The book of 1 Samuel has been a book of the Bible filled with many lessons for the believer. The Lord through this study shall be revealing quite a lot.
In Today's study, we would be considering the man Eli and his children. What did this man do? Who were his children? And what did they do? Did they live to please the Lord or not? Let's see the passage of scripture below:
"Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not the Lord. [13] And the priests' custom with the people was, that, when any man offered sacrifice, the priest's servant came, while the flesh was in seething, with a fleshhook of three teeth in his hand; [14] And he struck it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; all that the fleshhook brought up the priest took for himself. So they did in Shiloh unto all the Israelites that came thither. [15] Also before they burnt the fat, the priest's servant came, and said to the man that sacrificed, Give flesh to roast for the priest; for he will not have sodden flesh of thee, but raw. [16] And if any man said unto him, Let them not fail to burn the fat presently, and then take as much as thy soul desireth; then he would answer him, Nay ; but thou shalt give it me now: and if not, I will take it by force. [17] Wherefore the sin of the young men was very great before the Lord: for men abhorred the offering of the Lord"*. (1 Samuel 2:12-17)
Eli was a priest in the house of God, and he was from the very lineage the Lord has called to be priests unto him among the children of Israel. Eli was of course a good man but how his children turned to live a life and walk a path different from their father is still what we can not say for sure as scripture didn't say. The scripture however referred to them as sons of Belial, and why? It was simply because they knew not the Lord.
How can the children of a priest not know the Lord? Did Eli not play the role of a Father in the life of Hophni and Phinehas his sons as regards teaching them the ways of the Lord? This is to say especially to ministers of the gospel whether you are a Pastor, a gospel artiste, or whatever role you are playing in the body of Christ, that you are a minister and are saved does not mean your family will get to serve the Lord automatically. You must see to it, and that by the grace of God that they come to know the Lord. It may be that Eli failed in this regard but we still cannot say for sure.
They had great disregard for the sacrifice of the Lord and did quite a lot of things that were abominable to God. See how the scripture puts it in verse 17, that the sin of the young men was very great before the Lord, why? Their sin made men abhor the offering of the Lord. It made the people hate the offering of the Lord. I hope you can ask yourself this today, how does my life hinder others from following after God? Do people now abhor God's word and fellowship with his children because of you? Is your life bringing people to him or are you by your action sending them away? Think about these things. The Lord bless his word in your heart. Amen.
Thought for the Day: Do you by your life cause people to abhor the word of God and fellowship with his people in truth? Or does your life create in others the desire to serve the Lord?
Gospel Today is a comforting, exhorting, edifying, and inspiring devotional published by the Delightsome Land Christian Ministry. For questions, inquiries/testimonies, please call or WhatsApp: 09168301042 or Email: [email protected].
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