Articles
Hearing The Voice Of God
And the child Samuel ministered unto the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was precious in those days; there was no frequent vision. And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place (now his eyes had begun to wax dim, so that he could not see), and the lamp of God was not yet gone out, and Samuel was laid down to sleep, in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was; that the LORD called Samuel;
and he said, "Here am I."
And he ran unto Eli, and said, "Here am I; for thou calledst me."
And he said, "I called not; lie down again."
And he went and lay down.
And the LORD called yet again, "Samuel."
And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, "Here am I; for thou calledst me."
And he answered, "I called not, my son; lie down again."
Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, neither was the word of the LORD yet revealed unto him. And the LORD called Samuel again the third time.
And he arose and went to Eli, and said, "Here am I; for thou calledst me."
And Eli perceived that the LORD had called the child.
Therefore Eli said unto Samuel, "Go, lie down: and it shall be, if he call thee, that thou shalt say, 'Speak, O LORD; for thy servant heareth.'"
So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, "Samuel, Samuel."
Then Samuel said, "Speak; for thy servant heareth" (1 Samuel 3:1-10).
The days of Eli and Samuel were difficult days for Israel. Whereas in times past there were some prophets or prophetesses who heard the voice of the LORD and provided Israel with His guidance, such was now rare. That changes here in 1 Samuel 3 when God begins to speak with Samuel, the prophet who will now guide Israel for many years.
The example here of Samuel's call is very instructive for us in the early twenty-first century. We live in a world where many people deny that there even is a God who would speak to humans, let alone to believe that He has definitively spoken in ways that we should all be able to "hear." It is common for us to hear today that people who lived so long ago were in the "darkness" of "ignorance" and "superstition," with the implicit belief that we are so much more superior today because of all of our discoveries and insights. Indeed-- the word of the LORD seems quite rare these days.
Yet is Samuel so completely superstitious and ignorant as a young boy? Consider what happens-- he hears his name called three times, and three times he goes and asks Eli what he wants. He assumes what we would all likely assume if we heard someone call our name-- some other human near us is trying to get our attention. Samuel does not seem to even begin to connect the voice he is hearing with God.
For that matter, Eli, who is in God's service as priest (cf. 1 Samuel 1:9), does not automatically connect the voice with God, either. It takes Eli being awoken three times by Samuel for him to even begin to wonder if perhaps it was the voice of God calling Samuel.
Yet, when Eli has that recognition-- when he perceives that God is calling the child-- everything seems to change. Yet, in reality, nothing has changed but Eli's and Samuel's perceptions.
God is a consistent God. Just as He does not compel or coerce anyone into believing in Him or serving Him, so He does not compel or coerce anyone into hearing Him. If we want to hear God's voice, we must be open to the possibility of hearing His voice, else we will just interpret the voice of God according to our existing presuppositions and worldview, just as Eli and Samuel did.
This is true in terms of the creation. We can see the hand of God in the creation and hear His voice speaking through it, but only if we seek to understand in that way. If we are not open to seeing God's hand or hearing His voice in the creation, we will just interpret the creation in terms of our own darkened presuppositions and worldview (cf. Romans 1:18-25).
This is quite powerfully true in terms of the Scriptures themselves, the revealed Word of God, and the message they contain about Jesus of Nazareth, the Incarnate Word of God. Consider Samuel again-- God calls him, and he thinks he hears the voice of Eli. God's message often comes through a human vehicle-- His voice sounds like that of a human, and He has used His chosen people to communicate His message throughout time (cf. Hebrews 1:1-2). It is easy for people to act as Samuel did at the beginning-- believing the voice of God in Scripture to just be the voice of some human beings, perhaps interesting, but not convicting. But if we are open to hearing God's voice through Scripture, the message becomes quite powerful, very convicting, and life-changing. When we are willing to hear the voice of God in Scripture, we have found all we need in order to live the lives God intends for us to lead (cf. 2 Timothy 3:16-17). We learn about Jesus the Incarnate Word after whom we are to pattern our own lives (John 1:1-18, 1 John 2:6).
At that moment, everything seems to change. And yet, in reality, nothing has changed but our perspectives.
The word of the LORD is precious in these days. Far too many seem deaf to His call. And yet He continues to call out through the message of Scripture for all men to repent and to follow His Son (Matthew 28:18-20, 1 Timothy 2:4). Let us perceive the voice of God and follow after Him!
