It’s hard to comprehend that these were sons of the High Priest and the Judge over Israel. When God chose Eli and his family line, He set them apart for priestly service, which required that they walk in awe and reverence for the Lord. They were to love the Lord their God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength, which in the Hebrew culture was a term of exclusive covenant loyalty to their God. They were to have no other gods before Him. But their ministry title did not change the inner condition of their heart. Though they went through the priestly ministry training, showed up for service each day, and were even robed in holy garments, this was no indication of spiritual life or flourishing because they did not know God.
They were not only blaspheming the Lord’s name in the way they handled sacrifices and treating those making them with contempt, but they committed sexual immorality with women who served at the tabernacle door. When their father rebuked them, warning them that they were not only sinning against man but against a holy God, they would not listen (2:25). The word listen here in Hebrew is shema. This means to go beyond the hearing of external words to responding in trusting obedience to their father’s divine authority as the High Priest of God and teacher of Israel. They heard what their father said, but did not shema him – truly heeding his words.
Reading this account is like reading a novel, where we see the villains going from one dark episode to another while the hero is rising and living in a way completely contrary to them. From the time Samuel was a small boy, we see he “ministered before the Lord under the priest Eli” (2:11). Clothed in his tunic, sewn each year by his mom, he stood before the Lord and learned to truly shema Him.
Eli’s sons rejected God’s Word, rebelled against authority, and trusted in themselves rather than trusting in God. Samuel’s life took a different trajectory as he listened to God’s Word, heeded Eli’s instructions, and was obedient to God. And God took note, bringing words of rebuke to Eli through a prophet and reminding him that “Those who honor me I will honor, but those who despise me will be disdained” (1 Samuel 2:31). He went on to pronounce judgment on Eli, his sons, and his offspring, declaring that not only would his sons die but that no one in their family line would reach old age (2:31).
He then promised to raise up a faithful priest whose work would be firmly established. From here, He begins further revealing Himself to Samuel, speaking to him in the night and calling out his name. When Eli discerns that this is, in fact, God speaking to Samuel, he encourages him to respond with six very important words that would change his life: “Speak, for your servant is listening.” These words were an instruction to do much more than hear God speaking, which Eli and his sons had done. They were a call to pay careful, trusting attention to God’s words and then do what God said.
Ironically, God pronounced further judgment on Eli and his family to Samuel, which he relayed to Eli. Rather than disciplining his sons and removing them from office, he acquiesced to the judgment, essentially saying, “God will have His way.” The text does not record repentance or a plea for mercy from Eli. Instead, he simply responds, “He is the LORD; let him do what is good in his eyes” (1 Samuel 3:18).
And then we see the contrast between Eli’s sons and Samuel become even clearer. “The LORD was with Samuel as he grew up,” and all Israel recognized that Samuel was established as a prophet of the Lord. The Lord continued to appear at Shiloh and revealed Himself to Samuel through His Word (1 Samuel 3:19–21), because Samuel had learned not simply to hear the voice of God, but to listen to, trust, and respond.
When Jesus spoke about listening, He said that we need to be “careful how we listen” (Luke 8:18, Mark 4:24), because the measure we use in this determines our spiritual progression or regression. At the same time, He made it clear that the Father has to first give us ears to hear so that we can understand and respond rightly to His Word (Matthew 16:17).
There are many in evangelical ministry today who, clothed in their robes or logoed ministry shirts, show up to serve at all the important events and even teach the Bible—who do not know God or bring Him glory. God wants much more than a ministry label, with pious words and religious benedictions that show we have “no more grace than this chair,” as David Brainerd said of a hypocritical teacher at Yale in his day. He wants our hearts to be submitted to and aligned with His will so that we are not just hearers of the Word but trusting doers.
The story of Eli’s sons and Samuel causes me to shift my focus from, “Am I daily reading and studying God’s Word?” to “Am I really listening to God speak to me through His Word by the Spirit so that I, in trust, do what he says?” Samuel’s words, “Speak, for your servant is listening,” challenge me to go beyond mere reading or studying the Word to remain in a heart position to receive instruction from God – submitting to His full authority and turning away from sin when He reveals it.
Lord, give me ears to hear, a heart that is willing to obey, and the humility to say, like Samuel, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”
