LESSON 6: SAMUEL WHO WAS SELECTED BY GOD

Don’t you like to hear stories? There was a young boy about your age who was called by God. Do you know who that lucky boy was? His name was Samuel.

On the mountains of Ephraim, there was a man named Elkanah. He had two wives named Hannah and Peninnah. Hannah had no children. She often went to church and prayed to God. She spoke in her heart, only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard. Seeing this, the priest in the church thought that she was drunk. She told him that she was sharing her worries with God. The priest blessed her saying, “Go in peace, and the God of Israel will grant your petition which you have asked of Him.”

A year later, Hannah conceived and bore a son. She called him Samuel, saying, “Because I have asked for him from the Lord.” She had prayed, “As God gave me a son, I will offer him to the Lord for his whole life.”

When Samuel got older, his parents took him to the church and gave him to the priest. Hannah worshiped the Lord saying, “For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition which I asked of Him. Therefore, I also have lent him to the Lord; as long as he lives, he shall be lent to the Lord.”

His parents returned home. Samuel lived with Eli, the priest, and served the Lord. Samuel grew with great competence and abilities, and in favor both with the Lord and people. On the other hand, the sons of Eli grew up without any faith in God.

Eli was very old. And it came to that time, when Eli was lying down in his place, and when his eyes had begun to grow dim. The Lord called Samuel. He ran to Eli thinking that Eli had called him. Eli replied, “I did not call you. Go back and lie down.” This happened three times. Eli understood that God was calling Samuel. Eli told Samuel to respond with, “Speak, Lord, for Your servant hears.” Samuel went and lay down in his place. The Lord came, stood, and called as other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Samuel replied as Eli told him to. God told Samuel even though Eli knew that his sons were corrupt, he did not warn them, so the family would have to face punishment regarding this. Samuel told Eli about the words of God. As God was with him from his childhood, Samuel became a sincere servant of God.

MY DECISION:

AS SAMUEL GREW UP IN FAVOUR BOTH WITH GOD AND PEOPLE, I WILL ALSO BE THE SAME. GOD, AS YOU WERE WITH SAMUEL FROM HIS CHILDHOOD, BE WITH ME ALSO.

BIBLE VERSE:

1 Samuel 2:26 : “And the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favour with the LORD and with people.”

Reading Portion:

1 Samuel 1, 1 Samuel 2, & 1 Samuel 3

Fill in the Blanks:

(LORD, bed, voice, listening, boy, third, Eli, Samuel)

1. God gave Hannah a baby __________ and she named him Samuel.
2. One day, when ____________________ was just a boy, he was lying down in the temple.
3. He didn’t know God and thought the voice was coming from the priest, Eli. So, he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am.” Eli said, “I did not call you.” “Go back to _________.”
4. The _______________ called Samuel a second time.
5. The LORD called Samuel a _______________ time.
6. So, he ran to _______________ again and said, “Here I am.”
7. Eli told Samuel, “Go back to bed. And if you hear the voice again say, ‘Speak LORD, for your servant is ____________________..’”
8. We also need to listen for the _______________ of God and do what he tells us to do.