사무엘상 3:2 주석

In the foregoing chapter we had Samuel a young priest, though by birth a Levite only, for he ministered before the Lord in a linen ephod; in this chapter we have him a young prophet, which was more, God in an extraordinary manner revealing himself to him, and in him reviving, if not commencing, prophecy in Israel. Here is, I. God's first manifestation of himself in an extraordinary manner to Samuel (Sa1 3:1-10). II. The message he sent by him to Eli (Sa1 3:11-14). III. The faithful delivery of that message to Eli, and his submission to the righteousness of God in it (Sa1 3:15-18). IV. The establishment of Samuel to be a prophet in Israel (Sa1 3:19-21).

INTRODUCTION TO FIRST SAMUEL 3 This chapter gives an account of the Lord's calling to Samuel in the night season, which he first took for the voice of Eli, but being instructed by him, made answer to the voice, Sa1 3:1, and of a message sent from him by Samuel to Eli, foretelling the destruction of his family, Sa1 3:11 and of the delivery of it to him, which Samuel was first fearful of doing, but, encouraged by Eli, he delivered it to him, to which he patiently submitted, Sa1 3:15 and the chapter is closed with the establishment of Samuel as a prophet of the Lord, who continued to appear and reveal himself to him, Sa1 3:19.

And it came to pass at that time,.... When the word of the Lord was scarce and precious, and there was no open vision; or, as Ben Gersom, the same day the man of God came to Eli at night, the following affair happened: when Eli was laid down in his place; on his bed to sleep, in one of the chambers or apartments of the tabernacle; for as there were such in the temple for the priests, so in that: and his eyes began to wax dim, that he could not see; to help himself to anything he might want when in bed; which seems to be the reason Samuel lay near him, and why, when he heard his voice, he immediately ran to him, supposing he needed his assistance. Some, as Kimchi and others, understand this not of the eyes of his body, but of his mind; and that the Holy Spirit, as a spirit of prophecy, was departing from him, because of his connivance at the sins of his sons; and so the following prophecy came not to him, but to Samuel.

