1 Samuel 3 - No Age Restrictions

Amusement parks. Whether it’s Wonderland, Disney World, or your local town fair, it’s always a good day when you get to go to an amusement park. Well, maybe not always a good day. It’s all fine and dandy for those of you who live in Florida – you can go out in shorts and a T-shirt in the middle of February if you want. But I wouldn’t want to try riding a roller coaster up here in Canada right now… It’s still REALLY cold!

But let’s pretend that it’s your lucky day, and you get to go to an amusement park somewhere warm and sunny! You’ve made it through the front gates where you’re immediately blown away by the explosion of colours in the nearby flower gardens. You’re surrounded by the smells of pizza and pretzels, and you basically drag your parents after you (who just want you to slow down and see everything) as you make a beeline towards the roller coasters. You’ve had only one thought in your head all morning! This year, you know it has to be time. You’re finally tall enough to ride the biggest, fastest roller coaster in the country! You have to be!

You look up as you hear the rumble of a roller coaster above you. The screams of other riders are cut short as they rocket out of earshot. That’ll be you in a few minutes, hanging upside down and whizzing around super sharp turns. But all the sights, smells, and sounds fade away as you see your dreaded nemesis in the distance: the Height Restriction Board!

For years that board has stopped you from riding the best rides. It kept you from riding the bumper cars when you were 5, the water slide when you were 7, and the roller coaster up until now. But this year, that’s all going to change! You stand with your back against the board, confident that you’re tall enough. The park attendant tells you to stop standing on your tip toes.

He pauses for a second.

“Sorry kid… You’re an inch too short. Maybe next year.” And just like that, as the next kid steps up to the board, all your childhood dreams seem to fall apart.

If you’ve ever gone through something like this (and I’m sure most of us have at some point), I want you to remember how that felt. Think about how disappointed you were when you were told you weren’t tall enough or big enough or old enough.

And before we get to our story for today, I just want to say that I know how awful that feeling is. But please know that there are reasons for why some things have limits for how tall or old you have to be. It might seem like the only thing those height or age restrictions are doing is keeping you from having fun, but they’re really there to keep us all safe.

One of the amazing things about God, though, is that there is no height or age restriction to His love. You don’t have to be a certain age to believe in Jesus. He died on the cross for all of us equally, and He wants all of us to trust in Him! And God doesn’t have an age restriction on the people He chooses to do His work either. That’s part of the reason why I’ve always liked the story of Samuel.

You see, Samuel grew up living at the tabernacle, a special tent that the Israelites had set aside to worship God. This was the place where the Israelites could meet directly with God and He could speak to them. And like in any church or temple, there were people who worked in the tabernacle to keep things tidy and to make sure that God was worshipped properly. The Israelites called these people priests, and the main priests in Samuel’s day were a man named Eli and his sons.

Unfortunately, Eli’s sons weren’t very good priests. They often disobeyed God. And because Eli never stopped his sons from disobeying, God had sent a prophet to tell Eli that a new family would soon become the main priests of the tabernacle. But this hadn’t happened quite yet.

Anyways, while Eli dealt with his disobedient sons, he was also responsible for taking care of Samuel. Now we don’t know how long Samuel had been living at the tabernacle when our story begins, but we know that he was still pretty young. I can imagine Samuel looking around at all the priests, people who were a lot older than himself, and wondering if he was just getting in the way. There were probably many days where he thought a little kid like him just wasn’t old enough to be of any use to God. And like our friend from the amusement park who was too short to ride the roller coaster, I’m sure this often made Samuel feel pretty down.

That all changed, however, when a sleeping Samuel was woken up one night by a mysterious voice calling his name: “Samuel, Samuel!”

Now I don’t know about you, but if I had been Samuel, I probably would have jumped out of my bed and grabbed a flashlight as fast as I could! I was always afraid of the dark as a kid, and I still get pretty scared when I hear random noises in the middle of the night. Thankfully, the Bible tells us that Samuel still had some light from the lamp of God that was burning nearby, but I’m sure Samuel still shot up in bed and looked around confused.

After seeing that no one was there, Samuel did the logical thing. He thought to himself, That’s weird. Eli doesn’t usually need me at this time of night. But still, I better make sure everything’s okay. So he called back, “Here I am,” and ran over to Eli’s bed. “Here I am, Eli. You called out to me.”

