We Need To Care: 1 Samuel 2:27-36

God expects those who follow Him will embrace His ways and His characteristics.  He is generous.  He is loving.  He is kind.  He is also a disciplinarian.  He holds His people accountable.  We are human and far from perfect.  Yet, if we claim to follow Him, others should see Him in us.

Because Eli refused to do anything about his sons other than talk to them, God sends a “man of God” to Eli.  We do not know this anonymous speaker for God.  He could be a priest or Levite who rotated into service at the temple.  He could be a random prophet who dwelled among the people.  Whoever this man is, he delivers a bitter prophecy against Eli and his sons.

Eli’s sons will die on the same day.  Then, Eli’s line of priests will be cut off, which is easy to believe given Eli’s only two sons are killed.  From there, Eli’s people will look upon the rest of Israel with envy.

Eli and his sons were born into a holy position.  Because people brought sacrifices to them, they never had to worry about their next meal.  Yes, slaughtering animals and offering sacrifices was hard work.  It wasn’t like their life was one of exceptional leisure.  However, because of the random luck of lineage, many of the worries felt by the rest of the Hebrew population were taken care of in their life.

All Eli and his sons had to do was respect the office.  All they needed was to care.  To whom much is given, much is expected.  As the author of 1 Samuel writes, those who honor God will be honored and those who despise God will be lightly esteemed.  God wasn’t asking the priests to be incredible superheroes of the day.  God didn’t establish impossible expectations on their lives.  He simply asked them to go about their lives caring about Him and His people.

As we’ve seen, Eli could not be aroused to care.  Eli brushed aside Hannah when she came and wept.  Eli hardly noticed when she returned three years later and devoted her son to the service of God.  Eli wouldn’t be stirred enough to level consequences for his sons’ behavior.

Unsurprisingly, Eli’s sons were no better.  They disrespected the people’s sacrifices to God.  They stole from God to take the best part for themselves.  They used their position of power to coerce women into sexual relations.

God placed Eli and his family in a position to make an impact upon the lives of others, and they didn’t.  Worse, they took advantage of God’s generosity.  Eli and his sons took God’s blessing upon them and instead of extending the blessing to the people around them they used the blessing as leverage for personal gain.

God is not selfish.  God frequently thinks of others before Himself.  The model God presents is a caring Father who looks out for His children.  God expects those who follow Him will embrace His ways and His characteristics.