In what way did Samuel "not yet know the LORD"? (1 Samuel 3:7)
1 Samuel 3:7 In-Context 7 Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD: The word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him. 8 A third time the LORD called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” Then Eli realized that the LORD was calling the boy.
1 Samuel 3:1 - 21
ESV - 1 Now the young man Samuel was ministering to the Lord under Eli. And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision. 2 At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his own place.
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Asked January 14 2024
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Anonymous
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Tim Maas
Supporter
In speaking of how Samuel did not yet know the LORD, various renderings of the cited verse on the biblehub.com website express the idea of the verse as follows: He had never had a message from the LORD before. Samuel did not yet personally experience the LORD, and the word of the LORD was not yet directly revealed to him. The LORD had not spoken to Samuel before, and Samuel did not recognize the voice.
Leslie Coutinho
Supporter
1 Samuel 3:7: Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, neither was the word of the Lord yet revealed unto him. Samuel, after being weaned from drinking his mother's milk, was then taken to the temple and she abode him there. As a child who grew up in the temple with Eli the priest and his sons, who were around the tabernacle of the congregation, knowing what they did to Israel (1 Sam 2:22), yet lived and had a clean heart to discern in the right spirit ministering unto the Lord in the presence of Eli. In those days there were no open visions, as the child Samuel ministered unto the Lord before Eli. (1 Sam 3:1) Samuel, ministering with a right full heart, never had an open vision to hearken and to discern the voice of God or man till Eli the priest told him, "When thou shall hear again, thou shall say 'Speak Lord' for thy servant heareth." (1 Sam 3:9) For there had come a man of God (Angel) unto Eli that He would raise a faithful priest that would do all things which are in His heart and mind of the Lord God that wanted to be done. (1 Sam 2:35) Many a time we fail to hearken to the voice of the Lord in the right spirit, the man who had infirmity for thirty-eight years waiting for the water to be stirred by the pool. The man being made whole on a sabbath day should have taken his bad and gone home and then prepared himself to go to the temple. Afterward when Jesus found him in the temple said unto him, "Thou art made whole; sin no more lest a worse thing come unto thee." For then he knew it was our Lord Jesus that spoke to him and healed him. (John 5:9,14-15) John 5:8: Jesus saith unto him, "Rise take up thy bed, and walk."
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