The two books of Samuel and Kings tells the story of the inauguration and implementation of kingship in Israel (and eventually Judah.) What develops along side of the office of king is that of prophet. Kings and prophets serve as a point/ counterpoint in the relationship of God with the chosen people. The kings are to implement the plan of God in the world, the prophets are to hold the king’s feet to the fire making sure it is God’s will that they are doing. Samuel is the first of the royal prophets and he began as a young man to learn how to hear the word of God. The LORD called Samuel, who rose and went to Eli. “Here I am,” he said. “You called me.” What is striking about that story is the the voice of God is not thunderclaps and echoling effects ala Cecil B. DeMille. Rather, the voice of God is indistinguishable from a human voice. The challenge for us is to hear the voice of God in the many voices competing for our attention. It will be a human voice — the voice of someone needing consolation in grief, the voice of the hungry and homeless, the voice of the lost and confused. the voice of the used and abused. Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.
