Class Lesson June 18, 2023

Eli and Samuel

Question 1: What’s a lesson you learned through failure?

THE POINT

Don’t let past mistakes prevent you from being an effective mentor.

THE BIBLE MEETS LIFE

“Greatest of all time.” This is the on-going debate in the world of sports. Who is the G.O.A.T.? What is lost in the debate is the fact that success is most often accompanied by failure. Babe Ruth is considered one of the greatest baseball hitters of all time with 714 home runs. What we lose sight of is the fact that Babe Ruth came to bat 8,399 times, but he struck out 1,330 times. He had more failures than successes.

As followers of Jesus Christ, we will also experience our share of failures and successes. Failure, however, doesn’t need to define us. We may blow it from time to time. When that happens, it is critical that we keep moving forward, knowing two important facts: God is the God of the second chance. He will neither forsake us nor stop loving us. He’s pulling for us. Secondly, God can use those failures for good in our lives. Through failure we can learn important lessons. Those are lessons we can pass on to others.

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?

1 Samuel 2:22-26

22 Now Eli was very old. He heard about everything his sons were doing to all Israel and how they were sleeping with the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 23 He said to them, “Why are you doing these things? I have heard about your evil actions from all these people. 24 No, my sons, the news I hear the Lord’s people spreading is not good. 25 If one person sins against another, God can intercede for him, but if a person sins against the Lord, who can intercede for him?” But they would not listen to their father, since the Lord intended to kill them. 26 By contrast, the boy Samuel grew in stature and in favor with the Lord and with people.

We first meet Eli in the story of Hannah, a grieving woman who desperately wanted a child (1 Sam. 1). Eli served as both judge and high priest, serving at the tabernacle located in Shiloh. His two sons served as priests under their father (v. 3). Eli’s two sons were wicked. In complete disregard of the laws given through Moses, Hophni and Phinehas used the sacrificial system to feed their own gluttony. In addition, they had profaned the office of priest through sexual immorality. Everybody in Israel knew of their wickedness, including Eli. We see in our present passage that, while Eli opposed what his sons were doing, he did not discipline them firmly. The two priests were responsible for their own disobedience, but some responsibility can be placed on Eli for his passive parenting.

Even after Eli spoke to his sons about their actions, an unnamed prophet confronted Eli. In his indictment of Eli, he said, “You have honored your sons more than me, by making yourselves fat with the best part of all of the offerings of my people Israel” (1 Sam. 2:29b). The fall of Eli’s household was prophesied.

Question 2: Where do many people in our culture turn for advice?

Eli failed to instruct and discipline his sons properly. But God, in His mercy, gave Eli a second chance with the young boy Samuel. Samuel was the answer to a desperate prayer from his mother Hannah. Because God heard her prayer for a child, Hannah made the decision to dedicate Samuel to God’s service. As a boy, Samuel was taken to the temple where he would serve under Eli. After the description of the wickedness of Eli’s two sons, we see that “by contrast, the boy Samuel grew in stature and in favor with the Lord and with people.” Eli may have failed with his own sons, but with Samuel, Eli succeeded. Under Eli’s tutelage, Samuel grew up to be a mighty man of God.

We may have made mistakes in the past, but that need not prevent us from being an effective mentor in the present. We would be wise to step back from time to time to evaluate our progress in serving others. God can grow us through our mistakes, and we don’t need to be afraid to share our failures with others. Others can learn from our mistakes. God is in the business of taking our mess-ups and using them for our growth and the growth of others.

1 Samuel 3:7-10

7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, because the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. 8 Once again, for the third time, the Lord called Samuel. He got up, went to Eli, and said, “Here I am; you called me.” Then Eli understood that the Lord was calling the boy. 9 He told Samuel, “Go and lie down. If he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’ ” So Samuel went and lay down in his place. 10 The Lord came, stood there, and called as before, “Samuel, Samuel!” Samuel responded, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”

During the days of Israel’s history as recorded in the Old Testament, there were periods of drought from the word of God. In the entire period narrated in the book of Judges, prophets from God appeared only twice (Judg. 4:4; 6:8). First Samuel 3:1 points to this drought: “In those days the word of the Lord was rare and prophetic visions were not widespread.” With the corruption of the priests, and the indifference to God by the people, the absence of the guidance of the Lord should come as no surprise. Such silence was no doubt a judgment from God. All of that was about to change with the young child Samuel.

