1 Samuel 3:2-4 Here I am!

 ”And it came to pass at that time, while Eli was lying down in his place, and when his eyes had begun to grow so dim that he could not see, and before the lamp of God went out in the tabernacle of the Lord where the ark of God was, and while Samuel was lying down, that the Lord called Samuel. And he answered, “Here I am!”“ I Samuel‬ ‭3‬:‭2‬-‭4‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. His eyes had begun to grow so dim that he could not see: This was true both spiritually and physically of Eli. His age made him an ineffective leader for Israel.

b. Before the lamp of God went out in the tabernacle of the LORD: As a figure of speech, this simply means “before dawn.” But it is also suggestive of the dark spiritual times of Israel – it is dark and will probably get darker.

i. Exodus 27:21 refers to the responsibility of the priests to tend the lamps until sunrise, or just before dawn.

c. While Samuel was lying down, that the LORD called Samuel: We don’t know for certain how old Samuel was. The ancient Jewish historian Josephus said Samuel was 12 years old. However old he was, God spoke to Samuel.

d. And he answered, “Here I am!” This leads us to believe God spoke to Samuel in an audible voice, instead of in an “inner voice,” though this is not certain. But Samuel was so impressed by what he heard, he responded by saying, “Here I am!”

i. This is a beautiful way to respond to God’s word. It isn’t that God does not know where we are, but it tells God, and it reminds us, we are simply before Him as servants, asking what He wants us to do. Samuel is among several others who also said, “Here I am” when the LORD spoke to them: Abraham (Genesis 22:1), Jacob (Genesis 46:2), Moses (Exodus 3:4), Isaiah (Isaiah 6:8), and Ananias (Acts 9:10).

(Guzik)

“Here I am!”

One day while at church pastor Robert discussed opportunities for foster care and the Lord tugged on our hearts 💕 not for foster care but for adoption. This was after a series of events with a close friend’s daughter that gave up her children because of an addiction. 

It laid heavy on my heart and I wondered, what happens to these children when families give them up for one reason or another?

The Lord called us to adoption and we each said, “here I am”.

It’s amazing how our God works in the midst of tragedy! 

The child He gave us to adopt was given up by his mother to his grandmother, then grandmother gave him to his great aunt and when he was seven the great aunt dropped him off at CPS and said we don’t want him anymore. 😢

When the Lord talks to you, do you say, here I am?

Blessings