Sermon Tone Analysis

PRAYER TO BEGIN

[Read Scripture passage slides here - 1 Samuel 2:12-36]

1 Samuel

Last week:

Introduced to the book of First Samuel

We learned about Samuel’s family

Elkanah & Hannah - the father and mother of Samuel

Annual sacrifice

Samuel - a child left to serve at Shiloh with Eli.

This week, we’re going to learn more about Eli’s family, and by their actions we can see their heart.

So lets dive in:

Our opening verse condemns Eli’s sons.

Depending on your translation you might read that Eli’s sons were base, scoundrels, a bad lot, and in the end, they did not know the Lord.

Last week I shared with you the end of Judges,

Earlier in that book, it lets us know what has happened within Israel.

From Abraham in Genesis all the way through Joshua is God choosing a people and delivering them to the promised land.

The book immediately after Joshua is Judges and in chapter 2 we get this indictment:

So, back to Samuel...

The author does not stop there but goes right in to describing how corrupt they were -

Now remember when it says “the people” it is meaning “the people of Israel”, God’s chosen people.

The priests are there serving (in theory anyway) the Lord and God’s chosen people.

One would think then that they would do so by God’s Law…but not Eli’s sons...

What was the rule?

How were they supposed to treat the sacrifice?

How were the priests supposed to get their portion?

That’s how it was supposed to be done…but that’s not what Eli’s sons were doing.

Instead,

Eli’s sons insisted on taking what they wanted, when they wanted it.

Their ritual offenses came in three areas: (1) their selection of the best parts for themselves; (2) their preference for the meat being roasted rather than boiled; and (3) their refusal to yield the fat for burning on the altar (Lev 3:16; 7:25).

Contrast this with two verses of what we’re learning of Samuel from a very young age.

Now for you New Testament Scholars that sounds remarkably similar to Luke’s comment about Jesus.

So we know that Eli’s sons were corrupt, what about Eli?

What did he do?

Let’s look at v. 22 and following:

In vs. 27 to the end of the chapter we hear from a Prophet or a “Man of God” that comes to Eli and he lays it on the table.

He begins with two rhetorical questions that can all be answered, “Yes!”

“Did I indeed reveal myself to the house of your father...” v. 27

“Did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest...” v. 28

Then the not so rhetorical...

This verse is telling and a condemnation of Eli - by allowing his sons to do as they’ve done he has affirmed it.

He hasn’t done anything to stop it.

What’s more he likely taught them what they know.

Remember back in vss.

13 & 14 - “The custom of the priests…This is what they did at Shiloh...”

Eli was the priest there at Shiloh.

Who set the customs?

So what do we do with all of this?

How do we apply it to our own lives?

This is such a challenge and what that Eli missed.

He obviously did not teach his children the words that were commanded by God.

Perhaps he didn’t know them, yet, he seemed to be able to Bless Hannah and Elkanah to the point that they had several more children.

So what’s our take away?

Teach these things to our children.

Talk about them

Make God’s Word a part of your daily life.

Live by it.

Teach these things to your children - It’s not too late.

Remember more is caught than taught.

Little eyes are watching.

Talk about them - it’s hard to talk about what you don’t know.

Get into the Word, read it.

Ask questions, not just of your believer friends ask your non-believing friends.

Make God’s Word a part of your daily life - I hear all the time how people wish they knew more of the Bible, and yet when you ask them when the last time they picked up their Bible to read it was a long time ago.

Don’t let that be you.

Live by it - This is the hardest part.

And, if you’re anything like me, you’re going to fail.

That’s okay.

Do it again.

Seek to live by God’s Word - be the person that God created you to be.

Perhaps, when people think about you, they can say the same thing that is said of Samuel: