and as he watched Jesus walk by, he said,
“Behold, the Lamb of God.”
Sometimes we need help to recognize the One whom God sends to us. We need a John the Baptist to point out Jesus to us. We need an Eli to point out the voice of God when he speaks to us. If we aren't prepared to see or hear him we can miss him. Sometimes he is a quiet voice in the night that is hard to recognize. And when he comes as Messiah for Israel he doesn't fulfill that expectation in a way that the general public expects. But he doesn't do this to be covert or elusive. He wants to be heard. He wants to be found. To that end he sends help like John and Eli to point him out even in spite of our expectations. When his presence is apparently too humble, human, and personal, let us learn that even so, here is the Lamb of God. Let us listen to the voices God gives us to help us recognize him.
Our part is to wait for the LORD. We should wait not only with patience but with confidence that he always comes to help those who wait for him. Have we ever had the experience of the LORD putting a new song into our mouth, a hymn to our God? He wants to give us joyful experiences of his presence like this. Wait for him! Have we heard him speaking to us? He wants to speak to us. Wait for him! Sometimes it means spending so much time in his presence that we are even sleeping in the temple like Samuel is. Samuel is waiting day and night even if he doesn't know precisely for what. His life is dedicated to the LORD so the time he spends in the temple is waiting on the LORD by definition. We have trouble with waiting that doesn't yield results fairly quickly. The LORD is worth the wait. But we may find, like Samuel, that the LORD is speaking to us before we even realize that it is him. Even though Samuel's life is lived in the temple dedicated to the LORD he still needs help to learn to hear the voice of the LORD. He needs Eli to tell him that the voice he hears sounds like what Eli knows of the voice of the LORD. God places people in our lives to do the same thing. In turn, our response should be the same.
When Samuel went to sleep in his place,
the LORD came and revealed his presence,
calling out as before, “Samuel, Samuel!”
Samuel answered, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”
Samuel does listen. And the reward for it is more than he can even imagine.
Samuel grew up, and the LORD was with him,
not permitting any word of his to be without effect.
We need to follow Samuel's example and learn to wait on the LORD. We need to follow his example of discernment when the LORD does come and verify his revelation with those whom we know to be spiritual. Eventually we will need less and less help. But God gives us these voices for a reason.
Jesus is calling us to follow him. He is calling us to put away immorality and be united with him. He himself pays the price so that we can have this unity. He himself takes the initiative. We are purchased at a price. We need to respond, saying, "Hear I am LORD. I come to do your will". We need to glorify him in all that we are, that we say, and that we do. Samuel lives in the temple and hears a voice from outside of himself calling him. We ourselves are made temples by the Holy Spirit and the invitation now comes from within our own hearts. This adds nuiance to the process of learning to listen. But it is something far more profoundly personal than that which Samuel hears. We are purchased by God. The debt of our sin is paid. We are made temples and hear him calling us from the depths of our hearts to come and follow Jesus. The promise he gives is that if we do follow Jesus God will raise us up in the same we he raises him. So let us glorify him with this new song he places on our lips.
I announced your justice in the vast assembly;
I did not restrain my lips, as you, O LORD, know.
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