Sermon from St Andrews Church, Slip End, UK. Given by our reader Julie Taylor on the 4th Sunday before Lent on the 9/2/25 entitled “Hearing The Lord’s Call”
I Samuel 3 v 1-21
The LORD calls Samuel
1 The boy Samuel ministered before the LORD under Eli. In those days the
word of the LORD was rare; there were not many visions.
2
One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see,
was lying down in his usual place.
3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out,and Samuel was lying down in the house of the LORD, where the ark of God
was.
4 Then the LORD called Samuel.
Samuel answered, ‘Here I am.’
5 And he ran to Eli and said, ‘Here I am; you
called me.’
But Eli said, ‘I did not call; go back and lie down.’ So he went and lay down.
6
Again the LORD called, ‘Samuel!’ And Samuel got up and went to Eli and
said, ‘Here I am; you called me.’
‘My son,’ Eli said, ‘I did not call; go back and lie down.’
7
Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD: the word of the LORD had not yet
been revealed to him.
8
A third time the LORD called, ‘Samuel!’ And Samuel got up and went to Eli
and said, ‘Here I am; you called me.’
Then Eli realised that the LORD was calling the boy.
9 So Eli told Samuel, ‘Go
and lie down, and if he calls you, say, “Speak, LORD, for your servant is
listening.”’ So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
10
The LORD came and stood there, calling as at the other times, ‘Samuel!
Samuel!’
Then Samuel said, ‘Speak, for your servant is listening.’
11
And the LORD said to Samuel: ‘See, I am about to do something in Israel that
will make the ears of everyone who hears about it tingle.
12 At that time I will
carry out against Eli everything I spoke against his family – from beginning to
end.
13 For I told him that I would judge his family for ever because of the sin
he knew about; his sons uttered blasphemies against God, and he failed to
restrain them.
14 Therefore I swore to the house of Eli, “The guilt of Eli’s house
will never be atoned for by sacrifice or offering.”’
15
Samuel lay down until morning and then opened the doors of the house of
the LORD. He was afraid to tell Eli the vision,
16 but Eli called him and said,
‘Samuel, my son.’
Samuel answered, ‘Here I am.’
17
‘What was it he said to you?’ Eli asked. ‘Do not hide it from me. May God
deal with you, be it ever so severely, if you hide from me anything he told
you.’
18 So Samuel told him everything, hiding nothing from him. Then Eli said,
‘He is the LORD; let him do what is good in his eyes.’
19
The LORD was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of Samuel’s
words fall to the ground.
20 And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba recognised
that Samuel was attested as a prophet of the LORD.
21 The LORD continued to
appear at Shiloh, and there he revealed himself to Samuel through his word.
