![]() This time Eli was wide awake and realized that it must have been the Lord Who was calling Samuel. Samuel thought, “This time Eli must really need me,” and he went to him and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Samuel went to Eli again, “Here I am, for you called me,” but again Eli, who was a bit more awake now, told him that he did not call and that Samuel could lie down and sleep on.Īs soon as Samuel lay down to doze off, he heard the voice again, “Samuel, Samuel!” Then the Lord called Samuel again, “Samuel, Samuel!” ![]() Half asleep, Eli told him, “I did not call you. Samuel immediately answered and said, “Here I am!” He rose and walked over to Eli and said to him, “Here I am, for you called me.” One night while Samuel was sleeping, he heard a voice calling him, “Samuel, Samuel!” Samuel wished he could hear the voice of God, but he thought he probably was too little and too young, and most likely still had a lot to learn. Eli did not hear God's voice and neither did Hophni and Phinehas. Samuel wondered why God's voice had been so quiet in Shiloh for so long. On Mount Sinai, God spoke to Moses like with a friend and told him how to build the tabernacle, how to offer the sacrifices and how to obey his commands and laws. About the Red Sea parting, the water from the rock, the manna and much more. Yet, Samuel enjoyed hearing about God's miracles the most: About Moses who heard the voice of God himself and led the Israelites out of Egypt. Eli said the prayers of the people rose up to God like the smoke of the sacrifices, with a lovely fragrance. In the evenings, when all their work was completed, while the sweet smell of incense still hung in the air, Eli enjoyed telling Samuel about all the commandments and laws, the feasts, and all the different sacrifices. That is why God had decided to bring judgment upon them. Although he tried to teach them to do the right thing, he considered his sons more important than God. That was a big sin, because they did not respect the sacrifice of the Lord and they caused the Israelites to not respect the Lord's sacrifice either.Įli rebuked his sons softly in his own way and not according to the law of the Lord, but they were so stubborn that they did not want to listen. When the Israelites brought their sacrifices, these two priests always took for themselves the best part of the sacrifice, which was supposed to belong to the Lord. Growing bigger, his duties became increasingly more important as Eli entrusted more and more to him.Įli's two sons, Hophni and Phinehas - one with prowling eyes and the other with a crooked grin - also served as priests, but they did wrong in the eyes of the Lord, because they were audacious and selfish. Then he had to polish all the gold, silver and copper things until they shone. ![]() He made sure that all the lamps were full of oil and burning, as there were no windows in the tabernacle to allow light to come in from outside. In the mornings, he had to open the doors so that the people could come in. Samuel obeyed Eli in everything he commanded him to do. It was a very busy place, because all of Israel brought their sacrifices to the Lord and Eli had to oversee that everything was done according to the law of the Lord. Each year when his parents, Elkanah and Hannah, went to visit the tabernacle, his mother brought him a new robe and then Eli, the priest of God, blessed them.Įli had grown old and blind and that is why he was very glad Samuel was there to help him with the service in the tabernacle. Hannah took him to the tabernacle when he was still very young, but he was not afraid because his mother had taught him that the Lord would always be with him, even if she was not there with him. The Lord answered her prayer and Samuel was born. Samuel's mother, Hannah, was childless, but she made an oath to the Lord that if He would give her a son, she would bring him to the tabernacle in Shiloh to serve the Lord there his whole life. ![]()
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