1 Samuel 6:1

1 Samuel 6:1 says, And the ark of the LORD was in the country of the Philistines seven months.  The Philistines kept the Ark of the LORD for seven months, but what they thought was a symbol of triumph over God turned out to be a curse.  People today may think they have triumphed over God, and even desecrate the things of God, but they will one day find out it was a curse.  Verse two adds, And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, What shall we do to the ark of the LORD? tell us wherewith we shall send it to his place.  The Philistines called for their priests and diviners, those who served Dagon, to tell them what to do with the Ark.  They wanted to know if they should return it to the people of Israel.  People still rely on false gods to tell them what to do about the one real God.  Verse three continues, And they said, If ye send away the ark of the God of Israel, send it not empty; but in any wise return him a trespass offering: then ye shall be healed, and it shall be known to you why his hand is not removed from you.  The priests at least gave the people some wise advice, and that was to return it.  Then, they gave some not so wise advice from its motivation.  They said if they returned it, to return it with a trespass offering, even though they didn't believe in God.  This was more of an attempt to buy God's forgiveness than an actual trespass offering, since they didn't believe in God.  God's forgiveness cannot be bought with material things though.  Verse four states, Then said they, What shall be the trespass offering which we shall return to him? They answered, Five golden emerods, and five golden mice, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines: for one plague was on you all, and on your lords.  After asking what the trespass offering should be, the priests said five golden emerods, or hemorrhoids which they were all afflicted with, and five golden mice, according to the number of the Lords of the Philistines, since they were all involved in taking the Ark.  Of course,  God really had no need of golden statues, but I believe to their way of thinking, they believed this would impress God.  What we need to acknowledge is that God is not impressed with material things,but only with a penitent heart.  Verse five adds, Wherefore ye shall make images of your emerods, and images of your mice that mar the land; and ye shall give glory unto the God of Israel: peradventure he will lighten his hand from off you, and from off your gods, and from off your land.  They were then told to make the golden emorods and mice into graven images, and offer them as a trespass offering to God.  The priests said that God might take His hand off the Philistines and their gods.  They acknowledged, even if without intending to, the superiority of God over their gods.  Verse six continues, Wherefore then do ye harden your hearts, as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? when he had wrought wonderfully among them, did they not let the people go, and they departed? The priests then told them not to harden their hearts as the Egyptians and their Pharaoh had done.  They were at least familiar with God and His power, though they were not submitting to Him.  Some people today may acknowledge the power of God and yet still serve false gods.  Verse seven says, Now therefore make a new cart, and take two milch kine, on which there hath come no yoke, and tie the kine to the cart, and bring their calves home from them:  The priests began to give them specific instructions on how to return the Ark.  They were to put it in a new cart and have it pulled by two milk cows who had never pulled a cart before, and would be inclined to return home, since theircalves would be locked away from them.  Verse eight adds, And take the ark of the LORD, and lay it upon the cart; and put the jewels of gold, which ye return him for a trespass offering, in a coffer by the side thereof; and send it away, that it may go.  They were the told to put the Ark on the new cart and put jewels in with it as a trespass offering, and then let the cows find their way to Israel.  They were not to lead or drive them, but this was evidently to be a test of God's power by seeing if He would bring them to Israel.  People still tempt God today by trying to prove or disprove His power.  Verse nine continues, And see, if it goeth up by the way of his own coast to Bethshemesh, then he hath done us this great evil: but if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that smote us; it was a chance that happened to us.  The priests then said if the cows brought the Ark back to Israel that they would know that it was God's hand that was punishing them, and not just some random misfortune.  Of course, whether the cows returned the cart to Israel or not, it was still God Who was punishing them.  We cannot make the existence of God be based on any criteria that we might propose, but must accept by faith that God is Who He says He is.  Verse ten states, And the men did so; and took two milch kine, and tied them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home:  Verse eleven adds, And they laid the ark of the LORD upon the cart, and the coffer with the mice of gold and the images of their emerods.  The lords of the Philistines did as the priests had told them to do, including locking the calves up at home, which would have tended to make the cows go there.  Like the Philistines, people often attempt to stack the deck in an attempt to prove or disprove the power of God.   

