1. (1 Sam 2:18-21) Samuel’s Ministry in the tabernacle
But Samuel ministered before the LORD, being a child, girded with a linen ephod. Moreover his mother made him a little coat, and brought it to him year to year, when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. And Eli blessed Elkanah and his wife, and said, The LORD give you seed of this woman for the loan which is lent to the LORD. And they went to their home. And the LORD visited Hannah, so that she conceived, and bore three sons and two daughters. And the child Samuel grew before the LORD.
Samuel ministered before the LORD: After reading about the endless abuses of the wicked sons of Eli, now we are told about the godly ministry of Samuel. Although just a child, Samuel attends to the commands of Eli and is a faithful servant, serving the LORD.
Linen ephod: The ephod was a garment consisting of two pieces, which hung from the shoulders in front and back. They were joined at the top and were secured around the waist with a girdle. It was a priestly garment, but occasionally it was worn by others involved in religious ceremonies (2 Samuel 6:14). The high priest wore a special ephod which was decorated with gold, blue, scarlet and purple (Exodus 39:1-7).
A little coat: The little coat (in Hebrew meil) was very likely to closely resemble the meil (or robe) worn by the priests. The meil was an under garment of wool, woven through without a seam, with holes in the garment for the head and arms. The meil was long and reached nearly to the ground. The little meil that Samuel would have worn would have been for every day use, while the ephod would have been worn over the meil only for religious service.
(Side note: The meil of the high priest was blue and had ornamentation of golden bells and pomegranates around the hem of the garment. “You shall make the robe of the ephod all of blue. There shall be an opening at its top in the middle of it; around its opening there shall be a binding or woven work, like the opening of a coat of mail, so that it will not be torn. You shall make on its hem pomegranates of blue and purple and scarlet material, all around on it hem, and bells of gold between them all around: a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, all around on the hem of the robe” (Exodus 28:31-34).)
The LORD give you seed: The manner in which Eli blesses Elkanah shows that the dedication and service of Samuel in the tabernacle was not thought of as a burden but as a valued gift. The words “loan” and “lent” are poorly translated in the English to understand the depth of meaning these words have in Hebrew. The Hebrew text gives the sense of a very costly gift given and coveys the idea that Samuel was given to Hannah by praying to the LORD for him. In a sincere act of gratitude for Samuel, Eli prays that God will bless Hannah with children of her own.
The LORD visited Hannah: In an act of mercy and by approving and confirming Eli’s words, the LORD blesses Hannah with children. In the Bible, the number five is symbolic of God’s grace. I find it fitting for God to bless Hannah (whose name means grace) with five children of her own.
Samuel grew before the LORD: Samuel not only grow in height and maturity, but he grew in his knowledge of the LORD. I hope everyday, we grow our faith by learning God’s Word and walking in His ways. I pray we continue to pursue our relationship with Jesus and we continue to “grow before the LORD”.
4. (1 Sam 2:22) The second offense of Eli's sons: sexual immorality.
Now Eli was very old; and he heard all that his sons were doing to Israel, and how they lay with the women who served at the doorway of the tent of meeting.
Eli was very old: This passage is more about Eli than it is about his sons. Eli probably had served Israel well in his former days, but now he was old and unable to control the actions of his sons. (We learn later in the book that Eli judges Israel 40 years and dies at the age of 98 (1 Samuel 4:15, 18). So it is very probable that Eli is around 80 years old during this time.)
And he heard all that his sons were doing: The literal Hebrew is better translated "used to hear all that his sons were doing," which denotes a constant and habitual practice of his sons. Eli heard repeatedly what his sons were doing, but what did he do about it?
They lay with the women who served: This means that the sons of Eli were committing sexual immorality with the women serving at the tabernacle. The word "served" literally translates as "arranged in bands". This denotes that the women were many in number and had regular duties assigned to them, each one with a place and office. We first read about women serving in the tabernacle when Moses is constructing the tabernacle in the wilderness in Exodus 38:8: "Moreover he (Moses) made the laver of bronze with its base of bronze, from the mirrors of the serving women who served at the doorway of the tent of meeting."
As if defiling the LORD'S ordinances and causing the people to despise giving sacrifices to God was not enough, the sons of Eli add sexual immorality to their list of sins. Often, sin starts small. A slight infringement on God's law. Receiving no correction for their misdeed, they then continue to sin a little bit more and more until their sins consume their lives. Perhaps if Eli would have adhered to the wisdom set forth in the Book of Proverbs, his sons may have corrected their behavior before it manifested into such wickedness. "Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you punish them with a rod, they will not die" (Proverbs 23:13).
