The Voice In The Dark

Psalm 99:6-9

6Moses and Aaron were among his priests;

Samuel also called on his name.

They cried to the LORD for help,

and he answered them.

7He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud,

and they followed the decrees and principles he gave them.

8O LORD our God, you answered them.

You were a forgiving God,

but you punished them when they went wrong.

9Exalt the LORD our God

and worship at his holy mountain in Jerusalem,

for the LORD our God is holy!

It was the third time that night! Little Samuel kept having nightmares, hearing voices in the darkness, and waking up Eli the priest to see if he had called him.

The boy insisted he had heard his name clear as day. “Samuel! Samuel!”

“Go back to bed,” the old priest said, probably figuring it was the boy’s imagination.

By the third time, Eli figured that maybe it wasn’t Samuel’s imagination. Maybe it was God trying to get his attention. God had spoken to Moses in a burning bush and to Gideon under an oak tree. Why couldn’t he be calling this boy in his bedroom?

“Go and lie down again,” Eli instructed. “If someone calls again, say, ‘Yes, Lord, your servant is listening’ ” (1 Samuel 3:8-9).

The voice did call his name once again, and God gave young Samuel a message for the nation—the first of many this prophet would receive. And throughout his life, Samuel, in turn, called on God’s name, just as Moses and Aaron did, and the Lord communicated with them. This is the wonder that Psalm 99 describes: God shakes the earth, but he talks with his people on earth. He gets his point across not only with thunder and lightning but also with midnight whispers. We exalt the Lord because he is awesome, yet he also calls us his children.

Sinners, whose love can ne’er forget

The wormwood and the gall,

Go, spread your trophies at his feet,

And crown him Lord of all.

EDWARD PERRONET

Notable Quotable

“He forgave the sinners, but he slew their sins.”

CHARLES HADDON SPURGEON

Thought to Ponder

God’s holiness demands a response from us. See 1 Peter 1:16.