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Chapter 56
Eli and His Sons
[This chapter is based on 1 Samuel 2:12-36.]
ELI was priest and judge in Israel. He held the highest and most
responsible positions among the people of God. As a man divinely chosen
for the sacred duties of the priesthood, and set over the land as the
highest judicial authority, he was looked up to as an example, and he
wielded a great influence over the tribes of Israel. But although he had
been appointed to govern the people, he did not rule his own household.
Eli was an indulgent father. Loving peace and ease, he did not exercise
his authority to correct the evil habits and passions of his children.
Rather than contend with them or punish them, he would submit to their
will and give them their own way. Instead of regarding the education of
his sons as one of the most important of his responsibilities, he
treated the matter as of little consequence. The priest and judge of
Israel had not been left in darkness as to the duty of restraining and
governing the children that God had given to his care. But Eli shrank
from this duty, because it involved crossing the will of his sons, and
would make it necessary to punish and deny them. Without weighing the
terrible consequences that would follow his course, he indulged his
children in whatever they desired and neglected the work of fitting them
for the service of God and the duties of life.
God had said of Abraham, "I know him, that he will command his children
and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to
do justice and judgment." Genesis 18:19. But Eli allowed his children to
control him. The father became subject to the children. The curse of
transgression was apparent in the corruption and evil that marked the
course of his sons. They had no proper appreciation of the character of
God or of the sacredness of His law. His service was to them a common
thing. From childhood they had been accustomed to the sanctuary and its
service; but instead of becoming more reverent, they had lost all sense
of its holiness and significance. The father had not corrected their
want of reverence for his authority, had not checked their disrespect
for the solemn services of the sanctuary; and when they reached manhood,
they were full of the deadly fruits of skepticism and rebellion.
Though wholly unfit for the office, they were placed as priests in the
sanctuary to minister before God. The Lord had given the most specific
directions in regard to offering sacrifices; but these wicked men
carried their disregard of authority into the service of God, and did
not give attention to the law of the offerings, which were to be made in
the most solemn manner. The sacrifices, pointing forward to the death of
Christ, were designed to preserve in the hearts of the people faith in
the Redeemer to come; hence it was of the greatest importance that the
Lord's directions concerning them should be strictly heeded. The peace
offerings were especially an expression of thanksgiving to God. In these
offerings the fat alone was to be burned upon the altar; a certain
specified portion was reserved for the priests, but the greater part was
returned to the offerer, to be eaten by him and his friends in a
sacrificial feast. Thus all hearts were to be directed, in gratitude and
faith, to the great Sacrifice that was to take away the sin of the
world.
The sons of Eli, instead of realizing the solemnity of this symbolic
service, only thought how they could make it a means of self-indulgence.
Not content with the part of the peace offerings allotted them, they
demanded an additional portion; and the great number of these sacrifices
presented at the annual feasts gave the priests an opportunity to enrich
themselves at the expense of the people. They not only demanded more
than their right, but refused to wait even until the fat had been burned
as an offering to God. They persisted in claiming whatever portion
pleased them, and, if denied, threatened to take it by violence.
This irreverence on the part of the priests soon robbed the service of
its holy and solemn significance, and the people "abhorred the offering
of the Lord." The great antitypical sacrifice to which they were to look
forward was no longer recognized. "Wherefore the sin of the young men
was very great before the Lord."
These unfaithful priests also transgressed God's law and dishonored
their sacred office by their vile and degrading practices; yet they
continued to pollute by their presence the tabernacle of God. Many of
the people, filled with indignation at the corrupt course of Hophni and
Phinehas, ceased to come up to the appointed place of worship. Thus the
service which God had ordained was despised and neglected because
associated with the sins of wicked men, while those whose hearts were
inclined to evil were emboldened in sin. Ungodliness, profligacy, and
even idolatry prevailed to a fearful extent.
Eli had greatly erred in permitting his sons to minister in holy office.
By excusing their course, on one pretext and another, he became blinded
to their sins; but at last they reached a pass where he could no longer
hide his eyes from the crimes of his sons. The people complained of
their violent deeds, and the high priest was grieved and distressed. He
dared remain silent no longer. But his sons had been brought up to think
of no one but themselves, and now they cared for no one else. They saw
the grief of their father, but their hard hearts were not touched. They
heard his mild admonitions, but they were not impressed, nor would they
change their evil course though warned of the consequences of their
sins. Had Eli dealt justly with his wicked sons, they would have been
rejected from the priestly office and punished with death. Dreading thus
to bring public disgrace and condemnation upon them, he sustained them
in the most sacred positions of trust. He still permitted them to mingle
their corruption with the holy service of God and to inflict upon the
cause of truth an injury which years could not efface. But when the
judge of Israel neglected his work, God took the matter in hand.
"There came a man of God unto Eli, and said unto him, Thus saith the
Lord, Did I plainly appear unto the house of thy father, when they were
in Egypt in Pharaoh's house? And did I choose him out of all the tribes
of Israel to be My priest, to offer upon Mine altar, to burn incense, to
wear an ephod before Me? and did I give unto the house of thy father all
the offerings made by fire of the children of Israel? Wherefore kick ye
at My sacrifice and at Mine offering, which I have commanded in My
habitation; and honorest thy sons above Me, to make yourselves fat with
the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel My people? Wherefore the
Lord God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of
thy father, should walk before Me forever: but now the Lord saith, Be it
far from Me; for them that honor Me I will honor, and they that despise
Me shall be lightly esteemed. . . . And I will raise Me up a faithful
priest, that shall do according to that which is in Mine heart and in My
mind: and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before Mine
anointed forever."
