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1 Samuel 2:30–36
” ‘… for those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me shall be lightly esteemed’ ” (v. 30b).
As we saw yesterday, God might well be calling Eli to repentance by sending the man of God to him. But the sin of Eli’s sons, and Eli’s complicity in it, is grave, and it will have consequences. The prophet announces those consequences in the passage before us today.
Speaking through the prophet, God begins by noting that He promised that ” ‘Your house and the house of your father would walk before Me forever.’ ” This seems to be a reference to God’s promise that Aaron’s descendants would be God’s priests (Ex. 29:9). However, the word forever must be understood as “indefinitely,” and “walk before Me” must be understood not as a statement of what will occur but of what must occur—Aaron’s descendants must serve God in faithfulness. In short, God promised the priesthood to Aaron’s line as long as they were faithful to His covenant requirements. But now Eli’s family has ceased to honor God as they should. Therefore, Eli’s “arm” and that of his father’s house will be cut off. The “father” mentioned in this passage does not seem to be Aaron but Ithamar, the son of Aaron through whom Eli is descended. God is saying here that He plans to cause the priestly line of Ithamar to fade in terms of its numerical strength and prominence. While the line will continue to have a priestly role, it will be greatly diminished. It will suffer a series of untimely deaths, with succeeding priests being struck down in the prime of life. Eli’s descendants will suffer impoverishment (v. 36) and will have to beg for priestly jobs. Furthermore, Eli will have the heartbreak of seeing God’s sanctuary attacked and the ark of the covenant captured. And as a sign that God will indeed bring all this to pass, He tells Eli that both of his sons will die on the same day.
However, this judgment will not thwart God’s purposes. He says, ” ‘I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest.’ ” Many scholars believe this refers to Zadok, who will be named the sole high priest when Abiathar is deposed by Solomon (1 Kings 2:35). That event will establish the prominence of the line of Aaron’s son Eleazar (Zadok’s forefather) over that of Aaron’s son Ithamar (Abiathar’s ancestor). God will maintain a faithful cadre of priests. And, in time, He will send a perfectly faithful Great High Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ, to stand between Himself and His people in a truly eternal priesthood.
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
God’s judgment upon Eli’s house seems harsh. But we must remember that Eli was the high priest—more was expected of him and his family. When they began to depart from covenant faithfulness, God took action against them lest their sin lead the people further astray. God here is acting mercifully toward His people, as He always does.
For Further Study
- Prov. 28:10
- Jer. 50:6
- James 3:1
- 1 Peter 4:17