What Went Wrong At Eli’s House ?

1 Sam. 2-4

Jay Horsley

Eli, the high priest and judge of Israel, seemed to be a man who was personally pious. He showed concern over the evil of his sons and was a tender guardian of young Samuel when he came to the tabernacle at a very young age. Yet El is a man who, along with his family, came to a tragic end.

We presume that the children of good people will be inclined towards good because of the good impressions made on them at home. But the children have to make up their own minds and the impression made on them by their parents may not be as deep as we think. Their training may not have been as thorough (and the private example shown them may not be as good) as those outside the home might imagine. By these or other corruptions, Eli’s sons became wicked.

Extravagant Wickedness of the Sons

2:12,15-17 “Now the sons of Eli were worthless men; they did not know the LORD.

15 Also, before they burned the fat, the priest's servant would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, "Give the priest meat for roasting, as he will not take boiled meat from you, only raw."

16 And if the man said to him, "They must surely burn the fat first, and then take as much as you desire," then he would say, "No, but you shall give it to me now; and if not, I will take it by force."

17 Thus the sin of the young men was very great before the LORD, for the men despised the offering of the LORD.”

In an age of Israel that was known for moral corruption, the most degenerate men came from highest house in the land. They were in open rebellion to both their father, the high priest, and the God of heaven. They debauched the worshipers in God’s house. They robbed those who brought sacrifices over their protests that the priests observe the Law. They would not wait until the meat was cooked, they had to have it raw – probably so they could go and sell it. They didn’t care about God’s rules, only what they could get. They took advantage of the women servants who helped run the tabernacle. They were acting in Shiloh in the Lord’s house as if they were in a pagan temple.

Eli Gently Rebukes Them

2:22-25 “Now Eli was very old; and he heard all that his sons were doing to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who served at the doorway of the tent of meeting.

23 And he said to them, "Why do you do such things, the evil things that I hear from all these people?

24 No, my sons; for the report is not good which I hear the LORD'S people circulating.

25 If one man sins against another, God will mediate for him; but if a man sins against the LORD, who can intercede for him?" But they would not listen to the voice of their father, for the LORD desired to put them to death.”

Eli may have been ignorant of his sons’ doings for a time, but they were so abusive to the worshipers that even the “old man” found out. That their evil reached such heights before Eli found out showed showed his ignorance of what was going on inside the tabernacle or what his sons were doing. Both of these were his responsibility to know.

Even though he knew, he didn’t do much about it. He told his boys that the reports about them were not good. That was fine as far as it went, it just didn’t go far. Eli's rebuke reminds us of some preaching that we hear: a preacher says sin is bad, but he never deals with particular sins, then he makes no application and never follows up, so is Eli’s rebuke of his sons. This was a true crisis, but Eli dealt with it like it is a mere annoyance. These boys had fully gone into apostasy, yet Eli hardly stirs. “Expressing concern” was not enough.

Eli is never portrayed as actively doing evil. We know that he was a tender, grandfatherly figure towards young Samuel. Maybe that’s how he had treated his own sons. He was “very old,” (vs. 22) and his sons were “young men.” (vs. 17) Older fathers are often doting, non-disciplinarian, types who are more like grandparents than parents. Today even young fathers fall into this trap, as many are absentee fathers due to overwork, divorce or simply lack of real concern. Such fathers are simply more interested in other things – their hearts are not with the children so as to take the time to teach and correct them. This spoils the children. “The rod and reproof give wisdom, But a child who gets his own way brings shame to his mother.” (Prov. 29:15)

So Eli’s reprimand was not effective. Later God said, “For I have told him that I will judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knows, because his sons made themselves vile, and he did not restrain them.” (NKJV 3:13) Eli failed to act. God did not.

God Rebukes Eli Harshly

2:29-34 “Why do you kick at My sacrifice and at My offering which I have commanded in My dwelling, and honor your sons above Me, by making yourselves fat with the choicest of every offering of My people Israel?'

30 Therefore the LORD God of Israel declares, 'I did indeed say that your house and the house of your father should walk 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 will be lightly esteemed.

