Eli’s Ineffective Reproof – Part One
1 Samuel 2:22-25
A man might be on the whole a good man, and yet be marked by some defect; which mars his character and prevents his usefulness; which makes him the unintentional cause of much grief. Eli was such a man.... He was a descendant of Ithamar, the youngest son of Aaron. He held the office of high priest, and helped to raise Samuel. He became judge at age 58, and judged Israel for 40 years - 1 Sam 4:18 “As soon as he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell over backward from his seat by the side of the gate, and his neck was broken and he died, for the man was old and heavy. He had judged Israel forty years.” When first mentioned, he must have been around 70 years old. His sons were children of his old age, for sometimes afterward they were spoken of as young men - 1 Sam 2:17 “Thus the sin of the young men was very great in the sight of the LORD, for the men treated the offering of the LORD with contempt.” Yet he will always be known as the man who did not restrain his sons.... His sons Hophni and Phineas were corrupt, and did not know the Lord - 1 Sam 2:12-17 “Now the sons of Eli were worthless men. They did not know the LORD. The custom of the priests with the people was that when any man offered sacrifice, the priest's servant would come, while the meat was boiling, with a three-pronged fork in his hand, and he would thrust it into the pan or kettle or cauldron or pot. All that the fork brought up the priest would take for himself. This is what they did at Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there. Moreover, before the fat was burned, the priest's servant would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, "Give meat for the priest to roast, for he will not accept boiled meat from you but only raw." And if the man said to him, "Let them burn the fat first, and then take as much as you wish," he would say, "No, you must give it now, and if not, I will take it by force." Thus the sin of the young men was very great in the sight of the LORD, for the men treated the offering of the LORD with contempt.” He sought to reprove his sons, but it was ineffective - 1 Sam 2:22-25 “Now Eli was very old, and he kept hearing all that his sons were doing to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who were serving at the entrance to the tent of meeting. And he said to them, "Why do you do such things? For I hear of your evil dealings from all the people. No, my sons; it is no good report that I hear the people of the LORD spreading abroad. If someone sins against a man, God will mediate for him, but if someone sins against the LORD, who can intercede for him?" But they would not listen to the voice of their father, for it was the will of the LORD to put them to death.” Therefore God sent a man of God to pronounce judgment on his household - 1 Sam 2:27-36 “And there came a man of God to Eli and said to him, "Thus the LORD has said, 'Did I indeed reveal myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt subject to the house of Pharaoh? Did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up to my altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me? I gave to the house of your father all my offerings by fire from the people of Israel. Why then do you scorn my sacrifices and my offerings that I commanded, and honor your sons above me by fattening yourselves on the choicest parts of every offering of my people Israel?' Therefore the LORD the God of Israel declares: 'I promised that your house and the house of your father should go in and out before me forever,' but now the LORD declares: 'Far be it from me, for those who honor me I will honor, and those who despise me shall be lightly esteemed. Behold, the days are coming when I will cut off your strength and the strength of your father's house, so that there will not be an old man in your house. Then in distress you will look with envious eye on all the prosperity that shall be bestowed on Israel, and there shall not be an old man in your house forever. The only one of you whom I shall not cut off from my altar shall be spared to weep his eyes out to grieve his heart, and all the descendants of your house shall die by the sword of men. And this that shall come upon your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, shall be the sign to you: both of them shall die on the same day. And I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who shall do according to what is in my heart and in my mind. And I will build him a sure house, and he shall go in and out before my anointed forever. And everyone who is left in your house shall come to implore him for a piece of silver or a loaf of bread and shall say, "Please put me in one of the priests' places, that I may eat a morsel of bread."'" The Lord also told Samuel of the reason for such judgment - 1 Sam 3:11-14 “Then the LORD said to Samuel, "Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel at which the two ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. On that day I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. And I declare to him that I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them. Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever."’
Eli’s reproof was clearly ineffective, and did not absolve him of responsibility for his sons’ behavior. Here are some possible reasons why... Eli’s reproof was not administered in the proper time in the case of his sons. His sons’ propensity to sin must have been seen long before the rumor of their flagrant transgressions reached him. It was evident his sons did not know the Lord, yet they had been appointed priests. Eli, being old and weak, was evidently of gentle and easy going temperament. Thus he failed to reprove them until they were too devoted to their evil ways. In this Eli was like David and his son Adonijah - 1 Kin 1:5-6 “Now Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, "I will be king." And he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him. His father had never at any time displeased him by asking, "Why have you done thus and so?" He was also a very handsome man, and he was born next after Absalom.” Therefore we should remember that the tendency to go wrong appears at an early age. A little plant may be easily rooted up, but when it becomes a tree it can only be removed by extraordinary efforts. Some children can be ‘discouraged’ by too much strictness - Co 3:21 “Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.” Yet far more are spoiled by too much indulgence (“Indulgence never produces gratitude or love in the heart of a child.”).
