9 1 Samuel 2: Preaching/Teaching

Eli-Familiarity breads contempt

As a freshman in College I went into John Brown and there were two older guys that were the leaders of the team: John and Rodney.

John cut guys hair on the team.

One time he gave me the worst haircut known to man, called the bowl cut.

That year John quit on the team in the middle of the season

Rodney was seen on the news the next year he went into a elder lady’s house and pistol whipped her.

I learned from John that I never wanted to quit on my team. I also never wanted to do something like Rodney.

Can’t we learn lessons from bad examples.

Today we are going to look at two people who were bad examples, but I want us to learn some lessons. They were the leaders of Israel as a matter of fact they were priests, their job description was that they were supposed to bring the people to God.

The very people who were to bring the people to God treated him as worthless.

I remember as a young man I treated God as worthless until I began a relationship with him.

But you know as a believer sometimes we can treat God with contempt.

the feeling that a person or a thing is beneath consideration, worthless, or deserving scorn.

Have some examples:

Thanklessness

Ignoring His clear instructions

Not seeking His direction first

Questioning His provision

Thinking of him as the man upstairs.

When all else fails pray.

Questioning his wisdom in allowing bad things to happen.

Singing worship songs when our hearts are far from worshipping him.

I'll think of some more.

Basically just going through the motions of worship.

Worship as a transaction with God. I do my rituals so he is obligated to take care of me.

Treating church, worship , prayer, quiet time as things I do to keep God off my back, safe, healthy.

Using God rather than living in awe of him and being amazed that he loves me.

Valuable lessons from bad examples:

The first lesson we can learn from (Eli's Family) about treating the Lord in (contempt) or as worthless:

is that it happens in religious Gatherings (12-17).

This needs to be a WARNING to everyone here.

This means we can be here today worshipping the Lord in a way that is not pleasing to him (Contempt).

One of our core values is that we value relationships over religion.

1 Samuel 2:12 (NASB95)

Now the sons of Eli were worthless men; they did not know the Lord

They were worthless to me. One translation reads that they were scoundrels.

Why were they worthless men? Because they did not know the Lord.

Before we ever do anything for God, he wants us to know him.

Last week, we discussed this as the reason we were created.

Remember last week we saw that God wanted to get to know Samuel-He wanted a relationship with Samuel.

It says Hophni and Phineas did not know the Lord.

These were the leaders of the church; they were supposed to be leading the very people of God into the presence of God.

Tom Constable’s Expository Notes on the Bible Exposition

In other words, they were very wicked and worth nothing. Their conduct not only reflects on the low spiritual condition of the nation at this time, but it also discouraged, rather than encouraged, the Israelites from worshipping the  LORD at the tabernacle (cf. 2:17).

(13-15)-Example from God's word!

1 Samuel 2:13–14 (NASB95)

and the custom of the priests with the people. When any man was offering a sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come while the meat was boiling, with a three-pronged fork in his hand.

Then he would thrust it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; all that the fork brought up the priest would take for himself. Thus they did in Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there.

There was an order of the way priests were supposed to handle themselves

1 Samuel 2:15 (NASB95)

Also, before they burned the fat, the priest’s servant would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give the priest meat for roasting, as he will not take boiled meat from you, only raw.”

There was a certain way that they were supposed to do this that would honor God and highlight his holiness. But notice in v15-It says that he would demand it. In his mind, he was the supreme authority. The word of God said this, and they said we will disregard it; we will demand something different.

Could you picture if I came here today and jsut said I am going to preach out of the Odessey. Why, because i want to. As believers we all have authority and one of our authorities is teh very word of God. Many weeks out of the year, I have the privilege of sharing the word of God with you. But I have an authority, first and foremost, the Word of God; I am under its jurisdiction, and I am also under the authority of other believers. These men disregard the word of God, as do other believers.

(16-17) They did not respect authority.

1 Samuel 2:16–17 NASB95

If the man said to him, “They must surely burn the fat first, and then take as much as you desire,” then he would say, “No, but you shall give it to me now; and if not, I will take it by force.” Thus the sin of the young men was very great before the Lord, for the men despised the offering of the Lord.

