When God Works the Night Shift

God Can Use the Night for Preparation

1 Samuel 3:1-3

One of the most difficult things we face as Christians is to admit mistakes, especially those that have negatively impacted our families. It’s tough to say, "I’ve failed!" All of us can identify with that struggle. But down deep, we also know that honesty is the only way to handle our failures. Everyone admires a person who faces reality. (Dr. G. Getz, Men of Character: Samuel: A Lifetime Serving God)

Darkness and night in the Word of God often denotes seasons of general ignorance about God and His Word (Matt. 4:16). Sometimes it refers to episodes of judgment because of pervasive moral and spiritual decay in a country or an individual’s experience (Hos. 4:1-8). These are precisely the conditions we find in this account in the life of young Samuel. It is a season of darkness and night in the land. Yet, this chapter reveals that God can still take initiatives of mercy and grace…even in the night. While we must live with the consequences of our past actions, we can respond correctly to the Lord because He remains our real hope during the night.

Remember, an important part of responding to God correctly involves recognizing that He can even use dark times and long periods of night to prepare His people to embrace His Word, will, and call. Let’s see what we can learn from this passage to help us respond appropriately to the Word of God.

God Can Use the Night as Preparation.1Samuel 3:1-3

God was not about to leave himself without a witness and mouthpiece and He was preparing Samuel for future service and ministry.

A.  PREPARATION UNDER PROTECTIVE CARE. 1 Samuel 2:11; 2:26; 3:1

While Eli's sons continued their evil practices and descent into a mire of sin, “the child Samuel grew on, and was in favour both with the Lord, and also with men.” (1 Sam. 2:26). This is truly amazing—and encouraging! We have a clue as to how this happened when we read that “the child Samuel ministered unto the Lord before Eli” (1 Sam. 3:1). (See also 2:11). (Dr. G. Getz, Men of Character: Samuel: A Lifetime Serving God)

So, what were some developments that facilitated Samuel’s positive development in less than favorable times? Are we hopelessly victims of our environment with zero chance of rising above the status quo? Will faith in Christ make a difference? Will biblical instruction matter in the end? Does spiritual mentoring hold out any promise?

  1.  Eli Sought to Protect Samuel.

Though this young impressionable lad rubbed shoulders with Eli's evil sons, Hophni and Phinehas, this old priest must have “built a hedge” around Samuel, becoming his protector. Eli knew all about his sons’ sinful behavior (3:23). This active and intentional role of mentoring, protecting, guarding, and shaping Samuel’s perspectives was integral to his preparation for God’s calling on his young life.

  2.  Eli Accepted His Failures.

Eli was a great man, but he failed to correct his sons—“because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not.” But what made Eli an even greater man is that he accepted full responsibility for his actions. We see no excuses, no rationalizations, no sidestepping, and no placing the blame on others. Though he “reaped what he had sown,” he did not depart this life shaking his fist at God!

He also knew that he had not dealt with this situation properly, even participating in their sin by eating “the chiefest of all the offerings” or ‘the best and choice portions’ of the meat offered by the children of Israel (2:29). Certainly, Eli knew he and his sons would suffer the consequences of these failures and poor choices (1 Sam 2:27-36). He apparently sought to shield Samuel from the same mistakes or complicity. This is why I believe he faced the situation head-on, warning Samuel not to be influenced by their sin. Eli perhaps shared his painful regrets quite honestly with Samuel as warnings and admonitions to live righteously before Jehovah.

  3.  Eli Nurtured Samuel Spiritually.

Though God is certainly able to protect innocent children from bad adult influences. He normally uses people to do it—particularly parents. God has also used many bus captains and bus workers, Sunday school teachers, and youth workers to nurture and encourage inner city children who had very little positive spiritual influence at home.

Consequently, Eli must have taken Samuel under his “wing” and carefully nurtured him in the Word of God without actually removing him from the evil environment in Shiloh. Samuel would have been exposed to living lessons in discerning between evil and righteousness…making judgments about right and wrong behavior and what God expected.

