Samuel, the man

This is part three of this blog series on 1 Samuel 3 – the story of Samuel’s ‘call’. In the previous two blog posts, I have spent time thinking about Samuel the boy, then Samuel the youth. Now I finish this short series with some thoughts about Samuel the man … a strong man … a successful man … a man who was held in high esteem by everyone in Israel.

And they all lived happily ever after.

1 Samuel 3 ends happily enough.

The LORD was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, recognised that Samuel was attested as a prophet of the LORD. The LORD continued to appear at Shiloh, and there he revealed himself to Samuel through his word.
And Samuel’s word came to all Israel.

1 Samuel 3:19-20 NIV

From the very north of the country, Dan, to its most southern point, Beersheba, Samuel’s unique role as a prophet was recognised by all.

So what can we apply to our own lives from this tale of Samuel’s call? Dare we say that obedience to God will result in success?

Not all live happily ever after.

“The safest place for you is in the centre of God’s will,” they say. I agree. But I don’t think that ‘safe’ means ‘comfortable’, ‘convenient’, or even necessarily alive in this broken world.

(Nor does this inspirational quote excuse individuals stubbornly forging ahead with what they want to do without at least prayerfully considering the advice of leaders within the community to which they belong. But I digress….)

Consider what a New Testament author had to say on this topic, centuries after Samuel’s story played out on Israel’s stage three millennia ago.

Now faith is the assurance of what we hope for and the certainty of what we do not see. This is why the ancients were commended….

…. Time will not allow me to tell of … Samuel … and the prophets (who did amazing things).

…. (Other prophets) were tortured…. Still others endured mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were put to death by the sword. They went around in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, oppressed, and mistreated….

Hebrews 11:1-2, 32, 35b, 36-37 NIV

Lesson one from the life of Samuel

Samuel’s first task as a young prophet was to relay bad news. Not just bad news, but devastating news. The family that had raised him – the family of Eli, the high priest – would be killed. It would be an act of divine judgement, enacted by the hands of man. (See 1 Samuel 3:11-18.)

If there is one lesson to be learned from the example of a great prophet, it is this: Do what has to be done, no matter how difficult the task.

Interestingly, Samuel’s career finished with a similarly unpleasant task. In a fascinating passage that gives us a glimpse into an ancient understanding of the ongoing existence of souls after death, Samuel is brought back from the dead to pronounce judgement on King Saul and his family. (See 1 Samuel 28.) The king and his sons would die, despite the king’s vain efforts to disguise himself. It would be an act of divine judgement, enacted by the hands of men … including Saul’s own hand. (See 1 Samuel 31.)

But that’s another story.

Other Biblical examples

Samuel was obedient to a divine call. God used him powerfully. Elijah was obedient to a divine call. He suffered burnout. David was obedient to a divine call. He enjoyed success and wealth … eventually … with a few hiccups along the way. Hosea was obedient to a divine call. His home life was more tumultuous than a 21st century TV show. Jesus was obedient to a divine call. And we all know how his story ended.

No, we can’t claim that obedience to a divine call leads to a comfortable life.

But we DO know how Jesus’ story ends … and it wasn’t with the cross … there was more. The writer to the Hebrews suggests in the passage quoted above that these great heroes of the faith, some of whom enjoyed ‘success’ and others of whom did not, all looked beyond their immediate circumstances.

Now faith is the assurance of what we hope for and the certainty of what we do not see. This is why the ancients were commended….

Hebrews 11:1-2 NIV

Lesson two from the life of Samuel

Look up.

God revealed himself to Samuel as a youth. 1 Samuel 3 records the first time that happened, but it wouldn’t be the last. An adequate view of God enabled Samuel to push through difficulties and do what had to be done.

Has God ever called you to a particular role? Has he gifted you to do or be something significant in his kingdom? As I explained in an earlier blog post, the New Testament teaches that Christians have all been gifted in different ways so that we can pull together as the church and ‘be’ his body in this broken world.

Perhaps you, like me, sometimes find it difficult to persevere. That’s where we need to look up.

A contemporary example

I am no prophet. I am just a middle aged Australian woman who has been given the privilege of a fascinating international life.

In an earlier blog post on Samuel’s story, I explained that God had clearly called me to a particular role eight years ago- that of ‘member care manager’ at a particular time in a particular setting. In that role, there was administration. A lot of administration.

I hate administration. I am just not good at it. But in that role, it just had to be done. God had called me, and God would enable me … or grow patience in me and everyone around me.

Okay … so here is the truth. After I had a melt down over admin mayhem, a kind woman connected with the network offered to take over that part of the job. It’s a long story, but we got all the appropriate approvals and she made what had seemed impossible quite do-able. In fact, in her capable hands, it looked positively easy.

In the ‘member care manager’ role, there was also a significant amount of conflict needing to to be managed. In times of conflict, my natural instincts are like that of a tortoise. I want to just pull my head in and stay safely under a hard shell until things settle down. No kind woman came forward and offered to manage conflict for me.

When I looked at my own abilities, I didn’t have much to offer. But when I looked to the one who had called me, I was able, somehow, to be useful in his work of bringing healing and wholeness to his body. Despite and even through the many and various conflicts that the role entailed.

That was then. This is now. I have long sensed a ‘divine call’ to write, amongst other things. But how? When? What? I am not good at plugging away on big projects. I need lots of small, real deadlines. Imaginary deadlines don’t seem to do it for me anymore, though they did once.

Look up! Persevere. That again is where faith comes in.

This is now my fourth year of at least writing semi-regular blog posts. In this format … a format in which the administration required by me is minimal … I have tens of thousands of carefully chosen words on all sorts of topics. Just a couple of days ago, I was able to pull up a couple of blog posts from 2018 and use them in a training session. I have a number of other short articles and collections of stories under my belt, some of which are still useful in various settings. And I have plenty of unfinished projects as well, I confess.

God doesn’t make it easy. But he does make it possible.

My story is mundane. It is nothing like the stories of perseverance which those ancient prophets, such as Samuel, modelled for us. But it is my story. I know you have a story too.

And they all lived happily ever after

Actually, they DID … or will … or somehow already do … live happily ever after. The writer to the Hebrews finished that great section about ‘heroes of the faith’ from which I quoted a few paragraphs back with a statement that I don’t understand but accept. My perspective is fixed in time and space and is rather limited.

God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they (the great prophets, like Samuel, and other heroes of the faith) be made perfect.

Hebrews 11:40 NIV

I know full well that perfection is not what I experience now. In fact, ‘a tendency towards perfectionism’ sometimes holds me back from full obedience, I admit.

But in Jesus, we are made perfect. Those prophets of old had not seen with their own eyes what God would do amongst his people, but they knew that God had called them to a job and do it they did, come what may. We look back to the historical person of Jesus, and we have the New Testament which explains a lot more about what God is doing. I don’t know quite how, but I do know that Jesus makes us perfect, together with those official ‘heroes of the faith’.

That encourages me to persevere. That encourages me to do what is difficult. That reminds me to look up.

Just like Samuel did.

Persevere – look up – be like Samuel

Samuel the boy … Samuel the youth … Samuel the man … I have loved spending time in 1 Samuel 3.

His God is my God … our God. Three thousand years may separate Samuel and us, but that is nothing to the eternal God who calls us to participate in his work in his way.

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.

Hebrews 11:1-2 NIV

This is what Samuel was commended for.

That is what we will be commended for too, as we walk in faith, step by step, persevering through difficulties and looking up.