Although Samuel was growing in his awareness of the things of God, he had not yet received a direct word from God. That changed early one morning when God spoke to Samuel “before the lamp of God had gone out” (v. 3). The lamp was to be lit from evening to morning (Ex. 27:21), so Samuel’s encounter with God occurred in the hours before dawn.

HEARING FROM GOD

Below are some ways God speaks to His people. Circle any that you have experienced. Then write a prayer of thanks to God for using even your past failures for His glory.

Scripture     Words from a friend

Words from a stranger     Holy Spirit’s prompting

Circumstances      Other _____________

My Prayer:

“Christ did not die simply that you might be saved from a bad conscience, or even to remove the stain of past failure, but to ‘clear the decks’ for divine action.”

MAJOR IAN THOMAS

God spoke four times to Samuel. The first three times Samuel thought Eli was calling him, and each time Samuel went to Eli only to be told that Eli had not called him. After the third time, Eli realized that it was God calling Samuel. Eli gave Samuel a simple directive, something to say if God spoke again: “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.”

The Lord called a fourth time to Samuel. This time Samuel responded to God. It was then that God revealed His message to Samuel, a message of judgment on Eli and his household. Eli’s sons were judged for blaspheming God because of their wickedness while serving in the tabernacle. The judgment of God also fell on Eli, whose judgment came because he wouldn’t discipline Hophni and Phinehas. He was a weak and soft man who would not stand up to the unholiness of his sons. This word from God affirmed a prophetic message Eli had already heard.

Even as Eli helped Samuel discern that God was speaking to him, we can use our own experiences of discovering God’s direction in our lives to help others know how they too can discern the voice of God.

Question 3: When has someone helped you discern God’s voice?

1 Samuel 3:15-18

15 Samuel lay down until the morning; then he opened the doors of the Lord’s house. He was afraid to tell Eli the vision, 16 but Eli called him and said, “Samuel, my son.” “Here I am,” answered Samuel. 17 “What was the message he gave you?” Eli asked. “Don’t hide it from me. May God punish you and do so severely if you hide anything from me that he told you.” 18 So Samuel told him everything and did not hide anything from him. Eli responded, “He is the Lord. Let him do what he thinks is good.”

It’s not enough to hear the voice of God; we must be obedient. Hearing and obeying go hand-in-glove. God revealed to Samuel a message regarding Eli and his family, and Samuel was obedient to both Eli and to the Lord in delivering that message.

Question 4: How can our group help prepare one another to share and receive God’s truth?

God couldn’t overlook the spiritual indifference of Eli and the wickedness of his sons. They may have been untrustworthy of hearing a word from God, but Samuel proved to be one God could trust to assume the leadership of the nation. In the years ahead, God would speak frequently with Samuel and he in turn would bring God’s word to the people of Israel.

Samuel dreaded the task of telling Eli the message from God. Eli had been a kind mentor to Samuel and delivering such a message surely brought sorrow to Samuel’s heart. Yet when asked by Eli, Samuel told Eli the entire message from God. Eli’s response was simple: “He is the Lord. Let him do what he thinks is good.” Eli was now an old man who recognized that he had failed raising his sons. As a result, he also perhaps realized that he had been a failure as the spiritual leader of the nation. This statement from Eli most likely was a statement of despair and surrender. All Eli could do was wait for the end to come.

We should never draw back from sharing with others a word from God, even if it might be difficult for others to hear. God can use us to share a warning with others to help them avoid choices that can prove to be destructive in their lives. We have an acute responsibility to help others avoid destructive patterns and damaging choices in life. We should never hesitate to use our influence to help others.

