Single lesson
Samuel: Learning to Listen
1 Samuel 3:1–21
In this lesson, children hear how Samuel first recognised that Yahweh was calling him. They will trace the repeated calls, Samuel’s answer, and what happened when he later told Eli the message he had received.
Before you teach
This passage says Samuel was serving Yahweh before Eli at a time when Yahweh’s word was rare and visions were not many. During the night, while Samuel was in Yahweh’s temple near the ark, Yahweh called him, spoke to him, and later made Samuel known in Israel.
Students will be able to describe that Samuel answered Eli three times, then answered Yahweh as instructed, and later told Eli the message without hiding it.
Welcome: Hearing and answering
5 minAsk children to listen quietly for a few seconds, then explain that today’s story repeats a simple answer: “Here I am.” Introduce Samuel as a child ministering to Yahweh before Eli. Point out that the passage begins by saying Yahweh’s word was rare, so this call matters in the story.
1 Samuel 3:1, 1 Samuel 3:4, 1 Samuel 3:5
Read and explain: Three calls and one clear answer
8 minRead verses 1 to 10 aloud. Help children notice the order: Yahweh called Samuel, Samuel thought Eli had called, and this happened three times. Explain that Samuel did not yet know Yahweh in this way, because Yahweh’s word had not yet been revealed to him. Eli then told Samuel what to say if the call came again.
1 Samuel 3:4, 1 Samuel 3:5, 1 Samuel 3:6, 1 Samuel 3:7, 1 Samuel 3:8, 1 Samuel 3:9, 1 Samuel 3:10
Discuss: Listening and telling the message truthfully
6 minExplain carefully that when Samuel answered, Yahweh gave him a hard message about Eli’s house. The next morning Samuel was afraid to tell Eli the vision. Then Eli called Samuel, asked what Yahweh had said, and warned him not to hide anything. Samuel then told him every bit and hid nothing. In this passage, listening also led to truthful speaking.
1 Samuel 3:11, 1 Samuel 3:12, 1 Samuel 3:13, 1 Samuel 3:14, 1 Samuel 3:15, 1 Samuel 3:16, 1 Samuel 3:17, 1 Samuel 3:18
Make and respond: Call sequence cards
7 minChildren make five simple cards labelled 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. On cards 1 to 3, they draw Samuel running to Eli and saying, “Here I am.” On card 4, they draw Samuel answering, “Speak; for your servant hears.” On card 5, they draw Samuel telling Eli the message. Then they place the cards in order and retell the passage to a partner.
1 Samuel 3:5, 1 Samuel 3:6, 1 Samuel 3:8, 1 Samuel 3:9, 1 Samuel 3:10, 1 Samuel 3:16, 1 Samuel 3:17, 1 Samuel 3:18
Closing: What Samuel did when God called
4 minFinish by reading the final verses. Point out that Yahweh was with Samuel, and people across Israel knew he was established as Yahweh’s prophet. Ask children to describe the full sequence: Samuel answered Eli three times, then replied as instructed to Yahweh, and later reported the message to Eli. This keeps the whole passage together.
1 Samuel 3:5, 1 Samuel 3:6, 1 Samuel 3:8, 1 Samuel 3:9, 1 Samuel 3:10, 1 Samuel 3:16, 1 Samuel 3:17, 1 Samuel 3:18, 1 Samuel 3:19, 1 Samuel 3:20, 1 Samuel 3:21
Questions to explore
Why did Samuel keep going to Eli at first?
The passage says Samuel did not yet know Yahweh and had not yet had Yahweh’s word revealed to him, so he thought Eli had called him.
1 Samuel 3:5, 1 Samuel 3:7
What words did Eli tell Samuel to say when Yahweh called again?
Look for Eli’s exact instruction and then compare it with Samuel’s answer when Yahweh called the next time.
1 Samuel 3:9, 1 Samuel 3:10
What happened between Samuel’s fear and Samuel’s telling Eli everything?
Notice that Eli called Samuel, asked what Yahweh had said, and told him not to hide anything before Samuel told him every bit.
1 Samuel 3:15, 1 Samuel 3:16, 1 Samuel 3:17, 1 Samuel 3:18
Make, think or respond
Samuel’s Call Sequence Cards
What you’ll need
- Paper or card scraps
- Pencils or crayons
- Scissors
Try it together
- Give each child five small pieces of paper or card.
- Label them 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.
- Draw Samuel going to Eli on cards 1, 2, and 3, Samuel answering Yahweh on card 4, and Samuel telling Eli the message on card 5.
- Place the cards in order and use them to retell the passage with a partner.
This activity helps children remember the repeated calls, Eli’s instruction, Samuel’s answer, and Samuel’s truthful report to Eli in the order given by the passage.
Adapt for your group
- For younger children, the leader can prepare the number labels and have children act out only the repeated answer “Here I am”, then “Speak; for your servant hears”, and finally Samuel reporting to Eli.
- For older or stronger readers, ask them to read verses 7, 15, 17, and 19 aloud and explain how Samuel changed across the passage.
An optional closing prayer
Proposed words: “Lord, please help us listen carefully and answer with willing hearts. Help us speak truthfully like Samuel in this passage. Amen.”
Read the Bible passage World English Bible Classic
1 Samuel 3
1 The child Samuel ministered to Yahweh before Eli. Yahweh’s word was rare in those days. There were not many visions, then.
2 At that time, when Eli was laid down in his place (now his eyes had begun to grow dim, so that he could not see),
3 and God’s lamp hadn’t yet gone out, and Samuel had laid down in Yahweh’s temple where God’s ark was,
4 Yahweh called Samuel. He said, “Here I am.”
5 He ran to Eli and said, “Here I am; for you called me.” He said, “I didn’t call. Lie down again.” He went and lay down.
6 Yahweh called yet again, “Samuel!” Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; for you called me.” He answered, “I didn’t call, my son. Lie down again.”
7 Now Samuel didn’t yet know Yahweh, neither was Yahweh’s word yet revealed to him.
8 Yahweh called Samuel again the third time. He arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; for you called me.” Eli perceived that Yahweh had called the child.
9 Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down. It shall be, if he calls you, that you shall say, ‘Speak, Yahweh; for your servant hears.’ ” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
10 Yahweh came, and stood, and called as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel said, “Speak; for your servant hears.”
11 Yahweh said to Samuel, “Behold, I will do a thing in Israel at which both the ears of everyone who hears it will tingle.
12 In that day I will perform against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from the beginning even to the end.
13 For I have told him that I will judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knew, because his sons brought a curse on themselves, and he didn’t restrain them.
14 Therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be removed with sacrifice or offering forever.”
15 Samuel lay until the morning, and opened the doors of Yahweh’s house. Samuel was afraid to show Eli the vision.
16 Then Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son!” He said, “Here I am.”
17 He said, “What is the thing that he has spoken to you? Please don’t hide it from me. God do so to you, and more also, if you hide anything from me of all the things that he spoke to you.”
18 Samuel told him every bit, and hid nothing from him. He said, “It is Yahweh. Let him do what seems good to him.”
19 Samuel grew, and Yahweh was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground.
20 All Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of Yahweh.
21 Yahweh appeared again in Shiloh; for Yahweh revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by Yahweh’s word.
World English Bible Classic. Public domain.
Source passages
Something to make together
These activities connect with the passage. Choose one that suits your group and the time you have.
