“Samuel was ministering before the Lord, a boy clothed with a linen ephod.”
(1 Samuel 2:18 ESV)
The Little Boy Samuel
If you have read the book of Judges from the Bible, you know the kind of heinous things happening in Israel at that time. The people had no king, no prophet, and even the priests’ sin was “great in the sight of the Lord” (1 Samuel 2:17 ESV). Indeed, Israel had terrible leadership.
However, there was a woman named Hannah who desperately wanted to have a baby. She vowed to give him back to the Lord, if the Lord answered her prayer. Furthermore, she poured out her heart to God, and he remembered her (1 Samuel 1:19). He opened her womb and gave her a little boy named Samuel. So Hannah took Samuel to their place of worship and offered him as an apprentice to the priests, so that he might serve God’s people for the rest of his life.
If you don’t know the story already, I’ll spoil it and tell you that Samuel became the next prophet of Israel. He was the one to anoint Israel’s first king, and to anoint Israel’s most famous king, David. Additionally, Samuel was the mouthpiece for the Lord in his generation, and a godly man.
A Boy Clothed in a Linen Ephod
As I read this story in the Bible, I paused over the phrase, “a boy clothed with a linen ephod” (1 Samuel 2:18 ESV). At the time, you would have thought little of such a sight. The boy lived in the temple, and so an ephod was the priest’s ordinary everyday attire.
Samuel was training to be a priest. He was on course to become a spiritual leader for his nation. Still, no one would have guessed that this boy in an ephod would become one of God’s greatest gifts to his generation. He was only a boy—Israel would have to wait for him to grow up. But he was wearing an ephod—the dress of one of God’s representatives. He was wearing the attire of one who would help God’s people draw near to him, and who would help bring God’s Word to his people.
God is at work in the bleakest times, sometimes right under our noses. As Israelites saw the little boy Samuel in “a little robe” his mama would make him every year, they probably found the picture charming and cute (1 Samuel 2:19). It might have looked like he was merely pretending at his role! But in this little boy, God saw his next prophet. God was shaping his servant.
Love the Little Ones in Your Life
This verse reminds me of Jesus’ words in Matthew 19:14, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven” (ESV).
Hannah did not know that the little robe she sewed every year adorned the shoulders of Israel’s next prophet who would deliver God’s Word to her generation. Indeed, keep loving the little ones in your life and pray that they too become servants of the Most-High God.
May this little gem of a verse from the narrative in 1 Samuel remind you today that God is at work in quiet ways even in the darkest times. Moreover, ask God to open your eyes to what he is doing.
And may this verse remind you to see the children in your life as precious to the Lord and full of potential. Invest in the spiritual growth of the little ones in your life, and do not despise them for their youth (1 Timothy 4:12).