The ineffectiveness of Eli’s reproof may also have been because it was not given with sufficient earnestness. In the case of Eli’s sons it was not sufficiently pointed in its application. It was given to them collectively rather than individually. By way of question, rather than a direct charge - 1 Sam 2:23 “And he said to them, "Why do you do such things? For I hear of your evil dealings from all the people.” Concerning things he had heard, but had not troubled himself to find out for certain. It exhibited no sufficient sense of the evil of sin. He spoke of the consequences of sin rather than the nature of sin. He seemed more concerned about the reputation than the sin itself - 1 Sam 2:23-24 “And he said to them, "Why do you do such things? For I hear of your evil dealings from all the people. No, my sons; it is no good report that I hear the people of the LORD spreading abroad.” It showed no sufficient determination to correct the sin. He did not threaten to judge them for their injustice toward men. He simply left them to the judgment of a higher tribunal - 1 Sam 2:25 “If someone sins against a man, God will mediate for him, but if someone sins against the LORD, who can intercede for him?" But they would not listen to the voice of their father, for it was the will of the LORD to put them to death.” “In the case where the rebuke should have descended like a bolt from heaven we hear nothing but low and feeble murmurings, coming, as it were, out of the dust. Cruel indeed are the tenderest mercies of parental weakness and indulgence. And the fate of Eli shows that by such tender mercies the father may become the minister of vengeance unto his whole house.” (Le Bas)
Therefore we should remember to make sure our reproofs are sufficiently pointed (“You are the man!”) - 2 Sam 12:7 “Nathan said to David, "You are the man! Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul.” Sufficiently pointed to communicate the exceedingly sinfulness of sin. We should also make sure our reproofs are sufficiently pointed to make every effort within our power to stop the sinning being done.
In the next part of this lesson we will continue to look at the ineffectiveness of Eli’s reproof and make some personal applications as to how our reproofs can be more effective, especially within our own household.
1 Samuel 2:22-25
A man might be on the whole a good man, and yet be marked by some defect; which mars his character and prevents his usefulness; which makes him the unintentional cause of much grief. Eli was such a man.... He was a descendant of Ithamar, the youngest son of Aaron. He held the office of high priest, and helped to raise Samuel. He became judge at age 58, and judged Israel for 40 years - 1 Sam 4:18 “As soon as he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell over backward from his seat by the side of the gate, and his neck was broken and he died, for the man was old and heavy. He had judged Israel forty years.” When first mentioned, he must have been around 70 years old. His sons were children of his old age, for sometimes afterward they were spoken of as young men - 1 Sam 2:17 “Thus the sin of the young men was very great in the sight of the LORD, for the men treated the offering of the LORD with contempt.” Yet he will always be known as the man who did not restrain his sons.... His sons Hophni and Phineas were corrupt, and did not know the Lord - 1 Sam 2:12-17 “Now the sons of Eli were worthless men. They did not know the LORD. The custom of the priests with the people was that when any man offered sacrifice, the priest's servant would come, while the meat was boiling, with a three-pronged fork in his hand, and he would thrust it into the pan or kettle or cauldron or pot. All that the fork brought up the priest would take for himself. This is what they did at Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there. Moreover, before the fat was burned, the priest's servant would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, "Give meat for the priest to roast, for he will not accept boiled meat from you but only raw." And if the man said to him, "Let them burn the fat first, and then take as much as you wish," he would say, "No, you must give it now, and if not, I will take it by force." Thus the sin of the young men was very great in the sight of the LORD, for the men treated the offering of the LORD with contempt.” He sought to reprove his sons, but it was ineffective - 1 Sam 2:22-25 “Now Eli was very old, and he kept hearing all that his sons were doing to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who were serving at the entrance to the tent of meeting. And he said to them, "Why do you do such things? For I hear of your evil dealings from all the people. No, my sons; it is no good report that I hear the people of the LORD spreading abroad. If someone sins against a man, God will mediate for him, but if someone sins against the LORD, who can intercede for him?" But they would not listen to the voice of their father, for it was the will of the LORD to put them to death.” Therefore God sent a man of God to pronounce judgment on his household - 1 Sam 2:27-36 “And there came a man of God to Eli and said to him, "Thus the LORD has said, 'Did I indeed reveal myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt subject to the house of Pharaoh? Did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up to my altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me? I gave to the house of your father all my offerings by fire from the people of Israel. Why then do you scorn my sacrifices and my offerings that I