1 Samuel 5:1

1 Samuel 5:1 says, And the Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it from Ebenezer unto Ashdod.  The Philistines relocated the Ark of the Covenant from Ebenezer to Ashdod, where Dagon’s temple was.  They did not destroy or desecrate it.  Verse two adds, When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon.  They then took it into the temple of Dagon and set it up by Dagon’s statue.  They may have thought this would make God under Dagon’s rule.  I once saw a home with a cross over a statue of Buddha, and the homeowner said she just wanted to keep her bases covered.  Of course, God was not in the Ark of the Covenant, nor is He confined to any place today.  Verse three continues, And when they of Ashdod arose early on the morrow, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the earth before the ark of the LORD. And they took Dagon, and set him in his place again.  When the people of Ashdod got up the next morning, the statue of Dagon was face down on the ground in front of the Ark of the Covenant, or of the LORD as it is referred to here.  They returned the statue of Dagon to its place.  They should have gotten the message, that all false gods are going to fall down before the one true and Living God, and the statue was unable to return itself to its place.  I believe this is another reason we don't need statues of God.  They would only be inanimate objects, and we serve a Living God.  Verse four states, And when they arose early on the morrow morning, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off upon the threshold; only the stump of Dagon was left to him.  They next morning when they arose, and Dagon was once again face down before the Ark of the LORD, but this time his hands and head had been cut off.  The message should have been becoming clearer.  Verse five adds, Therefore neither the priests of Dagon, nor any that come into Dagon’s house, tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod unto this day.  After that, no one, not even the priests of Dagon, would step on the threshold of the temple of Dagon.  They considered it holy according to Matthew Henry, but if it was, it wasn't because of Dagon.  People may consider a lot of places holy today, but if they do, they will not be holy unless God declares them to be.  Verse six continues, But the hand of the LORD was heavy upon them of Ashdod, and he destroyed them, and smote them with emerods, even Ashdod and the coasts thereof.  The hand of God was heavy on Ashdod because they refused to heed His warning and still worshipped a fallen idol instead of repenting and turning to Him.  We are told Ashdod was destroyed, and those who survived were afflicted with hemorrhoids as we would call them, and everyone who worships idols will one day suffer spiritually forever.  God has already sent the warning through Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son.  Verse seven declares, And when the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said, The ark of the God of Israel shall not abide with us: for his hand is sore upon us, and upon Dagon our god.  The Philistines may have thought they had triumphed when they took the Ark, but now they realized that God was going to punish them for attempting to keep it.  Those who believe that they have triumphed over God will always find that they are wrong.  Verse eight adds, They sent therefore and gathered all the lords of the Philistines unto them, and said, What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel? And they answered, Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried about unto Gath. And they carried the ark of the God of Israel about thither.  After calling all the lords of the Philistines together, they asked what were they going to do with the Ark of the God of Israel, and it was determined that they would take it to Gath.  Verse nine continues, And it was so, that, after they had carried it about, the hand of the LORD was against the city with a very great destruction: and he smote the men of the city, both small and great, and they had emerods in their secret parts.  Changing the location of the Ark did not change the outcome.  The people who did not die were afflicted with hemorrhoids just as the people of Ashdod had been.  God is not limited in His power just because we change locations.  Verse ten says, Therefore they sent the ark of God to Ekron. And it came to pass, as the ark of God came to Ekron, that the Ekronites cried out, saying, They have brought about the ark of the God of Israel to us, to slay us and our people.  They then took the Ark to Ekron, and the people there were not pleased to have it brought there.  Matthew Henry says since it was sent by the council, they could not refuse it.  The people of Ekron said that the council was out to destroy them.  It must be sad that in some places today that people have no choice in worshipping.  Verse eleven adds, So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines, and said, Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it go again to his own place, that it slay us not, and our people: for there was a deadly destruction throughout all the city; the hand of God was very heavy there.  They again gathered the lords of the Philistines, and asked that the Ark of the Covenant be returned to Israel where it belonged, because until it was, the hand of God was going to be heavy on them.  As long as people today worship idols, and especially if they attempt to make God inferior to those idols, God's hand is going to be heavy on them, spiritually if not physically.  Verse twelve continues, And the men that died not were smitten with the emerods: and the cry of the city went up to heaven.  They stated the fact that the people in the cities where the Ark was kept either died or suffered because of it.  Those who worship idols today might be wealthy in this lifetime, but the hand of God is always heavy on them spiritually. 