God charged Eli with honoring his sons above the Lord. Eli had permitted
the offering appointed by God as a blessing to Israel to be made a thing
of abhorrence, rather than bring his sons to shame for their impious and
abominable practices. Those who follow their own inclination, in blind
affection for their children, indulging them in the gratification of
their selfish desires, and do not bring to bear the authority of God to
rebuke sin and correct evil, make it manifest that they are honoring
their wicked children more than they honor God. They are more anxious to
shield their reputation than to glorify God; more desirous to please
their children than to please the Lord and to keep His service from
every appearance of evil.
God held Eli, as a priest and judge of Israel, accountable for the moral
and religious standing of his people, and in a special sense for the
character of his sons. He should first have attempted to restrain evil
by mild measures; but if these did not avail, he should have subdued the
wrong by the severest means. He incurred the Lord's displeasure by not
reproving sin and executing justice upon the sinner. He could not be
depended upon to keep Israel pure. Those who have too little courage to
reprove wrong, or who through indolence or lack of interest make no
earnest effort to purify the family or the church of God, are held
accountable for the evil that may result from their neglect of duty. We
are just as responsible for evils that we might have checked in others
by exercise of parental or pastoral authority as if the acts had been
our own.
Eli did not manage his household according to God's rules for family
government. He followed his own judgment. The fond father overlooked the
faults and sins of his sons in their childhood, flattering himself that
after a time they would outgrow their evil tendencies. Many are now
making a similar mistake. They think they know a better way of training
their children than that which God has given in His word. They foster
wrong tendencies in them, urging as an excuse, "They are too young to be
punished. Wait till they become older, and can be reasoned with." Thus
wrong habits are left to strengthen until they become second nature. The
children grow up without restraint, with traits of character that are a
lifelong curse to them and are liable to be reproduced in others.
There is no greater curse upon households than to allow the youth to
have their own way. When parents regard every wish of their children and
indulge them in what they know is not for their good, the children soon
lose all respect for their parents, all regard for the authority of God
or man, and are led captive at the will of Satan. The influence of an
ill-regulated family is widespread and disastrous to all society. It
accumulates in a tide of evil that affects families, communities, and
governments.
Because of Eli's position, his influence was more extended than if he
had been an ordinary man. His family life was imitated throughout
Israel. The baleful results of his negligent, ease-loving ways were seen
in thousands of homes that were molded by his example. If children are
indulged in evil practices, while the parents make a profession of
religion, the truth of God is brought into reproach. The best test of
the Christianity of a home is the type of character begotten by its
influence. Actions speak louder than the most positive profession of
godliness. If professors of religion, instead of putting forth earnest,
persistent, and painstaking effort to bring up a well-ordered household
as a witness to the benefits of faith in God, are lax in their
government and indulgent to the evil desires of their children, they are
doing as did Eli, and are bringing disgrace on the cause of Christ and
ruin upon themselves and their households. But great as are the evils of
parental unfaithfulness under any circumstances, they are tenfold
greater when they exist in the families of those appointed as teachers
of the people. When these fail to control their own households, they
are, by their wrong example, misleading many. Their guilt is as much
greater than that of others as their position is more responsible.
The promise had been made that the house of Aaron should walk before God
forever; but this promise had been made on condition that they should
devote themselves to the work of the sanctuary with singleness of heart
and honor God in all their ways, not serving self nor following their
own perverse inclinations. Eli and his sons had been tested, and the
Lord had found them wholly unworthy of the exalted position of priests
in His service. And God declared, "Be it far from Me." He could not
accomplish the good that He had meant to do them, because they failed to
do their part.
The example of those who minister in holy things should be such as to
impress the people with reverence for God and with fear to offend Him.
When men, standing "in Christ's stead" (2 Corinthians 5:20) to speak to
the people God's message of mercy and reconciliation, use their sacred
calling as a cloak for selfish or sensual gratification, they make
themselves the most effective agents of Satan. Like Hophni and Phinehas,
they cause men to "abhor the offering of the Lord." They may pursue
their evil course in secret for a time; but when at last their true
character is exposed, the faith of the people receives a shock that
often results in destroying their confidence in religion. There is left
upon the mind a distrust of all who profess to teach the word of God.
The message of the true servant of Christ is doubtfully received. The
question constantly arises, "Will not this man prove to be like the one
we thought so holy, and found so corrupt?" Thus the word of God loses
its power upon the souls of men.
In Eli's reproof to his sons are words of solemn and fearful
import--words that all who minister in sacred things would do well to
ponder: "If one man sin against another, the judge shall judge him: but
if a man sin against the Lord, who shall entreat for him.?" Had their
crimes injured only their fellow men, the judge might have made
reconciliation by appointing a penalty and requiring restitution; and
thus the offenders might have been pardoned. Or had they not been guilty
of a presumptuous sin, a sin offering might have been presented for
them. But their sins were so interwoven with their ministration as
priests of the Most High, in offering sacrifice for sin, the work of God
was so profaned and dishonored before the people, that no expiation
could be accepted for them. Their own father, though himself high
priest, dared not make intercession in their behalf; he could not shield
them from the wrath of a holy God. Of all sinners, those are most guilty
who cast contempt upon the means that Heaven has provided for man's
redemption--who "crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put
Him to an open shame." Hebrews 6:6.
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