Question 5: What can we learn from the relationship between Eli and Samuel?

LIVE IT OUT

We shouldn’t let past mistakes prevent us from being an effective mentor. Choose one of the following applications:

Evaluate. Evaluate how well you are listening for the voice of God. Make a commitment to read God’s Word daily to gain insight and direction from His Word.

Thank. Thank others who have shared God’s Word with you and helped you discern God’s direction for your life. In a note, email, or text, be specific how they have helped.

Speak up. When you see others going astray from Scripture and God’s will for their life, talk with them. With gentleness and respect, encourage them to seek God, trust Him, and be obedient to Him.

Whether we are known as great at something or something far less, the truth is we’ve all made mistakes. Thankfully God can take those mistakes and use them to help others be successful for Him. 

Teacher Notes:

As followers of Jesus Christ, we will also experience our share of failures and successes. Failure, however, doesn’t need to define us. We may blow it from time to time. When that happens, it is critical that we keep moving forward, knowing two important facts:

1.   God is the God of the second chance. He will neither forsake us nor stop loving us. He’s pulling for us.

2.   Secondly, God can use our failures for good in our lives and others.

 

Today we are looking at a very old man, named Eli - who failed in many ways with his own children, but God used him to mentor a teenager, named Samuel to become the spiritual leader of Israel, serving as judge, priest, and prophet and who would eventually anoint both Saul and David as Israel’s first two kings. But this lesson isn’t about Samuel – it’s about Eli not letting his failure with his sons keep him from being a spiritual mentor to another. 

 

 

1 Samuel 2:22-26

Now Eli was very old. He heard about everything his sons were doing to all Israel and how they were sleeping with the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting. He said to them, “Why are you doing these things? I have heard about your evil actions from all these people. No, my sons, the news I hear the Lord’s people spreading is not good. If one person sins against another, God can intercede for him, but if a person sins against the Lord, who can intercede for him?” But they would not listen to their father, since the Lord intended to kill them. By contrast, the boy Samuel grew in stature and in favor with the Lord and with people.

 

What troubling issue did Eli face? Why was he troubled? Even though his approach to his sons may have been weak and nominal, what was one statement of wise counsel he delivered to them? How did they respond? What would be the inevitable result? How was Samuel different that the two sons of Eli?

 

Now Eli by this time was very old. He had served for a long time but his days were numbered. That he was old would at least imply that his sons were no longer children but adults who were accountable for their actions. That Eli was old may indicate that he had lost the ability to control or influence his sons’ behavior. Perhaps in his old age he had become indifferent or resigned to the way things were.

 

When have you regretted ignoring wise counsel?

How can we respond when someone isn’t listening to our advice?

 

Those who are in positions of influence have an obligation to live responsible and exemplary lives before others. When we sin against others, we are sinning against God. God holds us accountable for our sin. We can choose whether to hear and heed the counsel of others to follow the Lord or to go our own way, rejecting the way of the Lord and inviting His judgment. Part of mentorship is confronting violations and providing the kind of wisdom and advice that would lead to righteous living.

The sons are first introduced in 2:12, and not in a flattering kind of way. First, they were called “sons of Belial” [BEE lih uhl]. The term is a transliteration of a Hebrew noun meaning “useless” or “worthless.” 

In addition, though they were part of the priestly family, “they knew not the Lord.” Such would be the reason they would be subject to the divine judgment to be placed upon them. Here also is a reminder that one’s religious pedigree does not guarantee one’s relationship to the Lord. In fact, these two men used their priestly position to abuse the sacrificial system by taking the best cuts of meat for themselves (vv. 13-17). Notice also, that verse 18 is another verse that sets the two evil sons of Eli in contrast to the child Samuel who served the Lord honorably.

Not only did they abuse the sacrificial system in the manner described in verses 13-17, they defiled the holy place with sexual encounters with women who served there.

Eli’s confrontation with his sons is weak, especially considering the charges. What follows could suggest that Eli was more concerned with the talk of the town than he was the wickedness itself. He sounded more annoyed at the rumor mill than offended by his sons’ actions.

