Today: [1 Samuel Chapter Three]: Speak Lord for Thy Servant Heareth! In this chapter we find young Samuel sleeping in the Holy Place. The Lampstand of God is his night light and the Ark of the Covenant is just beyond where Samuel lays down. He hears the voice of God calling his name and he answers “Speak Lord for thy Servant Heareth…” Thus is born the ministry of a powerful prophet destined to ordain King David and to be a precursor of John the Baptist himself who was used to inaugurate Jesus into His earthly ministry.
[1Sa 3:1-21 KJV] 1 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. 2 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; 3 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];
The first few chapters in 1 Samuel tell us more about Shiloh than the entire book of Judges. In the book of Judges the place where the tabernacle of Moses was pitches was only mentioned briefly at the beginning of the book of Judges and at the end. The narrative of the first several chapters of 1 Samuel take place entirely at Shiloh. Jacob prophesied about Shiloh centuries before it was even known to exist:
[Gen 49:10 KJV] 10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him [shall] the gathering of the people [be].
In the prophecy of Shiloh it is not a place but a person, specifically the Messiah. Always remember that Jesus as a boy read the scriptures and gained from them an understanding of who He was. Remember His words in the gospel of John:
[Jhn 2:19 KJV] 19 Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.
Passages such as Gen. 49:10 were the reference point for Jesus. He know that the temple was not as much a place but a person, specifically Himself. He now dwells in us. Thus we can see all taking place at the location called Shiloh as something represented of the things of God transpiring and processing within ourselves. Shiloh is a word meaning “Tranquility”. When God put Himself in you in the person of Jesus He places His peace and depth and tranquility within you.
In these days when Samuel comes as a young boy to live in Shiloh there was no open vision. God told Aaron and Miriam that there were two ways that He would speak: 1.) Open vision, Face to Face; 2.) In Dark speech through dreams and inward visions. Remember that the time of Samuel is still the time of the judges when every man did that which was right in his own eyes. Yet the word of the Lord was still available. In fact it was a “precious thing”. The 400 years of history represented by the time of the Judges was concluded by God sending a prophet whose words would not fall to the ground. Likewise the 400 silent years between Malachi and Matthew were brought to an end when God sent John the Baptist. Samuel was the herald of the advent of King David. John the Baptist was the herald of King Jesus. The prophetic always precedes a shift in dispensation and a greater establishing of the kingdom of God. The presence of the prophetic as an emphasis in the body Christ should give us great encouragement. A change is upon us. A dispensational shift is about to take place. The kingdom of God in our generation is coming to greater manifestation. We as a prophetic people must adopt the posture of John the Baptist “we must decrease that He might increase…” The prophets are not an end in themselves. The only validity of the prophetic is in heralding a greater dispensation of God in your life personally and in the earth universally.
4 That the LORD called Samuel: and he answered, Here [am] I. 5 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. 6 And the LORD called yet again, Samuel. And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, Here [am] I; for thou didst call me. And he answered, I called not, my son; lie down again. 7 Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, neither was the word of the LORD yet revealed unto him. 8 And the LORD called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said, Here [am] I; for thou didst call me. And Eli perceived that the LORD had called the child. 9 Therefore Eli said unto Samuel, Go, lie down: and it shall be, if he call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, LORD; for thy servant heareth. So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
At a time when there is no open vision God still speaks. He speaks inwardly in the acoustics of your inner man. Unbelieving Christians despise this. Like Thomas they want something tangible. They only accept the voice of God when it comes in such a way that they are not required to exercise faith to believe it. Prophets have been restored to the church since 1948. It is time for the church to be restored to the prophets and grow up into the Lord Jesus Christ in a greater way. I taught this story to my children and I can remember many times hearing my little children in the night saying “speak Lord for thy servant heareth….” Even corrupt Eli had enough discernment to know the voice of the Lord. We need to teach our children. God speaks through their imagination – that is why He gave the imagination in the first place. We should inspire their imaginations with expectations of hearing from God and not quench them when it happens. God is still speaking today and if we as adults are too much like Eli at least give our children the benefit of responding to God’s speaking voice.
10 And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth. 11 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. 12 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. 13 For I have told him that I will judge his house for ever for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not. 14 And therefore I have sworn unto the house of Eli, that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering for ever.
The Lord comes and stands by your bed in the night seasons. Satan knows this. This is why many times people wake up attacked by the enemy because Satan wants to rob you of your rest. God comes to you while you are resting and seals His instructions in your heart that you might not sin against Him. It doesn’t matter if you don’t remember because God speaks to the human spirit which doesn’t need memory to benefit from what God has said. God speaks to the spirit and the human spirit communicates to the mind. God called to Samuel teaching him the inward voice so clearly as a child that when he grew older his words never missed and were always accurate. When Jesus said come as a little child surely Samuel was one that He had in mind. Let us adopt the “Speak Lord for thy Servant Heareth” mentality.
15 And Samuel lay until the morning, and opened the doors of the house of the LORD. And Samuel feared to shew Eli the vision. 16 Then Eli called Samuel, and said, Samuel, my son. And he answered, Here [am] I. 17 And he said, What [is] the thing that [the LORD] hath said unto thee? I pray thee hide [it] not from me: God do so to thee, and more also, if thou hide [any] thing from me of all the things that he said unto thee. 18 And Samuel told him every whit, and hid nothing from him. And he said, It [is] the LORD: let him do what seemeth him good.
The house of the Lord was a family affair at Shiloh. What a picture of a sleeping family so close to the ark of the Covenant that it was in easy reach to them even in the night seasons. Young Samuel apparently slept on the floor in the Holy Place where the Altar of Incense, the Table of Shewbread and the Lampstand were. Like most children we know why he did this – he wanted to leave a light on so he sleep in the Holy Place. Yet here was where God’s voice came to Him very likely reaching Him and calling to Him from the Holy of Holies above the Mercy seat. It says that God stood before Samuel. How did he know this? Perhaps Samuel saw the toes of the angel of the Lord sticking out from under the veil between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies. Nonetheless he hears the voice of God speaking to him things regarding Eli that he no doubt barely understood being a child. God will tell little children adult things and we need to learn to listen to them.
19 And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground. 20 And all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel [was] established [to be] a prophet of the LORD. 21 And the LORD appeared again in Shiloh: for the LORD revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the LORD.
In 1855 in Armenia a boy prophet named Efim Gerasemovitch Klubniken prophesied that an unspeakable tragedy was soon to come upon that country. Most people laughed and disregarded these words coming from a young boy. Others listened and heeded soon leaving the country. Those that laughed died in the gulags under Communism. One of the families that came from Armenia at this time was Demos Shakarian who founded the Full Gospel Businessmen’s Association and profoundly influenced Christianity in America. We need to listen to the prophets. God speaks through whom He chooses and those He chooses He will not allow their words to fall to the ground. Let us hear and heed and be benefited by the gift of the prophet in our midst.
