1 Samuel 2 Family Matters
We get to know Eli and meet his sons. When it comes to family matters, Eli has a boatload of trouble. We pray he does better with Samuel than his own sons.
Eli’s sons LOVE the job of being priests and judges. They love the perks that go with it. But they are in it for themselves and not the Lord. We aren’t told where, or even if, Eli went wrong with his sons. They don’t share their father’s love for the Lord though and that makes all the difference. Will Eli make the same mistakes with Samuel that he did with his own sons? We will have to stay tuned and find out. Let’s join them now.
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“Here comes another one now” Phinehas says to his brother, Hophni, as they watch another man approaching the Tabernacle gate with his sacrifice.
“He brought a goat. They are always my favorite” replies Hophni.
“I prefer when they bring an ox. I can’t get enough beef. And the leg is three times the size of a lamb or goat.”
“I hate it when they bring a bird. There’s never any meat on them.”
“Birds are succulent though, if done right.”
Hophni steps up to the man leading the goat. “Shalom brother. What kind of sacrifice are you bringing to the Lord today?”
“I have brough a burnt offering for the Lord. I have much to atone for” answered the worshiper.
Hophni curses in his mind. With a burnt offering, ALL of the animal is burned up. There would be nothing for Hophni to enjoy. “Are you sure you don’t want to make it a sin offering instead? It would tell the Lord the true purpose of your offering” Hophni suggests, for he knows he could eat of a sin offering.
“No. When I vowed to the Lord to bring an offering, I specified that it would be a burnt offering. I would be committing another sin if I didn’t keep my word.”
“I understand” Hophni replies. He has lost interest in this visitor to the Tabernacle. He waves a hand at one of the lesser priests and passes the man and his animal off to him. “Why should I go through all that work and get nothing from it” reasons Hophni.
Hophni rejoins Phinehas near the gate.
“What happened” asks Phinehas.
“He wanted to present a burnt offering” Hophni grumbles. “Such a waste of good meat.”
“Good thing you got out of it. All that work for nothing!”
“I agree!”
The brothers continue their day of ‘service’ just like any other day. Today they are able to reach into 10 pots with their fork and receive an extra portion of the sacrifice for themselves. They also each had one opportunity to take extra meat before it was cooked.
With Phinehas, a man of Ephraim came bringing an ox for a fellowship offering. Phinehas mouth watered just thinking about what was about to happen. As soon as he heard that it was a fellowship offering, he knew he was in for a treat.
The man who brought the sacrifice followed all the requirements for the process; including laying his hand on the animal’s head in identification with the sacrifice. Phinehas himself collected the blood of the animal and stayed with the man as he prepared it for sacrifice. As soon as everything was ready for the altar Phinehas makes a demand.
“Give meat for the priest to roast, for he will not accept boiled meat from you but only raw.” (1 Samuel 2:15b)
“Surely, you don’t mean to take it now! You haven’t even offered the Lord His portion yet. ‘Let them burn the fat first, and then take as much as you wish.’ (1 Samuel 2:16a)”
Phinehas snapped back at him; “No, you must give it now, and if not, I will take it by force.” (1 Samuel 2:16b)
The man trembles with fear and anger. He sees no way out, other than to submit to the priest’s demands. He had heard rumors of the high priest’s sons abusing their position, but he never expected he would actually witness such disrespect; let alone be dragged into being part of it.
Still reeling from this disrespect, the man receives his portion of the sacrifice back. He moves to the boiling pots to prepare his portion for his family and friends to share. His meat is reaching perfection when the priest, Phinehas steps up behind him with a three-pronged fork. The man’s mouth hangs open as Phinehas plunges his fork in and brings out a large piece of meat.
“The Lord bless you son” Phinehas says as he turns and walks away.
“Never in all of Israel have I seen a more disrespectful man” the worshiper says to himself. “I will bring this to the high priest” he vows.
Eli is old. He no longer is able to perform the physical duties required in presenting the sacrifices to the Lord. He stays by the doorpost and watches over all that is going on. He also directs Samuel in his daily duties from here. He is surprised to see a man heading straight for him. “Maybe he wants a special blessing” reasons Eli.
The man bows before the high priest and waits until he is addressed.
“How may I help you, my son.”
“I don’t want to be the bearer of bad news my lord, but I feel I can no longer be silent.”
“Speak my son” Eli encourages him.
The man shares the details of his visit to the Tabernacle and the behavior of Eli’s son, Phinehas. “I am fearful that his disrespect of my offering, by taking of it before the Lord was offered His portion, may reflect badly on me and make my offering unacceptable to the Lord.”
“I will address this, my son. Thank you for bringing it to my attention. I will pray a special blessing over you sacrifice to atone for the sins of the priest, that they will not fall on you. Go in peace and complete your time of fellowship with those you brought with you.”
