Today, I am reading and commenting on  1 Samuel 1-3.

I am always struck by the similarities between Samson’s birth and Samuel’s birth.  In both cases their mother dedicated them to a lifetime Nazirite oath before they were conceived.   In Samson’s case that dedication came about because of a message his mother received from an angel, while in Samuel’s case it came about because his mother promised this in return for God giving her a son.  Of the two, we tend to think of Samuel as the better man, but I suspect that God does not look at it that way.  As for differences between the two, the story of Samson reads to me like his parents spoiled him, while Samuel grew up watching Eli’s disappointment with his sons wickedness.  Whether Samuel turned out better than Samson or not, we can see that he turned out as he did because of the prayer his mother prayed after she turned him over to serve the Lord.

The account of God speaking to the boy Samuel at the end of today’s passage represents one of two great commissioning accounts in the Old Testament (the other one being the commissioning of Isaiah).  When God spoke to Samuel, he did not understand was happening, so he thought it was Eli calling him.  It was Eli who realized that God was calling Samuel and instructed him in how to respond.  We who are older in the faith need to do similarly for those younger than ourselves.  However, we all need to remember, and repeat, the response which Eli told Samuel to give, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.”  Let us seek to hear God’s voice, and repeat that when He calls to us.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.