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Tuesday 26 March 2013

1 Samuel 2:27-36 - Judgement on Eli's family

Eli's house now comes under judgement. A "man of God" was a prophet or seer. His rebuke goes back to when Israel came out of Egypt.  God had revealed Himself to Israel, so the whole nation had a responsibility.  Moreover, the Levites were specifically chosen to be priests for the nation. They were given special instructions in the Law on how this was all to be carried out. This included provision for the priests themselves. When we serve God He makes provision for us. But Eli's sons had gone beyond this and had taken other stuff for themselves as well. Sadly we also see examples of this today as well when people exploit the congregations for money, often exploiting the poorest people. Just as righteousness brings God's blessing, unrighteousness brings God's judgement.
Note that Eli is being held responsible for his sons actions. Jesus said we must love Him more than our families. We see this principle here. Eli should have given greater weight to the honour of God's offerings than  to his sons.
The judgement on Eli's family would be severe, with none of them seeing old age. Even though Israel would be blessed, Eli's family would be cut off from the blessing. When we become servants of God we take on a solemn and serious responsibility and will be held accountable.
God would appoint a faithful priest. The immediate fulfilment of this would be Zadok, but in time it would be Jesus who is the great High Priest.

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