In his grace, the Lord does not wait and wait and wait for people to come looking for him before he does something. He will not allow the sins of his people to prevent and stop his plan of salvation. As we have seen already, he will send a perfect King (1 Samuel 2:10) and he will send a perfect Priest (1 Samuel 2:35). He will save a people for himself and make all things new (1 Samuel 2:9–10). And as part of that plan he now acts in our passage to raise up a prophet so that his word will once again be heard amongst his people.

This is where Samuel comes in. The young boy who had been serving at the tabernacle was called by the Lord to be his prophet. Now up to this point in time, he had never received a prophetic vision from the Lord. Never before had there been direct revelation from God to him. That is why Samuel went running off to Eli when he heard the Lord speaking. It was the first time the Lord called him; it was a new experience. It was not the case that he did not know the Lord. Samuel had been serving God faithfully at the tabernacle (1 Samuel 2:18, 1 Samuel 2:21). He had been growing in stature and favour with God and men (1 Samuel 2:26). A relationship already existed. Now it was simply the first time that he received direct revelation from God. And note that this revelation came to him in a very objective and clear manner. There was no still small voice speaking inside. There was no special feeling or trance. No, there was a voice. An audible voice.¹ A voice that made him get up and run to Eli. He was probably thinking the old man needed help to go to the bathroom because he could not see. God’s call is audible, objective, and clear.

Samuel took some time to catch on but Eli was a bit quicker. When Samuel came knocking for the third time, Eli put two and two together. Samuel was sleeping near the tabernacle, it must be the Lord who was speaking to him. Eli was old but his faculties had not left him yet. And so he could tell Samuel what to do and how to respond. Heeding Eli’s advice, Samuel was ready to listen and receive God’s Word. It was not a comfortable word that he received. Once again, we come face to face with the challenge of the prophets. It sounds fun and exciting to receive a new word from the Lord, and certainly the prophets are honoured and esteemed in Scripture. But generally, being an old covenant prophet was a burden rather than a delight because you were called to speak a word of judgment.

We tend to think of prophets as fortune-tellers who predicted the future, when in reality they were covenant lawyers. They were men raised up by God to tell his people where they were going wrong and what curses would come as a result. It was not a job that anyone would volunteer for. And it was a job that required great honesty and courage. God’s prophets were expected to communicate nothing less and nothing more than what God had revealed to them. When they received a word from the Lord, they were meant to convey that word to his people.

This is where the problem comes in. If you receive a Word of judgment, a Word that condemns the people you love and care for, you are not going to be particularly excited to share it with them. You do not want to harm relationships; you do not want to be the one who goes against the flow; you do not want to see a frown instead of a smile on the faces in front of you. In our sinful natures, we fear man more than we fear God.

Once again Eli came to the rescue. He knew the Lord had spoken to Samuel, and he noticed that Samuel had been avoiding him. Clearly the Lord had said something to Samuel that Samuel did not want to say to Eli. We must remember, he was still a young boy. A young boy who looked up to his mentor, a young boy who wanted to be liked. He wanted to avoid conflict just like every one of us. Though we might be surprised to find Eli almost pronouncing a curse (1 Samuel 3:17), he was really trying to help Samuel. If God had spoken to Samuel, then he had to share God’s message no matter what the consequences might have been. That is the task of the prophet—he must be honest and courageous. He must speak God’s truth to God’s people.

Faced with Eli's threat, Samuel responded by telling him everything and in doing so he passed the Lord’s test. There was a true prophet in Israel once again. Not one of his words fell to the ground. When he spoke on behalf of the Lord everything he said came to pass. He would share the news—whatever it might have been, even if it was news of judgment. Praise God for his grace; he is once again speaking to his people. Praise God that his Word will once again reach all Israel.