6. For the boy Samuel is called by the Lord whenever the secrets of divine counsel are revealed to humble subjects, and they acquire by the merit of their humility the light of contemplation, which proud preachers lose as the recompense of their pride. But it should be noted that this is shown to have happened on a certain day, on which Eli is reported both to have been lying in his place and to have been unable to see. For he is called in the daytime who is raised up to know the secrets of heavenly wisdom for his own and others' salvation. On the contrary, Solomon received wisdom in the night, so that the darkness of the time might indicate that he would not receive that same wisdom with perseverance (1 Kings 3:5, 12). This can also be understood in another way, since the darkness of Eli is mentioned. By the setting of the daytime, the greatness of his blindness is shown, because he surely had great darkness who did not see in the day. Now also, if we look to the state of the Church, there is a general grace of light. For He came who, scattering the rays of true brightness, would say: "I am the light of the world; he who follows me does not walk in darkness" (John 8:12). And because the glory of His inner splendor is ineffable, it does not say "on this day" or "on that day," but "on a certain day"—whose brightness certainly exists, but the greatness of whose brightness is unknown. Therefore the Pastor endures great darkness if he who is known to be the eye of the Church by his office does not have vision amid the grace of so great a light. Wherefore Truth itself shows the darkness of that same eye to be great, saying: "How great will that darkness be!" (Matthew 6:23). But now the text suggests whence so great a darkness arises for him, because it says: "He was lying in his place." For the place of the preacher carries the duty of standing, not of lying down. Whence also the Lord provides an example of this to preachers concerning Himself, saying: "But I am in the midst of you as one who serves" (Luke 22:27). For to stand in the midst of the brethren is to offer oneself as an example to those beneath through a laborious manner of life. To stand, therefore, pertains to the labor of work and to the necessity of battle. Whence also the director of the spiritual contest commands, saying: "Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth" (Ephesians 6:14). And because lying down belongs to one who is at rest, he who is said to lie in his place is rebuked for following the lukewarmness of rest in the place of battle and labor. To stand is also the mark of the just man. Whence Paul also says: "For by faith you stand" (2 Corinthians 1:23). To lie down therefore also pertains to the negligence of a more lax life. Thus Eli lies in his place when a reprobate preacher rests in the seat of the just man through a fall into wickedness. Therefore the eyes of one lying in his place grow dim, because those who do not carry out works of virtue from the height of the pastoral summit, but are immersed in the allurements of a more lax life, are unable to see the highest things. He is indeed called the lamp of God no longer in the truth of praise, but as a reproach of derision. For he who bears the title of lamp of God and is reported to be unable to see is rather mocked by so great a name by which he is called. For in true praise of the just man it is said: "He was a burning and shining lamp" (John 5:35). For the radiance of the true light which he had drunk in by loving, he poured forth by speaking. Even the carnal preacher is called a lamp by his office but blind in his intention, because he holds the dignity of providing light but fixes his mind on the darkness of vanity. 7. His thoroughly consummate perversity is indicated by the fact that it does not say "he did not see," but "he could not see." For this reason also, when the Lord mentions the bad tree, He says: "A bad tree cannot bring forth good fruit" (Matt. 7:18). The lamp of God, therefore, cannot be seen when he who stands preeminent in pastoral dignity is pressed down by so great a thickness of worldly love that he is raised by no inspiration of grace toward the vision of interior brightness; when, that is, cast out by the just indignation of God, he is left in the blindness of his own darkness, so that he is never again visited by the infusion of heavenly light. But it is well said: "Before it was extinguished." For not to see is the punishment of a sinner still living in this present age, but not to be able to see belongs to the dead wicked man already condemned to eternal punishment in the age to come. Hence also, by the judgment of the Creator, he is commanded to be shut in outer darkness, so that he may never be brought back to the sight of light. Therefore, when the reprobate preacher, still living in this present age, is said to have been unable to see before the lamp was extinguished, he is likened to the wicked man already condemned to perpetual blindness. Now the lamp is extinguished when the pastor dies. Or certainly the lamp is extinguished because when the reprobate preacher perishes through the death of the flesh, whatever in him seemed to shine he loses from the glory of his high position, and he remains like the mere clay vessel of a lamp without light, when the person is forced to be kept for the eternal judgment who is utterly stripped of all worldly splendor. Therefore, before the lamp of God is extinguished, he cannot see, because he both possesses the merit of future damnation through the eternity of his blindness, and yet still shines before men through the splendor of the dignity he received. (Verse 3.) Now Samuel was sleeping in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was.

4. For his vision would have been clear, if he had believed in the Redeemer whom he had heard had come to visit him. Concerning this blindness of his, it is added: (Verse 2.) Now it came to pass that Eli was lying in his place, and he could not see the lamp of God before it was extinguished. For the vision of Eli is not clear, because the priesthood of the Jews is buried in the blindness of its own faithlessness. Eli therefore lies in his place, because he both possesses the letter of the law, and yet in the law and the prophets he does not have the standing of light, but the fall of blindness. For the place of Eli, that is, of the Jewish preacher, is the sacred law. Because therefore the Jewish priesthood still possesses Sacred Scripture, it is in its place. And because, not knowing the power of Sacred Scripture, it is not raised up to the standing of faith, it is rightly said not to stand in its place, but to lie down. Because likewise it has been cast out until the end of the world, it is recorded as being unable to see the lamp of God. Hence also, when they daily receive so many exhortations of preaching from holy Church, when the Jews, overcome by so many assertions of the sacred faith, still do not believe, what else is this but what we read about them in Sacred Scripture, and also hold through experience — namely, that they have been cast out, not only so that they do not see, but so that they cannot even see? Hence also the apostles, reckoning as futile the labor spent on those who could not see, say in their Acts: "Because you have made yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles" (Acts 13:46). But he who is reported as unable to see is called the lamp of God. For the ministry of the Synagogue was the lamp of God, when in the chosen Patriarchs it shone both through the light of true preaching and through the promise of the coming Redeemer. Which lamp indeed could not be seen while Samuel was ministering, because at the time of the new preaching, the authority of the Synagogue incurred the punishment of perpetual rejection. 5. And it should be noted that it is not said that it could not give light, because indeed it still carries the light of Holy Scripture for us, but it does not know what it carries. Hence it is also said that before it was extinguished, it could not see. For it is not yet extinguished, and it cannot see, because certainly, as I have already said, it bears a light that it does not heed; for before it is extinguished, it exists as long as it shines. And because Holy Scripture is not taken away from it all the way until the end of the world, if before it is extinguished it does not see, it extends in blindness until the end of the world. But if its lighting is referred to the zeal of its unbelief, it cannot see precisely because it is not extinguished. For if it were to extinguish the fire of unbelief from its mind, with the zeal of impiety removed, it would open the eyes of the mind to the light of the pleasure of true faith. But since it is said to be unable to see, it is declared an unworthy lamp, and the one that is worthy is sought for seeing those things.

