Samuel’s Failure

…the boy Samuel grew in stature and in favor with the LORD and with men…Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him and let nothing he said prove false. All Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was a confirmed prophet of the LORD. The LORD continued to appear in Shiloh, because there He revealed Himself to Samuel by His word. - 1 Samuel 2:26; 3:19-21 HCSB

As a young man, Samuel was a rare find. His mother dedicated him to the Lord and left him at the Temple immediately after he was weaned. His character was near perfection. “Holekh va’gadel” the Bible says, “he constantly grows”. He was good, “Gam im Hashem ve’gam im anashim,” good according to both God and men.

Very few men have received such praise, at least not from the lips of Yahweh. It was only when he grew older that he fell into the same sin that his mentor Eli fell. You see Samuel was a great judge, an awesome priest and famous for his blunt veracity; but Samuel was a poor father.

The Bible says, “Samuel judged Israel throughout his life. Every year he would go on a circuit to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah and would judge Israel at all these locations. Then he would return to Ramah because his home was there, he judged Israel there, and he had built an altar to the LORD there.”[1]

Who was rearing his boys while Samuel was busy practicing his ministry all over the country? I know – they had a mother. Strangely enough his wife is never mentioned. This is not due to a patristic society, because many wonderful mothers are mentioned in the Scriptures, including Samuel’s: the woman known for powerful, emotional prayer named Hannah.

A single mother can do a wonderful job raising her son, but we must admit that she is handicapped. She is coming from behind. Unfortunately, there are a lot of married single mothers in our society. There are many children for whom “father” is a word used to indicate a man who occasionally sleeps in the same house they do.

Samuel was either privileged or cursed with the calling to announce to Eli that his failure with his sons would result in his family’s loss of the priesthood.[2] It is too bad that Samuel himself did not pay heed to this solemn warning. As he aged, he became so focused on the business of ministry that he lost his family.[3]

That loss led to the loss of respect for his calling by the people of Israel. They no longer trusted his judgment and thus no longer trusted God. This loss of trust led them to demand a king so they could be like all the other nations.[4]

Elder of God’s House, Pastor – do not neglect your household. For if anyone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of God’s church?[5]


[1] 1 Samuel 7:15-17 HCSB
[2] 1 Samuel 3:11-18
[3] 1 Samuel 8:1-3
[4] 1 Samuel 8:5
[5] 1 Timothy 3:4-5