The LORD came, stood there, and called as before, “Samuel, Samuel!”
Samuel responded, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”
1 Samuel 3:10
‘Gift the value of sharing joy’
’If you can’t find the words, find the gift’
‘That’s what makes it Christmas’
Here’s three slogans, from Lidl, John Lewis and Tesco, respectively. These are three of countless advertising slogans we’ll see or hear around us this Christmas, and they’re all part of advertising that also carries deeper messages. Lidl are encouraging people to generously give to toy banks, John Lewis are apparently addressing the crisis of masculinity, and Tesco simply wants to ‘revel in the festive season’s glorious chaos’ and be part of ‘perfectly imperfect moments.’
These many voices have many agendas, many good and worthy of our attention, but many that are self-centred and self-indulgent.
In today’s passage, we meet a young lad who heard God’s voice clearly at a time when it had perhaps been drowned out by many selfish voices.
Samuel had trained under the priest, Eli, since he was between three and five years old (yup, bonkers!) after his mother Hannah had made a vow to give him to the Lord’s service in response to the Lord blessing her with pregnancy. Eli’s sons were also priests, but were wicked and self-serving, while Samuel served the Lord.
As Samuel lay down to rest in the evening, he heard a voice call his name. Thinking it was Eli, he ran to him, only to find it wasn’t Eli calling. This happened three times, and the third time Eli realised the Lord was speaking to Samuel.
Again, the Lord called Samuel, but this time Samuel responded “Speak, for your servant is listening.” (1 Samuel 3:10)
It turned out that the Lord was to share some devastating news with Samuel. He told him that Eli’s family was to face judgement, and there was nothing that could wipe out their sins. While it was his sons that were cursing God, Eli had not stopped them, so he too was guilty.
When Eli asked Samuel what the Lord had said, Samuel faithfully shared the message without hiding details despite being fearful of passing it on to Eli.
“He is the Lord. Let him do what he thinks is good.”
1 Samuel 3:18
Remarkably, Eli shows humble acceptance of what the Lord has decided. However, Eli eventually died from breaking his neck when falling off his chair, and his heavy weight is given as the reason for this drastic result of a simple accident. Quite literally, Eli and his sons grew fat because of their greed, and it ended in their demise. This family of priests, who had been entrusted with knowing and sharing God’s word, listened instead to their own self-indulgent voice of hunger, and it left fatal consequences.
On the other hand, Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him. Samuel would be God’s voice to God’s people for many years.
It can be easy to let the many voices of what Christmas means drown out the word of the Lord. We can even uphold the loving, generous and kind ‘Christmas Spirit’ and easily overlook that in Jesus, God has spoken clearly and calls all people to repent and turn back to him.
It’s worth taking time to consider what voices distract us.
What tempts us towards sin and away from Jesus?
What takes up our time, headspace, and energy?
What good things get in the way of us listening to Jesus?
Instead of letting ourselves be distracted by the many voices that battle for our attention, let’s follow the example of young Samuel, and say: “Speak, for your servant is listening.” When we do, and bow before the Lord in his word, we’ll hear the voice of Emmanuel.
Rejoice!
Written by Pete Bell
A thought to remember: Emmanuel speaks to us, and calls us to respond.
A bit more to read: 1 Samuel 3
A question to ask: What voices distract you from listening to God’s word?
A song to sing: Prepare Him Room
For Reference:
Christmas Adverts - Huffington Post UK