kjv@1Samuel:3:1@ And the child Samuel ministered unto the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was precious in those days; there was no open vision.
kjv@1Samuel:3:2@ And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place, and his eyes began to wax dim, that he could not see;
kjv@1Samuel:3:3@ And ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep;
kjv@1Samuel:3:4@ That the LORD called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I.
kjv@1Samuel:3:5@ And he ran unto Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou calledst me. And he said, I called not; lie down again. And he went and lay down.
kjv@1Samuel:3:6@ And the LORD called yet again, Samuel. And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And he answered, I called not, my son; lie down again.
kjv@1Samuel:3:7@ Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, neither was the word of the LORD yet revealed unto him.
kjv@1Samuel:3:8@ And the LORD called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And Eli perceived that the LORD had called the child.
kjv@1Samuel:3:9@ Therefore Eli said unto Samuel, Go, lie down: and it shall be, if he call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, LORD; for thy servant heareth. So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
kjv@1Samuel:3:10@ And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth.
kjv@1Samuel:3:11@ And the LORD said to Samuel, Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle.
kjv@1Samuel:3:12@ In that day I will perform against Eli all things which I have spoken concerning his house: when I begin, I will also make an end.
kjv@1Samuel:3:13@ For I have told him that I will judge his house for ever for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not.
kjv@1Samuel:3:14@ And therefore I have sworn unto the house of Eli, that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering for ever.
kjv@1Samuel:3:15@ And Samuel lay until the morning, and opened the doors of the house of the LORD. And Samuel feared to shew Eli the vision.
kjv@1Samuel:3:16@ Then Eli called Samuel, and said, Samuel, my son. And he answered, Here am I.
kjv@1Samuel:3:17@ And he said, What is the thing that the LORD hath said unto thee? I pray thee hide it not from me: God do so to thee, and more also, if thou hide any thing from me of all the things that he said unto thee.
kjv@1Samuel:3:18@ And Samuel told him every whit, and hid nothing from him. And he said, It is the LORD: let him do what seemeth him good.
kjv@1Samuel:3:19@ And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground.
kjv@1Samuel:3:20@ And all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the LORD.
kjv@1Samuel:3:21@ And the LORD appeared again in Shiloh: for the LORD revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the LORD.
Some of the greatest sins for which we are judged are not in us performing the acts ourselves but in us not restraining those we know who are performing them. The judgment is the same. So the next time you think "I have not sinned" think back on whom it is your responsibility to restrain and have not.
kjv@1Samuel:3:13 extends sin to include those knowingly do not restrain others from sin. Here in kjv@1Samuel:3:17 we perceive a further guilt to those who have been given a special revelation of knowledge from the LORD and withhold it.
So few characters in the bible are portrayed in a favorable light; odds are that we wouldn't be either. Even the few we look up to are as human and mistake prone and sinful as anyone else. What is it then that separates a Saul from a David? We could say that Saul fought honorably for the country he loved. We could say that he wanted everything to be passed down to his sons. We can say that he tried many times to show us that he was religious. We could say that he had to make hard political decisions in a time of tremendous up evil and national transition. We could say that David was an adulterous murderer, a divisive political figure, a poor husband, a poor father, handled his daughter's rape poorly, even lacked the political alliances to keep himself being forced back into exile later by his own son. Yet these two men's eulogies in the end greatly differ. I think I know the answer. I am banking on that answer in my own mixed up life. I will leave it to the reader to conclude for themselves.
2012 - pBiblx2 Field Wise Bible System Version 2.0.9d - GPL3