This is not the first time Eli has heard such reports. The taking of extra portions has become almost the norm, but taking before the Lord receives His portion is fairly new. If it has happened even once, it has happened too many times. Eli now knows of at least 20 such accounts. He had hoped that this practice of his sons would quickly fade. Or even that the Lord would reprimand them Himself. The Lord hasn’t, so Eli realizes that he must. As the man who approached him rightly said, the priest’s behavior could result in the Lord not accepting the sacrifice from the worshiper’s hands.
Hophni and Phinehas are laughing and talking with each other as they enter the quarters of the priests that evening. Eli and Samuel are waiting for them. Samuel is occupied with a task when Eli steps over to where his sons have just entered.
“Why do you do such things? For I hear of your evil dealings from all these people. No, my sons; it is no good report that I hear the people of the Lord spreading abroad. If someone sins against a man, God will mediate for him, but if someone sins against the Lord, who can intercede for him?” (1 Samuel 2:23-25)
Even though Eli didn’t pinpoint the sins of his sons, they know exactly what he is talking about. Their own hearts cry out in accusation. Both pretend though that they have no idea what their father is talking about.
“Who have we offended, Abba? Let them say it to our faces!”
“They have said it to my face; MANY of them. You are a disgrace to the office you hold. Would that I could still turn you across my knee…”
Phinehas laughs. His laughter is cruel, and so is his tone in his reply. “You were an inept Abba all our days. You couldn’t be ‘bothered’ to discipline us when we were young. Now! You have another ‘son’ to raise. Let’s hope that you do better with him than you did with us.”
Phinehas’ eyes lock on Samuel as he works in the background. His jealousy is evident on his face. Hophni shakes his head and the two continue on their way to their rooms. Eli bows his head in shame. “Where did I go wrong Lord” he asks in a silent prayer.
A week passes. Eli has heard another report of Hophni taking a portion of the sacrifice before offering the Lord His portion. He knows that his rebukes are as empty as a clay pot with the bottom broken out of it. As he is watching the activity of the day, another man approaches him. Without preamble, the man begins to prophecy to Eli regarding his neglect of his sons’ sins.
“Thus says the Lord, ‘Did I indeed reveal myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt subject to the house of Pharaoh? Did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up to my altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me? I gave to the house of your father all my offerings by fire from the people of Israel. Why then do you scorn my sacrifices and my offerings that I commanded for my dwelling, and honor your sons above me by fattening yourselves on the choicest parts of every offering of my people Israel?’ Therefore the Lord, the God of Israel, declares: ‘I promised that your house and the house of your father should go in and out before me forever,’ but now the Lord declares: ‘Far be it from me, for those who honor me I will honor, and those who despise me shall be lightly esteemed. Behold, the days are coming when I will cut off your strength and the strength of your father’s house, so that there will not be an old man in your house. Then in distress you will look with envious eye on all the prosperity that shall be bestowed on Israel, and there shall not be an old man in your house forever. The only one of you whom I shall not cut off from my altar shall be spared to weep his eyes out to grieve his heart, and all the descendants of your house shall die by the sword of men. And this that shall come upon your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, shall be the sign to you: both of them shall die on the same day. And I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who shall do according to what is in my heart and in my mind. And I will build him a sure house, and he shall go in and out before my anointed forever. And everyone who is left in your house shall come to implore him for a piece of silver or a loaf of bread and shall say, “Please put me in one of the priests’ places, that I may eat a morsel of bread.”’” (1 Samuel 2:27-36)
Eli’s heart breaks with this prophecy. But he knows that it is no less than he deserves. It pains him that his children’s children will pay the price of his inability to direct his sons. He knows that he will be the one to weep his eyes out in grief. He has no doubt that every word spoken will come to pass.
Even in his despair, Eli prays that Samuel may be the one that the Lord raises up for Himself. He know that the child is still small, and required a lot more education, but Eli can already see that the child’s heart is tender towards the Lord. “I will do my best to raise him as You require Lord. Do not turn away from Samuel on my behalf” Eli prays.
(to be continued)
As a parent of ‘wandering children’ I wonder where I went wrong too. What did I do, or not do, that turned their hearts away from the Lord? Am I at fault? Did I not model a relationship with the Lord before their eyes? I used to think I did.
They are not all wound up in the kinds of evil that Eli’s sons were, but they are not guilt-free of the sins of this world either. The hardest part is watching as they embrace the world’s notions of what is ‘acceptable’, even when it is in direct conflict with what they were taught. I feel like Eli, when his sons refused to listen. I have no power to reshape their lives. But I KNOW Who does! My hope lies in the Lord.
Father God, I know I have brought my children to You time and time again. I bring them again today, KNOWING that you can work wonders in their lives. The only ‘wonder’ that I’m praying for right now is the wonder of a restored, or even new, relationship with You. Everything else in this world will one day pass away. But having a relationship with You determines their eternity. I don’t even want to think about being separated from them for all eternity!
Sent them those that they WILL listen to, that will bring them to You Lord. Silence the influence of the world around them.
