1 Samuel 3

1 Samuel 3 1

My Notes Authors Matthew Henry - Commentary on the Whole Bible To make way for the account of God’s revealing himself first to Samuel, we are here told, 1. How industrious Samuel was in serving God, according as his place and capacity were (v. 1): The child Samuel, though but a child, ministered unto the Lord before Eli. It was an aggravation of the wickedness of Eli’s sons that the child Samuel shamed them. They rebelled against the Lord, but Samuel ministered to him; they slighted their father’s admonitions, but Samuel was observant of them; he ministered before Eli, under his eye and direction. It was the praise of Samuel that he was so far from being influenced by their bad example that he did not in the least fall off, but improved and went on. And it was a preparative for the honours God intended him; he that was thus faithful in a little was soon after entrusted with much more. Let those that are young be humble and diligent, which they will find the surest way to preferment. Those are fittest to rule who have learnt to obey. 2. How scarce a thing prophecy then was, which made the call of Samuel to be the greater surprise to himself and the greater favour to Israel: The word of the Lord was precious in those days. Now and then a man of God was employed as a messenger upon an extraordinary occasion (as ch. ii. 27), but there were no settled prophets, to whom the people might have recourse for counsel, nor from whom they might expect the discoveries of the divine will. And the rarity of prophecy made it the more precious in the account of all those that knew how to put a right value upon it. It was precious, for what there was (it seems) was private: There was no open vision, that is, there were none that were publicly known to have visions. Perhaps the impiety and impurity that prevailed in the tabernacle, and no doubt corrupted the whole nation, had provoked God, as a token of his displeasure, to withdraw the Spirit of prophecy, till the decree had gone forth for the raising up of a more faithful priest, and then, as an earnest of that, this faithful prophet was raised up.

1 Samuel 3 11

My Notes Authors Matthew Henry - Commentary on the Whole Bible Here is, I. The message which, after all this introduction, God delivered to Samuel concerning Eli’s house. God did not come to him now to tell him how great a man he should be in his day, what a figure he should make, and what a blessing he should be in Israel. Young people have commonly a great curiosity to be told their fortune, but God came to Samuel, not to gratify his curiosity, but to employ him in his service and send him on an errand to another person, which was much better; and yet the matter of this first message, which no doubt made a very great impression upon him, might be of good use to him afterwards, when his own sons proved, though not so bad as Eli’s, yet not so good as they should have been, ch. viii. 3. The message is short, not nearly so long as that which the man of God brought, ch. ii. 27. For, Samuel being a child, it could not be expected that he should remember a long message, and God considered his frame. The memories of children must not be overcharged, no, not with divine things. But it is a sad message, a message of wrath, to ratify the message in the former chapter, and to bind on the sentence there pronounced, because perhaps Eli did not give so much regard to that as he ought to have done. Divine threatenings, the less they are heeded, the surer they will come and the heavier they will fall. Reference is here had to what was there said concerning both the sin and the punishment.

1 Samuel 3 19

My Notes Authors Matthew Henry - Commentary on the Whole Bible Samuel being thus brought acquainted with the visions of God, we have here an account of the further honour done him as a prophet. I. God did him honour. Having begun to favour him, he carried on and crowned his own work in him: _Samuel grew, for the Lord was with him, _v. 19. All our increase in wisdom and grace is owing to the presence of God with us; this is all in all to our growth. God honoured Samuel, 1. By further manifestations of himself to him. Samuel had faithfully delivered the message he was entrusted with, and therefore God employed him again in his service: _The Lord revealed himself again to Samuel in Shiloh, _v. 21. Note, God will graciously repeat his visits to those that receive them aright. 2. By fulfilling what he spoke by him: _God did let none of his words fall to the ground, _v. 19. Whatever Samuel said, as a prophet, it proved true, and was accomplished in its season. Probably there were some remarkable instances of the truth of Samuel’s predictions that happened soon after, which confirmed those that were afterwards to be fulfilled, and gave general satisfaction as to his mission. God will confirm the word of his servants, and perform the counsel of his messengers (Isa. xliv. 26), and will do what he hath said.

— joke —

...