Welcome:

This morning we are going to turn to 1 Samuel chapter 3. This is a passage about hearing God’s voice, about what happens when the Word of the Lord grows rare, and what it means when He chooses to speak again.

But before we begin the preaching of the Word, we like to take a moment to pray, not only for our own service, but for a sister church in our community. This morning, we are lifting up Fauquier Baptist Church and their pastor, Rev. Melvin A. Woodson Sr. We thank God for their witness and ministry, and we pray that the Word of the Lord would go forth in power through them today, just as we pray it will here among us.

Opening Prayer: 

Heavenly Father, we thank You for the gift of this day and the grace that gathers us here. We come not in our own strength, but in the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. As we open our hearts to sing, to pray, and to hear Your Word, we ask that Your Spirit would be present among us, softening our hearts, sharpening our minds, and stirring our faith. We pray today for our brothers and sisters at Fauquier Baptist Church and for Rev. Melvin A. Woodson Sr. Strengthen their fellowship, bless their worship, and let Your Word go forth in power through their ministry. May their service this morning glorify You and bring joy to their people. And now, Lord, speak to us. Help us to be still. Help us to listen. May the Word be received with reverence, proclaimed with boldness, and lived with faithfulness. We pray all of this in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Scripture Reading:

1 Samuel 3:1-21, ESV

Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli. And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision.

At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his own place. The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was.

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; lie down again.” So he went and lay down.

And the Lord called again, “Samuel!” and Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.” Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.

And 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. Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down, and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

And the Lord came and stood, calling as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant hears.” Then the Lord said to Samuel, “Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel at which the two ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. On that day I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. And I declare to him that I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them. Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.”

Samuel lay until morning; then he opened the doors of the house of the Lord. And Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli. But Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son.” And he said, “Here I am.” And Eli said, “What was it that he told you? Do not hide it from me. May God do so to you and more also if you hide anything from me of all that he told you.” So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. And he said, “It is the Lord. Let him do what seems good to him.”

And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established as a prophet of the Lord. And the Lord appeared again at Shiloh, for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the Lord.

I. Introduction: The Rarity of God's Word (v. 1)  

1 Samuel 3 opens by informing us that, “the boy Samuel was ministering to the LORD in the presence of Eli. And the word of the LORD was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision” (1 Samuel 3:1, ESV). Do not rush past that. God's Word was rare. Not often spoken. Seldom heard. Almost absent. Why would God fall silent? What does it mean when His voice disappears?

Samuel is reintroduced. He is a boy, still learning, serving in the tabernacle. Likely tending the lamp, opening the doors, assisting Eli. He is in God’s house, yet unfamiliar with God’s voice. That silence had a reason. Israel was in spiritual decline. The rituals continued. Sacrifices were made. But the heart of the people had grown cold. Eli, the high priest, was aging. His sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were corrupt and vile. They defiled the offerings, exploited worshipers, and abused their position. Eli failed to stop them.

In this context, the Word of the Lord was rare. The word "rare" can also mean "precious" or "uncommon." God had not lost His voice. The people had stopped listening. When truth is ignored, God may choose silence. When sin hardens the heart, heaven may withhold its voice.

The prophet Amos later described this kind of silence as a spiritual famine:

“Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord GOD, “when I will send a famine on the land—not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD. They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east; they shall run to and fro, to seek the word of the LORD, but they shall not find it” (Amos 8:11–12, ESV). 

No famine is more severe.

Today, we have Bibles in every home. Sermons, books, podcasts, study guides. More access than any generation before. But is the Word of the Lord still rare among us? Do we read with reverence? Do we hear with repentance? Do we speak Scripture, but remain unchanged?

In Samuel’s day, God’s Word was present but neglected. The book was there, but gathering dust. So God raised a boy. When the priests failed, He chose a servant. When the elders stopped listening, He gave a child ears to hear.

This teaches us something essential. God speaks to those who are ready to listen. Not to the powerful, but to the humble. Not to those with titles, but to those who are available. Samuel was not perfect. He did not even recognize God’s voice. But he was near. He was willing. And that made him ready.

II. A Night of Calling: God Breaks the Silence (1 Samuel 3:2–10)  

Verse 2 reads, “At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his own place” (1 Samuel 3:2, ESV). Eli, Israel’s high priest, was going blind. Not only physically, but spiritually. The judgment spoken against him in the previous chapter was closing in. The priest could not see, and the nation stumbled with him.

