Let us turn to 1 Samuel, chapter 1. We will read from verse 24.
And when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with three bullocks, and one ephah of meal, and a bottle of wine, and brought him unto the house of the Lord in Shiloh: and the child was young.
And they slew the bullock, and brought the child to Eli.
And she said, Oh, my lord, as thy soul liveth, my lord, I am the woman that stood by thee here, praying unto the Lord.
For this child I prayed; and the Lord hath given me my petition which I asked of Him:
Therefore also I have granted him to the Lord; as long as he liveth he is granted to the Lord. And he worshipped the Lord there.—1 Samuel 1:24-28
Then, in chapter 3, we read from verse 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 frequent vision.
And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place—now his eyes had begun to wax dim, that he could not see—and the lamp of God was not yet gone out, and Samuel was laid down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was;
That the Lord called Samuel: and he said, Here am I.
And he ran unto Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou calledst me. And he said, I called not; lie down again. And he went and lay down.
And the Lord called yet again, Samuel. And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou calledst me. And he answered, I called not, my son; lie down again.
Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, neither was the word of the Lord yet revealed unto him.
And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou calledst me. And Eli perceived that the Lord had called the child.
Therefore Eli said unto Samuel, Go, lie down: and it shall be, if He call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, Lord; for Thy servant heareth. So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
And the Lord came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel said, Speak; for Thy servant heareth.—1 Samuel 3:1-10
Dear Lord, as we gather together in Thy presence, we thank Thee for Thy amazing love for us. We thank Thee that Thou didst die for us, that Thou didst give Thy own life for us, and that Thou dost love us even unto the uttermost.
Lord, as we are here before Thee, we commit our time of study to Thee. Our hearts long to hear Thy voice. Speak to us as Thou didst speak to Samuel. May Thy name be glorified in our lives, and may Thy work be done. We ask in Thy precious name. Amen.
Last night, we mentioned that we would spend our time together considering Samuel. We are interested in Samuel not merely because we want to know his story, but because Samuel is an important principle to us.
Samuel was an epoch-making vessel of God. God used Samuel to change the time of the judges into the time of the kings. Samuel stood between Eli and the kingdom.
Brothers and sisters, we realize that today we are on the verge of another change of age. Thank God, we have been in this age of grace for almost two thousand years.
The time has been long. It tells us of the long-suffering of God, because He does not want any to perish, but desires that all should believe and receive eternal life.
Yet this time of grace is coming to an end, because our Lord Jesus is coming again. At His first coming, He brought in grace. At His second coming, He will, on the one hand, judge this world; and on the other hand, He will come to receive His own unto Himself.
The time of grace is almost over, and the time of righteousness and judgment is coming upon this earth.
But whenever there is a change of time, it is God’s way to find some vessel whom He can use to bring in the new age. As God raised up Samuel to be an epoch-making vessel, so in our day we believe God is looking for a corporate epoch-making vessel.
God wants to have a number of people who will be like Samuel—people whom He can use to change the time and to bring in the King, that is, to bring in the kingdom of God.
So, brothers and sisters, as we consider the life of Samuel, we can learn why God used him. By the grace of God, we hope that He will use us in the same way.
Last evening, we mentioned the birth of Samuel. Samuel was born supernaturally because his mother, Hannah, was barren. Hannah could not bear children, but through prevailing prayer she began to realize that God had a purpose. She prayed to God, “If Thou wilt give me a son, I will lend him to Thee all the days of his life.”
God answered her prayer, and Samuel was born. The name Samuel means “asked of God.”
In the same way, God is working in our lives. We were born once of the flesh, but thank God, we have been born again. The second birth is supernatural. It is because of the finished work of our Lord Jesus that the Holy Spirit is able to beget us into new life.
In that sense, our birth is like Samuel’s. But remember: Samuel was born for a purpose. He was not born merely for his mother, and he was not born merely for himself. He was born for the will of God.
Before Samuel was born, his mother made a vow—the vow of the Nazarite—that the child to be born would be a Nazarite for life.
A Nazarite is one who devotes his life to God. A Nazarite is one who lives for God. The principle is simple: he lives for God.
Samuel was a Nazarite for life. Brothers and sisters, we believe that this applies to all of us in the same way. We are not only supernaturally born again; we are born for a purpose. We are born to be Nazarites for life: separated from the world, separated even from ourselves, and wholly given to God, allowing Him to work out His purpose in our lives.
