A Father's Negligence
Book of 1 Samuel Chapter 2
We can describe negligence as being in the habit of not doing what you know needs to be done.
Either from carelessness or intentional. Both these things stem from laziness.
Jas_4:17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.
As High Priest and as Judge, Eli knew exactly what the Word of God taught in these situations.
Eli would Judge other people for things he refused to do himself.
This is a big problem with the judicial system today.
Judges judge other people for things they allow themselves to do or simply because of political beliefs, even if they go against written law.
Our court system is becoming a joke, just like the FBI, the CIA, and the DOJ, all these things caught up in corruption.
The Jewess society had become a cesspool of depravity and corruption just as we see today in America.
The Book of Judges describes lawlessness, immorality, violence, compromising the Word of God, and a permissive lifestyle.
If we study the Book of Judges, we see where it describes homosexuality, wife abuse, child abuse, murder, kidnapping, polygamy, greed, idolatry, and civil war between the different tribes of Israel.
Sounds just like the many things we see in America today, because of corruption in our government and the compromising of the Church.
When our government, our schools and much of the so-called Church, fall into sin and commit wickedness (anything that goes against the Word of God) it is a terrible tragedy.
Corruption is so engraved in our government today we may not be able to stop it, but we know these are things that the Bible describe to us that come about in the last days.
The America we once knew may be gone forever and most people do not seem to care.
When our Church leaders become as sinful as the world, then we see the chaos that exists today and we see it all over the world, especially in America.
Eli, God's High Priest had fallen into the wickedness of his sons, because he knew about it their wickedness and had done nothing about it.
They had turned the House of God into a House of Belial.
*****1Sa 2:12 Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not the LORD.
Belial means wicked, worthless people.
People who did not know the Lord.
People of whom God had saved from their own foolishness many times.
These two sons of Eli were an example of how low the children of Israel had sunk in their relationship with Jehovah God.
This could be why Hannah would have offered her own son Samuel to the Lord.
She could see what her world was turning into, a world of wickedness. We saw these same things today.
We see the America we love turn into a wicked and corrupt nation because of greed and corruption.
God cursed the house of Eli, and we may soon see the curse of God on some such people any day now.
1Sa 3:11 And the LORD said to Samuel, Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle.
1Sa 3:12 In that day I will perform against Eli all things which I have spoken concerning his house: when I begin, I will also make an end.
1Sa 3:13 For I have told him that I will judge his house for ever for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not.
1Sa 3:14 And therefore I have sworn unto the house of Eli, that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering for ever.
We see how easy it is for the children of Satan to infiltrate the House of God!
Their sin was bad enough for the punishment they would receive, eternal damnation but their greatest sin was the fact they kept other people from coming to the House of God.
They were the children of Satan, yet they worked in the House of God.
They perverted the design of their office by making it for their own benefit.
They served their own lust.
They were despots making their own laws in the House of God and disregarding the Word of God.
They were adulterous.
They brought contempt to the House of God.
The office they held was Holy, but their character was corrupt!
They touched sacred things with unworthy hands.
There is a great enormous difference between what is spiritual and what is official, and we see this in many so-called places of worship today.
On the outside dressed in the attire of a Priest they seemed in tune with God.
On the inside they were full of corruption and death.
Every teacher in the House of God should pay attention to this passage in the Bible and see the importance of living the truth of God and teaching the truth of God.
We also see it is possible for someone to have a pulpit and to have no God; to have a Bible and no Holy Ghost!
It is within the power of the Church to rid the Church of such people! God proclaims to His children this power!
A man's character is on display within the Church.
Our standard is now and will always be the Lord Jesus Christ!
The wickedness of these two men was shameful.
*****1Sa 2:17 Wherefore the sin of the young men was very great before the LORD: for men abhorred the offering of the LORD.
Corruption in the priesthood causes profanity in the people.
Mal 2:8 But ye are departed out of the way; ye have caused many to stumble at the law; ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the LORD of hosts.
Mal 2:9 Therefore have I also made you contemptible and base before all the people, according as ye have not kept my ways, but have been partial in the law.