Who can serve as a mediator when a person sins against God? Actually, all sin is against God even if directed at a person. Eli is differentiating between sin against a person and a sin against God to make a point. The implied answer to this second question is “no one.” Thus, the person is left accountable for his sinful action against a holy God, such accountability leading to punishment.

The last part of verse 25 may trouble us: since the Lord intended to kill them. Did the Lord not want them to hear what their father said? Was God determined to take their lives, so whether they heard or not didn’t matter? “The sons of Eli paid but slight attention, and by thus hardening themselves in sin, they made their punishment inevitable . . . . Man can bring upon himself neither good nor evil except by the working of God’s will, and the punishment of sin is as thoroughly a part of God’s will as the rewarding of righteousness.” Here is another example of the tension between recognizing God’s omnipotence — His control of history — and humankind’s freedom to choose — and the inevitable consequence of the choice. God would take Eli’s sons’ lives because by their actions that is what they ascribed to. By rejecting the opportunity to be corrected they were in essence saying, “Let the process of the holy God against sin work itself out.”

  

    

1 Samuel 3:7-10

Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, because the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. Once again, for the third time, the Lord called Samuel. He got up, went to Eli, and said, “Here I am; you called me.” Then Eli understood that the Lord was calling the boy. He told Samuel, “Go and lie down. If he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place. The Lord came, stood there, and called as before, “Samuel, Samuel!” Samuel responded, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”

 

Describe the situation of these verses. Why might Samuel have mistakenly identified the call of the Lord for the cry of Eli? What favorable advice did Eli offer? How did Samuel respond to Eli’s advice? How did Samuel respond to the Lord’s call?

 

The verses in this section are part of the most well-known story concerning Samuel as a child. It had its beginning in Hannah’s fulfilling the vow she made that if the Lord blessed her with a child, she would dedicate him to the Lord’s service (1:9-28). Samuel’s age is unknown. He is identified as a “child” in 3:1, but the term can apply to someone from infancy, a person who has not attained physical or mental maturity, or to one in a servant role. The fact that Samuel was serving the Lord under the tutelage of Eli reinforces the contrast with Eli’s two belligerent sons. And it does help us see Eli in a somewhat more favorable light than the way he is portrayed in relationship to his sons.

 

The setting is nighttime, where Eli, with failing sight, is asleep in his quarters, and Samuel in his. However, Samuel’s resting place was near the ark of God, an especially holy place that may indicate Samuel had important priestly duties, such as keeping the lamps burning throughout the night. The Lord called out to Samuel two times. Both times Samuel assumed it was Eli calling for assistance, so he went to him. Eli assured him he did not call out for the boy.

 

The reason Samuel mistook the call of the Lord as a cry from Eli was Samuel did not yet know the Lord, neither was the word of the Lord yet revealed unto him. Know suggests an intimate, revealed knowledge. This does not mean Samuel had no conscience or spiritual knowledge, but he did not have an intimate awareness of the Lord as One who spoke His will personally to an individual. Verse 1 of the chapter observed that a prophetic word from the Lord was rare in those days. Thus, “the source of Samuel’s predawn summons went unrecognized either because of the boy’s inexperience or because of the rarity of divine visitations.”

The Lord called Samuel again for the third time. Samuel did as before, arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. After this third time, Eli perceived that the Lord had called the child. He had not lost all spiritual sensitivity and drew on experience in his own life to know this was a divine voice issuing a divine call. So, he instructed Samuel how he should respond if the call came again. Go, lie down: and it shall be, if he call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth. “Your servant is listening” (CSB, NIV). So Samuel went and lay down in his place. The best way to hear the call of the Lord is to position yourself to listen for His call.

  

 

When has someone else helped bring clarity to what God was communicating to you?

What distinguishes God from other voices competing for your attention?

 

Help others to discern when God is speaking to them.