1 Samuel 4:12

1 Samuel 4:12 says, And there ran a man of Benjamin out of the army, and came to Shiloh the same day with his clothes rent, and with earth upon his head.  After the defeat of the army of Israel and the capturing of the Ark of the Covenant by the Philistines, a survivor came to Eli to tell him the news, including the fact that his two sons had been killed I would assume.  When something terrible happens to us today as Christians, we need to go to God with our concerns, though we don't have to go to a priest as they did in those days.  Verse thirteen adds, And when he came, lo, Eli sat upon a seat by the wayside watching: for his heart trembled for the ark of God. And when the man came into the city, and told it, all the city cried out.  Eli was sitting on a seat by the wayside watching when the man came to him, because he was concerned about the Ark of the Covenant.  When the man told the people what had happened, the whole city cried out.  If we see something bad happening in the church today, we need to cry out to God about it.  Verse fourteen continues, And when Eli heard the noise of the crying, he said, What meaneth the noise of this tumult? And the man came in hastily, and told Eli.  When Eli heard the noise of the people crying out, he asked what it was about, and evidently this was when he was told, though we are earlier told that the man ran to him.  This is a clarification and not a contradiction though.  Since Eli sat at the gate, the man had inadvertently passed him by and told the people of Shiloh first.  Verse fifteen states, Now Eli was ninety and eight years old; and his eyes were dim, that he could not see.  Eli was ninety-eight at this time and nearly blind.  This might have contributed to his allowing his sons to do what they did with the Ark of the Covenant, but he was still the high priest.  Our age and infirmities should never be used as an excuse to keep us from doing what God has called us to do.  Verse sixteen adds, And the man said unto Eli, I am he that came out of the army, and I fled to day out of the army. And he said, What is there done, my son?  The man told Eli that he was from the army of Israel and had fled from the battle.  Eli then asked him what had happened.  If we are to effectively serve God, we must do so based on the truth of any situation we find ourselves in.  Verse seventeen continues, And the messenger answered and said, Israel is fled before the Philistines, and there hath been also a great slaughter among the people, and thy two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God is taken.  The man shared the bad news with Eli.  Verse eighteen declares, And it came to pass, when he made mention of the ark of God, that he fell from off the seat backward by the side of the gate, and his neck brake, and he died: for he was an old man, and heavy. And he had judged Israel forty years.  When Eli heard the news about the Ark of the Covenant, he fell off the wall, broke his neck and died.  He had judged Israel for forty years at this time, and now he and his sons were all dead, but it was the loss of the Ark of the Covenant that distressed Eli most.  Also, though the Ark of the Covenant was soon returned to Israel , it never returned to Shiloh.  We should be more upset by God's will not being done or being perverted today than we are by any worldly thing that happens.  Verse nineteen adds, And his daughter in law, Phinehas’ wife, was with child, near to be delivered: and when she heard the tidings that the ark of God was taken, and that her father in law and her husband were dead, she bowed herself and travailed; for her pains came upon her.  Phinehas wife was pregnant at that time, and when she heard about Phinehas and Eli, she had her child but she herself died.  Matthew Henry says she was a woman with a very tender spirit and the news was too much for her to bear, especially while giving birth.  Sometimes, it may seem that life is just too much for us to bear, but if we are truly a follower of Christ, the Holy Spirit will always give us the strength to carry on.  Verse twenty continues, And about the time of her death the women that stood by her said unto her, Fear not; for thou hast born a son. But she answered not, neither did she regard it.  The woman with her during the birth told Phinehas's wife that she had a son, but she never heard her.  Sometimes, good news may come too late for us to hear it, but it is still good news.  Verse twenty-one says, And she named the child Ichabod, saying, The glory is departed from Israel: because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father in law and her husband.  The woman had gave the child the name Ichabod, which meant the glory is departed from Israel.  He by fact of his name would be a memorial to what had happened to Israel.  Though I don't believe that we should do it by the naming of our children, I believe that we should always remember what God has been doing in our lives as His people, especially if we have allowed ourselves to be defeated in the battle against sin and evil because we have put our faith more in the things of the world than in God Himself.   Verse twenty-two adds, And she said, The glory is departed from Israel: for the ark of God is taken.  This verse is just a restatement of the meaning of the son's name. 

