The continuation of this chapter shows us the ruined state into which the priesthood had fallen. “Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial: a terrible pronouncement, when it concerned those in Israel who were the closest to God! The sin of these men had two characteristics: they disregarded the rights of those who came to worship the Lord by confiscating their portions (1 Sam. 2:13-1413And 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; 14And 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. (1 Samuel 2:13‑14)); they disregarded the rights of the Lord, laying profane hands on the Lord’s portion, seeing to it that they themselves were served before He was, thus taking precedence over God Himself (1 Sam. 2:15-1615Also 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. 16And 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. (1 Samuel 2:15‑16)). They made themselves fat with the Lord’s offerings and caused men to abhor them.
Are not these the principles of any clerical system, whether pagan, Jewish, or Christian—no doubt, more or less coarse and despicable according to the case—but, in the final account, the principles of every class of men who appropriate to themselves authority or privileges over other men in religious matters? (Matt. 24:48-4948But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; 49And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; (Matthew 24:48‑49)). They pretend to have rights over simple believers, they see that they themselves are served at the expense of these same believers, and in their opinion even the priest’s servant has more authority than the worshippers themselves. They usurp, in a measure, God’s prerogatives and, in sum, cause Him to be despised, in order that they themselves may be honored instead of Him. They did not know the Lord (1 Sam. 2:1212Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not the Lord. (1 Samuel 2:12)); “There [was] no fear of God before their eyes” (Rom. 3:1818There is no fear of God before their eyes. (Romans 3:18)). Without this fear, there is no hatred of evil. Is it surprising that they displayed the most shocking corruption? (1 Sam. 2:2222Now 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. (1 Samuel 2:22)).
In the midst of all this ruin, was the high priest’s function at least being maintained? Alas no! Eli, godly Eli, lacked spiritual discernment. Nevertheless he showed himself to be capable of teaching God’s mind and ways to young Samuel. Furthermore, he formed a righteous judgment of the evil, and his heart bled at the sight of the dissolute life of his sons. He did not hide it from them. Doubtless no one had expressed his disapproval as plainly as their father had: “Why do ye such things? for I hear of your evil deeds from all this people. No, my sons; for it is no good report that I hear: ye make Jehovah’s people transgress. If one man sin against another, God will judge him; but if a man sin against Jehovah, who shall intreat for him?” (1 Sam. 2:23-2523And he said unto them, Why do ye such things? for I hear of your evil dealings by all this people. 24Nay, my sons; for it is no good report that I hear: ye make the Lord's people to transgress. 25If one man sin against another, the judge shall judge him: but if a man sin against the Lord, who shall entreat for him? Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto the voice of their father, because the Lord would slay them. (1 Samuel 2:23‑25)).
You ask, What was this man of God lacking? Just this: He judged the evil, but he did not separate himself from it. It is a sad and humiliating thing to state: this is the situation of the majority of God’s children in Christendom. Their bonds, their relationships, their affections, and their customs to which they are more attached than to the Lord’s glory prevent them from recognizing that one is liable for an evil which one judges but from which one does not separate oneself.
This is what the man of God is charged to declare to Eli. In no way was Eli personally following the ungodly and disorderly behavior of his sons, but nevertheless these solemn words are addressed to him: “Wherefore do ye trample upon My sacrifice and upon Mine oblation which I have commanded in My habitation? And thou honorest thy sons above Me, to make yourselves fat with the primest of all the oblations of Israel My people” (1 Sam. 2:2929Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice and at mine offering, which I have commanded in my habitation; and honorest thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people? (1 Samuel 2:29)). “Thou honorest thy sons above Me!” Poor Eli! despite all his piety, there were men, his sons—his behavior proved this - whom he was honoring more than the Lord. God had been patient with him, but now he was about to reap the bitter fruit of the lack of holiness in his walk, for holiness is nothing other than separation from evil in view of God’s service. The house of Eli, the descendant of Ithamar, was about to come to an end; it could not, in the condition in which it was found, “walk before [God] forever” (1 Sam. 2:3030Wherefore the Lord God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the Lord saith, Be it far from me; for them that honor me I will honor, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed. (1 Samuel 2:30)). “For them that honor Me I will honor, and they that despise Me shall be lightly esteemed” (1 Sam. 2:3030Wherefore the Lord God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the Lord saith, Be it far from me; for them that honor me I will honor, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed. (1 Samuel 2:30)). Did this righteous man, Eli, then despise the Lord? Yes, for “no servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and will love the other, or he will cleave to the one and despise the other” (Luke 16:1313No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. (Luke 16:13)). And so a terrible judgment is pronounced on the house of Eli (1 Sam. 2:31-3431Behold, the days come, that I will cut off thine arm, and the arm of thy father's house, that there shall not be an old man in thine house. 