Christianity Requires Backbone!

Eli—the Easy Mark

1 Samuel 3:13 (KJV 1900)

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.

INTRO: This message from God is a sentence of doom. It tells of coming judgment not only upon Eli but upon all his house. No man ever stood before a judge and received a stiffer judgment than this man,

the sentence of death.

Who was this man?

A. He was not a mean vile sinner. He was a very religious man,

an aged man, a priest, a judge in Israel for 40 years.

He was God’s spokesman to the people.

B. He was a kind and godly man.

No man ever spoke unkind words of him.

No finger could point at him and say that he was guilty of any crime.

C. Not only was he harmless and inoffensive, but he had many other genuine virtues.

I. THOUGH OLD IN YEARS, HE HAD A YOUTHFUL HEART.

A. He and the boy, Samuel, had a pleasant relationship with each other. They loved each other. It was a joy to see them together.

B. His relationship with Samuel was like the springtime in fellowship with wintertime. Age with youth! Sunrise and sunset walking arm in arm!

C. Eli’s deep love for Samuel shows that though an aged priest he was both kind and youthful.

II. HE WAS A GENEROUS MAN.

A. For many years, he had been God’s priest, but now he sees himself set aside.

B. One young enough to be his grandson was taking his place—

someone inexperienced and young in knowledge.

C. Samuel was destined to increase; Eli was to decrease.

D. But Eli did not rebel, did not grow bitter. David was the same; he surrendered the throne to Solomon.

III. HE WAS A MAN OF SPIRITUAL INSIGHT.

A. Samuel did not know God was calling him. He knew a voice was calling him, but Samuel did not understand. He went to Eli three times.

B. But his old friend, Eli, knew. Eli told him and instructed him what to say: “Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth” (v. 9).

IV. Eli WAS SUBMISSIVE TO THE WILL OF GOD.

A. When Samuel came with the stern and terrible message, how did he receive it?

B. There was no complaint! There was no bitter criticism. No rebellion!

C. He bowed his head and his heart, and these words fell from his lips: “It is the Lord: let him do what seemeth him good” (v. 18).

D. No bad man can speak like this! He was ready to suffer for the will of God.

V. WHAT, THEN, WAS WRONG WITH ELI?

A. Why was this stern sentence pronounced? He was guilty of no crime. He was not drunken, He was not a thief did not steal from widows or orphans.

B. Never had he brought dishonor upon his high office!

C. Probably the neighborhood testimony was, “I have never seen Eli guilty of a single wicked or ugly deed.”

D. What was wrong? He was guilty of what he had failed to do!

He was guilty of no wrong, but his sons were.

E. The evildoings of his sons were not hidden; Eli knew it!

They were bringing shame upon themselves and Eli’s high office.

Thus, he became a partaker in their crimes; he must, therefore, share in their guilt and doom. What a tragedy!

F. Why didn’t he restrain them?

Was he too busy? No, the text tells. It was weakness!

He was too soft! He was too easy! He was a loving father,

but he was not loving enough to be unloving by correcting his sons

He was not kind enough to exercise his parental authority.

G. His sons knew he was an easy mark, and it made their downward spiral easier.

VI. ELI, THEN, PREACHES US A STARTLING MESSAGE ON THE FAILURE OF CHRISTIAN SOFTNESS.

A. It is a failure because it falls short of Christlikeness.

there is more to religion than kindness, and being good-natured, or courteous?

B. Some think you should never step on anyone’s toes and never hurt anyone’s feelings. You must always be polite and agreeable!

C. Some think we should never be so rude as to take a positive stand on a moral question, lest we hurt someone’s feelings!

D. A Christian must be made of sterner stuff. Courteous, yes! But much, much more.

E. Jesus was a fighter! And We, too, must stand up for what is right.

F. Our Lord is tender, but He is also strong.

Patient enough to suffer for the will of God and

yet courageous enough to do the will of God.

G. For instance, He went into the synagogue one day and saw heartless religionists robbing a man with a withered hand of his blessings.

What did Jesus do? He was not passive. He was not agreeable or courteous. He looked around with anger—an anger that scorched, blistered, and burned. John writes about it 50 years later. John had never forgotten that look!

H. On another day, He went into the Temple and saw it was being desecrated. It was being changed into a den of thieves and robbers.

What was His reaction? Did He say, “You fellas shouldn’t be doing that.”

Was He afraid to hurt their feelings? NO!

He seized a scourge of small cords, and I can hear the lash upon their faces and backs and turned their tables upside down!

I. He did never tolerated evil. He fought against it!

And He calls upon us to do the same today.

VII. NOT ONLY DOES WEAKNESS FALL SHORT OF CHRISTIANITY;

IT HAS GREAT DANGER OF BECOMING EVIL.

A. Some people are too courteous to be a Christian. As long as there is only one side to a question, they go along with it just fine.

B. But, when there are two sides, they take their usual stand, straddling the fence and making excuses to both sides for not joining them.

C. Some members of the church drink and party to please others. They say they don’t like the taste or the effects, BUT they do it purely to keep from being disagreeable. They join the bootlegger and lawbreaker and defy common decency. At the same time they disregard the very teachings they once embraced. Thus, weakness degenerates into wickedness.

CONCLUSION:

Softness tends to make one a menace to others.

An easy mark, a “weak willy” not only endangers himself but others also. As far as we know, Eli never did wrong in his life, yet his whole pathway is littered with ruins. He toiled for God almost a half century, but when the day was closed,

only a heap of the ruins of his life remained.