First Samuel 2:22

The Bible says in First Samuel 2:22-25, “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.” Now we hear of another terrible sin committed by the sons of Eli: immorality performed right at God’s tabernacle. They had no shame. They were corrupt beyond imagination. Eli warned them, and admonished them, and taught them; but because they were rebellious sons, they did not listen to their father. Notice that Eli said in verse twenty-four, “ye make the LORD's people to transgress.” It is bad enough when we commit sins, but it is even worse when we lead others astray. That is one of the reasons that sins against children are so horrible. But no one is going to get away with anything ultimately. The judgment is coming because God sees all and knows all. A terrible judgment awaits all those who do not know Jesus as their Savior. Some people get part of their judgment in this life. Concerning the sons of Eli, it says at the end of verse twenty-five, “the LORD would slay them.”

The Bible says in First Samuel 2:26, “And the child Samuel grew on, and was in favour both with the LORD, and also with men.” This is an amazing statement said about Samuel because the same thing was said about Jesus and His years of growing up in the family of Mary and Joseph. It says about Jesus in Luke 2:52, “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.” Here is a great truth that the world does not know: if you grow in your relationship with God, you will greatly benefit also in your relationship with man. The world thinks that you will lose if you serve God, but the opposite is actually true: you will win in every way.

The Bible says in First Samuel 2:27-36, “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.” It is interesting that verse twenty-seven speaks of “a man of God” who can to give a message to Eli from God. We are not given the name of the man of God. He is unknown. Many Christians are just like that: unknown to the world, but known to God, and used of God to fulfill God’s purposes. The message to Eli was not a good one for Eli. We know that Eli rebuked his sons for the sins that they committed, but the problem is that Eli left them in place doing work as priests. God wants His servants and preachers to be the best Christians, and should not be anyone that has serious ethical or moral problems. That is why it says in First Timothy 3:2-7, “A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;[3] Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous;[4] One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity;[5] (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?)[6] Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil.[7] Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.” Eli’s sons did not fit this job description, and Eli should have removed them from their duties. Notice in verse thirty that God says to Eli, “for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.” God is holy. God will not honor evil or bless sin. Beware, Christian. There can be very undesirable consequences if you do the wrong thing. Eli’s sons would die, another priest would take Eli’s place, and Eli’s family would be poor and needy. All because Eli left his wicked sons in the priesthood.

The Bible says in First Samuel 3:1-10, “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.[2] And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place, and his eyes began to wax dim, that he could not see;[3] And ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep;[4] That the LORD called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I.[5] And he ran unto Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou calledst me. And he said, I called not; lie down again. And he went and lay down.[6] And the LORD called yet again, Samuel. And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And he answered, I called not, my son; lie down again.[7] Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, neither was the word of the LORD yet revealed unto him.[8] And the LORD called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And Eli perceived that the LORD had called the child.[9] Therefore Eli said unto Samuel, Go, lie down: and it shall be, if he call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, LORD; for thy servant heareth. So Samuel went and lay down in his place.[10] And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth.” Verse one tells us a couple of things that are very important. First, we see that Samuel is continuing with his Christian education. Samuel was getting the right preparation in his youth. And the times in which he lived needed someone who was prepared to serve God because it says, “the word of the LORD was precious in those days; there was no open vision.” That means that there were very few people who were living close to the Lord and teaching others the truth. You must be close to Christ to have a message from the Bible that will touch people with power. Eli was on his way out of this world. He was old and going blind. Samuel was being prepared as far as being in the right environment and learning the right things, but Samuel lacked one very important thing: he had not yet been converted to the Lord. He was not yet saved. He did not know the Lord in a personal way. As it says in verse seven, “Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, neither was the word of the LORD yet revealed unto him.” True religion is not a religion, but it is a relationship with God through faith in Jesus. This is the number one problem of people in the world: not knowing the Lord. If you do know the Lord, it is because the Lord came to you and touched your heart and revealed His truth to you.

The Lord came to Samuel to reveal Himself to Samuel when Samuel was still a child. That is the best time to get saved: in childhood. The Lord visits many people in their childhood. How sad and how evil when someone turns away because they will grow and develop without the Lord in this life and possibly never have another chance to be saved. The decision to turn away from God might be an eternal decision. Samuel was given three chances to turn to the Lord according to this passage. But Samuel needed help in understanding what the call of the Lord meant and how to respond to it. Non-believers often need help in turning to the Lord Jesus. Children need help to perceive that salvation is trusting in Christ to be their Savior and is receiving Jesus into their heart. It is not baptism and it is not religion, but it is Jesus who saves from sin.

Eli told Samuel what to say to the Lord, and Samuel said, “Speak; for thy servant heareth.” Instead of rejecting the Lord as many do, Samuel wanted the Lord to speak to him and to touch his heart. Jesus described this spiritual experience in Revelation 3:20, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” God has given us a free will. Jesus gently invites us to come into a relationship with Him, but He respects our free will. He gave us the free will. He invites us and then He lets us decide. Notice also that when Samuel called upon the name of the Lord, Samuel called himself God’s “servant.” Anyone who truly comes to the Lord for salvation, comes as a servant ready and willing to start following the Lord. When Paul met Jesus on the road to Damascus, Paul said, “Lord, what will you have me to do?”

The Bible says in First Samuel 3:11-14, “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.[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.[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.[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.” Our God is a very forgiving God. He loves us. Jesus came and died for us so that we would not have to suffer for our own sins. That means that we do not need to suffer the consequences for our sins either. That is why it says in First Corinthians 11:30-32, “For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.[31] For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.[32] But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.” If Christians would do a daily evaluation of their lives and confess their sins daily, they would not suffer even the practical consequences of sins. That is what forgiveness is all about, and is why it says in First John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” And we see that there is an easy way to learn and a hard way. If you judge yourself and confess your sins, the Lord will not need to chastise you in order to wake you up. You are waking yourself up by doing an honest evaluation of yourself. But confession means repentance. The problem with Eli is that he never corrected the problem of the sins that his sons were committing in the animal sacrifice ceremonies. Eli knew what his sons were doing and left them in place. It says in verse thirteen, “For I have told him that I will judge his house for ever for the iniquity which he knoweth…” It is a very bad sin to know some kind of evil is happening, but to do nothing to fix it. Another issue for Eli was that he lived in the age of the law. The law is very unforgiving. Thank God that because of Jesus, we live in the age of grace. Unmerited favor from God is showered upon us, not because of what we have done or failed to do, but because of what Jesus has done for us on the cross of Calvary.

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