32And thou shalt see an enemy in my habitation, in all the wealth which God shall give Israel: and there shall not be an old man in thine house for ever. 33And the man of thine, whom I shall not cut off from mine altar, shall be to consume thine eyes, and to grieve thine heart: and all the increase of thine house shall die in the flower of their age. 34And this shall be a sign unto thee, that shall come upon thy two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas; in one day they shall die both of them. (1 Samuel 2:31‑34)). But God, the God of grace, takes no pleasure in judgment; He uses it in order to establish before Himself a priesthood once for all. He entrusts the priesthood to Eleazar’s descendants: “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 walk before Mine Anointed continually” (1 Sam. 2:3535And I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in mine heart and in my mind: and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before mine anointed for ever. (1 Samuel 2:35)). Simultaneously with the establishment of a priesthood according to His heart, the Lord makes known the change of dispensation which is to follow, but prophetically, this reaches far beyond the priesthood of the sons of Eleazar under David and under Solomon. The Anointed is Christ, and when He shall be on high as king and high priest according to the order of Melchizedek, on earth there will be, during the Millennium, a faithful priesthood of the family of Zadok whose functions will all tend to glorify the chosen king, the Man at God’s right hand (Ezek. 44:13-1513And they shall not come near unto me, to do the office of a priest unto me, nor to come near to any of my holy things, in the most holy place: but they shall bear their shame, and their abominations which they have committed. 14But I will make them keepers of the charge of the house, for all the service thereof, and for all that shall be done therein. 15But the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me, they shall come near to me to minister unto me, and they shall stand before me to offer unto me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord God: (Ezekiel 44:13‑15)).
May we profit from Eli’s example. We are living in times characterized by a certain activity in service. This activity often presses itself upon ourselves and others, for it has the appearance of great zeal for the Lord and for His work. It may even be accompanied by eminent gifts, but the gifts and activity are of little significance, if there is not the corresponding moral character. This moral character was grievously flawed in Eli’s case; and without this character there can be no true service according to God.
Samuel offers a striking contrast to this state of things in every detail. In his case, we may trace the uninterrupted development of a life of holiness, despite more than one weakness, for perfection is found only in Christ.
When he was still only a small child, it is said of him, in chapter 1:28: “And he worshipped Jehovah there.” Just so, a “newborn babe” in Christ must immediately take his place as a worshipper before Him. In 1 Samuel 2:1111And Elkanah went to Ramah to his house. And the child did minister unto the Lord before Eli the priest. (1 Samuel 2:11) his second act is: “And the boy ministered to Jehovah in the presence of Eli the priest.”
This attitude will characterize Samuel’s entire life, but here he serves under Eli’s direction, for being still very young, he needed to learn before becoming capable of teaching others.
In his third act (1 Sam. 2:1818But Samuel ministered before the Lord, being a child, girded with a linen ephod. (1 Samuel 2:18)), Samuel does not serve before Eli, but rather more directly, “before Jehovah, a boy girded with a linen ephod,” that is to say, in a priestly character, for the linen ephod was the special clothing of the priesthood (1 Sam. 2:1818But Samuel ministered before the Lord, being a child, girded with a linen ephod. (1 Samuel 2:18)). Now that the priesthood had fallen, the Lord clothes this young Levite with it, provisionally, so to speak. The scene is the same later on in the case of David, who wore the ephod before the ark (2 Sam. 6:1414And David danced before the Lord with all his might; and David was girded with a linen ephod. (2 Samuel 6:14)). However, the Christians’ situation is different: they are perpetually kings and priests before God the Father.
In his fifth act (1 Sam. 2:2626And the child Samuel grew on, and was in favor both with the Lord, and also with men. (1 Samuel 2:26)), “the boy Samuel grew on, and was in favor both with Jehovah and also with men.” I call this the intimacy of favor. The relationship of affection between Samuel and the Lord caused his walk to draw the attention of men, who took note of it as a walk pleasing to the Lord. Intimacy with God was reflected in the face of this young boy. This is what is told us of John the Baptist (Luke 1:8080And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his showing unto Israel. (Luke 1:80)), and for how much greater reason, of Jesus: “Jesus advanced in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man” (Luke 2:5252And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man. (Luke 2:52)). All the power of our Christian testimony depends on a secret life spent in the Lord’s presence.
May God grant us to resemble young Samuel in our conduct more than Eli, instructed as he was in the knowledge of the Lord’s mind through his age and his public functions!