31 Behold, the days are coming when I will break your strength and the strength of your father's house so that there will not be an old man in your house.

32 And you will see the distress of My dwelling, in spite of all that I do good for Israel; and an old man will not be in your house forever.

33 Yet I will not cut off every man of yours from My altar that your eyes may fail from weeping and your soul grieve, and all the increase of your house will die in the prime of life.

34 And this will be the sign to you which shall come concerning your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas: on the same day both of them shall die.”

Obviously just telling the boys that he heard bad reports was not enough. It wasn’t enough to stop the boys and it wasn’t enough to satisfy God. So God cursed Eli and his house. The boys will die together and the whole household will come just short of complete destruction. We are not told Eli’s reaction to all of this. We do know that he didn’t impress this message on his sons enough to cause them to cease their abuses to try to save their lives.

From this point on, there is no record of God speaking to Eli. The next message from God goes directly to young Samuel. He was told of all these things again. Samuel related these things to Eli and he responded very meekly. “So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. And he said, “It is the LORD; let Him do what seems good to Him.”” (3:18) Eli seemed to sadly accept that evil that is coming but he never does anything to forestall it. He must have had regrets for all that has come and is coming, but he never moves. Nothing prompted him to action.

The Sons Meet Their Tragic End

4:2-4,10,11 “And the Philistines drew up in battle array to meet Israel. When the battle spread, Israel was defeated before the Philistines who killed about four thousand men on the battlefield.

3 When the people came into the camp, the elders of Israel said, "Why has the LORD defeated us today before the Philistines? Let us take to ourselves from Shiloh the ark of the covenant of the LORD, that it may come among us and deliver us from the power of our enemies.

4 So the people sent to Shiloh, and from there they carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD of hosts who sits above the cherubim; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God

10 So the Philistines fought and Israel was defeated, and every man fled to his tent, and the slaughter was very great; for there fell of Israel thirty thousand foot soldiers

11 And the ark of God was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.”

When Israel was faithful God gave them peace. When they sinned God afflicted and troubled them. The Philistines routed the people. In their alarm they sought help from God. They sent for the ark of the covenant supposing it will be like a talisman to guarantee them victory. The people were fetishists, not faithful. The wicked priests were more than willing to help. The unholy men carried out the holy objects with an unholy mind to do a worldly task. The defeat by God at the hands of the Philistines was seven times greater now than before. Additionally, Israel lost the ark because they were too weak and wicked at heart too retain it, and as God said, the two sons died.

At home, Eli could only sit at the gate and wait for news of his sons, surely expecting the worst. Whatever good Eli could have done wasn’t done. It is now out of his hands. This is the state to which those who are to timid or afraid to act for good are reduced.

Eli’s Sad End

4:17,18 “Then the one who brought the news answered and said, "Israel has fled before the Philistines and there has also been a great slaughter among the people, and your two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been taken."

18 And it came about when he mentioned the ark of God that Eli fell off the seat backward beside the gate, and his neck was broken and he died, for he was old and heavy. Thus he judged Israel forty years.”

A survivor bringing the sad news finally came – and it was too much to bear. The old man fell out of his chair and broke his neck. A sad end to a sad life.

Eli is a great example of the ineffectual man who is lacking in leadership and force of action. He is of the laid-back, go-along-get-along, smooth sailing school of fatherhood and leadership of God’s people. I’m sure it made life easier for him for a time, but this never turns out well. He had too great a set of duties as father and leader of God’s people just to let things ride. That he “judged Israel forty years” is a hollow epitaph, for what had he accomplished?

Father’s are given a great deal of responsibility. They have the authority to meet these responsibilities if they wield it. To please God they must wield it. Yet the sad life of Eli is one that is repeatedly lived out today by timid parents who have good inclinations within their heart yet fail the properly discipline and lead their children. If he could not rule his house how could he rule God’s people? (cf. 1 Tim. 3:5) Eli also had a duty to God’s people as high priest and judge. Many follow his steps and are as weak in the church as Eli was as judge.

published Truth Magazine, Nov. 1, 2001