Do you realize that you are born again to be a Nazarite for life? By His right of redemption, God can claim us to live for Him. Yet He would rather persuade us by His love. He wants to use His love to constrain us, so that we may voluntarily give ourselves to Him and allow Him to work out His full salvation in us.
This morning, we would like to go a little further. Our subject is the making, or training, of an epoch-making vessel.
Samuel was born a Nazarite, but to become an epoch-making vessel required something more than simply being born. It required more than merely having a calling.
To become an epoch-making vessel, there are certain trainings and disciplines through which one must pass. Generally speaking, every one of you is born a Nazarite, and God’s purpose in your life is that you may become an epoch-making vessel—one who brings in the King.
What a glorious work that is! Are you expecting the Lord to come again? Are you waiting for the kingdom of God? Then this work is entrusted to such people. You are called to be such a vessel, but you need to make your calling and election sure.
That is, you need to go through certain training.
After Samuel was born, Hannah said that she would keep the child at home. She would not bring him every year to Shiloh and then return home. Rather, she kept him at home and nursed him until he was weaned.
Then she would take him to the house of God in Shiloh and leave him there. So the first stage in the training of this epoch-making vessel was carried out at home.
In the old days, a child was weaned much later than in modern times. When a child was weaned, he was already a boy and was able to be left in the temple.
During this time at home, Hannah not only nourished Samuel physically, but as she nursed him, she imparted to this little child a sense of God and a sense of the fear of God.
A child is very limited in understanding. Sometimes we think, “He is just a baby. He is just a child. What does he know?” Yet a child is born with an intuitive capacity for God.
Hannah imparted to her child the fear of God: that there is a God, and that this God is to be worshipped. His understanding may have been very limited, but an impression was given to the child. It was not so much a matter of knowledge as it was an inward attitude.
That inward attitude was instilled in Samuel. You remember the word in Proverbs:
Train up a child in the way he should go,
And even when he is old he will not depart from it.—Proverbs 22:6
To train up a child in the way he should go means to train him from the very outset of his life. You train a child at the very beginning of his life, and even when he is old, he will not depart from it.
Dear brothers and sisters, especially fathers and mothers, you have a responsibility. God has put a soul into your hands. It is a sacred trust.
It is for you to train up the child—not only in the discipline and admonition of the Lord, but also by imparting to him a sense of God and a sense of worshipping God.
If you do that, even when he is old, he will not depart from it. Thank the Lord, I was brought up in a Christian home. My father loved the Lord, and from our youth he led us in this way.
Every evening, he would gather all the children together. He would read the Bible with us, and he would lead us in prayer. Even though we did not understand much, and did not really know the meaning of the words that were being read, an impression was made in my heart.
I can never forget it. There was a sense that we were before God, a sense of the presence of God. That remains in my heart, even though I did not understand much. But the impression was made.
When Samuel was weaned, his mother took him to the temple and left him there. What do we read in 1 Samuel 1:28?
Therefore also I have granted him to the Lord; as long as he liveth he is granted to the Lord. And he worshipped the Lord there.
—1 Samuel 1:28
When you come to the end of that verse, you may expect it to say, “And she worshipped the Lord there.” After all, Hannah had given her son to the Lord. Naturally, she would worship the Lord there.
But the Bible says, “And he worshipped the Lord there.” The one who worshipped was Samuel.
Samuel was just a boy. His understanding was very limited, yet he already knew how to worship God. Brothers and sisters, do not think that worship is something beyond us.
It is true that worship is the highest spiritual experience that you can ever have. Yet it is also foundational; it is at the very beginning of spiritual experience.
You remember John 4. Our Lord Jesus was speaking to the Samaritan woman. She was a sinful woman. She had had five husbands, and the man with whom she was living was not her husband.
She was thirsty, and our Lord offered her living water. As He talked with her, she began to realize that He must be a prophet. Then she asked Him a question: “We Samaritans worship in Mount Gerizim, and you Jews worship in the temple in Jerusalem. Who is right? Where should we worship?”
The Lord said that the hour had come, and now is, when men would worship neither in Mount Gerizim nor in the temple at Jerusalem, but would worship in spirit and truth.
