Hebrew Word Study – Minister – Sharat – שרת  Shin Resh Taw 

Can We Actually Minister To God?

I Samuel 2:11 “And the child ministered unto the Lord before Eli the priest.”

I remember the first time I was shown this verse and the person showing it to me ask: “Can we really minister to God?”  I was somewhat taken aback by this question. I never considered the idea of God needing us to minister to Him.  He is after all self-sufficient, and has everything, why would He need us to minister to Him, yet why are we so important to Him that He would send His Son to suffer and die on a cross? Does that not indicate that we somehow can minister to Him?

Here in I Samuel 2:11 we have a mere child ministering to the God of the Universe.  Most translators and commentators will say that this is simply saying that the young Samuel would light candles, open and close doors, and polish the sacred objects in the temple.  In other words, he was serving God as sort of a caretaker. He really wasn’t ministering to God He was only serving God.

Perhaps that is true, but I do question the form of the Hebrew word for ministering.  This word is found as a participle in a Piel form. The Piel shows intensity. What is the intensity of ministering?  It would likely be an extremely personal type of ministering.  I feel that this ministering of Samuel involves more than just performing the duties of an altar boy.  

The word in Hebrew rendered as minister is sharat and carries the Mem preposition from as a prefix. The word to or unto is not found in this passage, it is just assumed. He was not ministering to God but from God. Is that possible?  This word, especially when used in a Piel form, means more than just to perform a service.  It is also a form of worship.  More specifically, it is a word that would be used for a caregiver. I used to work as a caregiver or a CNA.   My job was to basically be the hands and legs of the person I was caring for.  Sharat, is even more than this, it is a word used for a servant that is highly prized by the master.  So well trusted is this sharat that the master would entrust him with the most important and sensitive tasks.  A sharat was often taken into the confidence of his master sharing the secrets of his master’s heart. 

Let’s look at this situation. Here is a young child, the only child of this mother who gives birth to him, nurses him, and cares for him and when he is finally weened, she gives him up to the High Priest and leaves him in the temple where she will only see him once a year.  Even hearing this story as a child, I could not help but think how cruel this must be, not only for the mother but for the child. How lonely it must have been for this little child to live in this temple with only an elderly priest to talk to.  He did not play with other children, had no childhood friends, and no mother to read him bedtime stories, soothe him when he was sad, nurse him when he was sick. Eeek! Child abuse. Yeah, yeah, I know God gave him special grace, but what kind of special grace can take the place of one’s mother and childhood friends? 

We know Samuel grew up very close to the Holy of Holies, near the Ark of the Covenant where the presence of God dwelled.  What did he do all day after his chores?  I think he and God shared many intimate moments. Maybe that is why he was so startled when he heard God’s audible voice. He was so used to hearing God’s voice in his heart that when he heard it audibly, he could not put it together. Eli was likely aware of Samuels’ relationship with God and recognized that if God talked to Samuel in an audible, the message was likely meant for someone other than Samuel, most likely himself.

Some commentators have suggested that Samuel was playing a musical instrument and singing songs of praise to God.  I think this is getting more to the point. When you are in the presence of God you really have no desire for the things of this world.  The presence of God is more satisfying than any earthly games, relationships, and pleasures. In fact, in an earlier study,  I suggest that David likes to play with God.  I think the little child Samuel played with God and God played with Him.

It is often said when one’s parent dies, like the mother, it leaves a hole in the child’s heart. When my parents passed I was surprised that I did not feel the grief everyone talks about. This was mainly because my parents were Godly and wonderful, they were the best. Parents who rarely punished me when I was growing up, who were always there for me, never hesitating to help when I needed help. Yet the love and presence of God filled any hole in my heart. I think about them occasionally, but only with thoughts of pleasure for the happy moments they provided and appreciation for all they gave me, but never with longing or grief.  I know I will see them one day, I know they are where they longed to be, and just knowing they are in a state of complete happiness is enough for me. When you love someone you want them to be completely happy and I know they are happy. Did I ever minister to my parents?  Oh, I helped out where I could in their later years, but that was not my idea of ministering. I ministered to my parents by being the child they wanted me to be, by bringing them pleasure by just being happy with what they gave me. Bringing home good grades, and finding a vocation I enjoyed. They helped me get an education, they encouraged me in my work whatever it was, and took joy in my successes. But most of all by loving God with all my heart, soul, and might, well this brought them the greatest pleasure. That was the greatest ministry I could do for them.

I don’t believe the little child Samuel pined and longed for his mother, and felt homesick for his family because he was always surrounded by the presence of God and that was enough.  I believe Samuel ministered to God if you want to use the English word minister for sharat. We can sharat (minister?) to God by just enjoying being in His presence, trying to be what He created us to be, trying to be successful with the gifts He has given us and most of all loving Him with all our hearts, soul and might. When we feel God’s pleasure in whatever activity we engage in, we know we are ministering sharat to God. 

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