1 Samuel 2: 27 – 36 “Then a man of God came to Eli and told him, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Did I not clearly reveal Myself to your father’s house when they were in Egypt under Pharaoh’s house? And out of all the tribes of Israel I selected your father to be My priest, to offer sacrifices on My altar, to burn incense, and to wear an ephod in My presence. I also gave to the house of your father all the offerings of the Israelites made by fire.
Why, then, do you kick at My sacrifice and offering that I have prescribed for My dwelling place? You have honored your sons more than Me by fattening yourselves with the best of all the offerings of My people Israel.’
Therefore, the LORD, the God of Israel, declares:
‘I did indeed say that your house
and the house of your father
would walk before Me forever.
But now the LORD declares:
Far be it from Me!
For I will honor those who honor Me,
but those who despise Me will be disdained.
Behold, the days are coming when I will cut off your strength and the strength of your father’s house, so that no older man will be left in your house. You will see distress in My dwelling place. Despite all that is good in Israel, no one in your house will ever again reach old age. And every one of you that I do not cut off from My altar, your eyes will fail and your heart will grieve. All your descendants will die by the sword of men. And this sign shall come to you concerning your two sons Hophni and Phinehas: They will both die on the same day.
Then I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest. He will do whatever is in My heart and mind. And I will build for him an enduring house, and he will walk before My anointed one for all time. And everyone left in your house will come and bow down to him for a piece of silver or a morsel of bread, pleading, “Please appoint me to some priestly office so that I can eat a piece of bread.”’”
This passage might be one of the saddest in the Bible. Eli was a Levitical priest with all the rights and privileges that included. Eli’s sons were also priests; however, none of them was righteous. Eli spoiled his sons, refusing to discipline them and allowing them to mishandle the animal sacrifices and force themselves on the women serving at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. By refusing to discipline these men, Eli brought condemnation on himself, and his sons were about to suffer violent deaths. But there was far more.
A “man of God” came to Eli, giving him several prophecies. Some traditions teach that this man might have been Elkanah, the father of Samuel. By failing to honor the Lord above his sons, Eli brought eternal curses on all of his descendants. Look at this prophecy:
- No older man will be left in Eli’s house.
- Eli will see distress in the Tent of Meeting
- Despite all God’s blessings to Israel, nobody in Eli’s house will ever reach old age again.
- God will either cut off Eli’s descendants from the altar or they will go blind and their hearts will grieve.
- All Eli’s descendants will die violent deaths by the sword.
- Hophni and Phineas, Eli’s two sons, will both die the same day.
- God will raise up a faithful priest for whom He will build an enduring house, and Eli’s descendants will come to this man, begging priestly jobs so that they can eat.
Have these curses endured to the present day? Most likely, yes. Even now, there may be descendants of Eli who are dying in early manhood, possibly from violent deaths.
Who is the “faithful priest” to whom God was referring? This priest was not Samuel because Samuel was not from the tribe of Levi, although Samuel did function as a priest. But Samuel’s sons were corrupt; it was the failure of Samuel’s sons that impelled the Israelites to demand a king when Samuel was aging. Many sources believe that the priest referred to here was Zadok, who became high priest under King Solomon and whose descendants ministered to the Lord until the Babylonian captivity. But ultimately, it was Jesus Christ, who was – and is – prophet, priest, and king, whose ministry has been established for all time.
APPLICATION: Reading this account of Eli’s failures, you might be tempted to think, “Oh, but God is merciful and kind! He would never do such things!” Yes, God is merciful and kind; however, God is also just. Eli had had ample opportunities to repent and to correct his sons. Eli didn’t even have to correct his sons by himself. The Law of Moses allowed for parents to report recalcitrant sons to city elders who could then take action. There is nothing to indicate that Eli ever made any attempts to correct his sons or to engage others to help him do so.
Those coming to the Tent of Meeting were attempting to rebuke Eli’s sons; however, Hophni and Phineas were power – drunk and believed that nobody could touch them. They were wrong. As Levitical priests, they had to answer to God.
God knows the human heart far better than any psychiatrist or counselor. God knows when a person has irrevocably chosen to do evil. Hophni and Phineas had no desire to behave righteously whatsoever. Eli tolerated his sons’ bad behavior, agreeing with them by failing to discipline them.
Later on, the prophet Isaiah spoke to the Israelites, warning them, “Listen and hear my voice;
pay attention and hear what I say. When a farmer plows for planting, does he plow continually?
Does he keep on breaking up and working the soil?” (Isaiah 28:23 – 24) God will repeatedly warn and correct all those willing to listen; but for those who harden their hearts, there will come a point of no return. God does not SEND anyone to hell; people CHOOSE to go there by hardening their hearts and refusing to pay attention to Him.
2 Corinthians 6:2 says, “For he says, “In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.” None of us knows how much time is left to us. None of us knows how much time is left to our loved ones either. None of us knows the trials and sufferings of those around us. Let us pray earnestly and speak the message of hope the Gospel brings to all those around us so that when we stand before Jesus, we will have nothing of which to be ashamed.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, there may be those who are reading this who don’t know Your goodness and Your love. Lord, please make Yourself real to all who read these words. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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