Advent Midweek 2, 2024

Text: 1 Samuel 3:1-21

Title: Night in the Church

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The Lord comes at night.

Night is a time of fear and loneliness.  Night is a time of danger and doubt.

But the Lord comes at night.

Long ago, the Lord came to Samuel as he lay dreaming in Shiloh.

Samuel was Hannah’s miracle baby.  Her battle with infertility, her lack of children had left her feeling ashamed and abandoned by the Lord.

But the Lord heard Hannah’s prayer, and He blessed her with a son, Samuel.  And when Samuel was old enough, she brought him to the tabernacle, dedicating him to a life of service to the Lord.

There, in that very tabernacle, at night, the Lord called Samuel.

You probably know the first part of the story well.

The Lord calls Samuel by name, but Samuel thinks it’s the voice of the old priest, Eli.

And it takes three times of the Lord’s calling before Eli realizes what is going on and tells Samuel how to respond.  It’s almost comical.

And that’s where we usually end the story. The Lord calls, Samuel responds, all is good, right?

But did you hear what the Lord called Samuel for? What His message to him was?

This was a dark time for the people of Israel. On the one hand, they were at war with the Philistines and losing badly.  It would all come to a head in a few years when a giant named Goliath issued a challenge to the Israelite army, and the only one bold enough to respond was a young shepherd boy named David.  But that’s a story for another day.

Even worse than Israel’s military problems were their religious problems.

Eli the priest was getting old.  And his sons, Hophni and Phineas were running the show. They were priests by birth, but they were not men of faith.

And they used their position as priests to take advantage of the people.

They stole from them.  They took the best portions of meat for themselves, and they threatened those would not go along.

And they even slept with the women who served in the Lord’s house.

This was not a hidden thing.  This was not a secret.  Everyone knew, including Eli.  But Eli did nothing to discipline his sons.  He allowed them to continue in their wickedness.

It was a dark time for the people of Israel. Night had fallen.

But the Lord comes at night.  He called Samuel to be the new priest, His new leader to call the people of Israel back to Him.

In Samuel, the Lord gave His people a man would be faithful and represent Him to them.

Eventually, Samuel would anoint the first kings of Israel, first Saul, and then David, who would make the nation strong, and who would reinvigorate the worship life of the people.

But first, it took some cleaning house.

And that’s what Jesus came to do.

Once again, in Jesus’ day, the priests and religious leaders of Israel had become corrupt.  They took advantage of the people and enriched themselves.  They were not men of faith.

And so, Jesus chased them out of God’s house with a whip, overturning their tables of money.

And Jesus Himself became the great high priest, the one who would be God’s representative to the people and to offer Himself as the final sacrifice for sin.

We are in a dark place once more in our congregations.

Church attendance dwindles.  Young people abandon the faith, and parents no longer raise their children to know the Lord.  Christianity is a quaint relic of the past for some, and a symbol of intolerance and repression for others.

Much of the blame must be borne by the pastors and priests of our day, many of whom resemble the wicked sons of Eli, those who take advantage of their flock, those who seek positions of leadership for financial gain, and even take sexual advantage of and abusing those in their care.

And there have been those like Eli who turned a blind eye and failed to discipline the abusers under their authority.

Perhaps you yourself have experienced this mistreatment at the hands of spiritual leaders.  Perhaps you know those who have and have left the church because of it.

It is night once more.

But the Lord comes at night.

And He Himself continues to serve as High Priest, even now.

Jesus continues to intercede for you, to bring your prayers and petitions before the heavenly Father. 

You have a High Priest who will never take advantage of you, who will never abuse you, who will never put Himself before you.

And we pray that the Lord will continue to call faithful servants like Samuel, who will serve with honesty and integrity, who will preside at the Lord’s House with dignity and respect, even into the night.

When you need someone to pray for you, to speak God’s Word to you, find a faithful pastor.

And know that you can always go to Jesus, your great High Priest, even in your darkest hour, even in the middle of the night, for our Lord comes at night.

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