Knock, Knock, “Who’s There?”
And the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of Yahweh where the ark of God was, that Yahweh called Samuel; and he said, “Here I am.” Then he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call; go back, lie down.” So he went and lay down. – 1 Samuel 3:3-5, LSB
You’ve got to admit it. God has a sense of humor. He wakes Samuel up three times. And three times, Samuel goes trotting into Eli’s room, obediently and respectfully asking what Eli needed. Finally, the third time, Eli clues in and says, “Go lie down, and it shall be if He calls you, that you shall say, ‘Speak, Yahweh, for Your slave is listening.’” – 1 Samuel 3:9, LSB
It’s funny, but it’s more than a supernatural knock, knock joke. It’s thoughtful and kind and so in keeping with Yahweh’s chesed nature, his mercy, it brings tears to my eyes. Let’s take a closer look.
First, where is Samuel sleeping? He’s lying down in the temple, where the ark of God was! Can you imagine? He’s around twelve years old, and he’s sleeping in the tabernacle, maybe just outside the Holy of Holies. I don’t know about you, but that gives me chills.
To clarify, this temple is the tabernacle at Shiloh – so pre-Solomon’s temple. It was still the tent, but since the Israelites weren’t on the move any more, They’d built a permanent structure for it. (If you’re interested, check out Scott Stripling’s excavation of it in this YouTube video.)
Second, what did Yahweh do the fourth time? “Then Yahweh came and stood and called as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, ‘Speak, for Your slave is listening.'” – 1 Samuel 3:10, LSB Yahweh came and stood. I’m assuming he stood on his two legs. So what does that make this? A theophany! (Personally, I think it was a Christophany.)
Theophany: God appearing in the flesh
Christophany: Pre-incarnate Jesus appearing to man
When I’m doing Bible study, I don’t just ask why. I ask, “Why this, not that?” In this case, I ask, “Why did Yahweh call Samuel three times before he appeared?”
Because you’d have had to scrape Samuel off the ceiling of the tabernacle if he’d just appeared with no warning! Can you imagine?
Here’s what he said: And Yahweh said to Samuel, “Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel at which both ears of everyone who hears it will tingle.” -1 Samuel 3:11
It wouldn’t just be Samuel’s ears tingling.
So, yeah, it’s kind of funny that Samuel went trotting to Eli 3 times, but it was actually kindness on Yahweh’s part. Especially because it was a heavy message. Yahweh told Samuel that he was going to judge Eli’s house forever because of the curse his sons had brought on themselves by their sins.
That was a lot for a kid to carry. Don’t we have a kind God?
You can read just how awful Eli’s sons were in 1 Samuel 1-3 and everything Eli, Israel’s high priest, let them get away with. You’ll also see more evidence of Yahweh’s kindness. He’s patient, loving, and merciful. He never pops off. Eli and his sons had years of warnings and opportunities to repent. Even after this warning, given when Samuel was around 12, the priests had years of grace. When judgment finally came, it was around 10 years later.
I’ve created a category called “Divine Pauses” that discuss some of the grace periods God gave us through history. Grace period – aptly named, huh?
We’ll look at that next. Forget the WWE Smackdown. It’s the US Smackdown. The Universal Supernatural Smackdown.
