I’m sure that most of us have heard of various Christian men and women whose children, instead of following in their parent’s footsteps and leading a good and godly life, instead live degenerate lives. We shake our heads and wonder what went wrong. There are a number of examples of this found in the Scriptures. King David is one example. We find another example in our Scripture passage today with the priest Eli and his sons. Let’s take a look at what the Word of God says.
When our passage opens we read of the boy Samuel and the elderly priest Eli. Samuel was the boy whose barren mother Hannah had pleaded to the Lord for a child, and when he was young she brought him to the Tabernacle to serve the Lord. Eli was a high priest who served at the Tabernacle in Shiloh, long before the Ark of the Covenant was brought to Jerusalem or the Temple was built. From his early childhood Samuel was raised by Eli.
Eli had two sons of his own, Hophni and Phinehas. However, like many parents, Eli did not exert any effort to raise his sons in the ways of the Lord. Scripture called them “sons of Belial”, they were very evil, and that they did not know the Lord (I Samuel 2:12). They took what was offered to the Lord for themselves (I Samuel 2:13-17). They also would take the women who came to worship and had improper relations with them right by the doors of the Tabernacle (I Samuel 2:22-25). Eli knew that all of this was going on, but refused to do anything. He gave his sons an occasional scolding, but refused to remove them from priestly duties or in any way discipline them.
This has been a problem for many parents throughout all ages. Parents who are in the ministry often feel that their work for the Lord is too important, and do not spend much, if any time in properly raising their children. Parents who have secular jobs will often do the same, and neglect to properly raise or discipline their children. This is one of the biggest mistakes parents can ever make. Scripture emphasizes over and over how important it is for parents to raise their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
From the time of the death of Joshua until this time of Eli and the close of the time of the judges, there was little word from God (vs. 1). The people kept falling into idolatry and away from the Lord. Few walked closely with Him. The priests of Israel were corrupt, as we saw with Hophni and Phinehas, and had lost their spiritual sight and hearing. As a result, the people drifted further and further into sin and idolatry. However, God still had a small, faithful remnant, and would raise up Samuel to be His prophet.
Eli surely failed in properly raising his own sons, but he did make a good effort in raising young Samuel. Samuel spent his whole childhood living in the tents of the Tabernacle, learning God’s Word and taking part in worship. At one point during his childhood, the Lord God called Samuel, as he had an important message to relate to him. Samuel was alert and ready to listen to God, though at first he didn’t recognize His voice (vs. 4-10). Listening and responding is vital in a relationship with God. Today God speaks clearly through His Word, the Bible. To receive His messages we must be ready to listen, and to act upon what He tells us. Samuel was ready to hear and obey the Lord (vs. 10).
The message that the Lord gave to Samuel was of the impending destruction of Eli’s family (vs. 11-14). Though Eli was a believer in Yahweh, he had not raised his sons in the ways of the Lord. His sons were wicked. Eli was implicated in the sins of his sons because he didn’t intervene with judgment. The saying “boys will be boys” is really unbiblical and very ungodly. It is so vital that Christians raise their children in the Lord, and not leave it to happenstance.
This was not an easy message for Samuel to share with Eli, and he was actually afraid to (vs. 15-18). Yet it was something that needed to be told. When we learn God’s message from His Word, we must be faithful in sharing it, even if it is a hard message. Many people only want to share or hear the light, fluffy, feel-good messages from the Bible, and nothing that might be strong or containing judgment or discipline. Yet these are messages that must be told as well. Samuel and others throughout Scripture were faithful to the Lord, and would bring each message, whether good or hard, to the people.
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