Obscured Vision

1 Samuel 3:1-20
Give credit to the Old Testament authors—especially the author of Samuel!—because they knew how to tell stories. What they wrote was more than just history because they were interpreting the events for people at a later time, trying to help them see the triumphs and the sorrows of the earlier period. As they told these stories, they framed them carefully and gave minute details at just the right moment to really bring out their point. Not only was this a matter of artistry, but it also was a necessity since the materials for scrolls were so rare. So, the authors had to share the most important details and leave out the rest.
The first two verses of this story contain multiple details like that, and the one which stands out today is this: “At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see…” If you are reading carefully, your ears might perk up at these words. As you begin to consider why the author would tell us this, you remember that there was another famous person with this condition; and we were told about him in much the same language. We read in Genesis 27:1, “When Isaac was old and his eyes were dim so that he could not see…” That was when Jacob tricked Isaac into blessing him! Already, the author has primed us to think that something like that will happen here. Who will trick Eli? What will be the consequences? Our eyes are alert and ready as we keep reading…
But no such thing happens. There is no trick. Why then did the author tell us about Eli’s condition? The answer lies in another little phrase in the middle of the passage: “The Lord called Samuel again, a third time…Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy” (3:8). It is here that we realize that, though the author was talking about Eli’s physical eyesight, this was a reference to Eli’s spiritual sight. Eli was the priest of the people in this region, and he already had failed at his duties multiple times. He misperceived Hannah’s prayers, taking her for a drunk instead of for a woman desperately crying out to God. He did not see the evil things which his sons were doing, only hearing about them after the fact. Then here, the man of God who is supposed to be attuned to the Lord and his ways, did not recognize that God was calling Samuel until the third time. He should have seen it from the beginning, but as the word of judgment spoken against Eli shows, the iniquity of him and his house already was so great that he no longer was able to see the Lord rightly.
As we think about this story, we might consider what things in our lives—even physical things—get in the way of us being able to see God when he is at work. It is so easy for these things to obscure our vision because they take our focus off of God. If we are consumed with our jobs or our families or our money and not taking time to look to God, then we will miss what he is doing or what he has to say to us. If we spend our time on sins like lusting after another or being envious of our neighbor or filling our lives with lies, then we will not have a moment to spare for God or his righteousness. If we think only of the misery which we suffer from a physical ailment or a lack of food, money, or shelter; then we will forget to look to our God who provides healing and our every need. Let us then keep our eyes clear and focused on God. -TL

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