‘Eli’s Wicked Sons
First Samuel 2: 12-17
‘Eli’s wicked sons DIG: How did ‘Eli’s sons corrupt their priestly office? What were the three ways in which the sons of ‘Eli treated offerings made to YHVH with contempt? To whom does Paul compare them? What did Yeshua say about them?
REFLECT: How should the congregations of God treat their spiritual leaders who fall? Under what conditions should they be restored? Fired? Prosecuted? Why do you think that ADONAI takes the responsibility of leadership so seriously?
The sin of these young men was very great in YHVH’s view.
The human reason for the birth of Samuel has been told (to see link click Ag – The Birth and Dedication of Samuel). He came in response to a godly mother’s prayer (see Aj – Hannah’s Prayer). Now it is important for us to see the divine reason. The book of Judges asserts: In those days Isra’el had no king, and everyone did as they saw fit (Judges 21:25). This was also true of the priests. ‘Eli, although apparently a moral man, had lost control of his sons.65 The house of ‘Eli is dealt with in three sections of the narrative. First, here, we see the ruthless and cynical use of priestly power by ‘Eli’s wicked sons, Hophni and Phinehas. Secondly, ‘Eli himself is seen as inept, but not evil. He is still a man of responsible faith (see At – ‘Eli’s Ineffective Rebuke of His Sons). The third section narrates the divine decree that the house of ‘Eli would be replaced by a different priestly house. The decree is in the mouth of an unnamed man of God (see Au – God’s Rejection of ‘Eli’s House).66
The introduction of ‘Eli’s sons leave little to the imagination, they were sons of beliyya’al who did not know YHVH (2:12). This is a Hebrew term describing worthless people who openly practiced lawlessness (Deuteronomy 13:13; Judges 19:22; First Samuel 25:25; Proverbs 16:27). In Second Corinthians 6:15, Paul uses Belial as a synonym for Satan, so they were sons of the evil one. Spiritually ignorant of God’s saving grace, and caring nothing for the demands of His holiness, they were a disgrace to the priesthood. Yeshua said to the wicked religious leaders of His day: You are of your father the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires (John 8:44). What a crisis it was for Isra’el that such men were its spiritual leaders. No wonder Isra’el’s spiritual life had been represented by Hannah’s barren womb (see Ai – The Barren Wife)!
The Torah provided that the priests serving at the Tabernacle would receive their food from the sacrifices brought by the people. While the priests were allowed the breast and the thigh of the Peace Offering (Leviticus 7:28-34 and Deuteronomy 18:3), ‘Eli’s sons demanded their own form of potluck, sending their servant to randomly take meat from the family pots.67 While the animal was still boiling, the servant would stick a three-pronged fork into the pot and demand whatever it brought up be given to them. Hophni and Phinehas took much more than the Torah allotted to them. All the Israelites who came to worship at Shiloh (see Ae – The Tabernacle at Shiloh) were robbed of their Peace Offerings (2:13-14 NLT), but as if that weren’t enough, the wicked priests were depriving YHVH of His portion of the sacrifice as well.68
This rare description of worship in Canaan before the monarchy reveals that the worshippers knew that the fat of the sacrifice had to be burned first (Leviticus 7:28-34), because it belonged to YHVH (Leviticus 17:6 and 18:17) as a pleasing aroma to Him (Leviticus 3:5). However, Hophni and Phinehas’ servant would actually come before the fat had been burned on the bronze altar and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give the priest meat he can roast; because he doesn’t want your meat boiled, only raw” (2:15). Torah required that the meat be boiled, but they wanted the meat to be roasted.
Here we have the extraordinary situation where the priest, who was supposed to know the Torah, acted in a way that even shocked an ordinary worshipper. Dissatisfied with what should have been adequate provisions, ‘Eli’s wicked sons intimated the man who was sacrificing into allowing them to take a random selection of meat, whether they were entitled to it or not. Protest was useless, and resistance was met with force. If the worshipper answered: Let the fat be burned first, then take as much as you want, which was generous beyond what the Torah demanded. They would say: No, give it to me now, or I’ll take it by force (2:16).69 Those two ungodly gangsters wanted their portion even before God received what was rightfully His.
Devout Israelites who came to sacrifice before the LORD not only witnessed the priest’s blasphemous attitude toward their offerings, but also suffered the theft of what God had allotted for themselves and their families.70 The sin of these young men was very great in YHVH’s view, because they treated offerings made to YHVH with contempt in three ways (2:17). First, they robbed the people of their share of the Peace Offerings (see the commentary on Leviticus Ak – The Peace Offerings: At Peace with God); secondly, they demanded the meat before the fat was burned on the bronze altar: and thirdly, they roasted the meat instead of boiling it. Therefore, like their post exilic counterparts (Malachi 1:6-14), ‘Eli’s wicked sons despised ADONAI’s offerings. Such conduct, especially being practiced by the priesthood, could only lead to disaster, as seen in Korah’s rebellion (see the commentary on Numbers Cr – The Response of God).71
Dear Heavenly Father, thank You so much for being a righteous and pure heavenly Father. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne. Lovingkindness and truth go before You. (Psalms 89:14). You are holy, and hate evil (Psalms 97:10; Proverbs 8:13). It is such a comfort to know that not only are You a God of steadfast love (Psalms 63:3), You also are pure, and reign as King in a just and righteous way. No one can ever hide their sin from You, for God sees the heart of each person to discern the attitude behind each action. But ADONAI said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or his stature, because I have already refused him. For He does not see a man as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but ADONAI looks into the heart” (First Samuel 16:7).
Even when a good deed is done, God evaluates the action by the heart attitude. Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord!’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in Your name, and drive out demons in Your name, and perform many miracles in Your name?’ Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you. Get away from Me, you workers of lawlessness’ (Matthew 7:21-23)! The applause of men for a deed done that looked good but was really from a selfish heart, is shorter in time than the blink of any eye. How much better and wiser it is to all for the glory of God! In Messiah Yeshua’s holy Name and power of His resurrection. Amen
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