They did not respect nor regard the God of the House of God!
They desecrated the offerings that were being made to the Lord.
They insisted on receiving the choice meat that belonged to the person presenting that offering.
They sometimes insisted upon some raw meat before the Lord received His portion.(This was the meat that was to be burned as the sweet aroma to the Lord).
They insisted on some of the fat that was clearly prohibited by the Lord. (The fat also was to be burned as part of the sweet aroma before the Lord)
They were willing to commit violence to obtain the best meat for their own families.
The Lord had given to Moses the precise instructions on how these offerings were to be presented and how this meat was to be divided between the Lord and the priests!
They turned the House of God into a house of ill repute!
These two sons of Eli had sunk to great depths of wickedness and many a minister to the house of God have sunk to these same depths of sin!
Remember the murder of the Lord Jesus:
Mat 27:20 But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus.
We must understand the great judgment of the Lord that will come upon these people!
They will face the Lord at the White Throne Judgment where they will be sentenced to eternal damnation!
In between all these things, we continue to read where Hannah continued to check on her son and bring him coats and other things when they came for the yearly sacrifice.
But we also see that Eli knew all the wickedness of his two sons.
*****1Sa 2:22 Now Eli was very old, and heard all that his sons did unto all Israel; and how they lay with the women that assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
Eli had heard of all the things his sons were doing.
Eli had failed his own children!
Eli had become unfit to manage the office of High Priest and as Judge of Israel.
We see that women who came to worship the Lord were corrupted.
We will see that there is nothing more provoking to God, than to profane the House of God and His Holy Word!
We know that sexual immorality existed in most all the ancient religions.
No where in the Bible do we see these things approved of God.
In fact, the only sexual activity approved of the Lord is that of one man and one woman who are married according to the Word of God.
Worship at the Tabernacle in Shiloh had begun to resemble the pagan worship centers of the Canaanites, but God would not allow these things to go unpunished.
Eli would make a feeble attempt to correct his sons, but he was simply too old and too feeble, and his words were insincere.
*****1Sa 2:23 And he said unto them, Why do ye such things? for I hear of your evil dealings by all this people.
1Sa 2:24 Nay, my sons; for it is no good report that I hear: ye make the LORD'S people to transgress.
1Sa 2:25 If one man sin against another, the judge shall judge him: but if a man sin against the LORD, who shall intreat for him? Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto the voice of their father, because the LORD would slay them.
What is the absolutely worse thing we can do as Christians? Be the cause of someone else’s sin.
Now these two men were not God's children because they were the children of the devil.
They had no respect for the house of God.
Their sin was against God and Him only, and no one could intervene for them.
Eli's sin was not only that he reproved them too gently, but that all he did was to rebuke them verbally and did nothing to stop them when it was within his power to do so.
He had the Word of God to guide him, and Laws of Moses were precise in these things, and he was the Judge of Israel and High Priest, but showed partiality because they were his own sons.
We should understand God does not accept our weakness as humans as an excuse for sin!
This should be understood by the punishment upon Eli, it was severe.
We can only conclude that weakness is then sin!
We must never be too weak to do the right thing!
We should remember the time of Aaron and his two sons.
Exo 28:43 And they shall be upon Aaron, and upon his sons, when they come in unto the tabernacle of the congregation, or when they come near unto the altar to minister in the holy place; that they bear not iniquity, and die: it shall be a statute for ever unto him and his seed after him.
There is no one who can come to our defense when we sin against God!
God will certainly be the Judge of those who sin against Him.
It is known today as the White Throne Judgment, and it is real!
But Samuel continued to grow in the Lord and grow in favor of those who met him.
*****1Sa 2:26 And the child Samuel grew on, and was in favour both with the LORD, and also with men.
Samuel grew up at the Lord's House. This is the same place we can grow.
Samuel grew in the Lord's sight. The Lord was pleased with Samuel. We too are to grow in the Lord's sight. He has His eyes on all His children.