To which a confused and half asleep Eli only grunted and said, “Mmph… What? No, no I didn’t… Go back to sleep Samuel. You’re imagining things!”

“But I heard…” Samuel replied, his little brow wrinkling in confusion. “I guess it was nothing. I’m sorry I woke you. Goodnight Eli.” Eli didn’t even grunt in response while Samuel returned to his bed.

As he lay back down, Samuel thought to himself, Eli’s probably right. I was probably just dreaming. Or maybe the wind… Yeah! It must’ve been the wind! And with that, Samuel stopped thinking about the mysterious voice. But just as he got comfy and started to fall asleep again, he heard a little louder this time: “Samuel, Samuel!”

Samuel’s eyes shot open. That was no wind! He thought… So once again, Samuel rushed over to Eli’s bed, saying, “Here I am Eli. You called out to me!”

Eli at least rolled over this time but didn’t open his eyes. “You’re just dreaming my boy. I didn’t call for you. Go and sleep!”

So for the second time that night, a confused Samuel returned to his bed, thinking, I don’t get it! I couldn’t have fallen asleep that fast. And it’s not like Eli to lie or play a trick on me. But someone’s definitely saying my name… Maybe if I lie here with my eyes open, I’ll see something.

And that’s exactly what he did. He laid there and kept his eyes open for as long as he could. But if any of you have tried staying awake when you’re really tired, you’ll know how hard this is. Samuel’s eyes grew heavy and started to shut. Must… stay… awake… Samuel thought while trying to hold back a yawn. But just as he was about to fall asleep, the voice called out even clearer than before: “Samuel, Samuel!”

The covers hadn’t even reached the floor by the time Samuel was at Eli’s bed crying, “Here I am!”

It took a few seconds before Eli slowly sat up in bed.  He blinked a few times and rubbed his eyes to help himself focus. Then he looked at Samuel very closely. After a few moments of silent thought, Eli said to himself, The boy’s still so young… Could God really be calling to him?

Finally, Eli smiled at Samuel and said, “Go and lie down. If someone calls out to you again, say, ‘Speak, LORD. I’m listening’” (1 Samuel 3:8, NIrV). And Samuel, now more confused than ever, returned to his bed once again.

In the flickering torchlight, there were probably a hundred thoughts racing through Samuel’s head.  What’s going on here?!? Why is this voice talking to me? And what does God even want with me?!? But before Samuel could think any longer, God called out to Samuel one last time. “Samuel, Samuel!” So Samuel, swallowing, replied like Eli had told him to: “Speak, I’m listening.”

Well, God spoke alright! Unfortunately, it wasn’t a happy message. God confirmed with Samuel what He had said before about replacing Eli and his sons with new priests. And when Eli asked Samuel the next morning what the LORD’s message was, the Bible tells us that Samuel was kind of scared to tell Eli the bad news. But thankfully, Eli wasn’t too upset and accepted what God had decided.

What’s important for our story today, though, is that this wasn’t the last time that God spoke to Samuel. Starting that day, God had all kinds of messages for His new prophet to deliver to the Israelites! In fact, Samuel is the first prophet that the Bible talks about for more than just a chapter or two. But all of this started that night at the tabernacle when Samuel was still a boy.

God could have chosen to speak to anyone in Israel. He could have spoken to Eli or one of the older priests. He could have spoken to one of the current prophets or even one of Israel’s judges. But instead, God chose to speak through a kid probably no older than 12. And this kid would grow up to do amazing things in Israel: lead battles, make sacrifices, and crown kings.

1 Timothy 4:12 says, “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young. Set an example for the believers in what you say and in how you live. Also set an example in how you love and in what you believe. Show the believers how to be pure.” Did you catch that? Don’t think that God just wants us older people to do all the teaching. You guys and girls have a lot to teach us adults too, and one of the best ways you can do that is by being an example for us of how God wants us to live!

But above all, remember this: God can choose anyone to do His work, no matter how little. God invites all of us to listen to Him and trust Him. To follow His commandments and to say and do things that please Him.

So don’t let a height or age restriction get you down. Sure, you might have to wait another year to ride that roller coaster, but know that God is willing to use you now – exactly as you are!

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That's all for now. Next week, we'll be jumping ahead in Samuel's story a little bit to when Samuel was all grown up. And no, things didn't get any easier for Samuel when he was older... But you'll hear more about that next Thursday. Hope to see you then!

~Brentagious