Verse 3 continues, “The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was.” According to Exodus 27, priests were to keep the lamp burning through the night. The fact that the lamp still burned hints at hope. The light had not gone out. God's presence, represented by the ark, was still there. Most did not perceive it, but it remained.

Take note of where Samuel is when the voice comes. He is lying down near the ark. The text doesn’t explain why, but it draws a clear line: Samuel is close to the presence of God in a way that sets him apart for something greater.

Then in verse 4: “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; lie down again.’ So he went and lay down” (1 Samuel 3:4–5, ESV). This happens again. A second call. Samuel rises and runs to Eli. Again, he is sent back. On the third call, something clicks. Verse 8 says, “Then Eli perceived that the LORD was calling the boy” (1 Samuel 3:8, ESV). The old priest finally understands. He had heard God's voice before, and now something awakens in him. 

Eli gives Samuel the words that would shape his life: “Go, lie down, and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, LORD, for your servant hears’” (1 Samuel 3:9, ESV). This response is humble, ready, and taught by a flawed man to a faithful servant.

God calls, but even prophets must learn to listen. Samuel was chosen, yes. He was near, yes. But he did not yet know the Lord in the way a prophet must. Verse 7 explains, “Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, and the word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him” (1 Samuel 3:7, ESV). This is not unbelief. It is divine timing. Samuel served God, but he had not yet heard God. He was obedient but still learning. So the voice was unfamiliar until Eli helped him understand.

Here is a lesson the modern church must recover. Even those with calling need community. Even the chosen need guidance. Even those marked by God need to be taught to recognize His voice. Samuel had a calling, but he needed to learn how to listen. God used Eli to teach him, not because Eli was perfect, but because God often works through imperfect people to prepare the next generation.

When God calls again in verse 10, something changes: “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, ESV). The phrase "the Lord came and stood" echoes past moments of covenant calling like Abraham in Genesis 22 and Moses in Exodus 3. This is how God summons His servants when He is about to reveal something that changes everything. Now Samuel is ready. He hears. He responds.

Do not miss this. God's call is often repeated before it is recognized. He is patient. He shapes us through the waiting, the silence, the repetition. Are we listening? Have we turned down the noise? The German theologian Johann Arndt once wrote that “no sweet music can be heard in a heart filled with the world's clamor.” I believe that is true. If we do not quiet the storm within, we will not hear the knock at the door.

And more than that, are we teaching others how to listen? Are we willing, like Eli, to pass on what little wisdom we have? There is no shame in being flawed if we are still faithful. I believe God honors that kind of humility.

III. A Word of Judgment (1 Samuel 3:10–14)

Samuel responds exactly as Eli instructed: “Speak, for your servant hears” (1 Samuel 3:10, ESV). The words are simple, but the posture is right. Samuel is ready to receive whatever God will say.

Then God speaks: “Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel at which the two ears of everyone who hears it will tingle”(1 Samuel 3:11, ESV). That phrase, “will tingle,” does not translate well into english. It does not note excitement, but rather dread. In 2 Kings 21:12 and Jeremiah 19:3, it signals judgment so shocking it shakes the nation. Here too, it is a warning.

God continues: “On that day I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end”(1 Samuel 3:12, ESV). This is not a new word. It is the confirmation of the judgment already delivered in chapter 2. Nothing will be withheld. Nothing softened. The warning is now becoming reality.

Verse 13 reveals the heart of the judgment: “I declare to him that I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them” (1 Samuel 3:13, ESV). The condemnation is not only for Hophni and Phinehas. Eli is judged for knowing and doing nothing. He confronted them gently, but he let their sin continue. He allowed sacred things to be defiled and prioritized his sons over God’s holiness. Basil the Great called this kind of tolerance a “mistaken kindness.” Mercy that permits evil is not love. It is complicity.

God declares, “The iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever” (1 Samuel 3:14, ESV). These are some of the heaviest words in Scripture. No sacrifice will cover this. The judgment is final. But we should be clear. This is not a statement about eternal damnation. The text does not tell us the eternal fate of Eli or his sons. The judgment is about their priestly role. Their family line will be cut off. The office will be stripped away. This is a generational consequence, not an eternal one. It is devastating, but deliberate.

God is holy. He will not allow His sanctuary to be desecrated or His name to be mocked. He will not let leaders overlook sin under the pretense of compassion. Eli had served faithfully in many ways, but he failed to protect what was sacred. He honored his sons more than he feared the Lord, and judgment followed.