Do you think our Lord was discussing merely a high theological subject with this woman? No. We are born instinctively with a sense of God. We know that we are limited and that we need Someone higher than ourselves. So we seek someone to worship and trust. It is a human instinct.
Whenever you are in trouble, you call upon heaven. This instinct is within us. Therefore, from the very beginning, let our children know that there is God. More than that, let our children know how to worship God.
Worship simply means putting God in His rightful place and putting ourselves in our proper place. He is God; we are His creatures. We worship Him because we consider Him worthy.
That attitude should be cultivated among children. In Sunday school, this is the one basic thing that needs to be done. It is more than simply telling Bible stories; it is imparting a sense of worship.
Dear brothers and sisters, we who are born from above naturally cry out to God. There should be worship unto Him, and this worshipping spirit needs to be cultivated.
This is how Samuel was brought up. As a boy, he worshipped the Lord. There is something that should be done in the home.
You who are parents have a great responsibility—not only to nurture your children and help them grow physically, not only to educate them and provide them with learning, but to teach them first of all to cultivate within them the spirit of worship.
Then this child was left in the temple. The Bible tells us that Samuel, as a boy, ministered unto the Lord before Eli.
Notice that his first training was at home. His continuing training was in the house of God.
In New Testament terms, this means that we who are born again are brought into the church of God. Every believer belongs to the church. The church of God is not joined by signing a paper. If you are born from above, you are in the church of God.
God has put us there that we may learn how to minister to the Lord. Every believer is a priest. That is the Word of God. Every believer is to minister to God.
As a boy, Samuel could do very little because he did not understand much. Yet there was something he could do. While he was in the house of God, Samuel ministered unto the Lord before Eli. That means he was learning to be a priest.
What was the work assigned to that boy? He was to open the door of the temple.
It was a work that a boy could do. It was a small thing, yet it was very important. If the door of the temple was not open, people could not come in to worship, pray, and offer their sacrifices.
For a boy to open the door every morning required that he rise early. Boys like to sleep late. But if he slept late and the door was not opened, the people could not come in to pray and sacrifice.
It was a small thing, but it was a great responsibility. The door of the temple was opened when the sun began to rise. How many young brothers and sisters are still sleeping then?
The Bible says that if you are faithful in small things, God will entrust you with great things. Do not despise small things, because in these small things there are great consequences.
In the house of God, Samuel began to learn responsibility.
Today, brothers and sisters, after you are saved and brought into the church, perhaps for a long period you simply continue to be served. You do nothing, yet you demand everything. But you are a priest.
Every member of the body of Christ must function according to his understanding. You must learn to serve. In the beginning, you must serve in a small way.
Do not think, “If I want to serve, I want to be like Peter, who stood up and three thousand were saved.” No. You have to begin with small things. Be faithful in small things.
Samuel ministered unto the Lord in the presence of Eli. In other words, he did not serve God merely according to what he thought was right. He served under Eli.
Eli was the judge at that time, and he was also a priest. But he was old. The Bible says that his eyes began to grow dim, so that he could not see.
Not only that, Eli had two sons, and these two sons were wicked. They also served in the house of God as priests, but they were so wicked that the people who came to offer sacrifices were deeply offended.
When people offered sacrifices, especially peace offerings, the family was to enjoy the offering, and a portion was to be given to the priests. But even before the fat was burned, the sons of Eli would send their servants with a fork to take the best of the meat.
They made the people despise the offering of the Lord. Eli knew about it. He did speak to his sons, but the Bible says that he honored his sons more than God.
Perhaps he enjoyed the best meat too. So you find that Eli’s spiritual condition was very poor. He had been used by God, and he knew God, but he had become spiritually weak.
Yet God put Samuel under Eli. In spite of Eli’s condition, Samuel respected him and served him faithfully.
At night, perhaps Eli wanted Samuel to do something for him. Of course, a boy wants to sleep. Yet when Samuel heard a voice calling, he thought Eli was calling him. Every time he was called, he got up and went to Eli, saying, “Here am I; for thou calledst me.”
If it were you, perhaps the first time you would get up. The second time, not so fast. The third time, you might not get up at all.
But here was this boy, under conditions that were not at all conducive to spiritual growth. Yet he respected Eli, served faithfully, and answered his call. This was training of character.
In order to be used by God, our character has to be cultivated. It is Christian character—the character of our Lord Jesus, the character of humility—that must be worked into our lives.
