1 Samuel 2:12 – 26 “Now the sons of Eli were wicked men; they had no regard for the LORD or for the custom of the priests with the people. When any man offered a sacrifice, the servant of the priest would come with a three-pronged meat fork while the meat was boiling and plunge it into the pan or kettle or cauldron or cooking pot. And the priest would claim for himself whatever the meat fork brought up. This is how they treated all the Israelites who came to Shiloh. Even before the fat was burned, the servant of the priest would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give the priest some meat to roast, because he will not accept boiled meat from you, but only raw.” And if any man said to him, “The fat must be burned first; then you may take whatever you want,” the servant would reply, “No, you must give it to me right now. If you refuse, I will take it by force!” Thus, the sin of these young men was severe in the sight of the LORD, for they were treating the LORD’s offering with contempt.
Now Samuel was ministering before the LORD—a boy wearing a linen ephod. Each year his mother would make him a little robe and bring it to him when she went with her husband to offer the annual sacrifice. And Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, saying, “May the LORD give you children by this woman in place of the one she dedicated to the LORD.” Then they would go home. So, the LORD attended to Hannah, and she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the LORD.
Now Eli was very old, and he heard about everything his sons were doing to all Israel and how they were sleeping with the women who served at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. “Why are you doing these things?” Eli said to his sons. “I hear about your wicked deeds from all these people. No, my sons; it is not a good report I hear circulating among the LORD’s people. If a man sins against another man, God can intercede for him, but if a man sins against the LORD, who can intercede for him?” But they would not listen to their father, since the LORD intended to put them to death.
And the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor with the LORD and with man.”
“Eli’s sons were scoundrels!” That is how one translator has handled the description of these horrible young men. Not only were Eli’s sons mishandling the meat offered to the Lord, but they were also sleeping with the women who were serving at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. Was this sex consensual? What were these poor ladies going to do? The priests’ servants were already bullying the men making sacrifices; would they have worried about roughing up a woman? If these young priests were forcing themselves on women, what were the servants doing?
God through Moses had already designated the meat that was to come to the priests, and those were choice portions. But the fat was to be burned first. The meat was to be boiled, and only certain parts were to come to the priests, the rest to be offered to the Lord.
How had things gone so wrong? Proverbs 13:24 tells us, “He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him diligently.” Evidently, Eli had never disciplined his sons. Perhaps Eli had made excuses that he was too busy and that their mother should have disciplined them. Perhaps Eli loved his sons and wanted them to love him and feared they would reject him if he disciplined them. All we know is that Eli’s sons really were terrible men who were giving the priesthood a deplorable name. Look at the weak rebuke that Eli gave his sons: ““Why are you doing these things?” Eli said to his sons. “I hear about your wicked deeds from all these people. No, my sons; it is not a good report I hear circulating among the LORD’s people. If a man sins against another man, God can intercede for him, but if a man sins against the LORD, who can intercede for him?”
Proverbs 19:18 says, “Discipline your son, for in that there is hope; do not be party to his death.” Eli had refused to properly discipline his sons when they were children, and now they were literally hell – bent on a path leading to their own destruction. But the worst part was the shame and disgrace these men were bringing to the office of the priest. How could anybody approach the Tent of Meeting in a spirit of reverence when they knew that they would be bullied by the priests’ servants and when they saw the way Eli’s sons, Phineas and Hophni were ogling the women serving there? Right – thinking men might begin to feel that they were better off worshiping somewhere else, shunning the Tent of Meeting. In addition, such behavior was reminiscent of the fertility cults that the Lord had already forbidden.
APPLICATION: These days, hypocrisy is rampant. Politicians, businessmen and women, sports figures, and movie stars all purport to be far better than they actually are. But what happens when church leaders pretend to be holy and then actually behave like rogues? What about church members who make a big thing of participating in crusades and revivals but who feel no compulsion to keep agreements? Few things are more disappointing than thinking that someone is trustworthy, only to realize that trust has been misplaced.
For years, our mission hospital has sponsored workers to advanced courses to expand the range of services and to build up the quality of those services we already offer. Those accepting sponsorship sign agreements promising to serve the hospital for a given period and we try to be as careful as possible to select those we think will fulfill such agreements commonly known as bonds. Despite signing bond papers, some trainees still attempt to leave as soon as their training is completed. Sadly, we have observed that church membership and participation in crusades and outreaches carry no weight when a trainee wants to skip out on a bond obligation.
Why were Eli’s sons so horrible? The question is, how involved was Eli in their early training? What kind of an example did Eli set for his sons? Was Eli a faithful priest, or had Eli formed sexual liaisons with some of the ladies serving at the Tent of Meeting? Who started the mishandling of animal sacrifices? Was it Eli’s sons, or was Eli himself to blame?
Years after Eli and his sons misconducted themselves, King David had an affair with Bathsheba and then arranged to have her husband Uriah killed so that David could marry her. The prophet Nathan rebuked David, telling him, “Nevertheless, because by this deed you have given [a great] opportunity to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme [Him], the son that is born to you shall certainly die.” (2 Samuel 12:14 Amplified version) What Nathan meant was that David, who claimed to love the Lord, had misrepresented the Lord, giving the enemies of the Lord the chance to say horrible things about the Lord. David himself had demonstrated extreme contempt for the Lord. David’s lack of regard for the Lord was no better than the heart attitude of the Philistines to the god Dagon.
What did David’s men think when they learned how David had betrayed Uriah? When squeaky clean King David failed so miserably, what example did he give his men? Many of those soldiers may not have believed in the Lord; David’s example certainly would not have encouraged them to have a change of heart. What kind of a ripple of evil started with David’s lust and treachery?
The question for all of us is this: Do our deeds match our words? Talk is cheap; will we stand by our vows when things become difficult, or will we try to wiggle out somehow? Eli and his sons demonstrated extreme contempt for the Lord and eventually died because of that contempt. When people see us, are they encouraged to become increasingly holy, or does our bad behavior give others excuses to also misbehave? Are we bad advertising for God?
PRAYER: Father God, help! We want to do the right thing, and yet we may misrepresent You. Lord, let Your light shine through us so that others will be encouraged to trust You. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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