1 Samuel 2:27-33: The Announcement Of God’s Judgment
“And there came a man of God unto Eli, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Did I plainly appear unto the house of thy father, when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh's house? And did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer upon mine altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me? and did I give unto the house of thy father all the offerings made by fire of the children of Israel? Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice and at mine offering, which I have commanded in my habitation; and honourest thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people? Wherefore 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 honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed. Behold, 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. And 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. And 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.”
- 1 Samuel 2:27-33 (KJV)
We don’t know who this “man of God” was. He is truly one of the wonderful anonymous characters of the Bible. But it doesn’t matter who he was. He was a “man of God,” and God raised him up to speak to Eli and Eli’s whole family at this important time.
“Did I plainly appear unto the house of thy father:” The father referred to is Aaron, who was the first High Priest. Since the High Priesthood was a hereditary office, Eli was a descendant of Aaron, whom God had revealed Himself to.
We read of some of the duties of the priesthood in Israel:
“And did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer upon mine altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me? and did I give unto the house of thy father all the offerings made by fire of the children of Israel?”
- 2 Samuel 2:28 (KJV)
“To be My priest:” First and foremost, the job of the High Priest was to minister unto the Lord. Before he served the people, he was a servant of God. He was not first the people’s priest, he was first the priest of God
“To offer upon mine altar:” The priest brought sacrifices for atonement and worship
“To burn incense:” Burning incense was a picture of prayer, because the smoke and the scent of the incense ascends up to the heavens. The priest was to lead the nation in prayer, and to pray for the nation
“To wear an ephod before Me:” The priest was clothed in specific garments, as we recall from The Book of Exodus:
“And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother for glory and for beauty.”
- Exodus 28:2 (KJV)
He was to represent the majesty, dignity, glory, and beauty of God to the people.
“All the offerings:” The priest was also charged with the responsibility to receive the offerings of God’s people and to make good use of them
“Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice:” It would have been easy for Eli to say, “I’m not doing it! My sons are!” But Eli had a double accountability for his sons, both as a father (though this was diminished because the sons were adults), and as the High Priest. His sons “worked” for him as priests, and Eli was a bad “boss.”
“And honourest thy sons above me:” Since Eli did not correct his sons the way he should, he essentially preferred them to the Lord. If Eli were more afraid of offending God and less afraid of offending his sons he would have corrected them as he should have.
“I will cut off thine arm:” Not literally, but since the arm was a picture of strength and might in Hebrew thinking as we see in the following scripture from The Book of Psalms:
“Break thou the arm of the wicked and the evil man: seek out his wickedness till thou find none.”
- Psalms 10:15 (KJV)
“Thou hast with thine arm redeemed thy people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah.”
- Psalms 77:15 (KJV)
“Thou hast broken Rahab in pieces, as one that is slain; thou hast scattered thine enemies with thy strong arm.”
- Psalms 89:10 (KJV)
“I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the Lord saith.” God promised that the priestly line would not stay with Eli and his descendants, but would pass to another line of descendants from Aaron. This was fulfilled many years later, in Solomon’s day. Abiathar (from Eli’s family) was deposed as high priest and replaced with Zadok (who was from another family). We see a glimpse of this in The First Book of Kings:
“So Solomon thrust out Abiathar from being priest unto the Lord; that he might fulfil the word of the Lord, which he spake concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.”
- 1 Kings 2:27 (KJV)
“I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the Lord saith.” Remember the promise to Aaron in The Book of Exodus:
“And thou shalt gird them with girdles, Aaron and his sons, and put the bonnets on them: and the priest's office shall be theirs for a perpetual statute: and thou shalt consecrate Aaron and his sons.”
- Exodus 29:9 (KJV)
God did not remove the priesthood from the line of Aaron, but He did remove it from the line of Eli.
“There shall not be an old man in thine house. And 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.” This idea is repeated twice in these few verses. God wanted to emphasize that He would not bless the descendants of Eli with a long life.
“And 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.” The descendants of Eli who did live a little longer would not live blessed lives. Their end would be painful to see.
Christian brothers and sisters, they say the aged are the hardest ro convert to Christianity, but do not give up on them. Continue to spread The Gospel of Jesus Christ, because salvation will not ensure them a moment longer on this earth, but an eternity in heaven!
God bless!
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