In Psalm 78, the psalmist records the punishment of the priests and the defiling of the tabernacle. "So that He abandoned the dwelling place at Shiloh, the tent which He had pitched among men, and gave up His strength to captivity and His glory into the hand of the adversary. He also delivered His people to the sword, and was filled with wrath at His inheritance. Fire devoured His young men, and His virgins had no wedding songs. His priests fell by the sword, and His widows could not weep" (Psalm 78:60-64).
5. (1 Sam 2:23-26) The vain, ineffective rebuke of Eli to his sons.
He said to them, "Why do you do such things, the evil things that I hear from all these people? No, my sons; for the report is not good which I hear, you make the LORD'S people transgress. If one man sins against another, God will mediate for him; but if a man sins against the LORD, who can intercede for him?" But they would not listen to the voice of their father, for the LORD desired to put them to death. Now the boy Samuel was growing in stature and in favor with the LORD and with men.
Why do you do such things? It is a pointless question. Who cares "why" his sons were so wicked. Could there ever be an answer to justify such sinful behavior? Eli did about the worst things a parent can do--trying to correct his sons by talking to them. He does not execute punishment on them by taking action for their disobedient behavior. No, he only allows his empty words to fall on deaf ears. Instead of being a judge and doling verdicts out for sinful acts, the position appointed to him by God, Eli is comfortable with just being a gentle parent.
You make the LORD's people to transgress: Again, this was the great sin of Eli's sons. It was bad enough that they stole and indulged their own lusts; but they also, by their corrupt behavior, made people hate to worship God with their offerings at the tabernacle (1 Samuel 2:17), and they led women into sexual immorality. Eli's sons corrupted the inner religious life of the whole people.
Sins against another: For man's offense against his fellow-man, there is a third party to arbitrate and correct the wrongs done. This is mainly done by God or God's representative, such as an appointed judge.
God will mediate for him actually is a play on words. In the Hebrew, it literally translates "The Judge (Elohim) shall judge him".
Sins against the LORD: If a man deliberately sins against God (as Hophni and Phinehas did in willfully disobeying God's laws), then who can be the arbitrator to dole out the proper verdict? Fortunately, we are given the answer to this question by John in 1 John 2:1-2: "My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world." Praise be to God we have Jesus to intercede for us when we sin against the LORD.
They would not listen...the LORD desired to put them to death: In this verse, the mysteries connected with God's foreknowledge and man's free-will are touched upon. The LORD'S resolution to slay Hophni and Phinehas was founded on the eternal knowledge of their persistence in doing wrong. There seems to be a point in a sinner's life when the Spirit of God ceases to plead for him. Then the man is left to himself, and he no longer feels any remorse for evil he has done. This is spoken of in Exodus 4:21 as "hardening the heart". It should be noted that it is not until Pharaoh turned a deaf ear to the repeated warnings about letting Israel go that God hardens his heart. The same is true for Hophni and Phinehas. They have repeatedly ignored God's laws and did not heed the rebuke given by their father. Now Hophni and Phinehas reached the tipping point when the LORD intervenes. Since Eli did not punish his sons, God now finds it necessary to execute judgment. According to the Law given to Moses, the penalty for having sex outside marriage was death (Deuteronomy 22:22-27). It is through God's grace we are able to repent. Eli's sons sinned away God's grace, and now were left to the fate of their wicked desires.
Samuel was growing...with the LORD and with men: Like a breath of fresh air, we are again turned from the wicked ways of Hophni and Phinehas to the wonderful hope that rests in Samuel. Despite the bad influences of Eli's sons, Samuel continues to lead a godly life. The same phrasing is used to speak of Jesus' childhood. And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man" (Luke 2:52).
4. (1 Sam 2:22) The second offense of Eli's sons: sexual immorality.
Now Eli was very old; and he heard all that his sons were doing to Israel, and how they lay with the women who served at the doorway of the tent of meeting.
Eli was very old: This passage is more about Eli than it is about his sons. Eli probably had served Israel well in his former days, but now he was old and unable to control the actions of his sons. (We learn later in the book that Eli judges Israel 40 years and dies at the age of 98 (1 Samuel 4:15, 18). So it is very probable that Eli is around 80 years old during this time.)
And he heard all that his sons were doing: The literal Hebrew is better translated "used to hear all that his sons were doing," which denotes a constant and habitual practice of his sons. Eli heard repeatedly what his sons were doing, but what did he do about it?