   4.  Samuel Listened to Eli.

What Eli had failed to do for his own sons, he could now do for Samuel. Though Hophni and Phinehas would not listen to his warnings (1 Sam. 2:25), Samuel did. He opened his heart to his elderly friend and mentor and must have determined not to follow in the footsteps of Eli’s wicked sons. Samuel’s personal decisions are paramount! We are the sum total of our personal choices; personal responsibility is a choice we all have and we live with the consequences of those choices. Here Samuel rejected the rebellion of Hophni and Phinehas and listened to the wise counsel of Eli, the high priest.

   5.  Eli Received a Second Chance.

A principle is in play here that needs to be highlighted; God is gracious even though He is truly just and righteous. Though we “reap what we sow,” even in the midst of utter failure, God has unique ways to give us a second chance.

       A.  God Did this for Eli.

What Eli could not redo for his sons, he was able to achieve in Samuel’s life. Though it must have been very painful to use his own sons as negative examples, nevertheless, he must have often warned Samuel to never follow in their footsteps. 

And so it is in our lives today. As parents, we may have failed our own children in some regard. The damage may even seem irreparable. But we must never give up on our children, particularly in terms of praying for them. Remember that "under law" no divine and perfect mediator existed to intercede before the Father. When earthly sacrifices and offerings were rejected by the Lord, even the high priest in Israel could not intercede (2:25). But "under grace," and in light of the "new covenant," the great High Priest, Jesus Christ, is interceding for us moment by moment (Heb. 7:26; 8:1-2). He has provided a “new and living way” into the presence of God (Heb. 10:20). The only thing that ultimately separates anyone from God is a hardened heart and final unbelief. There is always hope while our children are on this side of eternity. (Dr. G. Getz, Men of Character: Samuel: A Lifetime Serving God)

       B.  God Could Give Us Such a Chance; so, Look for Your Opportunity.

What can we do while we pray and wait? Here we can learn a great lesson from Eli. You, too, can find a “Samuel,” a “Timothy”—a young person who has no father who will respond to a loving and sensitive father image. Our modern culture presents may opportunities with thousands of single mothers struggling to raise families alone. Because of the multitude of broken homes in our culture, and the many deployed fathers of our community there are thousands of young people who each need a mentor—someone who can demonstrate the realities of the Christian Faith on a personal level.

God may be giving you an opportunity to do with other boys and girls what you may have failed to do with our own children. It’s a gift…a second chance; go ahead and seize the opportunity for the glory of God. As I write these thoughts my mind cannot help but think about my pastor and his very effective work with young men in need of a positive Christ-centered influence in their lives. Though he has been an effective parent with his wife to their own children, he has brought a number of young men into his family to influence them for Christ sake. I have noted this on a number of occasions and have praise God multiple times for how these young men became pastors and Christian workers as a result of their time with my pastor.

B.  PREPARATION UNDER POOR CONDITIONS.

1 Samuel 3:1, And the child Samuel ministered unto the Lord before Eli. And the word of the Lord was precious in those days; there was no open vision.

Perhaps we would appreciate the preparation of Samuel for his calling as a prophet and ministry as a priest in Israel more if we understood better how difficult this was. The conditions were less than ideal and even mitigate against anything good coming out of these spiritually dark circumstances. The odds of a positive climate and culture changing return to God as a nation does not seem possible at this point in the account. So, let’s look closely to recognize how dark this night truly was.

   1.  God Was Silent. 

Truly all hope of truly positive change and outcomes that are helpful live or die on where God is taking initiative.   However, for a period he allows the darkness to multiply and persist. This was a time when God stopped speaking to His people. No messages of guidance, hope, inspiration, assurance, support, or rebuke…very little was communicated by the Lord outside of what was written in the Law. We’re not told Samuel’s age on that awesome night when God spoke directly to this young man.              

However, several years must have gone by after “a man of God” pronounced judgment on Eli's household (1Sam. 2:27). In fact, after this revelation from heaven, God had stopped speaking directly to His people on a regular basis. We read that in those days “the word of the Lord was precious in those days; there was no open vision.” (1Sam. 3:lb). Because of the darkness of the night and the general corruption of this time, it was a very rear thing for the Lord to communicate with His people. God may withhold His priceless and precious Word from people who demonstrate by their conduct they would have nothing to do with it.

