1 Samuel 2 Good Boy & Hirelings

seekeroftruth

Well-Known Member
1 Samuel 2:18 But Samuel was ministering before the Lord—a boy wearing a linen ephod. 19 Each year his mother made him a little robe and took it to him when she went up with her husband to offer the annual sacrifice. 20 Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, saying, “May the Lord give you children by this woman to take the place of the one she prayed for and gave to[c] the Lord.” Then they would go home. 21 And the Lord was gracious to Hannah; she gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the Lord.

22 Now Eli, who was very old, heard about everything his sons were doing to all Israel and how they slept with the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 23 So he said to them, “Why do you do such things? I hear from all the people about these wicked deeds of yours. 24 No, my sons; the report I hear spreading among the Lord’s people is not good. 25 If one person sins against another, God[d] may mediate for the offender; but if anyone sins against the Lord, who will intercede for them?” His sons, however, did not listen to their father’s rebuke, for it was the Lord’s will to put them to death.

26 And the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor with the Lord and with people.​

c. 1 Samuel 2:20 Dead Sea Scrolls; Masoretic Text and asked from
d. 1 Samuel 2:25 Or the judges

Can't you just imagine what it was like to take a cute little outfit to your wonderful son at the Temple every year. I wonder, what did Hannah think about what Eli's sons were doing.

This is from the easy English site.

These verses contrast Hannah’s son and Eli’s sons. Samuel learned all about the work that Eli did at the house of the Lord. Samuel started serving God when he was very young. He continued to do this all his life. Eli probably trained his sons as priests when they were young. They continued to be priests when they were older. But they behaved as wicked men. They did not know God (verse 12). So, they did not do the things that pleased God. They did not keep the law. They did not honour their father (Exodus 20:12).

God was pleased with Samuel. He was not pleased with Eli’s sons. God wanted good priests not wicked priests. God is holy. He wants his people to be holy too (Leviticus 11:44-45). In verse 25, Eli warned his sons that God would deal with them. They had not obeyed God, so God punished them.

Now check out verse 22..... do you see it?

This is from blueletterbible.org.

This means the sons of Eli we committing sexual immorality with the women who came to worship at the tabernacle. It is an ancient version of modern "preacher sex scandal."

The two great sins of Eli's sons were that they stole from God's people (1 Samuel 2:12-17) and they committed sexual immorality with women who came to worship at the tabernacle. Both show the heart of a hireling, of an unfaithful shepherd who cares more about what he can get from God's people than about what he can give God's people. In this sense, the sins of greed and sexual immorality are not far apart. They often go together as the evidence of self-will and the abuse of power.​

I guess they figured the stories about Korah and his family of horrible "priests" back in Numbers 16:32 didn't pertain to them. God had the earth just swallow them up. I guess they just figured those stories were metaphors. I guess they thought all that God stuff was just made up. Or they figured all that God stuff was in the past and God wasn't watching anymore.

I wonder.... would Eli's sons have a problem with reciting the Lord's Prayer in school or displaying the 10 Commandments on the wall if they were "serving" in modern times?

While Samuel served in his cute little linen ephod, Eli's sons carried on like they were working at a bar rather than a Temple.

:coffee:
 
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