1 Samuel 4:1

1 Samuel 4:1 says, And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out against the Philistines to battle, and pitched beside Ebenezer: and the Philistines pitched in Aphek.  The statement that the word of Samuel does not seem to have any relationship to the rest of the story here.  The people of Israel decided to go to war against the Philistines, Matthew Henry says probably about halfway through their captivity by the Philistines.  We are not told that they consulted God about this.  As Christians, if we find ourselves once again captive to any sin today, we need to first go to God in repentance.  Verse two adds, And the Philistines put themselves in array against Israel: and when they joined battle, Israel was smitten before the Philistines: and they slew of the army in the field about four thousand men.  When the people of Israel went to war against the Philistines without God's guidance and power, they were soundly defeated, having about four thousand men killed.  We are just as powerless when we go into battle against the evil of the world without God's guidance and power.  Verse three declares, And when the people were come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, Wherefore hath the LORD smitten us to day before the Philistines? Let us fetch the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of Shiloh unto us, that, when it cometh among us, it may save us out of the hand of our enemies.  When the rest of the army of Israel returned to camp, they asked the elders where God had been during the battle, but they still didn't consult God.  If we don't consult God before we take any action today, we should not ask anyone, even religious leaders, where He as if we fail.  Still without consulting God, they decided to take the Ark of the Covenant into battle with them.  All the symbols that represent God today are not going to make us more powerful if God is not directing us in our actions.  Verse four adds, So the people sent to Shiloh, that they might bring from thence the ark of the covenant of the LORD of hosts, which dwelleth between the cherubims: and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.  They sent to Shiloh to get the Ark of the Covenant, while Eli's sons, Hophni and Phinehas the corrupt priests, were with the Ark.  The people were acting without God's guidance and were relying on corrupt priests to empower them simply by having something that was symbolic of the presence of God with them.  We cannot afford to make the same mistake today.  Verse five continues, And when the ark of the covenant of the LORD came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth rang again.  When the Ark of the Covenant came into their camp, the people of Israel shouted so loudly that the ground shook.  They were zealous, but they were misguided in their zeal.  We may be caught up in zeal today over what seems to be success over the evil of the world, but if God is not in it, all our zeal will get us nowhere.  Verse six states, And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, What meaneth the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews? And they understood that the ark of the LORD was come into the camp.  When the Philistines heard the great shout of the people of Israel, they asked what it meant and realized that the Ark of the Covenant had come into the camp of Israel.  This had been a symbol of God's power before the people of Israel before so the Philistines recognized it as such at that time.  Once more, things that are symbolic of God today, even if recognized by the people of the world as such, will not empower us if we have not sought God's guidance and endorsement of our actions.  Verse seven adds, And the Philistines were afraid, for they said, God is come into the camp. And they said, Woe unto us! for there hath not been such a thing heretofore.  The Philistines were initially afraid, because they said God had come into the camp of Israel, and nothing like this had ever happened before.  Verse eight continues, Woe unto us! who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty Gods? these are the Gods that smote the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness.  Though they recognized the power of God, Who had indeed delivered the people of Israel out of Egypt, they did not really know Who God is, referring to Him in the plural instead instead of the One and only true God.  The people of the world today can never truly understand Who God is, because this knowledge only comes from putting one's faith in Jesus Christ.   Verse nine states, Be strong, and quit yourselves like men, O ye Philistines, that ye be not servants unto the Hebrews, as they have been to you: quit yourselves like men, and fight.  Even recognizing the power of God, the Philistines called on their army to be strong and fight like men.  Even if they have heard of God's powerful actions in the past, the people of the world are still willing to go into battle against God's people today.  Verse ten adds,  And the Philistines fought, and Israel was smitten, and they fled every man into his tent: and there was a very great slaughter; for there fell of Israel thirty thousand footmen.  This time, the army of Israel was once again soundly defeated, having thirty thousand soldiers killed and the rest fleeing.  All their zeal at the symbolic presence of God did them no good without God's actual presence with them, nor will God's symbolic presence do us any good today.  Verse eleven continues, And the ark of God was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain.  Not only did they lose the battle and thirty thousand men, the people of Israel also lost the Ark of the Covenant to the Philistines.  Though this represented the presence of God, it was not God, but had evidently become somewhat of an idol to the people of Israel.  We cannot afford to allow things symbolic of God to replace a real relationship with Him.  Hophni and Phinehas, who were to take care of the Ark, were also killed at this time.  They had evidently proven themselves to be corrupt priests, and they brought the Ark of the Covenant into battle without seeking God's guidance in the situation.  Spiritual death and everlasting punishment is the fate of all who do not put their faith in Jesus Christ alone as the only way to salvation. 

