Today’s Old Testament Scripture for this week, from the Lectionary of the Book of Common Prayer, gives the account of two men. Actually one who was probably a young teen-aged boy, and the other a much older man. Both were believers in Yahweh. Only one, though, was following him closely and was fully obedient, and the other not nearly as much. Which one do you think was? Let’s look into our Scripture, as it might surprise you.
The young lad in our Scripture is Samuel. His birth had been an answer to the prayers of his mother, Hannah, and in thanksgiving and gratitude to the Lord, she had brought him as a young boy to the Tabernacle to live under the care and supervision of Eli. He was a priest at the Tabernacle in Shiloh. As we begin our Scripture, we read that the word of the Lord was rare in those days (vs. 1). Ever since the death of Joshua, a couple hundred years earlier, the people and nation fell deeper and deeper into sin. There were periodic small revivals here and there, but nothing widespread or lasting. By the time of Samuel, the apostasy in the land was so great that there were scarcely any who knew or preached God’s Word.
Unfortunately this included the priest Eli. He personally knew God’s Word, as he taught the boy Samuel well, however he had greatly failed in the bringing up of his own two sons, Hophni and Phineas. Those two young men were extremely corrupt and evil. Not only did they take the choicest meats that were brought as a sacrifice to the Lord, but they took young women and had relations with them right there at the Tabernacle (I Samuel 2:12-17, 22). Eli, their father, knew all this was going on, but only gave mild rebukes, and did not restrain them from these vile sins. His love for his sons was misguided, and obviously more than his love and fear for the Lord, His holiness, and sanctity. God must be first in everything,, and we must be obedient, no matter what he commands us to do, including, as Eli should have done, removing his sons from their position.
As we continue, we read the familiar passage of Scripture where Samuel had gone to bed, but was awoken when he heard a voice calling his name. He naturally thought it was Eli, but the elderly man told him no, he didn’t call. This happened several times, and finally, Eli realized it must be God, and instructed Samuel how to respond to Him the next time He called (vs. 2-9). When we read in verse 7 that Samuel “did not yet know the Lord”, it didn’t mean that Samuel was an unbeliever. Instead, it was that he did not recognize God’s Voice yet. God wanted a close relationship with Samuel, and persistently called him. He wants the same with us, and He has done everything necessary to make that possible by giving us His Word, the Bible, and His Son as Savior.
One might have expected that God would have spoken to Eli. However, God’s chain of command is based on faith, not on age or position. Eli’s spiritual perception was not what it should have been as a priest and judge of Israel. Samuel was ready and listening to God’s Voice (vs. 10). He chose to listen to Him, and to obey what God revealed. That is why God chose Samuel and not Eli to begin bringing the nation of Israel back to Himself. Samuel learned early in life to hear and obey the Lord. We need to follow his example, and not wait until tragedy strikes to start a prayer relationship with Him.
The message that God gave Samuel was not a nice and pleasant one to hear (vs. 11-14). It was not one of peace, love, and fluff that so many preachers like to give today, and what congregations like to hear. Instead it was one of condemnation of the sins of the people, of Eli and his family in particular. When they both woke up in the morning, Eli insisted that Samuel tell him what God had said (vs. 15-18). Sometimes the message that God gives us is not easy to tell others. No one wants to hear about their sins and need for repentance, but we must be faithful in sharing those messages, even when they are hard to say. The preachers who fail to do so today are doing everyone an injustice, and are failing to obey the Lord.
Eli was implicated in the sins of his sons because he did not restrain them, or intervene with judgment. Though the judgment of God did not happen immediately, it did a few years later. Both of Eli’s sons died in battle, and the Ark of the Covenant was taken by the Philistines. When Eli heard the news, he fell over, breaking his neck and dying (I Samuel 4:17-18). A generation later Ahimelech died at the hands of Doeg, during the days of David (I Samuel 22:6-23). The family line of priests died out when his son, Abiathar, was removed from the priesthood by Solomon (I Kings 2:26-27). God’s promises may sometimes seem delayed, but He always keeps His Word!
Two men, two believers, one who closely followed God, and one who was careless and lackadaisical. One who was blessed by God, and one who came to a tragic end, along with his family and descendants. We must always be ready to listen to God, and to act on what He tells us.
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