This should cause us to examine ourselves. Do we excuse sin in our homes or churches under the label of kindness? Do we confuse grace with leniency? When God convicts us, do we respond with repentance, or do we defend what we should confront?

Leadership comes with responsibility. Influence requires vigilance. When we tolerate sin where we’ve been given authority, we risk falling into Eli’s error. This is not a cruel word. It is a holy one. God's judgment is never rash. It is just. It is purposeful. As Lancelot Andrewes once preached, the faithful do not resist God's discipline. They receive it.

And we must not forget: God's judgment is real, but so is His mercy. He does not delight in condemnation. He longs for repentance. The door of grace is open to those who return in humility. But it will not stay open forever. The Word of the Lord will not always wait.

IV. A Difficult Message (1 Samuel 3:15–18)  

Verse 15 says, “Samuel lay until morning; then he opened the doors of the house of the LORD. And Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli” (1 Samuel 3:15, ESV).

Samuel was right to be afraid. He had to deliver a word of judgment to the man who had raised him, taught him, prayed for him, and just hours earlier, guided him to hear God's voice. It is one thing to receive God’s Word. It is another to speak it, especially when it wounds someone you care about.

Then Eli calls to him, “Samuel, my son.” And he said, “Here I am” (1 Samuel 3:16, ESV). There is tenderness in Eli’s voice, but also urgency. He presses further: “What was it that he told you? Do not hide it from me. May God do so to you and more also if you hide anything from me of all that he told you” (1 Samuel 3:17, ESV). Eli is not asking for interpretation or comfort. He wants the truth. The full Word of the Lord, without edits or filters.

And Samuel obeys. “So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him” (1 Samuel 3:18, ESV). Despite his youth and fear, Samuel speaks every word. He passes his first test as a prophet. He does not hold back. He does not soften the message. He is faithful. Paul would later echo this posture in Acts 20:27: “For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God”(ESV). Samuel, even as a boy, does the same.

Then Eli responds: “It is the LORD. Let him do what seems good to him” (1 Samuel 3:18, ESV). These words reveal a man resigned to God’s justice. Eli does not argue. He does not blame the messenger. He receives the word as coming from God. Though Eli's failures remain, his final response is striking. He surrenders. He does not deny what he knows to be true. He bows before the judgment of God. This is the posture of someone who understands that God's justice is right, even when it is painful.

So we must ask ourselves: Are we willing to speak the truth, even when it costs us? When God gives us a word of correction or warning, will we deliver it with courage, love, and honesty? And just as important, can we receive truth with humility? Can we say, like Eli, “It is the LORD”? The real test of faith is not how we respond to comfort, but how we respond to correction.

There will be moments when God's Word puts you in a hard position. You may need to confront, confess, or speak what others do not want to hear. In those moments, remember this story. Be faithful like Samuel, willing to speak the whole word. Be humble like Eli, willing to receive it. We need both the courage to speak and the humility to listen.

Conclusion:

As we come to the end of our passage this moring we read that “Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground” (1 Samuel 3:19). The silence of verse 1 is now broken. God appears again. Revelation, once rare, is now restored. But more than that, it is personal, “The LORD revealed himself to Samuel by the word of the LORD”  (v. 21). Samuel does not merely deliver information; he embodies communion with God. His life becomes a vessel of ongoing revelation.

But the story of Samuel doesn’t stop with Samuel. It points forward. Hebrews 1:1–2 tells us that though God once spoke through prophets, “in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son.” While Samuel announced God’s Word. Jesus is the Word. Samuel stood in contrast to corrupt priests. Jesus is the perfect High Priest.  Where Samuel feared to deliver judgment, Jesus bore judgement for us. Where Samuel ministered near the ark, Jesus is our mercy seat. He is the Prophet we have been waiting for, the Word made flesh, full of grace and truth.

So now, the question turns to us: Do we still hunger for the voice of God? Do we treasure the Word in our homes, our pulpits, our hearts? God still speaks. Not through dreams in the night, but through Scripture, through the Spirit, through His church. Like Samuel, we are called to listen. To obey. To speak truth with courage and to live with integrity.

Let us echo Samuel’s words, not just with our mouths, but with our lives: “Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.” And may the Word of God never be rare among us. Because the silence is over. And the Word has come. His name is Jesus. Will you hear Him and obey?