1 Samuel 3:11

1 Samuel 3:11 says, And the LORD said to Samuel, Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle.  After Samuel realized that it was God speaking to him, he finally heard his message.  Once we recognize that God is talking to us today, we likewise need to be ready to receive His message.  God told Samuel that He was going to do a thing in Isreal which would have the people's ears tingling.  We need to see God at work in the world today, and His people need to make themselves readily available to do what God calls them to do, so that others can hear about it and tell others as well.  Verse twelve adds, In that day I will perform against Eli all things which I have spoken concerning his house: when I begin, I will also make an end.  God said He was one day going to make an end to Eli and his house.  This might not happen immediately, but it was going to happen.  God's judgment may not be immediate, but it is certain.  Verse thirteen continues, For I have told him that I will judge his house for ever for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not. God said He had already warned Eli about what would happen because of the iniquity of his sons as they served as priests especially and Eli's failure to restrain them, even though he knew what they were doing.  As Christians, if we see something going on in the church that is wrong, we have a responsibility to attempt to correct it.  Verse fourteen concludes, And therefore I have sworn unto the house of Eli, that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering for ever.  God said He had sworn to the house of Eli that their iniquity could not be forgiven by sacrifices and offerings.  In the legal system of God’s law, there were some sins that could not be atoned for according to Matthew Henry, but we know that under the blood of Christ, all sins are forgiven if we accept Him as our personal Savior and Lord.  Verse fifteen states, And Samuel lay until the morning, and opened the doors of the house of the LORD. And Samuel feared to shew Eli the vision.  Samuel went back to bed until morning, then opened the doors of the house of the LORD that morning, but was afraid to share what God had said to him with Eli.  If God has spoken to us, it is not enough for us to just go about life while being afraid to share the message He has given us.  Verse sixteen adds, Then Eli called Samuel, and said, Samuel, my son. And he answered, Here am I.  Eli called Samuel, and Samuel responded by saying, "Here am I."  This should be our response, not when others may call us, but when God does, and then we should not be afraid to share what God has told us with anyone.  Verse seventeen continues, And he said, What is the thing that the LORD hath said unto thee? I pray thee hide it not from me: God do so to thee, and more also, if thou hide any thing from me of all the things that he said unto thee.  Eli asked Samuel what God had told him, and then told Samuel to not hide what God had said from him,and if he did then to have all the things that God had told him to happen to Samuel as well.  We cannot hide God's word from others because we are afraid it will make them feel bad.  Verse eighteen declares, And Samuel told him every whit, and hid nothing from him. And he said, It is the LORD: let him do what seemeth him good.  Samuel told Eli everything that the LORD had said, and Eli said let it happen because it was what the LORD had said.  Though we have no chance of stopping what God says will happen because we disagree with it, we are much better off if we simply accept the fact that what God says is going to happen.  Verse nineteen adds, And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground.  Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and His word did not fall to the ground.  In other words, whatever Samuel said would happen as a prophet came came to pass, and God's law will still come to pass today.  We just need to faithfully share His word.  Verse twenty continues, And all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the LORD.  All of Israel recognized that Samuel was a prophet of God.  We as the church, God's people  today, should be able to recognize if a person is dec)aring God's truth or not.  Verse twenty-one concludes, And the LORD appeared again in Shiloh: for the LORD revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the LORD.  We aren't told how much later this was, but God revealed Himself to Samuel again at Shiloh.  Though God is with us everyday as Christians  through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, He will come to us with a call to a particular task at times.  We need to recognize His Voice if He does.

