[One-Verse Meditation]

1 Samuel 2:26 (NIV) “And the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor with the LORD and with people.”

[Meditation]

The corruption shown by Eli’s two sons was a microcosm of the spiritual state of all Israel at that time. Since the priests who were supposed to teach God’s word to the people “did not know the LORD” (2:12), the era was nothing short of a spiritual dark age. The spiritual bankruptcy of the priesthood meant the bankruptcy of the entire nation.

But in the midst of that darkness, God was quietly nurturing a light of life. The Bible records the scene this way: “And the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor with the LORD and with people.” This verse calls to mind the description of the boy Jesus’s own growth in the Gospel of Luke.

“And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.” (Luke 2:52)

The deeper the darkness, the brighter the light shines. While Eli the priest grew spiritually dark and could not hear God’s voice, the boy Samuel heard His call with a pure heart. The stark contrast between the corrupt priestly family and the holy, growing child (and future priest) is the central dynamic that drives the entire book of Samuel.

Today’s passage stops us and makes us ask: are we not living lives full of zeal for the wrong things—the greed of Eli’s sons to fatten themselves, the misguided love of Eli who made an idol of his children—placing something more precious than God in our hearts?

But here lies the reversal. Because the God who raised up Samuel in this darkness is the One who turns us back from that misplaced zeal and restores in us a holy zeal for Him. That is how the Lord allows us to enjoy true life.

[Prayer]

Lord, help me to know that nothing is more precious than You, so that I may listen to Your word. With the light of that word, drive out the darkness within me and let this be a blessed new day of living as a child of the light. Amen.
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[Daily Reading]

1 Samuel 2:26-3:5