It happened on a certain day, Eli was lying in his place, etc. He designates the lamp of God according to the dignity of Eli's rank. But by signification, we correctly take the lamp to mean the old priesthood, necessary indeed in the night under the shadow of the serving people, but to be removed with the approach of the day of new grace. For just as the lamp shining only in houses during the night, closed off, is not sufficient to spread the rays of its brightness more widely, but the sun, when it rises, illuminates everything both outside and inside so thoroughly that even the light of the lamp becomes less useful or indeed extinguishable; rightly, this is compared to the knowledge of the law, which shone as if enclosed within one house of Judea, while the other nations outside were oppressed by the terror of blind night. To the Gospel, which, after enlightening Judea, also dispelled the far-reaching shadows of Gentilism. And just as the rising sun would hide or even extinguish the lamp, the Apostle shows, speaking of the letter and the spirit: "For what was glorified has no glory now in comparison to the surpassing glory. And if what was fading away came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts" (2 Corinthians 3). Therefore, Eli was lying in his place, and his eyes had grown dim, and he could not see the lamp of God, before the dignity of the old priesthood and law he served was extinguished; which ought to have watched, stood firm in faith, acted manfully, and been strengthened at the time of the Lord's Incarnation, degenerating from the alacrity of its original state, was languishing as if worn out by old age; nor was it yet clear in the light of true sense, for it had been greatly deprived of this light by the secondary interpretations of the Pharisees, after the things perfected by Christ's blood.

Samuel ministers to the Lord before Eli, Sa1 3:1. He is thrice called by the Lord; who informs him of the evils which shall be brought on the house of Eli, Sa1 3:2-15. Eli inquires of Samuel what the Lord had said, Sa1 3:16, Sa1 3:17. He gives a faithful reunion of the whole, which Eli receives with great submission, Sa1 3:18. Samuel prospers; is established as a prophet in Israel; and the Lord reveals himself to him to Shiloh, Sa1 3:19-21.

Eli was laid down in his place - It is very likely that as the ark was a long time at Shiloh, they had built near to it certain apartments for the high priest and others more immediately employed about the tabernacle. In one of these, near to that of Eli, perhaps under the same roof, Samuel lay when he was called by the Lord.

THE LORD APPEARS TO SAMUEL IN A VISION. (Sa1 3:1-10) the child Samuel ministered unto the Lord before Eli--His ministry consisted, of course, of such duties in or about the sanctuary as were suited to his age, which is supposed now to have been about twelve years. Whether the office had been specially assigned him, or it arose from the interest inspired by the story of his birth, Eli kept him as his immediate attendant; and he resided not in the sanctuary, but in one of the tents or apartments around it, assigned for the accommodation of the priests and Levites, his being near to that of the high priest. the word of the Lord was precious in those days--It was very rarely known to the Israelites; and in point of fact only two prophets are mentioned as having appeared during the whole administration of the judges (Jdg 4:4; Jdg 6:8). there was no open vision--no publicly recognized prophet whom the people could consult, and from whom they might learn the will of God. There must have been certain indubitable evidences by which a communication from heaven could be distinguished. Eli knew them, for he may have received them, though not so frequently as is implied in the idea of an "open vision."