I heard these words from the Lord recently:
"Come to a place of rest, security and safety in Me. Draw near to Me, and I will draw near to you. Find rest in Me, find your security in Me, and nestle in Me. For I am calling you for such, before a new assignment is given to you."
And then I heard further:
"This is a time to dedicate your spiritual ears to Me, and let Me anoint your spiritual ears. I will cause you to hear many more secrets that I have wanted to tell you. I will show you My will and My way. I will reveal Myself to you, just as I have revealed Myself to Samuel in Shiloh."
Let's look at the Scripture now. 1 Samuel 3:19-21 (NKJV) says, 'So Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel had been established as a prophet of the Lord. Then the Lord appeared again in Shiloh. For the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the Lord'.
The word 'revealed' here is 'galah' in Hebrew, and it can mean 'to disclose, to tell, to show'. In a time when Israel was hardly 'in tune' with the Lord (see 1 Samuel 3:1), this was indeed 'a breath of fresh air' for the nation, and it marked an end to one era, and the beginning of a new era. Eli's time was ending, and Samuel's time has come! It was a pivotal time in the history of Israel, and Samuel was about to walk into a new assignment from the Lord!
By the way, the name 'Samuel' is 'Shemuw-El', literally meaning 'heard of God'; from the word 'shama' meaning 'to hear attentively, to hear obediently, to give ear', and 'El' meaning 'God'.
How about 'Shiloh'? And why did the Lord reveal Himself to Samuel in Shiloh? There are no insignificant details in the Bible. Interestingly, 'Shiloh' ('Shiyloh' in Hebrew) means 'a place of tranquility, security, safety', from the word 'shaw-law' meaning 'to have peace, to be secure, to be in safety'. It was a place of 'drawing near to the Lord' and 'finding rest, security and safety in Him'. It was also a place of worship and sacrifice to the Lord those days (see 1 Samuel 1:3), and of course, a place where Samuel was dedicated to the Lord (see 1 Samuel 1:24-25).
People of God, as you 'draw near to the Lord' and 'find rest, security and safety in Him', this is also a time to dedicate your spiritual ears to the Lord and let Him anoint your ears to hear the many secrets that He had wanted to tell you! (1 Corinthians 2:9-10)
Samuel's life and ministry was never the same again since then, and he went on to become a great blessing wherever he was. Indeed, for you too, this is a time to declare that your 'Eli' time is ending, and your 'Samuel' time has come!