Sin will keep you from the Bible or the Bible will keep you out of sin!  God was limited by the wicked wills of sinful man. The spiritual unfitness of people and leaders in Eli's day to receive more and frequent “visions” was the direct development of their own wicked wills. The calamity of being left without direction was the result of their failures. Sin is a blinding power, and is also a creator of great spiritual decline and increases the darkness of the night. The natural results of moral decline is that it renders people more indifferent to the value of God’s truth and its sanctifying influence! 

    — We can become incapable of appreciating and discerning it in its purity;

    — We can become more prone to wrongly interpreting it when we are exposed to it; and

    — We can become predisposed to denying its divine origin. How is it that the unholy person always welcome objections to Christianity and the Bible? It is ever true, “sin lieth at the door.”

Proverbs 29:18, Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.

Hosea 4:6-7, My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: Because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: Seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.⁷ As they were increased, so they sinned against me: Therefore will I change their glory into shame.^[1]

Though the prophet Hosea is referring to a different time in the nation of Israel’s history, the conditions and the consequences are similar. So this is worth noting to gain some perspective relative to the seriousness of no communications from God. Now note carefully what Dr. R. B. Chisholm, Jr. says in The Bible Knowledge Commentary about this Hosea chapter 4 passage,

The Lord held these leaders responsible for the people’s lack of knowledge (cf. v. 1). The priests in particular had ignored their duty to communicate the Law of … God to the nation (cf. Deut. 31:9–13; 33:8–10; Mal. 2:7). So they would be severely but justly punished. Because of their part in the people’s moral ruin mothers would be destroyed. This judgment, though unusual, appears elsewhere (cf. Jer. 22:26). In this way the source of the priestly line would be eliminated. As punishment for their rejection of knowledge, the priests themselves would be removed from their office by the Lord. Also because the priests ignored the Law, the Lord said He would ignore their children, apparently meaning they would not inherit their fathers’ office (cf. 1 Sam. 2:27–35). In this way the future of the priestly line would be cut off.^[2]

Dr. McDonald agrees adding clarity to the devastation of sin if left unchallenged during dark seasons in a nation adding,

God contends with Israel because of the people’s unfaithfulness, unkindness, irreligion, swearing, lying, killing, stealing, adultery, and murder. Five of the Ten Commandments are summarized in verse 2. Violations of these commands were the reasons for the condition of the land. Even the wildlife would waste away because of the coming judgment.

Both priest and prophet are blamed because of their willful lack of knowledge. God’s people were destroyed for lack of knowledge; they had forgotten the law of their God.^[3]

Beloved, it is no small inconsequential matter when God is silent in a nation, in a state, in a church, in a family, or in a heart. Darkness breeds moral and spiritual devastation.

   2.  Samuel Was Growing (3:1).

This is a rather positive development, but it also helps us recognize that several years have passed in this same condition of darkness and night. Samuel is referred to by the term “child,” but he was very likely in his early teenage years at this point in his life. The Hebrew word for “child” was used to describe a person from infancy to adolescence. J. MacArthur agrees adding, “Samuel was no longer a child [then] (2:21, 26)…he was probably a teenager at this time. The same Heb. term translated here “boy” [child] was used of David when he slew Goliath (17:33).”^[4] Perhaps he was approximately the same age as Mary when the angel Gabriel announced that she would become the mother of God’s special Son, the Lord Jesus Christ (Luke 1:26-38).

Is God interested in preparing and using young people in significant ways? What may we learn from Samuel, David, and young Mary? We know God often used young folks…teenagers! We learn that the contributions of young people can have a national and even worldwide impact. We learn that God can use youths in the most significant ways if He so chooses to do so. Each young person must decide to be faithful to God for the entirety of their days on this earth, but make that all important decision in your youth. Ecclesiastes 12:1, Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them^[5]

The Bible Knowledge Commentary reminds us of the import of Solomon’s familiar statement,

The command Remember your Creator means to revere God, to keep His laws faithfully, to serve Him responsibly, remembering that because He created people, everyone owes Him his life.^[6]

Dr. W. W. Wiersbe says in his Commentary, Be Satisfied,

How easy it is to neglect the Lord when you are caught up in the enjoyments and opportunities of youth. We know that dark days (11:8) and difficult [evil] days (12:1) are coming, so we had better lay a good spiritual foundation as early in life as possible. During our youthful years, the sky is bright (11:7); but the time will come when there will be darkness and one storm after another.^[7]

Yes, God still uses young people and He wants the entire lifespan of our young people. The time for each youth to decide for Christ is now…in your youth acknowledging God, the Creator’s, claim on each of our lives. While there are many potential distractions, decide to live each day in a way that recognizes God’s ownership of it—we must steward life as managers and not owners. Each life is far more valuable in the hands of God; each contribution will be significantly more impactful in positive ways when that life is used and empowered by the Lord. Consider the possibility of ministry as your future…entertain the idea of serving God as a missionary. Why not look at the needs in the world and ask God to use you to fill those needs for His glory?