Samuel grew by the Lord's Grace. We can only grow in the Grace of the Lord by the Lord Jesus Christ.
Samuel grew to serve the Lord. This is our one and only job. To serve the Lord and He will teach us.
God sends His messenger to Eli.
*****1Sa 2:27 And 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?
1Sa 2:28 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?
1Sa 2:29 Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice and at mine offering, which I have commanded in my habitation; and honourest thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people?
1Sa 2:30 Wherefore the LORD God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the LORD saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.
1Sa 2:31 Behold, the days come, that I will cut off thine arm, and the arm of thy father's house, that there shall not be an old man in thine house.
1Sa 2:32 And thou shalt see an enemy in my habitation, in all the wealth which God shall give Israel: and there shall not be an old man in thine house for ever.
1Sa 2:33 And the man of thine, whom I shall not cut off from mine altar, shall be to consume thine eyes, and to grieve thine heart: and all the increase of thine house shall die in the flower of their age.
1Sa 2:34 And this shall be a sign unto thee, that shall come upon thy two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas; in one day they shall die both of them.
We know there is a sin unto death and to Eli, this weakness as Judge and High Priest of Israel was his sin unto death.
God sent a messenger to tell Eli of his punishment. He had already been warned.
Notice this messenger was a prophet, and he was precise in using God's actual words.
In the title "man of God" this prophet joins the ranks of Moses, Elijah, Elisha, and many others.
This prophet challenged Eli and his sons to remember the history of the priesthood.
God had chosen Levi and it had begun with Aaron.
They were to follow the righteous ways of Aaron and not their own ways.
Today, all leaders of the Church are to follow the Lord Jesus Christ and not their own ways.
Then, this prophet pronounced the charges against Eli and his sons.
They showed disdain for the Tabernacle, the offerings, and the sacrifices.
They profited off the people by theft of the choice parts, even Eli was guilty in this sin.
Eli had eaten these things knowing what his sons had done.
The prophet of God then passed God's judgment.
1) The house of Eli would be cut off from the priesthood.
2) His descendants would be held in low esteem and condemned.
3) His descendants would live only short lifespans.
4) His descendants would witness the blessings of God on the ones that replaced them.
5) The descendants of Eli would live in sadness and grief and die in the prime of their life, none living to old age.
6) Eli's two sons would both die on the same day.
We should understand every human being will be judged for the things they have done while they lived!
The judgment of the world will take place!
Eli's sons did not believe in this judgment, but it still took place and they both died on the same day.
The one thing all humans know is that one day we are going to die!
It is during this time of life that we can decide where we will spend eternity.
Many people do not believe in the afterlife, but this is like believing that all the things we see on this earth and in the heavens, all came from an accident.
Heb 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
Heb 9:28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.
2Th 1:6 Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you;
2Th 1:7 And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,
2Th 1:8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:
2Th 1:9 Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;
2Th 1:10 When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.
God only does things that are righteous!
God is faithful and He expects us to be faithful!
*****1Sa 2:35 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 for ever.
1Sa 2:36 And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left in thine house shall come and crouch to him for a piece of silver and a morsel of bread, and shall say, Put me, I pray thee, into one of the priests' offices, that I may eat a piece of bread.
We see the promise of the Priesthood of our Lord Jesus Christ.
This promise would be first fulfilled with Samuel, then Zadok, and then the Lord Jesus Christ with an unending priesthood.
He would be a very special priest.
He would be obedient doing exactly the Word of God.
His priesthood would last forever.
Everyone in this world would come and bow down to Him.
Fulfilled first in Samuel.
1Sa 3:1 And the child Samuel ministered unto the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was precious in those days; there was no open vision.
Fulfilled next in Zadok.
2Sa 8:17 And Zadok the son of Ahitub, and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, were the priests; and Seraiah was the scribe;
2Sa 8:18 And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over both the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and David's sons were chief rulers.
Ultimately fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Supreme High Priest.
Php 2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
Php 2:6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
Php 2:7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
Php 2:8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
Php 2:9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
Php 2:10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
Php 2:11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Amen
