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1 Samuel 2:11-36
11 And Elkanah went to Ramah to his house. And the child did minister unto the Lord before Eli the priest.
12 Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not the Lord.
13 And the priest’s custom with the people was, that, when any man offered sacrifice, the priest’s servant came, while the flesh was in seething, with a fleshhook of three teeth in his hand;
14 And he struck it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; all that the fleshhook brought up the priest took for himself. So they did in Shiloh unto all the Israelites that came thither.
15 Also before they burnt the fat, the priest’s servant came, and said to the man that sacrificed, Give flesh to roast for the priest; for he will not have sodden flesh of thee, but raw.
16 And if any man said unto him, Let them not fail to burn the fat presently, and then take as much as thy soul desireth; then he would answer him, Nay; but thou shalt give it me now: and if not, I will take it by force.
17 Wherefore the sin of the young men was very great before the Lord: for men abhorred the offering of the Lord.
18 But Samuel ministered before the Lord, being a child, girded with a linen ephod.
19 Moreover his mother made him a little coat, and brought it to him from year to year, when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.
20 And Eli blessed Elkanah and his wife, and said, The Lord give thee seed of this woman for the loan which is lent to the Lord. And they went unto their own home.
21 And the Lord visited Hannah, so that she conceived, and bare three sons and two daughters. And the child Samuel grew before the Lord.
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.
23 And he said unto them, Why do ye such things? for I hear of your evil dealings by all this people.
24 Nay, my sons; for it is no good report that I hear: ye make the Lord’s people to transgress.
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.
26 And the child Samuel grew on, and was in favour both with the Lord, and also with men.
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?
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?
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Reflect
If we were to hop ahead in the Scriptures to 1 Samuel 3:13, we would see that Eli failed as a father. His sons, who were his primary responsibility to nurture and reprimand, grew to become men of Belial. Belial was another name for Satan, and was used to characterize people who were very wicked (see Deut. 13:13, 1 Sam 30:22, 1 Kings 21:13). Even though Eli was serving in God’s house, he neglected serving his own household. His sons sinned openly, but by the time it was well-known in the public, he had no influence in their lives. While fathers can always be a guide to their children, there comes a point in a child’s life when he or she transitions to adulthood, and the discipline that the father can enforce becomes significantly less (verse 25).
We see that Eli took a diplomatic approach, trying to reason with his children about the error of their ways. In my mind, I wonder if this was not a pattern of “correction” that he established with them as young boys. As I read this text, I see valuable parenting advice. You shouldn’t always play hardball with your children, but life isn’t slow-pitch either. This recent parenting trend of letting the child decide is straight from hell. Using positive reinforcement as a total replacement for punishment and discipline is straight from hell.
Men, women, and children all possess the very same sin nature. This nature will not be reigned in by blue ribbons and trophies. It is reigned in through pain. Let me be very clear that I am not advocating for any form of abuse. If a child must suffer pain in the form of a spanking, losing privileges to a car, or losing access to a phone or their friends, then that is simply giving them a slight taste of the real world. Sin hurts. And sin that is committed by adults often has much more hurt associated with it that that of a child. Regardless, we see that the warning fell on deaf ears. Eli’s sons continued to sin, and God eventually slew them for it (1 Samuel 4:17).
Remember
God honors those who honor him, and those that despise God will receive just punishment. Be wary of how you raise your children. If you don’t honor God and how you raise your children, there will be consequences. The spiritual health of your family is more important than your secular career, or your ministry career. Indeed, how you shepherd your family is one of your greatest ministries.
An oft-overlooked part of this portion of Scripture is the fact that when Samuel grew up, he made the same mistake as Eli (1 Sam 8:1-3). Why does it seem like men of God often have trouble with their kids? Perhaps this is where the stereotype of the “preacher’s kid” truly began. Don’t neglect the spiritual well-being of your family. As a man, husband, or father, it is your sacred duty above all else. You are called to lead spiritually, and God will place a higher level of responsibility upon you concerning the spiritual health of your children than he will concerning the spiritual health of everyone else.
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