commanded, and honor your sons above me by fattening yourselves on the choicest parts of every offering of my people Israel?' Therefore the LORD the God of Israel declares: 'I promised that your house and the house of your father should go in and out before me forever,' but now the LORD declares: 'Far be it from me, for those who honor me I will honor, and those who despise me shall be lightly esteemed. Behold, the days are coming when I will cut off your strength and the strength of your father's house, so that there will not be an old man in your house. Then in distress you will look with envious eye on all the prosperity that shall be bestowed on Israel, and there shall not be an old man in your house forever. The only one of you whom I shall not cut off from my altar shall be spared to weep his eyes out to grieve his heart, and all the descendants of your house shall die by the sword of men. And this that shall come upon your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, shall be the sign to you: both of them shall die on the same day. And I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who shall do according to what is in my heart and in my mind. And I will build him a sure house, and he shall go in and out before my anointed forever. And everyone who is left in your house shall come to implore him for a piece of silver or a loaf of bread and shall say, "Please put me in one of the priests' places, that I may eat a morsel of bread."'" The Lord also told Samuel of the reason for such judgment - 1 Sam 3:11-14 “Then the LORD said to Samuel, "Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel at which the two ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. On that day I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. And I declare to him that I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them. Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever."’
Eli’s reproof was clearly ineffective, and did not absolve him of responsibility for his sons’ behavior. Here are some possible reasons why... Eli’s reproof was not administered in the proper time in the case of his sons. His sons’ propensity to sin must have been seen long before the rumor of their flagrant transgressions reached him. It was evident his sons did not know the Lord, yet they had been appointed priests. Eli, being old and weak, was evidently of gentle and easy going temperament. Thus he failed to reprove them until they were too devoted to their evil ways. In this Eli was like David and his son Adonijah - 1 Kin 1:5-6 “Now Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, "I will be king." And he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him. His father had never at any time displeased him by asking, "Why have you done thus and so?" He was also a very handsome man, and he was born next after Absalom.” Therefore we should remember that the tendency to go wrong appears at an early age. A little plant may be easily rooted up, but when it becomes a tree it can only be removed by extraordinary efforts. Some children can be ‘discouraged’ by too much strictness - Co 3:21 “Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.” Yet far more are spoiled by too much indulgence (“Indulgence never produces gratitude or love in the heart of a child.”).
The ineffectiveness of Eli’s reproof may also have been because it was not given with sufficient earnestness. In the case of Eli’s sons it was not sufficiently pointed in its application. It was given to them collectively rather than individually. By way of question, rather than a direct charge - 1 Sam 2:23 “And he said to them, "Why do you do such things? For I hear of your evil dealings from all the people.” Concerning things he had heard, but had not troubled himself to find out for certain. It exhibited no sufficient sense of the evil of sin. He spoke of the consequences of sin rather than the nature of sin. He seemed more concerned about the reputation than the sin itself - 1 Sam 2:23-24 “And he said to them, "Why do you do such things? For I hear of your evil dealings from all the people. No, my sons; it is no good report that I hear the people of the LORD spreading abroad.” It showed no sufficient determination to correct the sin. He did not threaten to judge them for their injustice toward men. He simply left them to the judgment of a higher tribunal - 1 Sam 2:25 “If someone sins against a man, God will mediate for him, but if someone sins against the LORD, who can intercede for him?" But they would not listen to the voice of their father, for it was the will of the LORD to put them to death.” “In the case where the rebuke should have descended like a bolt from heaven we hear nothing but low and feeble murmurings, coming, as it were, out of the dust. Cruel indeed are the tenderest mercies of parental weakness and indulgence. And the fate of Eli shows that by such tender mercies the father may become the minister of vengeance unto his whole house.” (Le Bas)
Therefore we should remember to make sure our reproofs are sufficiently pointed (“You are the man!”) - 2 Sam 12:7 “Nathan said to David, "You are the man! Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul.” Sufficiently pointed to communicate the exceedingly sinfulness of sin. We should also make sure our reproofs are sufficiently pointed to make every effort within our power to stop the sinning being done.
In the next part of this lesson we will continue to look at the ineffectiveness of Eli’s reproof and make some personal applications as to how our reproofs can be more effective, especially within our own household.
