There is again an astonishing message within the text: Samuel did not yet know the Lord, yet he was lying mere yards from the Ark of the Covenant, the holiest object within the temple. Even as a child he was quick to respond, “Here I am,” though he didn’t know it was to God. When he did respond to God, God shared with a boy what would occur for man. Samuel’s life was forever changed.

Centuries later, in one of the most beautiful scenes in the Bible, the prophet Isaiah saw a vision of the Lord, seated on a throne. The train of his robe, Isaiah records “filled the temple.” Angels were above Him, two of them flying, calling to each other, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty. The whole earth is full of his glory.”

Isaiah, in the presence of a holy God realized he was a man of unclean lips, living among unclean people and yet he had seen the Lord. “Woe to me!” he cried.

After one of the angels touched his lips with a piece of hot coal from the altar, his guilt was removed and his sin atoned for. Then God required, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” (vs. 8)

Apparently without hesitation, Isaiah cried out, “Here I am! Send me!”

When Jesus Came

In an effort to explain the once-and-for-all sacrifice made by Christ, the writer of the letter to the Hebrews penned: The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship (Hebrews 10:1).

Those who draw near to worship. These words resonate within me. Drawing near to God for the purpose of worshiping Him. As Christians we believe that the way to do this does not come by the annual sacrifices of bulls and goats, as verse 4 states, but because Jesus came from His heavenly home to dwell among men, to teach them, to lead them, to die for them and then to conquer death for them so that sin would no longer separate men from God.

It’s as if God the Father said, “Whom shall we send to bring man back to us?” and Jesus said, “Here I am! Send me!”

The writer of Hebrews goes on to say: Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said: "Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased. Then I said, 'Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll— I have come to do your will, O God.' (Hebrews 10: 5-7 with reference to Psalm 40:6-8)

When the ultimate test of sacrifice was needed, it was Jesus Himself—the Light of the world, the Creator of the universe who cried out, “Send me!” Even at such a high cost, He came.

And Now We Come

Songwriter Tim Hughes penned the words to a contemporary worship song, “Here I am to Worship.” In his song, he recognizes the extreme price the Son of God and the Father of the Son paid. Heaven for earth, riches for poverty, lightness for darkness. In the chorus, we sing, “Here I am…” just as Jacob, Samuel, and Isaiah said before us. Just as David wrote prophetically in his 40^th psalm and Jesus quoted and the writer of Hebrews repeated.

The next time you sing these words, I encourage you to remember Jacob—near the end of his life and afraid—worshiping God in Be’er-Sheva, then hearing God call his name. I hope you remember Samuel at the beginning of his life, lying so close to the holiness of God, and being called. I implore you to think of the glories Isaiah encountered in the presence of God Almighty. Then remember what Jesus left to pave a way for us to worship, the ultimate price He paid on Calvary, and the beauty within Him and without.

And then, with the saints who have gone before you and those who stand with you, fall upon your knees and cry out, “Here I am, altogether lovely, altogether wonderful, most worthy God!”

Finally, listen as He speaks to your heart. As you draw near Him in worship, He will draw near you. Then stay until He calls your name and sends you out to do His work and to be His voice.

Eva Marie Everson’s book