Theodore Roosevelt once said, “It is better to be faithful than famous.”

According to the words of God, "Then I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who shall do according to what is in My heart and in My mind. I will build him a sure house, and he shall walk before My anointed forever" (1 Samuel 2:35). Thomas Constable explains that while Samuel initially fulfilled this role (1 Samuel 3:1; 1 Samuel 3:20; 1 Samuel 7:9; 1 Samuel 9:2-13), the prophecy refers more fully to Zadok. Zadok replaced Abiathar as high priest in Solomon’s day, and his descendants were destined to serve in the millennial kingdom (Ezekiel 44:15; 48:11).

According to the Tyndale Illustrated Study Bible, “Samuel lived at the end of the period of the judges and ushered in the period of kingship. He was Israel’s last judge (First Sam 7:6, 15 17) and first prophet (3:20; Acts 3:24; 13:20). He functioned as a priest (1 Samuel 2:18) and was a great man of faith (Heb 11:32).” The passage recorded in First Samuel 3:19-20 provides a brief biographical record of Samuel’s life and ministry. Let's explore three highlights.

Notice Samuel’s favor. 1 Samuel 3:19a reads, “So Samuel grew and the Lord was with him.” 1 Samuel 2:21b reads, “Meanwhile, the child Samuel grew before the Lord.” 1 Samuel 2:26 reads, “And the child Samuel grew in stature, and in favor both with the Lord and men.” 1 Samuel 2:30b reads, “But now the Lord says: ‘Far be it from Me; for those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me shall be lightly esteemed.’”

Notice Samuel’s facility. 1 Samuel 3:19b reads, “and let none of his words fall to the ground.” This means when he said “thus saith the Lord” in a prophecy, it came true every time. Deuteronomy 18:21-22 reads, “And if you say in your heart, ‘How shall we know the word which the Lord has not spoken?’— when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.”

Notice Samuel’s fame. 1 Samuel 3:20 reads, “And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel had been established as a prophet of the Lord.” This was the Lord’s doing as we read of Joshua, “On that day the Lord exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they feared him, as they had feared Moses, all the days of his life” (Joshua 4:14). Samuel was well known and well respected but not necessarily a celebrity. Charles H. Spurgeon warns, “It is a very ill omen to hear a wicked world clap its hands and shout 'Well done' to the Christian man.” It should be our desire to hear the Lord say to us, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21, 23).

May you be encouraged to be a faithful servant.

Dr. Franklin L. Kirksey, of Robertsdale, is the author of "Don't Miss the Revival! Messages for Revival and Spiritual Awakening from Isaiah".