A Faithful Student or Staff Hears from God

Text: 1 Samuel 2:34-36; 8:1-3

Central Truth: Be a good student/staff like Samuel

Hymn: I Am Resolved (BH 301, 1991 edition)

Introduction

The first chapters of Samuel are set in the days of the Judges. While conditions reflect the
spiritual and moral decline of the times, the central figure of this chapter, Hannah is one of those
godly individuals whose faith remains strong in a dark society. Hannah knew that God had a plan
for this world, and she rejoiced in it. Hannah’s prayer is a song of praise for God’s sovereign
plan for the world and His power to guide all of history. The Bible not only reveals God’s plan
but also shows how He carefully prepares His people for it. For example, the central theme of
God’s plan involves the salvation of His creation. God’s grand design is to bring a crowd of
eternally lost people into eternal life with Him. In order to complete His work of salvation, God
became personally involved in the world, sending His only Son, but before He arrived on the
scene, the Lord made extensive preparations. Jesus came to earth only when everything was
ready (Gal. 4:4).
The narrative of Samuel is one of those God’s preparations for our salvation. Hannah has
a son, Samuel (1 Sam 1:20), and when he is three years old she leaves him at the School of
Tabernacle, Shiloh to study theology (1 Sam 1:22-28). And the scripture says: “The child
(Samuel) ministered to the Lord before Eli the priest.” In other words, Samuel, as a student priest
or a student pastor, study theology faithfully. That leads us to the title of this message: “A
Faithful Student/Staff Hears from God.” The key verses are 1 Samuel 2:34-35; 8:1-3:

Now this shall be a sign to you that will come upon your two sons, on Hophni
and Phinehas: in one day they shall die, both of them. Then I will raise up for
Myself a faithful priest who shall do according to what is in My heart and My
mind. I will build him a sure house, and he shall walk before My anointed
forever.
Now it came to pass when Samuel was old that he made his sons judges over
Israel. The name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah;
they were judges in Beersheba. But his sons did not walk in his ways; they
turned aside after dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice.
This message is focusing on the five theological students on the above text: Hophni, Phinehas,
Samuel and his sons, Joel and Abijah. They were priests in training at the same time staff in the
school of tabernacle. Four of them were unfaithful students/staff and one a faithful student/staff.

Unfaithful Students or Staff

1. Hophini and Phinehas: the two sons of Eli were unfaithful priests in training. While in
training they sin against the Lord: “Now the sons of Eli were corrupt; they did not know
the Lord” (1 Sam 2:12). Eli’s sons are immoral and corrupt, worthless and wicked
students, while Eli rebukes them, he fails to discipline them (1 Sam 2:12-26). At last a
prophet approaches Eli with the grim message that God will act where Eli has not: his
sons will die, and his line be set aside (1 Sam 2:27-36). Indeed, the prophet’s prediction
is fulfilled: the two sons were killed in battle and high priesthood was transferred from
Eli’s family to another family.
2. Joel and Abijah: the two sons of Samuel were also unfaithful priests in training. While
they were in supervise ministry as student priests in Beersheba, they failed woefully: they
“did not walk in his ways; they turned aside after dishonest gain, took bribes, and
perverted justice” (1 Sam 8:1-3).

My fellow staff and students, these priests in training failed and they did not succeed their fathers
respectively. They study about God but they did not have relationship with God. In fact, in the
case of Samuel’s sons, the people of Israel said enough is enough for priesthood leadership.
Samuel gives us a king! But as a student, Samuel was faithful to the end.

Faithful Student or Staff

Samuel was a faithful priest in training. He “ministered before the Lord, even as a child wearing
a linen ephod” (1 Sam 2:18). With the promise that God will rise up a “faithful priest” (1 Sam
2:35), the focus shifts to the boy Samuel. The Word of the Lord does not come to Eli. “The word
of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no widespread revelation” (1 Sam 3:1). The word
of the Lord comes to Samuel as a student under Eli. In fact, all along, God was looking for a
student to confine with. He shears His burdens, His concerns with Samuel as a teenager in
training:

Then the Lord said to Samuel: Behold, I will do something in Israel at which
both ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. In that day I will perform against
 Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. For I
have told him that I will judge his house forever for the iniquity which he
knows, because his sons made themselves vile, and he did not restrain them.
And therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house
shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever (1 Sam 3:11-14).

Hearing God speak, and then doing as He says, is the key to spiritual achievement. Samuel hears
God speak to him for the first time – a message of judgement for Eli. The first message that
Samuel was to deliver served as a severe test. He had a close, affectionate relationship with Eli.
How hard it must be for Samuel to bring grim or bad news to one he has come to love, who was
his mentor. Would he pass on the message of impending doom with total honesty? Samuel
passed the test, he conveys the word of the Lord, and Eli, humbly submits to God’s judgement
(3:15-18).

Samuel was faithful in his theological studies till graduation and there after! He is recognized as
the new leader of Israel. In 1 Samuel 3:19-21, the Lord endorses Samuel’s graduation and
commission: ‘So Samuel grew and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the
ground.” The Lord appeared to him again at Shiloh, revealed Himself to Samuel by the word of
the Lord.’ From this time on, Samuel is God’s messenger, “and all from Dan to Beersheba knew
that Samuel had been established as a prophet of the Lord.”

What Type of Student or Staff are You?

As you are here in seminary as a student or staff, what type of person are you? Are you not like
Hophni and Phinehas or Joel and Abijah, who were not faithful in their study or duty post? Can
the Lord find you faithful? Can the Lord shares His burden with you? Examine your labour
today. Is there no skeleton in your cupboard? Do not allow that sin disqualify you as a student or
staff? Sin disqualified the sons of Eli and Samuel.

Be a Good Student or Staff like Samuel

The Lord wants to reveal Himself to you as He did to Samuel in Shiloh and that is while you
here God said, “I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who shall do according to what is in
My heart and in My mind. I will build him a sure house, and he shall walk before My
anointed forever” (1 Sam 2:35). God’s desire in the time of Samuel is the same today. He wants
to raise faithful men and women who shall do according to what is in His heart and in His mind.
Our response to God whether as a student or staff is critical. In Samuel 3:1, there is a sharp
contrast between Eli’s sons and Samuel, which is a great lessons to us:

1. It legitimizes Samuel’s lifelong mission as God’s agent during the transformation of

Israel into a monarchy.
2. It also drives home a vital spiritual principle, expressed in 2:30: “Those who honour Me I
will honour, and those who despise Me shall be lightly esteemed.”
3. Eli’s sons (including Samuel’s sons) and Samuel were all placed in a position of
privilege. Samuel honoured God, and was honoured by Him. The others despised God,
were set aside.
4. Let us not treat our spiritual privileges lightly.

Conclusion

Hearing God speak, and then doing as He says, is the key to spiritual achievement.

1. A faithful student or staff hears from God

2. A faithful student or staff do what is in God’s heart and mind
3. A faithful student or staff is God’s vessel of honour
4. A faithful student or staff walks with Christ, the Anointed.

May you be among those faithful priests God is raising for the second coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ! Amen.

GF. N. Aghawenu
A Message preached in
BTS Eku Chapel
October 18, 2023