The spiritual state of Israel

The time was approaching for the young Samuel to receive his calling from the Lord. Before looking into the call, let’s examine the spiritual state of the people of Israel at that time. (1) The time was a transitional period after the times of Moses and Joshua, but before the time of the prophets had arrived. The phrase, “And word from the Lord was rare in those days; visions were infrequent,” indicates that the time was an intermediary period. (2) The eyes of Eli, the high priest, had begun to grow dim, and was unable to see well. He literally was losing his eyesight, but this also symbolizes that his spiritual eyes had faded. He had lost his spiritual discernment and was no longer able to restrain his out-of-control sons. (3) The spirituality of the people of Israel was in a precarious state, like an oil lamp flickering in the wind. The phrase “the lamp of God had not yet gone out” signifies that the flame of the lampstand in the house of the Lord was still burning – small but burning – and that there were still true believers among the people of Israel. (4) At that time, Samuel was sleeping in the temple of the Lord, where the Ark of the Covenant was placed. By this young Samuel, the time of the prophets would be ushered in, and he would become the instrument to rekindle the spiritual lamp among the people.

Lesson for us today

Before the birth of Jesus Christ, there was a similar transitional period – the intertestamental period between the Old Testament time and the New Testament time. During this time, the line of prophets had ceased, and the word of God was nowhere to be heard. The one to break through this spiritual darkness was John the Baptist, who emerged as the forerunner of the Messiah. Luke writes about him, saying, “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, […] in the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John, the son of Zechariah, in the wilderness” (Luke 3:1–2). No matter how dark the spiritual state of this world may become, we shall not lose hope. For a day will surely come when the word of God descends and the spiritual lamp shines brightly. Our mission is to keep that lamp burning, no matter how small it may be, until that day comes.