This was an example of how they treated the Lord's things with contempt.

Could this happen today?

In the New Testament, this happens when people get drunk at the communion table. People were sleeping together; this was in the Lord's house.

Hillsong Church-

Today, this happens also in subtle ways. Many churches no longer hold up God's word as the ultimate authority.

Don't we do the same? We follow God on our terms:

Lord, I'll go to church, but

I won't serveI won't read my Bible regularly I won't forgiveI definitely won't giveI won't be held accountable

I'll do whatever I want to do, just like these brothers did whatever they wanted to do. They were the captain of their ship, and so were we.

We don't come to church expecting to see God move significantly.

We come to church bitter and unwilling to forgive.

And in the same way, we treat the Lord's space with contempt.

2. The next lesson we can learn from (Eli's Family) about treating the Lord in (contempt) or as worthless is:

We must choose discipline, or we will pay a price (22-25).

We will choose discipline, or discipline will choose us.

Mike Tyson said discipline is doing something you hate and acting like you love it.

Isn't discipline necessary in life?

Here is an example: can you be disciplined in brushing your teeth, or if not, what is the price you will pay? Cavities.

We can name countless other examples.

But Hophni and Phineas were not disciplined, and they rejected discipline.

1 Samuel 2:22 (NASB95)

Now Eli was very old; and he heard all that his sons were doing to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who served at the doorway of the tent of meeting.

22-Their testimony brought disgrace unto the Lord.

Could this happen today?

In the New Testament, this happens when people get drunk at the communion table. People were sleeping together; this was in the Lord's house.

The Church is supposed to be a thermostat. We are supposed to set the standard for the world. Instead, right here, the Church had become a thermometer. It was following the ways of the world. The leadership was becoming like the world.

"… the Canaanites made sacred prostitution an important part of their sensual worship. Hophni and Phinehas apparently [or perhaps] were seeking to bring this aspect of that worship into the holy ceremonies of the Tabernacle."

Constable, T. (2003). Tom Constable's Expository Notes on the Bible (1 Sa 2:22). Galaxie Software.

Church: God wants us to be a thermostat

1 Samuel 2:23–24 (NASB95)

He said to them, “Why do you do such things, the evil things that I hear from all these people?

“No, my sons; for the report is not good which I hear the Lord’s people circulating.

Eli confronts his son's evil behavior.

How did they respond to their father? Again, With total disdain, just like with the offering, I will do this whether you like it or not.

Notice Eli confronts his kids but does not take them out of the priesthood. This would be the equivalent of a pastor having an affair and still preaching the next day.

This needed to be dealt with.

Discipline is a serious thing.

Here are some things I have learned about discipline when it comes to our kids.

We must be willing to say no to our kids, especially young ones.

We have to be willing to set boundaries for our kids.

We can go to an extreme-When I first became a parent-

We can go to the other extreme of ELI and miss our kid's hearts. What do I mean by that? We can be overbearing in our discipline. Say no to everything and not have a relationship with our kids.

Eli lost his influence with his kids when they were older because he missed there heart.

1 Samuel 2:25 (NASB95)

“If one man sins against another, God will mediate for him; but if a man sins against the Lord, who can intercede for him?” But they would not listen to the voice of their father, for the Lord desired to put them to death.

Contrast to God's response

Eli's sons Hophni and Phineas had gone way too far, and the natural response was death-

God was stepping in, and enough was enough.

Their lack of discipline affected the entire nation.

300 years earlier in the history of Israel something similar was happening in Israel. Promiscuity was happening with the leadership and God hated this. And there was another Phineas who took a spear and killed the leader and the Moabite who were having sexual relations.

1 Samuel 4:21–22 NASB95

And she called the boy Ichabod, saying, “The glory has departed from Israel,” because the ark of God was taken and because of her father-in-law and her husband. She said, “The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God was taken.”

Discipline-

After my first year in college, I wanted to get in the best shape possible. So, my close friend and coach would run three miles every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I hated to run just to run. I was okay with it on the court. But each of those days, at 6 am, we would show up at my coach's house, and he would be sitting on his lawn chair. And we would run three miles. It wasn't an accident. It was my best year as a player.