1 Samuel 3:1

1 Samuel 3:1 says, 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.  Samuel ministered to the LORD by serving Eli, and during this time period, God's word was very precious, because there were very few prophets seeing a vision from God.  Of course, God’s word should always be precious, but especially during times when we are hearing it less and less, which seems to be the case today.  Verse two adds, 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;   During this time, Eli was growing old and having problems seeing.  Even if we are a Christian, that does not mean that we are exempt from physical ailments in life.  Verse three continuad, And ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep;  Before the lamp in the temple of the LORD where the ark of the covenant was went out, Samuel laid down to sleep.  Matthew Henry says this made it about midnight.  After serving Eli faithfully during the day, Samuel needed some rest.  We cannot effectively serve God if we do not get our needed rest as well.  Verse four states, That the LORD called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I. Then, God called to Samuel, and he answered, "Here am I." Verse five adds, 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.  Unfortunately, Samuel didn't recognize God's Voice, so he ran to Eli.  The first time we hear God calling to us, we also may not recognize His voice.  Eli told Samuel that he hadn't called him, which was true, and told him to go back to bed.  If God calls us today, we must first be able to recognize His voice.  Verse six adds, And the LORD called yet again, Samuel. And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And he answered, I called not, my son; lie down again.  God called Samuel again, and he again went to Eli, telling him he knew he had called him.  Eli again told Samuel that he hadn't called him, and once again told him to go to bed.  They were probably both getting irritated and confused by then.  If God is speaking to us, no one else is going to be able to tell us what He wants.  Verse seven continues, Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, neither was the word of the LORD yet revealed unto him.  Even though Samuel had been dedicated to God's service even before he was born, he did not have a personal relationship with God.  Until we come to know God by putting our faith in Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, it doesn't matter if we have been dedicated to God and are possibly even serving in the church, we will not know God's voice.  Verse eight declares, And the LORD called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And Eli perceived that the LORD had called the child.  God called to Samuel a third time, and he failed once more recognize God's Voice, so again went to Eli saying he knew that Eli had called him.  This time, instead of denying it and sending Samuel away,Eli recognized that it was God calling Samuel.   Matthew Henry says that since Eli was the priest that he might have wondered why God hadn't spoken to him.  We need to realize that God speaks to us individually and be able to recognize His Voice.  God will call us more than once to come to Him by putting our faith in Jesus Christ, and if we do, then we will be able to recognize His voice.  Verse nine adds, 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.  Eli told Samuel once again to go and lie down, and if God called him again to say, "Speak, LORD,  for thy servant heareth."  This is what we all must do if we are to be a child of God.  Verse ten continues, And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth.  God once again called Samuel, this time calling him by name twice.  If we are to become a follower of Christ, then God will have called us to Him by name. Accepting Jesus Christ is a personal decision that must be made by every individual personally.  Samuel responded as Eli had told him to do, except he left out the word LORD.  As yet, Samuel had not established a personal relationship with God.  When God first calls us, whither once or several times, until we acknowledge His Voice and accept His call to Him by putting our faith in Jesus Christ, He will not be our LORD.  God calls everyone to Him, but many never recognize His Voice and some refuse to come to Him by faith.  Just being called name is not enough.  We must recognize God's Voice and answer His call to a personal relationship with Him if we are to have an everlasting relationship with Him.

