1 Samuel 4:10-22

Introduction

Hophni And Phineas' Sins

These were the priestly line of foreparents who served before the Lord. Men who by right should have caused the people to appreciate God even the more, but rather caused the people to abhor the sacrifices that were required by God. In other words, they intefered with the people's relationship with God. And it is sad when even now there are those who are in positions to bring people to a closeness with God whose lives are of such sorts that rather than attracting they are really nothing more or less than turn-offs.

• The Bible says that the fact that these young men were committing all sort of travesties that it was God's intention to wipe them out and to get rid of them.
• Even Eli told them that their sins were in fact unforgivable.
1. not that God was not forgiving, but that because they were the high priests who were by right the intecessors for the nation, who was left to intercede with God on their behalf?
2. and the truth was that at this point Eli was quite old and either unable or unwilling to do anything about the sins of his sons.
• Among the many sins they were committing, the greatest were their greed and their sexual immorality.
1. Greedy because they wanted that which was God's and would not wait for that which came to them.
2. and because of this the people were not enthusiastic about giving the Lord what was justly His.
3. Sexual Immorality was also a no no on the list.
4. they were so immoral that they were not only fornicators, but they were also defilers of the temple of God!

Samuel's Calling

As a boy in the temple with Eli, growing in God and being placed in position, without knowing it, Samuel is about to have an encounter with God. And one thing that must be known about God is that God does nothing on a whim, but all things are purposeful and orderly. And any time God calls you, the calling is in proportion to the need.

• Samuel hears the calling three times and Eli admonishes him to answer on the next occasion.
1. he does just what he is commanded to do and God drops a bomb on this little boy who He has placed His hands on.
2. He says to Samuel that the house of Eli is doomed for judgment because Eli was very aware of the sins of Hophni and Phineas, but refused to do anything about it.
3. and for that God would kill both sons on the same day.

That Fateful Day.....

Once again, the Israelites have found themselves in the battle. This time the enemy is the Philistines. As the battle wages, the battle turns in favor of the enemy.

• Every prophetic word came to pass.....

1. And a man of Benjamin came running out of the army through the city with his clothes rent and with dirt or earth on his head.
2. this was a sign that something terrible had taken place.
3. something of catastrophic proportion had happened.

#.he comes to Eli who is sitting by the wayside WATCHING!

1. which is peculiar all by itself, because the Bible already declared Eli's eyes dim so that he could not see.
2. and if he is blind, what was he watching for?
3. he was looking for any sign of the glory, which constitute the results of the anointing.

• But when the man gave him the grave news, it was threefold horror.
1. first, his sons had both died on the same day just as God had said.
2. second, Israel was being overcome by the strength of the enemy.
3. third, and most devastatingly, the ark had been captured and carried away.
4. Eli could deal with Hophni and Phinehas dying on the field of battle.
5. he could even deal with Israel losing a battle.
6. but the one thing that he could not live through, and that was knowing that the glory was being taken from his midst.
7. and Eli falls backwards off of his stool and breaks his neck, for the Bible says that he was a very heavy man.
• And it didn't stop there, but one of his daughter-in-laws was giving birth.
1. when she heard that Phinehas her husband was dead, and so was Hophni, and that the ark of the Lord had gone out of their midst, she looks at her child and names him Ichabod, which means "The glory is departed" or "Where is the glory?"
2. What happens when the glory departs?
3. there is no manifestation of the power of God.
4. I want the glory!

The Anointing Is God's Supernatural Approval, But The Glory Is What Happens Next.

The anointing is what enables you, but the glory is what happens when the anointing is activated. It's what happens after you lay hands on the sick, when they recover and you know that God did it. That's Glory. If you lay hands on blinded eyes, when they come open.....THAT'S GLORY.