They lay with the women who served: This means that the sons of Eli were committing sexual immorality with the women serving at the tabernacle. The word "served" literally translates as "arranged in bands". This denotes that the women were many in number and had regular duties assigned to them, each one with a place and office. We first read about women serving in the tabernacle when Moses is constructing the tabernacle in the wilderness in Exodus 38:8: "Moreover he (Moses) made the laver of bronze with its base of bronze, from the mirrors of the serving women who served at the doorway of the tent of meeting."
As if defiling the LORD'S ordinances and causing the people to despise giving sacrifices to God was not enough, the sons of Eli add sexual immorality to their list of sins. Often, sin starts small. A slight infringement on God's law. Receiving no correction for their misdeed, they then continue to sin a little bit more and more until their sins consume their lives. Perhaps if Eli would have adhered to the wisdom set forth in the Book of Proverbs, his sons may have corrected their behavior before it manifested into such wickedness. "Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you punish them with a rod, they will not die" (Proverbs 23:13).
In Psalm 78, the psalmist records the punishment of the priests and the defiling of the tabernacle. "So that He abandoned the dwelling place at Shiloh, the tent which He had pitched among men, and gave up His strength to captivity and His glory into the hand of the adversary. He also delivered His people to the sword, and was filled with wrath at His inheritance. Fire devoured His young men, and His virgins had no wedding songs. His priests fell by the sword, and His widows could not weep" (Psalm 78:60-64).
5. (1 Sam 2:23-26) The vain, ineffective rebuke of Eli to his sons.
He said to them, "Why do you do such things, the evil things that I hear from all these people? No, my sons; for the report is not good which I hear, you make the LORD'S people transgress. If one man sins against another, God will mediate for him; but if a man sins against the LORD, who can intercede for him?" But they would not listen to the voice of their father, for the LORD desired to put them to death. Now the boy Samuel was growing in stature and in favor with the LORD and with men.
Why do you do such things? It is a pointless question. Who cares "why" his sons were so wicked. Could there ever be an answer to justify such sinful behavior? Eli did about the worst things a parent can do--trying to correct his sons by talking to them. He does not execute punishment on them by taking action for their disobedient behavior. No, he only allows his empty words to fall on deaf ears. Instead of being a judge and doling verdicts out for sinful acts, the position appointed to him by God, Eli is comfortable with just being a gentle parent.
You make the LORD's people to transgress: Again, this was the great sin of Eli's sons. It was bad enough that they stole and indulged their own lusts; but they also, by their corrupt behavior, made people hate to worship God with their offerings at the tabernacle (1 Samuel 2:17), and they led women into sexual immorality. Eli's sons corrupted the inner religious life of the whole people.
Sins against another: For man's offense against his fellow-man, there is a third party to arbitrate and correct the wrongs done. This is mainly done by God or God's representative, such as an appointed judge.
God will mediate for him actually is a play on words. In the Hebrew, it literally translates "The Judge (Elohim) shall judge him".
Sins against the LORD: If a man deliberately sins against God (as Hophni and Phinehas did in willfully disobeying God's laws), then who can be the arbitrator to dole out the proper verdict? Fortunately, we are given the answer to this question by John in 1 John 2:1-2: "My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world." Praise be to God we have Jesus to intercede for us when we sin against the LORD.
They would not listen...the LORD desired to put them to death: In this verse, the mysteries connected with God's foreknowledge and man's free-will are touched upon. The LORD'S resolution to slay Hophni and Phinehas was founded on the eternal knowledge of their persistence in doing wrong. There seems to be a point in a sinner's life when the Spirit of God ceases to plead for him. Then the man is left to himself, and he no longer feels any remorse for evil he has done. This is spoken of in Exodus 4:21 as "hardening the heart". It should be noted that it is not until Pharaoh turned a deaf ear to the repeated warnings about letting Israel go that God hardens his heart. The same is true for Hophni and Phinehas. They have repeatedly ignored God's laws and did not heed the rebuke given by their father. Now Hophni and Phinehas reached the tipping point when the LORD intervenes. Since Eli did not punish his sons, God now finds it necessary to execute judgment. According to the Law given to Moses, the penalty for having sex outside marriage was death (Deuteronomy 22:22-27). It is through God's grace we are able to repent. Eli's sons sinned away God's grace, and now were left to the fate of their wicked desires.
Samuel was growing...with the LORD and with men: Like a breath of fresh air, we are again turned from the wicked ways of Hophni and Phinehas to the wonderful hope that rests in Samuel. Despite the bad influences of Eli's sons, Samuel continues to lead a godly life. The same phrasing is used to speak of Jesus' childhood. And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man" (Luke 2:52).
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