Eli’s Wicked Sons
Hosea: Remember the Hosea series and the danger of falling away and divorcing God.
At the end we had a sermon about Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu. They were not taking
their priestly duties seriously. Treated them as if they were not as important as other daily
things.
We’re going to talk about some other priests today as we continue our series through 1st
Samuel. Last week Hannah dedicated Samuel to the Lord and he was given to Eli in the
temple to raise. I want to talk today about Eli and his family.
Eli himself was a pretty good priest. Was not involved in any major scandals or accused of
immorality. He did kind of think that Hannah was drunk when she was just praying but he
quickly treated her kindle when he realized it. He actually blesses both Hannah and
Elkanah later on but there is something going on in the Temple at Shiloh. Eli’s sons are not
being very good priests. They are being very bad priests. Very dirty priests. Very wicked
priests.
A MOG is going to visit Eli and confront him about this in verse 27.
27-29: We do not know who this prophet is. It is not Samuel; he is still young. So don’t think
that.
27b-28: Did I not show your G-Father Aaron that I am God. I decided to make Aaron, your
father, my first Priest. He was excited.
1. Go up to the altar: To burn the sacrifices in the tabernacle.
2. Burn incense: In the tent of meeting. Remember the incense acts as a smoke
screen.
3. Wear an ephod: Linen. Attire with breastplates attached. Part of the priestly
garments, some think it is a part of the communication piece with God.
God has established himself to the Levite clan already. He has made it clear with Aaron
what Priests are supposed to do and he is upset with Eli.
29b: This does not mean that Eli is siding with his sons over God. But Eli knows what his
sons are doing and is not putting a stop to it. He tried to address it. He confronted his sons
about everything in verses 23-25
23-25: He rebukes them and his sons do not pay attention.
Ms. Allen: Rude. I would hope that maturity would fix this problem. What do you think I did
the rest of class?
Eli’s sons are doing some very bad things. So bad that it will cost them their lives.
25b: This does not mean that Eli’s sons’ wicked behavior was not a choice. Its not as though
God hardened their heart like Pharaoh. They have been wicked so long that their judgment
has already been decided.
What have they done?
1st: Their attitude towards their portion of food is detestable. Leviticus and Deut. Gives
guidance on how the Priests receive food portions. Since priests do not farm or buy land,
they get portions of what is brought to the altar. Specifically the breast or thigh after it has
been boiled. Overtime the accepted process to determine individual portion is to plunge a
fork in to the pot and take the food to the priest. Phinehas and Hophni were stopping the
people before they had a chance to put the meat in the pot and forcing them to hand
everything over to them raw. With blood in it still. That attitude was detestable to God and
he considered it treating his sacrifice with contempt.
2nd: Priests are in charge of the Tent of Meeting. That is where God is. Priests are mediators
and present requests to God. Women worked at the Tent doing housekeeping stuff and
Phinehas and Hophni were having sex with them. Shrine prostitute/paganism and a direct
violation of Deut. 23.
Things that Leviticus and Deut. Say a priest should not do, these two guys are doing.
Eli knows it and rebukes them but does not remove them from office, arrest them, or hold
them accountable. He is too soft. And that makes God upset so a Prophet confronts him and
tells him of a family curse that is the result of their actions.
30-33: This is quite a family curse. Explain: Exodus 29:9 Aaron’s descendants were
promised that they would be priests forever. While that is still true, Eli’s line itself; while
still being priests, will have short lives. There will not be an old man in his family. And
eventually his sons and grandsons will be filled with tears and sorrow as they witness the
Ark of the Covenant being captured and the temple in Shiloh being destroyed. TOM
somehow survives it all. You’ll see how this all plays out as we continue through the series.
So that is the family curse. But something specific is going to happen to Phinehas and
Hophni.
34-36: So his sons are going to die on the same day. We’ll get to that eventually.
35: Not Samuel. I don’t think. His sons end up being bad. Probably Zadok (some say wrote
the book). And there is strong debate about whether or nor Samuel ever ends up becoming
a Priest. Prophet and Judge. Is he ever a priest? IDK.
But he is faithful. Eli’s sons were not.
12-17 tells us how they were treating God’s sacrifice with contempt. In the middle of that,
vs. 18 reads “But Samuel was ministering before the LORD—a boy wearing a linen Ephod”
Then verses 22-25 shows us that they were acting almost as shrine prostitutes, sleeping
with the women who worked at the TOM. They were sinning against the LORD. Then verse
26 tells us that “the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor with the LORD
and with men”
Then verses 27-36 tells of the Prophecy against Eli’s family and the deaths of Phinehas and
Hophni. Then the very next verse, 3:1, tells us that “the boy Samuel ministered before the
LORD under Eli”
Despite how bad, immoral, sinful, detestable, and guilty the world around Samuel was, he
remained faithful. His family members were being awful and wicked. He did not. He grew in
the LORD. He saw hypocrites, religious leaders committing sins, and he did not use it as an
excuse. He continued to grow in the LORD.
Us: We live in a dark world. An evil world. An immoral world. A world that tells us that
what is wrong is actually right. A world that tells us that sin is okay. Do we fall in line with
that? Or do we continue to grow in the LORD? Do we throw our hands up and quit or do we
continue to minister before the LORD?
Fred/Stan: Same church. Same town. Same country. Fred feels that times are changing and
so is he. Stan continues to read, study, speak, and live.
We need to be like Stan. Like Samuel. Wickedness is all around us. In our town, family, and
in our country. We need to continue to grow in the LORD. We need to have stature before
the LORD and men. We need to continue to minister to the LORD.