Theophany #48 – Samuel (Part I): The LORD Who Calls a Child in the Night

The infant Samuel, by Sir Joshua Reynolds. public domain

The theophany we look at now probably came very close to the last one chronologically, as Samuel was born just six years after Samson, according to Ussher. This means that the judgeships of Eli and Samson were concurrent when the Philistines were still the chief Canaanite enemies of the children of Israel.

This period in the history of God’s people is marked by a strange and sobering juxtaposition of blindness and vision, darkness and light. The Angel of the LORD had appeared to Manoah and his wife in radiant light, and Samson was the issue of that encounter.

Yet Samson lost his way and was made blind at the hands of God’s enemies. His physical blindness became emblematic of Israel’s spiritual darkness — a people so distant from God that His word was rare, and there was no open vision.

That darkness now begins to eclipse even the house of Eli. Scripture draws the picture with deliberate care:

Samuel was an answer to his Mother's Prayer

Hannah was barren and sought the Lord with a vow:

O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head. 1 Samuel 1:11

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And the child Samuel ministered unto the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was precious in those days; there was no open vision. And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place, and his eyes began to wax dim, that he could not see; And ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep; That the LORD called Samuel…— 1 Samuel 3:1–4 (KJV)

Eli’s eyes were dim. The lamp of God was going out. The nation was stumbling in darkness. Yet in that very hour, God was faithful.

Samuel heard the voice, but did not yet recognize the LORD. Three times, he ran to Eli. Three times, the old priest sent him back. Only then did Eli perceive that the LORD had called the child, and instructed him how to respond:

Speak, LORD; for thy servant heareth.

Despite the darkness, God was at work. I cannot help but believe that the prayer, devotion, and faithfulness of Hannah had a far greater impact than she ever knew. God is faithful, even when those He has chosen — like Samson and Eli — lose vision and slip into darkness. God always has someone who is faithful.

How prophetically attuned this moment is to what Jesus would say a thousand years later:

Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein.— Luke 18:17

Samuel’s call, up to this point, had been purely auditory. He heard — but he did not yet know. How true that is of so many of us.

Then the nature of the call changed:

And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth.— 1 Samuel 3:10

This is no vague impression. The text says plainly that the LORD came and stood.

I cannot help but think of my own first encounter with Him — when Jesus came in the night, in the sound of the voice of George Beverly Shea, and stood in my room and bid the darkness flee.

The boy heard. The boy responded. His heart was open wide.

And then came the burden — heavy beyond his years:

And the LORD said to Samuel, Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle. In that day I will perform against Eli all things which I have spoken concerning his house: when I begin, I will also make an end.— 1 Samuel 3:11–12

Samuel was afraid to tell Eli what the LORD had said to him. And who would not be? His first word from God was not comfort, but judgment — pronounced upon the very household that had raised him.

Here the child becomes a prophet. Here innocence is entrusted with truth. Here God judges corruption — not through power, but through obedience.

A Child Left Alone with the Word

That night ended in silence. No applause. No explanation. No resolution.

Only a child lying awake in the house of God, carrying a word too heavy for his years.

Samuel had been called. Samuel had answered. And Samuel had learned, at the very beginning of his life with God, that hearing the LORD is not always easy, and obedience is not always safe.

The God who called him was holy. The God who stood beside him was just. And the God who spoke in the night entrusted His truth — not to strength or seniority — but to a listening heart.

Before Samuel would ever lead a nation, anoint a king, or judge Israel, he learned this: the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and faithfulness begins in the dark, when no one is watching.

The lamp of God flickered low — but it did not go out.

Closing Prayer

O LORD God of Israel, who speaks when the night is darkestand calls whom You will,

Teach us to listen as Samuel listened. Give us open hearts,ears that are attentive,and courage to speak what You have spoken,even when it is costly.

When Your word is rare, and vision seems dim, and the lamps appear to be going out, raise up servants who will say, “Speak, LORD; for thy servant heareth.”

Make us faithful in the quiet places, obedient in the difficult moments, and humble before Your holy presence.

We ask this in the name of Jesus, who is the Word made flesh, the Light that shines in the darkness, and the Voice that still calls us by name.

Amen.

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. Lord, speak to me that I may speak

In living echoes of your tone;

As you have so't, so let me seek

Your erring children, lost and lone.

-----Author: Frances Ridley Havergal (1872)