The Lord continues to make Himself known to us and calls out to us. Although He still speaks, do we know His voice? The spiritually wise can help young or new believers to discern the voice of God and to know how to respond to Him. The times of God’s presence and His call are humbling moments in which we are to submit ourselves to Him.

 

In 1 Samuel 3:1, the Bible made it clear that Samuel grew up in a time when the word of the Lord was rare. Something stifled communication, and anyone hearing from God needed help with comprehension. As the Lord began communicating with Samuel, there was a disconnect. Growing accustomed to Eli, Samuel reported to him, awaiting his assignment. Unbeknownst to Samuel, God wanted more out of his life at a time when divine communication remained limited. The gap between the Lord and Samuel needed to be bridged, and Eli, being the mentor, was the one person who correctly diagnosed the gap. Once Eli understood that the Lord was calling Samuel (v. 8), he now had the responsibility of communicating his understanding to his mentee. Eli plays a significant role in Samuels's life. Without proper interpretation, Samuel wanders aimlessly trying to figure out who called his name. 

 

 

1 Samuel 3:15-18

Samuel lay down until the morning; then he opened the doors of the Lord’s house. He was afraid to tell Eli the vision, but Eli called him and said, “Samuel, my son.” “Here I am,” answered Samuel. “What was the message he gave you?” Eli asked. “Don’t hide it from me. May God punish you and do so severely if you hide anything from me that he told you.” So Samuel told him everything and did not hide anything from him. Eli responded, “He is the Lord. Let him do what he thinks is good.”

 

How did Samuel feel about the message revealed from the Lord concerning the house of Eli? Why might he have felt that way? How did Eli urge Samuel to speak openly and honestly? How did Eli respond to the truth he heard?

 

 

How can believers help others be receptive to hearing God’s word, especially if it’s painful to hear?

Why do hearing from God and obedience to God go hand in hand? 

 

Share God’s Word even when the message is painful to hear.

A message from the Lord is to be shared even if doing so is painful. The Lord has the authority to pronounce judgment. The Lord acts to preserve His holiness.

 

Filled with mutual respect, love, and passion for Eli, Samuel dreaded the news he heard from the Lord. In verse 15, the Bible indicates that Samuel struggled with hearing the message from the Lord. Often, there is an assumption that everything will be glorious when God speaks. Being used by God is not as easy as one would think. “Speak Lord for your servant is listening” (v. 14) is a great phrase, but after hearing from the Lord, many people struggle to deliver the message. Unwilling to hurt someone’s feelings, God’s messages stay in the containers of Christians’ hearts, never seeing the light of day. However, Eli, understanding the weight of being God’s chosen, prompted Samuel to resist his fears and understand that the Lord is in control and can do whatever “He thinks is good” (v. 18). Being a conduit for the Lord can be difficult at times and lonely. Individuals chosen by God to carry the message can expect difficult days. However, the mail must be delivered, so carry on. 

 

 

Conclusion

In this lesson we learn that God can use us to reveal Himself to others despite our weakness and failure. What a privilege to help others come to know God’s voice when He speaks. We serve a God who loves to communicate with His children.

DON’T LET PAST MISTAKES PREVENT YOU FROM BEING AN EFFECTIVE MENTOR.

Setting: This session is part of the larger story of Samuel, a major leader in the transitional history of the Israelites from a group of tribes toward becoming a nation. The period of the judges ended with dark days of oppression by the Philistines and spiritual decline under leaders like Eli and his corrupt sons. The Lord, as He always does, intervened to bring restoration. It would not occur immediately but through the plaintive cry of a woman for a child. She gave birth to a boy who would be the last of the judges and a mighty influence leading up to the selection of the nation’s first king.

 

The verses from 1 Samuel 2:22-26 illustrate the weakness of the priest Eli and the illicit behavior of his sons. In contrast is young Samuel, one upon whom the Lord has His hand. As weak as Eli was in dealing with his own sons, he was an affectionate mentor to Samuel who helped the young boy discern the voice of the Lord (3:1-10). This one he influenced so well would be the one through whom the Lord would declare a message of doom for Eli and his household.