How are you doing in discipline?

Are you choosing it?

Or is it choosing you?

Do you choose discipline when it comes to your walk with the Lord?

Why we do spiritual disciplines.

We do a quiet time not to say I am the best Christian ever but to spend time with the God of the universe.

We spend time in prayer so that we can get to know God better.

How can you choose discipline in your walk with the Lord this week?

3.The last lesson we can learn from (Eli's Family) about treating the Lord in (contempt) or as worthless is:

Grace is available in the most unlikely of places (18-21 & 26).

If you were a parent and you had to allow someone else to raise your child who would you want to raise your child?

Would anyone choose Eli?

But Eli was the person who would raise Samuel the very person who would replace his sons. Could it be that in Eli's failure as a parent, that maybe when he got a chance to raise Samuel that he was going to do it right.

If you look at Samuel this is the very place he was being raised in a religious setting where money changing and prostituion was going on.

Just this morning Heather was sharing with me a news article and she said, There is some sick stuff in this world.

I came across this quote this week:

Tom Constable’s Expository Notes on the Bible (Exposition)

“Just as God protected Joseph in Egypt, so He would protect Samuel in Shiloh, and so He can protect our children and grandchildren in this present evil world.”

God can protect our children and grandchildren.

1 Samuel 2:18–19 (NASB95)

Now Samuel was ministering before the Lord, as a boy wearing a linen ephod.

And his mother would make him a little robe and bring it to him from year to year when she would come up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.

In this setting he was being faithful. I am wondering if he was even being made fun of because the environment was so bad.

I want us to see two things here

a. Even at a young age it was before the Lord. We need to pray for our kids to have tender hearts before God.

b. Look at the influence his parents had for him to serve the Lord. Maybe you are here today and you are like I have messed up as a parent, it's not to late to be that influence on your kids. Maybe your kid is older, it does not matter, influence your kids to walk with the Lord. One of the most popular preachers years ago was not infuleunced spiritually by his parents but by his grandparents.

Here Samuel has the influence of his parents and of this priest.

1 Samuel 2:20–21 (NASB95)

Then Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife and say, “May the Lord give you children from this woman in place of the one she dedicated to the Lord.” And they went to their own home.

The Lord visited Hannah; and she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. And the boy Samuel grew before the Lord.

God wants to bless his people. Now this can kind of sound a little health and wealth, but God blessed Hannah. God wants to bless you today but it is not so that you can keep that blessing to yourself, it is so you can share it with others. God blesses us to bless others.

Contrast in this section is between Samuel and Eli's other two sons

Samuel was growing in the presence of the Lord.

1 Samuel 2:26 (NASB95)

Now the boy Samuel was growing in stature and in favor both with the Lord and with men.

Samuel was growing.

Are you growing?

This same grace that gave Hannah and Elkenah a kid, this same grace that gave Eli a second chance at being a father, specifically a spiritual father, this same grace that was preparing Samuel to be the leader of Israel is here today. The same grace of the

GOSPEL

Today we looked at not treating the Lord as contempt.

I want to leave us with one of my favorite quotes in the world. because today I want us to leave this church in AWE of what God has done and what he is going to continue to do in your life and in this churches life.

I want us to be in Awe of God!

Mike Yanconelli-Christianity is no longer life-changing, it is life enhancing. Jesus doesn’t change people into wild-eyed radicals anymore, He changes them into ‘nice people.’ If Christianity is simply about being nice, I’m not interested. What happened to radical Christianity, the un-nice brand of Christianity that turned the world upside-down? What happened to the kind of Christians whose hearts were on fire, who had no fear, who spoke the truth no matter what the consequence, who made the world uncomfortable. . .I’m ready for a Christianity that ‘ruins’ my life, that captures my heart and makes me uncomfortable. I want to be filled with an astonishment which is so captivating that I am considered wild and unpredictable and … well .. dangerous. Yes, I want to be ‘dangerous’ to a dull and boring religion. I want a faith that is considered ‘dangerous’ by our predictable and monotonous culture.”