The Call of Samuel

Lastly, this view has been shown to be so pleasing to God that we see this system, not without reason, given a place in Holy Scripture. The Lord would not himself instruct the boy Samuel, who had been chosen for judgment, by means of a divine conversation. Instead he let him run once or twice to the old man. He willed that the one he was calling to converse with him should be taught even by a man who had offended God, because he was an old man. He preferred that the one he had thought worthy to be called by him should be trained by the elder, in order to test the humility of the one who was called to a divine office, and to set an example to the younger men by the way he submitted. [a]