Samuel Grows and Serves the Lord
At this point Hannah went home and left the boy at the temple with Eli. Verse 11, “And Elkanah went to Ramah to his house. And the child (Samuel) did minister unto the LORD before Eli the priest.” The boy, Samuel, is learning how to serve the Lord in that environment. In verse 18 we read that Samuel ministered to the Lord, “But Samuel ministered before the LORD, being a child…” Samuel was learning how to minister to the Lord in the temple. Verse 21 says, “And the child Samuel grew before the LORD.”
This reminds me of a verse in the book of Luke concerning the Lord Jesus. God sent His Son into the world and yet for the first thirty years He had a private time with His family and was not involved in any public ministry. In Luke 2:40 we read of Jesus, “And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.” He was growing and waxing strong in spirit. I don’t believe this means that Jesus was just growing physically or psychologically. I believe this means that He was growing in favor with God and man, and growing into what God wanted Him to do in His later years.