Eli's Evil Sons
Real Relationships • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 3 viewsThis is a reminder of how important sincere worship and service are when it comes to instructing our children in the paths of righteousness.
Notes
Transcript
I. Living like God is Ordinary
I. Living like God is Ordinary
12 Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not the Lord.
If you will remember back with me to the introduction of Samuel we see a people listed who would be involved in these earlier chapters. Eli’s sons Hophni and Phinehas are actively involved in chapter 2 but not in a good way.
They are called in some translations “worthless men”, but I submit to you that this phrase does not do it justice. They were sons of Belial, the false god. This is the same term that Eli used on Hannah in chapter 1.
16 Count not thine handmaid for a daughter of Belial: for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief have I spoken hitherto.
”Remember, Hannah was praying to herself and in the midst of her prayer she is just moving her lips and Eli things her to be drunk and tells her to get out.
The word for worthless is the Hebrew word “belial” which is associated with death, wickedness and rebellion. In all honesty that is not the worst part of vs 12. The fact that they are the priestly leaders but “They did not know the Lord” is of much greater concern and helps us understand why they are worthless.
2 And Pharaoh said, Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go.
10 And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.
Now don’t think for a minute that Hophi and Phineas did not know how the Lord should be worshiped at Shiloh.
Also, understand that they are the priestly leaders in charge of showing God to others and bringing others to know God yet they themselves do not know him. This is what we would say is the blind leading the blind.
If the leadership of Israel is not concerned with the ways of God and desires to do their own thing looking out for self first. What will others in Israel look like?
Think about this… “This was Israel, the nation chosen by God out of all the earth to be “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. This was Shiloh, the place, for the time being, where the holy tabernacle was set up as God’s dwelling place among his people.”
They are responsible to represent God and they fail to know him. Now they know about him, they have all the information in the world but they do not know the Lord.
Hannah spoke about this in her prayer in 1 Samuel 2:3
3 Talk no more so exceeding proudly;
Let not arrogancy come out of your mouth:
For the Lord is a God of knowledge,
And by him actions are weighed.
Beloved God will only let this go on so long before his long suffering wears out and he responds. He did not forget Phineas and Hophni like they had forgotten him.
He will take action for “His names sake. ”v 13-16 describe the way in which Eli’s sons went about the business of being priests before the people.
13 And the priests’ 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.
Now understanding that what they are doing doesn’t make a ton of sense to you and I who do not make these types of sacrifices anymore leads us to:
28 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 29 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, He that offereth the sacrifice of his peace offerings unto the Lord shall bring his oblation unto the Lord of the sacrifice of his peace offerings. 30 His own hands shall bring the offerings of the Lord made by fire, the fat with the breast, it shall he bring, that the breast may be waved for a wave offering before the Lord. 31 And the priest shall burn the fat upon the altar: but the breast shall be Aaron’s and his sons’. 32 And the right shoulder shall ye give unto the priest for an heave offering of the sacrifices of your peace offerings. 33 He among the sons of Aaron, that offereth the blood of the peace offerings, and the fat, shall have the right shoulder for his part. 34 For the wave breast and the heave shoulder have I taken of the children of Israel from off the sacrifices of their peace offerings, and have given them unto Aaron the priest and unto his sons by a statute for ever from among the children of Israel.
35 This is the portion of the anointing of Aaron, and of the anointing of his sons, out of the offerings of the Lord made by fire, in the day when he presented them to minister unto the Lord in the priest’s office;
The Lord established his way with his people on how he would be worshiped. From the moment they leave Egypt God is establishing his way with HIS people. God determines the relationship with mankind not the other way around.
We do not tell God under what conditions he is worthy of worship. Eli’s sons had knowledge of God but nor relationship with the King therefore their hearts are set upon themselves.
Expository Commentary “Eli’s sons, discontent with God’s allocation, grab more than their quota. it is implied that their three-pronged fork is not randomly thrust into the pot but aimed at the choicest portions. All who sacrifice at Shiloh become victims of their greed.
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.
The people that are representing God before the people are using force to take from those they have been placed in charge to care.
17 Wherefore the sin of the young men was very great before the Lord: for men abhorred the offering of the Lord.
*The literal meaning here is to show contempt.*
Contempt—the feeling that someone or something is worthless or beneath consideration.
When you read that definition and think that is how Men of God are treating what God has placed before them is is extremely scary but shows you how far Hophni and Phineas had gone.
The standard by which these young men lived by was a standard they set for themselves and that led them far from God. They are but a small picture of the Israelites that we have read about during this time of Judges.
They do not recognize God but God has not forgotten about them. Still true today.
T.S. The passage takes us from people that live as though God is ordinary to those that recognize him as Holy.
2 And Pharaoh said, Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go.
II. Living like God is Holy
II. Living like God is Holy
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.
Ministering before the Lord--
Ephod--The linen ephod is a garment reserved for the priesthood (see 2:28), so this is an indication that Samuel has become involved in an apprenticeship. The ephod was most likely a type of apron. Linen was the basic material, though higher ranking priests would have had gold thread woven into the fabric.
Matthews, V. H., Chavalas, M. W., & Walton, J. H. (2000). The IVP Bible background commentary: Old Testament (electronic ed., 1 Sa 2:18). InterVarsity Press.