Young people today often think they know everything. They may even despise their parents and say, “What do you know? We have new technology.” Brothers and sisters, are you developing a character of humility?
Samuel lived in the temple with Eli and with the two wicked sons of Eli. It is easy to learn what is bad; it is much harder to learn what is good.
Samuel was surrounded by a very bad situation, yet he did not learn the bad habits of Eli’s sons. As a boy, he might naturally have looked to these two men as examples. Yet he did not follow them. His heart was kept pure for God.
Remember Daniel. When he was still a young man, he was taken captive to Babylon. He was in a very bad environment, and yet he was given the prospect of a brilliant future. He was chosen to be trained for three years, to learn all the learning of Babylon, and to stand before the greatest king in the world.
For three years, Daniel and his companions were to be fed with the king’s food and the king’s wine. Yet Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the king’s food or the king’s wine.
God preserved him, gave him wisdom, and used him to be a witness for God before the nations.
Sometimes God may put you in an environment that is not very good. You may think that the world is evil and that, when you come to the church, you will live in heaven. You may expect everything to be “Hallelujah, hallelujah.”
But the longer you are in the church, the more you may discover that there can be many human problems: hatred, jealousy, contentions, and many other things.
Young people, learn to keep yourselves pure for God. God may put you in such an environment for a purpose. He wants you to learn to be an honourable vessel.
Do not complain about your situation, whether it is adverse or favourable. God puts you there for you to learn and for your character to be developed. Be faithful to the Lord, and keep yourself pure for Him.
At that time, Samuel knew about God. From his childhood, he knew that there was a God, and he feared God. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. But Samuel had not yet had a personal contact with God.
Then one day, Samuel was lying in bed, and God called, “Samuel, Samuel.” Samuel got up and went to Eli. This happened three times.
Finally, it dawned upon the old man: it must be God who is calling the boy. Eli had known such experiences before, but he had long forgotten them. Still, the old man had something to offer the young person.
He told Samuel, “When you hear the voice again, say, ‘Speak, Lord; for Thy servant heareth.’”
Sure enough, the Lord came and stood by him, calling, “Samuel, Samuel.” And Samuel said, “Speak; for Thy servant heareth.” This was the beginning of Samuel’s personal contact with God.
From that time onward, Samuel grew. During the days of Eli, the word of God was rare and visions were almost unknown. In other words, the spiritual condition was very low.
God desired to speak to His people, but the condition of the people was such that they had shut the mouth of God. They had put God outside the door.
But through Samuel, God began to appear again, and God began to speak again. His words came to Samuel, and none of Samuel’s words fell to the ground. Everybody knew that God had raised up a prophet.
This is the way an epoch-making vessel is made. You are born from above. You are called to be a Nazarite. You are willing to receive the training. You are willing to allow the character of Christ to be formed within you.
You are faithful, and you seek Him with all your heart. Then the Lord will come to you. There will be personal contact, and you will have firsthand knowledge of God.
You cannot serve God with secondhand knowledge. You cannot merely know God according to tradition. You can serve God only when you know Him personally.
In Old Testament times, the Holy Spirit had not yet come to dwell in believers as He does today. Therefore, God had to appear to them and speak to them in outward ways.
But now the Holy Spirit has come. Through the Holy Spirit, God speaks to your spirit, often in a still, small voice. He says, “This is the way; walk in it,” or, “This is not the way; do not go into it.”
You need that intimate, personal knowledge of God. When you read the Bible, wait upon Him and meditate upon His Word. The Holy Spirit will make the Word living to you and speak to you through the written Word.
Sometimes He will convict you, and you will have to fall upon your face before Him. Sometimes He will reveal the marvellous grace of God, and you will have to praise and worship Him.
You need this personal knowledge. Do not try to seek merely supernatural experiences. Be faithful in small things. Learn Christ. Then He will reveal Himself to your spirit.
You will be able to say, “I do see. I do hear. I know what He wants. I am willing to do His will.”
Lord, here we are before Thee. We desire to be those whom Thou canst use in this closing time, as Thou establishest Thy kingdom upon this earth.
Lord, Thou art looking for people who can bring in the King. We pray that each one of us may offer himself or herself to Thee, willing to be filled by Thy Spirit and used by Thee to do this work.
We pray in the name of our blessed Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.