"HERE AM I"

What if, as a quiz, I asked you who in the Bible said these words: Abraham, Isaac, Samuel, or Isaiah? It is actually a trick question since all four prominent Old Testament personages said those words, as well as Ananias in Acts 9:10. And the setting was similar in each case as indicating a willingness to listen to and obey God.

Abraham and Isaac (Genesis 22:1,7,11)

This is the well known story of God calling on Abraham to sacrifice his “only” son, the son of the promise. Wenham says in regard to this passage, “It certainly allows Abraham's attentiveness and potential obedience to come through in his reply, 'Here I am.' Three times in this story we have the refrain 'Abraham (my father)' with its response 'Here I am' (vv 1,7,11; each signals a tense new development in the narrative...V. 7 shows Isaac trusting entirely his father's good intentions. Or was he sharp enough to see through his father's enigmatic answer and realize that he was the intended sacrificial lamb? If so, his silence is again impressive, for it implies his total obedience to his father.” Here we see a true type of the Son of God to come. Thus, this first example introduces the first two patriarchs who are considered as constituting God's chosen people, the Jews.

Samuel (I Samuel 3:2-8)

Four times in this passage (five if one counts verse 16) the phrase “Here am I” appears as the young Samuel receives the call from God at night. There is a strange statement in these verses that “Samuel did not yet know the LORD.” We today would use that description of someone who has not yet accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior, but that is not what is meant here, as McKenzie explains: “Samuel's role as a prophet had not yet been established since 'the word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him.' In this story Samuel comes to 'know' the LORD by learning to recognize God's revelations.”

Payne notes that at the time, “Samuel was lying near the ark for the purpose of receiving any word from God yet he had never before experienced any such revelation; hence his first reactions to the voice of God.”

The importance of Samuel in OT history cannot be overestimated. W.J. Martin calls him “the last and greatest of the judges (Acts xiii.20) and the first of the prophets (Acts iii.24), [and] was evidently considered in Old Testament times the greatest figure since Moses (Je. xv. 1).” And we cannot forget his key role as “kingmaker” in anointing both Saul and David.

Isaiah (Isaiah 6:8)

Most scholars would consider Isaiah as the greatest of the writing prophets. He receives his call while experiencing a heavenly vision. “Now for the first time, God speaks. It is as if Isaiah was not ready before this moment, as if the possibility of service could not be appreciated until this time. But for whatever reason, God makes it plain that while spiritual experience is never merely a means to an end, neither is it an end in itself. Unless that experience issues in some form of lived-out praise to God, it will turn upon itself and putrefy.” (Oswalt)

Derek Kidner points out that “Isaiah's Here I am! Send me is doubly remarkable: first for its contrast to his previous despair (v. 5) and to the diffidence of, say, Moses or Jeremiah; and secondly for the fact that this human voice is accepted in the heavenly court.” Thus, Isaiah is actually allowed to listen in on the deliberations in heaven at the time and even participate in them.

Ananias (Acts 9:10)

This particular Ananias is not to be confused with two other biblical personages of the same name; this is Ananias of Damascus, the early Christian who is known for bringing Saul (later called Paul) into faith. From that point on, “Saul had a new relationship to the church, into which Ananias now introduced him. No wonder “William Barclay calls Ananias 'one of the forgotten heroes of the Christian church.'” (Stott)

Ogilvie says,”Ananias's response is magnificent. 'Here I am, Lord.' That's how to react on the Way. Here I am; here is my mind, my heart, my willingness, my guidable disposition. We can't get very far on the Way without that. Prayer is not lofty rhetoric; it's availability, reporting in for duty, expressing readiness for anything.'”

In Ananias' readiness to listen to his marching orders from God, he is acting in the same manner as the OT heroes mentioned above. And there are even stronger parallels between Ananias and the rest of them:

Fitzmyer notes the close parallel between Ananias' reply and that of Abraham in Genesis 22:1-2.

Trenchard says, “Ananias acted in a prophetic capacity and his remonstrance (v. 13) is not that of a stubborn servant, but is rather a sign of holy familiarity with his Lord.” In those respects we can note (a) Samuel, Isaiah, and Ananias are all prophets of God and (b) Ananias' initial hesitation is not unlike that of Isaiah.

Ananias' most important role is in initiating the more famous Saul into the Christian faith and baptizing him with the Holy Spirit. In a similar manner, one of Samuel's most important roles was in anointing two famous kings with oil, one who coincidentally also had the name Saul.

Ananias has in common with Abraham and Isaac the recognition that what God was asking them to do promised to be quite unpleasant.

As you review these similar cases, one outstanding OT personage is notable for his non-inclusion in with these willing servants of God – Moses. If you recall the story of his call by the LORD, Moses offers up one excuse after another as to his unsuitability for the job ahead. But after God allays his fears, Moses proceeds to do as he is asked. I am reminded of Jesus' story found in Matthew 21:28-32 in which two sons are contrasted, one who refuses to carry out his father's will but later changes his mind and one who readily agrees to his father's request but does not in fact carry it out at all. Only the former son actually did the father's will.