1 Samuel 2;27:

1 Samuel 2:27 says, And there came a man of God unto Eli, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Did I plainly appear unto the house of thy father, when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh’s house?  Since Eli's rebuke of his sons was too gentle, God sent a prophet to him to remind him of who God is.  If we see things going on in the church today that are not in accordance with God's teachings, we need to remind the people, especially the leaders if they are going along with it, of who God is.  Verse twenty-eight adds, And did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer upon mine altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me? and did I give unto the house of thy father all the offerings made by fire of the children of Israel?  Eli was reminded that his ancestor in Egypt was chosen to be God's priest of all the people of Isreal, which would make Eli a descendent of Aaron.  As I have stated several times, we are not now a part of the ministry, or even a part of God's family by birth, but by answering God's call to salvation.  Still, before Jesus Christ came to redeem us, people of a certain family were chosen to be the priests.  Verse twenty-nine continues, Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice and at mine offering, which I have commanded in my habitation; and honourest thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people?  The prophet then asked Eli why he kicked against God's law and his calling by putting his sons above God and them growing fat off sacrifices made to God. We cannot put anything, even family, ahead of God, and we certainly should never grow rich off things sacrificed to God.  Verse thirty declares, Wherefore the LORD God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the LORD saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.  The prophet then said that even though God had set Aaron's family aside for the ministry of the priesthood, He now was going to honor those who honored Him and not those who were born into the priesthood but who lightly esteemed God.  Today, God still calls people into the ministry, though we as followers of Christ are all a part of the priesthood of believers.  Verse thirty-one adds, Behold, the days come, that I will cut off thine arm, and the arm of thy father’s house, that there shall not be an old man in thine house.  God warned Eli that there was coming a day when his family would no longer be the priests by fact of their birth.  This occurred forever with the coming of Jesus Christ to be our everlasting sacrifice and to give us direct access to God without going through any religious leader.  Verse thirty-two continues, And thou shalt see an enemy in my habitation, in all the wealth which God shall give Israel: and there shall not be an old man in thine house for ever.  The prophet continued to warn Eli that his family would be cut off from the priesthood because of the actions of his sons in dishonoring God by their actions.  Verse thirty-three continues, And the man of thine, whom I shall not cut off from mine altar, shall be to consume thine eyes, and to grieve thine heart: and all the increase of thine house shall die in the flower of their age.  Eli was told that there was a man of his, but not his sons, from whom the priesthood would not be cut off.  God will never be without those to carry out His ministry as long as this world stands.  Verse thirty-fiour states, And this shall be a sign unto thee, that shall come upon thy two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas; in one day they shall die both of them.  God through His prophet said a sign of the truth of what He was saying was that Hophni and Phinehas would both die young for their sins against God.  Verse thirty-five adds, And I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in mine heart and in my mind: and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before mine anointed for ever.  God said He would raise up a faithful priest, and Matthew Henry says this was fulfilled first with Zadoc, of Eleazar's family, during the reign of Solomon, but was forever fulfilled by Jesus Christ.  Verse thirty-six continues, And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left in thine house shall come and crouch to him for a piece of silver and a morsel of bread, and shall say, Put me, I pray thee, into one of the priests’ offices, that I may eat a piece of bread.  The prophet said everyone left in Eli's house would be reduced to begging for bread