So Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground.

I Samuel 3:19. NKJV

Samuel was a unique person. Before he was even born, his mother devoted him to the Lord, promising to give him over to the Lord's service for all the days of his life. So, after Samuel was weaned, his mother made good on her vow and gave him to be raised by Israel's high priest. As the boy grew up, we read that God did not let any of Samuel's words fall to the ground - but what does that mean?

Well, to begin with, Samuel was being trained to be both prophet and priest. So, when God gave Samuel a prophetic message to pass along to the people, that prophesy would not fail, but would be carried out to the word. When Samuel became a priest, part of his duty under the Mosaic era was to pass along God's instruction to the people. As in all of God's commandments to his people, God made sure that this type of instruction was exactly what He wanted, and it was without flaw. So, we can see in both prophesies and instruction, God always made sure that the words He gave to Samuel did not fail, and this is in great part is the meaning of God not letting any of Samuel's words fall to the ground.

However, I believe there is something else we can glean from this unusual phrasing: It is in the way we are to value the words of God.

When I was about eleven years of age, I got to go on a Boy Scout Jamboree trip. The boy scouts were members of their own local "troops" and when a bunch of these troops got together, it was called a "jamboree". For this particular event, our scout master had also planned a five-mile hike. Normally a bunch of eleven- and twelve-year-old boys could walk five miles with ease, but this hike was to be made with a full pack. Add that to the fact that the Jamboree was held near Houston, Texas in the summer, and you now have a torturous situation for a person of any age.

The forecast called for what Houston's forecast always called for: about 90-degree heat, and 90% humidity. We boys were prepared, however, having all been instructed to bring a full canteen for the hike. Water apart from our canteens would not be permitted for this desert-like adventure. I was always thinking of ways to make life easier, and I hit upon the idea to make sure that my water stayed cool for the hike. I filled my canteen the day before, wrapped it in tin foil, and put it in the refrigerator overnight so that my water would be the coldest and most refreshing of any scout in the troop.

The only problem was that I forgot it!

So, when the hike began, I had a full pack, comfortable hiking boots, and no water. I didn't tell our scout master what I had done, because boys who viewed themselves as men didn't ask for favors - they would rather die than be shamed in such a manner. About two or three miles into the hike, I began asking for favors. I was sure I was dying, and I needed rescue. My best friend at that time was David Bales, and David was kind enough to let me have "just a sip" of his water. I can tell you that that warm, stale water that poured out of his canteen was the best tasting water that I had ever had. What's more, you can be assured that I did not waste a drop - David would not have permitted it! But I was of no inclination to be careless, and you can be sure that I did not let one drop of this precious liquid fall to the ground.

And that I believe is part of the message of I Samuel 3:19: God's word should be viewed by us as so vital and so precious that we would never consider wasting a single word!

This was true in Old Testament times, and I am convinced it is equally true during our times under the Christian era in which we live. In the Gospel of John, we read of a time in Jesus' ministry when His teaching became too hard for many of His followers to accept, so many of His would-be disciples abandoned Him. Jesus asked His apostles if they wanted to leave also, causing Peter to reply, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of life." (John 6:68).

This is the way we all need to consider God and Christ's words: They are the very words of life! When we view God's instruction in such a manner, we are recognizing the precious and vital nature that these words hold. As Moses said when he was passing along God's commandments in his era, "These are not idle words for you - they are your life!" 

And when we realize that a commodity we possess is absolutely vital for our life and well-being, we begin to view that word in the proper light. We revere that word, for it is the very word of God and we know that it is too precious to waste. And that, I believe, is at least a part of why God did not let any of Samuel's words "fall to the ground". The phrase certainly indicates that God was not going to let one of these words fail - either in the carrying out of prophesy, or in the passing along of perfect instruction. But I am also convinced that because this was the case and the instruction being passed along contained the very words of life for God's people, that the people who accepted the message in the proper way were careful to not waste one word of this precious instruction.

The question for us is do we view God's word in such a way in our time? If we do, then we can be assured that God will not allow any of His words to fall to the ground - that's His part. Our part is to listen and to obey! If we love God and revere His words, why would we want to do anything else?