Our last devotional dealt with the call of Samuel and how he mistook God’s voice for his mentor Eli. As you recall, he eventually recognized that it was God speaking, and responded in obedience and faith by saying, “Speak, Lord. I am listening.” We are challenged to do the same thing in our lives … to finely tune our ears for the voice and command of the Lord.

What Samuel heard probably came a bit of a shock to the young boy. Even God acknowledged that it would make people’s ears “tingle.” The proclamation was devastating.

1 Samuel 3 (New Revised Standard Version)

¹¹ Then the Lord said to Samuel, “See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make both ears of anyone who hears of it tingle. ¹² On that day I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. ¹³ For I have told him that I am about to punish his house forever for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them. ¹⁴ Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be expiated by sacrifice or offering forever.”

Hophni and Phinehas were terrible sons, and Eli was a terrible father/high priest in that he neither restrained nor corrected them. They were guilty of stealing, embezzling, taking meat intended for sacrifices, and committing immoral acts with the women of the Temple. Eli had been warned about their apostasy and rebellion and did nothing. God had had enough. (See 1 Samuel 2:12-36 for the entire salacious story.)

Because they were given an opportunity to repent and save the house of Eli and rejected it, God shut off any chance of expiation by sacrifice or offering. This may raise a question for you about whether or not God would do the same to Christ-followers. I direct you to Hebrews 10:26, where the offense of rejecting the work of Christ Jesus for us would also result in no longer being able to access his sacrifice of our sins. Salvation and forgiveness are gifts of the cross, but you have to accept them.

Hebrews 10 (The Message)

^26-31 If we give up and turn our backs on all we’ve learned, all we’ve been given, all the truth we now know, we repudiate Christ’s sacrifice and are left on our own to face the Judgment—and a mighty fierce judgment it will be! If the penalty for breaking the law of Moses is physical death, what do you think will happen if you turn on God’s Son, spit on the sacrifice that made you whole, and insult this most gracious Spirit? This is no light matter. God has warned us that he’ll hold us to account and make us pay. He was quite explicit: “Vengeance is mine, and I won’t overlook a thing” and “God will judge his people.” Nobody’s getting by with anything, believe me.

So Eli demanded that Samuel tell him the truth about what God had said:

1 Samuel 3 (New Revised Standard Version)

¹⁵ Samuel lay there until morning; then he opened the doors of the house of the Lord. Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli. ¹⁶ But Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son.” He said, “Here I am.” ¹⁷ Eli said, “What was it that he told you? Do not hide it from me. May God do so to you and more also, if you hide anything from me of all that he told you.” ¹⁸ So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. Then he said, “It is the Lord; let him do what seems good to him.”

Eli declares defeat. Samuel becomes the last judge and first prophet of Israel. The Lord was with him and let none of his words “fall to ground.”

¹⁹ As Samuel grew up, the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. ²⁰ And all Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was a trustworthy prophet of the Lord.

Friends, when we listen and obey God’s word, none of our words will fall to the ground, either. Is God calling you to share your faith with someone before they reject the work of Christ?

Don’t delay.

God Calls by Michelle Robertson