1 Samuel 3:5-9 - Here I am; you called me

3:5,6

Samuel ran to Eli, thinking it was Eli who had called him. Of course, it wasn’t Eli, and he sent Samuel back to bed. The Lord called to Samuel again, and again Samuel thought that it was Eli. Eli’s response seems to hint that he is getting a bit fed up with being woken up in the middle of the night.

3:7

“Samuel did not yet know the Lord”. Samuel would have known various things about the Law and about God, but he did not know the Lord on a personal level. God desires an intimate relationship with us. “The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him”. Again we see the strong implication that the normal state of affairs for a servant of God is to know Him at a deep level, and to have a deep understanding of the word of the Lord.

3:8,9

The Lord is quite persistent! He calls on Samuel a third time, who still thinks it must be Eli calling him. However, by this time Eli has worked out what is happening, he knew that it was the Lord calling Samuel. So Eli tells Samuel to go and lie down and if he hears the voice again he should say “Speak Lord, for your servant is listening”.