’re going to buck the trend and make the Word of the Lord abundant. We’re going to focus on how the Word of God, the Word made flesh, overcomes those things that threaten our faith. Today, we’re going to take a few minutes to learn again about the boy Samuel and what he can teach us about listening to the Word of the Lord.

Samuel lived with the High Priest, Eli, at the house of the Lord at Shiloh. The house of the Lord at that time was still a tabernacle, the tent used by Israel for four hundred years since the days of Moses and Aaron. Shaped itself like a rectangle, on one end was the Most Holy Place, the cube-shaped room where the ark of the Lord was kept and where the Lord would come to meet His people. Connected to that was a rectangular room called the Holy Place where the priests would minister, offering sacrifices and incense.

Not long after he’d finished potty training, Samuel’s mother, Hannah, had dedicated him to serving the Lord. So, as a boy, he became an assistant to the priests. He slept in a room right off the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place, near the ark of God. Most of his duties could be described as custodial: opening the doors of the house of the Lord, trimming the wicks on the lamp just outside the Most Holy Place, and filling them with enough oil to last the hours of the darkness.

It was very early in the morning, still dark though, for the lamp of God had not yet gone out. Eli was sleeping at his normal spot and Samuel in his. “Then the Lord called Samuel, and he said, ‘Here I am!’ and ran to Eli and said, ‘Here I am, for you called me.’ But he said, ‘I did not call, my son; lie down again.’”

It’s understandable, isn’t it, that Samuel wouldn’t recognize the call of the Lord at first? I don’t know what you’re like when you sleep, but sometimes it takes a minute or two for me to get my bearings and realize what’s going on. Perhaps there’s some of that going on here for Samuel. But remember, we’ve already heard the most likely reason: “The Word of the Lord was rare in those days.”

Things were not good for Israel. They had once again turned their backs on the Lord and welcomed sin with open arms. This horrific behavior had even made its way into the priesthood. Eli’s sons were some of the worst offenders and Eli did nothing to stop them. So God didn’t appear to His people as He had in the past. He kept His Word from them as a judgment on their unbelief and rejection.

This is how bad it was: “The Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli and said, ‘Here I am, for you called me.’ Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy.” It took Israel’s spiritual leader three times to figure out what was happening here! How was young Samuel supposed to understand? He hadn’t yet heard the voice of the Lord directly, even though from childhood on his mother had taught him about God and the promised Savior.

Finally, realizing that it was the Lord who was calling, Eli told Samuel how to answer. So the next time Samuel heard his name being called, he answered with the words that would become the essence of his calling as a prophet: “Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.” Isn’t it interesting that when the Lord looks for someone to speak for Him, the very first qualification is that the person be willing to listen when God speaks. The secret of Samuel’s success as a prophet was not that he excelled in speaking but in listening!

What about you? How well do you listen? Do you know the Lord well enough to tell whether it is the Word of the Lord or not? We might say that it’s been a lot longer for us since the Lord spoke directly to a prophet. As far as we know that has not happened since the days of the apostles. But that’s no excuse. For the Lord speaks to us in a way that Samuel never experienced. In Hebrews, we read: “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days, He has spoken to us by His Son” (1:1-2).

You, dear friends, have the whole Bible which speaks of Christ and His work of salvation. The Old Testament which promised the coming of the Messiah. The Seed of the woman who would crush the serpent’s head. The offspring of Abraham through whom all the nations of the earth shall be blessed. The prophet greater than Moses. The true Israelite in whom is no deceit. The Son of David who would reign as King for eternity. The Suffering Servant upon whom the Lord has laid the iniquity of us all. Job’s Redeemer who lives and brings resurrection.

You, dear friends, have the words and works of Jesus Himself, the Son of God, recorded and proclaimed through the evangelists and the apostles of the New Testament. The Word became flesh, conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary. The Baby born in Bethlehem. Immanuel, God with us. The perfectly obedient Son of God who loved the Word of the Lord so much He was found in the temple with the teachers even at 12 years of age. The One who has redeemed you, a lost and condemned person, purchased and won you from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil; not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death, that you may be His own and live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness.

You are blessed that the Word of the Lord is not at all rare in these days. You have it before you and available every day of your life. In His Word, God tells you everything that you need to know about yourself, about Him, about His plan for you, and how you fit into that plan. Yet, there is still a big problem: you don’t always listen so well, not as well as you should.

It happens here in worship, during the sermons. Standing where I’m standing, I can see you. I can see what you’re doing. I can see you when you jab your husband or wife in the ribs to wake them up or to remind them that the point just made in the sermon applies especially to them. I can see when your eyes take on a rather glazed look and that you’re beginning to drift off somewhere. But, you’re not alone. I’m just as guilty as the next person. We don’t listen so well.

How do you think God feels? He’s gracious enough to speak to you in His Word, to offer you promise after promise of goodness and blessing if you would only listen to Him. But there are so many other things to listen to, aren’t there? There are thousands of other voices calling to you from the world around. They are all tugging at your priorities and pulling your focus away from God and His Word.

And what does that mean for you and your family? Paul writes: “For ‘everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in Him of whom they have never heard?” (Romans 10:13–14). Is the Word of the Lord rare in your house? Are your loved ones learning about the God who loves them, who died for them? Is it happening in your home? Do you fear and love God so that you do not despise preaching and His Word, but hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it?

If so, praise the Lord. If not, repent and believe. For it is only by His grace that you do. It is only by the Holy Spirit working in your life through God’s means of grace that you believe God’s Word and trust in it for your salvation. The Lord’s call to you through the Gospel not only carries the invitation to believe, but the power to believe the Word of the Lord that you hear.

It is that same Word of the Lord that created us in the beginning. It is the same Word, the Lord, who became flesh and dwelt among us. It is the same Word of the Lord that made you God’s child in Holy Baptism. It is the same Word of the Lord that leads you to repentance, faith, and forgiveness. It is the same Word of the Lord that brings forgiveness and life to you in the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, in, with, and under the bread and the wine. It is the same Word of the Lord that will raise you and all the dead on the Last Day when Christ returns. 

May you always respond with the words of Samuel: Speak, Lord, for Your servant hears! For it is only in this Word you have forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life. Only in this Word does the Lord speaks to you His grace and peace: For Jesus’ sake, you are forgiven for all of your sins.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.