   3.  Eli Could Barely See.

1 Samuel 3:2, And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place, and his eyes began to wax dim, that he could not see;

We are given another clue that a substantial period of time had passed. Eli had aged. His eyesight had deteriorated to the point he could barely see. There is a picture of Israel’s spiritual condition that is very instructive. 

               – Night seemed to rule and reign over the land,

               – The light of God in the Tabernacle had gone out,

               – The High Priest had no vision or could not clearly see, and

               – Young Samuel was asleep. 

Yes, asleep like so many today who are not careful to remain in tune to the Lord and alert to hear from Him. God’s light should be valuable to every believer, one of the worst things that could ever happen is to be without divine guidance.  To be without spiritual light is to live in spiritual blindness and be subject to all the dangers, evils, traps of Satan, and sin.  It is a great calamity for anyone to be without spiritual light!

Psalm 119:105, Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

Psalm 119:130, The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.

God has sent the Light in Jesus Christ and we must faithfully share the light and carry the light to the darkest recesses of this world. Matthew 4:16, The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up. ¹⁷ From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.^[8]

2 Corinthians 4:4-7, But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: ⁴ In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. ⁵ For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake. ⁶ For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.^[9]

   4.  God Wants to Speak.

Again there is an obvious principle here looming for honest acknowledgement. God, wants to speak clearly and regularly to all of us through the Holy Scriptures.

Though Samuel’s experience was unique. God wants all of us to approach His Word by saying, “Speak, LORD; for thy servant heareth” (1 Sam. 3:9).

Think for a moment what we know about God’s will that Samuel never knew. Today we can even know more about God's eternal plan for our lives than most of the apostles of Jesus Christ. The reason is pure and simple. We have God’s final and complete revelation as it is contained both in the Old and New Testaments. And every time we approach the Word of God and read it or hear it taught, we should ask the Holy Spirit to speak to us and to help us apply God's eternal truth to our lives. With the Psalmist of old, we need to pray, “Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.” (Ps. 119:18). When we do, God will speak directly to our hearts. (Dr. G. Getz, Men of Character: Samuel: A Lifetime Serving God)

Again an important part of responding to God correctly involves recognizing that He can even use dark times and long periods of night to prepare His people to embrace His Word, will, and call. What can we learn from this dramatic account from Samuel’s life that will help us face the night seasons as mature Christians?

If you feel that you have failed God as a parent—or in some other role—are you looking for opportunities to do for others what you may not have been able to do for your own children? At this point you may have guilt and a sense of condemnation that God wants to remove from your heart. Remember the words of John, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  (1 John 1:9).

Are you blaming others for your own mistakes and sins? You may need to think about this question carefully and prayerfully since it’s easy for all of us to rationalize and deceive ourselves. As you reflect on this question, read David’s prayer in Psalm 51.

Do you read the Word of God regularly, asking the Holy Spirit to speak to you through the Scriptures? As you reflect on this question, meditate on the following verse of Scripture: “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Heb.4:12).

 

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^[1] The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Ho 4:6–7). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

^[2] Chisholm, R. B., Jr. (1985). Hosea. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 1389). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

^[3] MacDonald, W. (1995). Believer’s Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments. (A. Farstad, Ed.) (p. 1099). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

^[4] MacArthur, J., Jr. (Ed.). (1997). The MacArthur Study Bible (electronic ed., p. 381). Nashville, TN: Word Pub.

^[5] The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Ec 12:1). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

^[6] Glenn, D. R. (1985). Ecclesiastes. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 1004). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

^[7] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). Be Satisfied (p. 131). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

^[8] The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Mt 4:16–17). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

^[9] The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., 2 Co 4:3–6). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.