Elkanah and his Family worshipped the Lord by coming to Shiloh yearly to make a sacrifice before the Lord. We see this contrast between Hophni and Phineas and the family of Elkanah in their desire to follow what the Lord requires.
One seeks after the Lord and the other is driven by personal interests and desires. Elkanah and his wife Hannah find themselves blessed in their relationship with the Lord.
This blessing will give Hannah 5 more children. This marks a transition from Elkanah and his family to the boy Samuel who:
vs 21 And the boy Samuel grew in the presence of the Lord.Samuel “became great” literal translation of Grew.
26 And the child Samuel grew on, and was in favour both with the Lord, and also with men.
19 And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground.
One set of priests do not know the Lord and another, Samuel, grows in the Lord.
What a contrast in such a short time period between two groups of people and their relationships with the Lord.
T.S. What we find is that God is not idle and does truly care for his own name. It’s important to see that God cares.
III. Living Knowing God Cares
III. Living Knowing God Cares
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.
Vs. 22 begins with Eli was very old. Between 90-98. Eli who sat as Judge over Israel who had been priest and helped raise Samuel in the ways of the Lord has a problem with his own household.
He is no longer active in the day to day affairs but finds himself hearing about what his sons are doing.
We are now told that they not only had Hophni and Phineas been threatening, and stealing from God but now they are sleeping with the women that are there in Shiloh to serve God.
They are taking everything that the Lord set aside to be Holy and have gone in the opposite direction taking what God has designed to be holy and precious and treating it as a personal playground. Eli talks to his sons in his old age.
Eli has obviously known that his sons have headed in the wrong direction for some time but now decides to talk with them.
Notice that Eli does not talk to his boys about repentance or even seem to fuss at them for what they have done. They are defaming the name of God as they are to be representing the one true God and instead they are acting as though God has no power or doesn’t care about the standards that HE put into place.
1 Samuel—Looking for a Leader Old Eli Spoke (vv. 23–25a)
The New Testament equivalent to this argument is found in the Letter to the Hebrews. The person “who has spurned the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified” must understand that then “there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins” (10:29, 26; cf. 6:6). If your sin, like the sin of Hophni and Phinehas, consists of contempt for the very means God has provided for your salvation, what hope remains?
The only hope is in the mercy, grace, and longsufferingness of God. That He will break through the hardened stony heart.
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.
In their failure to listen to Eli they sealed for themselves the Judgement of God.
If a person does not respond to the very thing that brings salvation their is nothing that can be done to bring about that spiritual truth to their life. The truth is that Eli’s sons loved their sin more than they did God.
The truth sat before them but they refused to respond.
4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; 19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. 20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: 21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, 23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. 24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: 25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
1 Samuel—Looking for a Leader Old Eli Was Ignored (v. 25b–c)
Eli does not seem to have been a wicked man, but in his old age he was not able to provide the leadership that Israel needed. His words to his sons expressed his sorrow and distress at their behavior, but he did not have the strength to curb their conduct. Shiloh suffered from the corruption of Eli’s sons and the ineptitude of their old father.
IV. Dealing with the Consequences
IV. Dealing with the Consequences
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. 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. 15 And Samuel lay until the morning, and opened the doors of the house of the Lord. And Samuel feared to shew Eli the vision.
Not much is truly told about the early life of Eli and his sons; however, I am sure that everyone in here has heard of the “curse of the PK’s”.
How sad that it is that I have heard that some of the worst children outside of churches all over tend to be the preacher’s kids.
May I submit to you, that this does not have to be the norm. God does not proclaim in His word to “train up a child in the way, except for the preacher’s kid because there is no hope for them.”
I wonder just how long God had been dealing with Eli to get him to snatch up his children and “correct them” in their false ways.
Parents, there comes a time that your children will be so engrained in their ways that it will be too late to try to correct. This doesn’t always only correlate to age, but perhaps more to how long conviction has been ignored.
The worst thing that a parent can do is to make excuses for their children avoid the necessary action of chastening their child.
Thank God that He does chasten and correct those that belong to Him.
Invitation
Invitation
For establishing God’s initiative and love: God’s sacrifice of Christ demonstrates his love for humanity and offers eternal life to all who believe (John 3:16), making John 3:16 foundational. Romans 5:8 reinforces this by showing that Christ died for us while we were still sinners (Rom 5:8)—emphasizing that God’s offer doesn’t depend on personal worthiness.
8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
For the direct invitation: Matthew 11:28 presents Christ’s own words: “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matt 11:28)
This combines accessibility with promise.
Revelation 3:20 offers an intimate image of Christ standing at the door and knocking (Rev 3:20), suggesting personal encounter.
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.
For assurance of acceptance: John 6:37 provides powerful reassurance—“All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.” (John 6:37)
This removes fear of rejection. John 1:12 promises that those who receive Christ gain the power to become God’s children (John 1:12).
12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
For the path to salvation: Romans 10:9–10 clarifies that confession and belief lead to salvation, with the heart’s belief and mouth’s confession working together (Rom 10:9–13). 1 John 1:9 offers forgiveness and cleansing through confession of sins (1 John 1:9).
9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
For urgency: 2 Corinthians 6:2 emphasizes that now is the accepted time and day of salvation (2 Cor 6:2), creating appropriate spiritual momentum without coercion.
2 (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)
