Samuel
“Now the sons of Eli were worthless men. They did not know the Lord.”
1 Samuel 2:12
“Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground.”
1 Samuel 3:19
In the Old Testament we learn much about godliness and ungodliness through character studies. We get short commentary on people’s lives. Some help us understand how we should live, others how we should not live. The first chapters of 1 Samuel contain a powerful contrast between the sons of Eli and Samuel. It’s a contrast we should all learn from!
During this period of the Old Testament judges, Eli is the head priest at Shiloh. He is assisted by his two sons: Hophni and Phinehas. Eli is not effective in leading the people toward authentic godliness and his sons are summarily described as “worthless!” In the early chapters of 1 Samuel, Eli is very old and his sons are overseeing the worship processes. Hophni and Phinehas openly disregard the sacrificial worship processes recorded by Moses and prescribed by the Lord. They use the authority of the Lord to enrich themselves and abuse the people that come to worship the Lord. They openly dishonor the Lord as blasphemers! They were sexually immoral men, shamelessly having relations with women serving in and around the area of worship. They were proud, evil, willfully sinful, and unrepentant when confronted by their father (1 Sam 2:25). It was the will of the Lord to put them to death, end the family line of Eli, and replace them with a godly man.
The impact of ungodly leadership is significant. 1 Samuel 4 is about Hophni and Phinehas leading the nation of Israel into battle with misguided pride, believing they could manipulate the power of the Lord to serve their ends. The enemies of Israel were encamped at Aphek and had defeated Israel once with a loss of 4,000 men. The elders consult Hophni and Phinehas, who decide to bring the Ark of the Covenant (the holy container where the Lord chose to display His presence during the Old Testament period of the Tabernacle and Temple) and attempt to use it as a weapon against their enemies. The manipulative action of these worthless priests ended in the slaughter of 30,000 Israel soldiers and a route of the nation before their enemies. It’s not only worth reading the rest of the story to see how the Lord defends His own glory, but also how Hophni and Phinehas are recorded forever as those who “did not know the Lord.”
In stark contrast to these men, stands young Samuel. Samuel is born as a direct answer to prayer from his godly mother, Hannah. Keeping her promise to the Lord, Hannah dedicates Samuel to serve the Lord at Shiloh from the time of his childhood. From the beginning, Samuel is a child with a tender heart toward the things of the Lord. 1 Samuel 3 records how the Lord called Samuel to Himself and a lifetime of faithful service. 1 Samuel 3:7 notes that when the Lord called to Samuel three times in the night, Samuel “did not yet know the Lord.” The main difference between Hophni and Phineas, and Samuel is that Samuel knew the Lord in a personal life-changing way, and Eli’s sons did not. Samuel responded to the call of the Lord. Samuel heard the word of the Lord and obeyed it. When the Lord spoke to Samuel, he obeyed and spoke all that was given to him (1 Samuel 3:19). The Lord blessed Samuel’s life and established him as the judge of Israel. In opposition to the sons of Eli, Samuel’s godliness blessed the people. The whole nation enjoyed peace and unity from the Lord for the entire long life of Samuel (1 Samuel 7:15-17).
It is astonishing to consider what a powerfully good or bad impact the godliness or ungodliness of one person can have on the people around them. The nation fell into death and destruction under the ungodliness of Hophni and Phinehas but rose to strength and peace under the godly faithfulness of Samuel. I believe we should first consider what this means to our own families and communities. What kind of a life do you live? How do people summarily describe you? Are you known for godliness, truth, and courage, or are you known for ungodliness, immorality, drunkenness, and pride? Your life will have an impact for good or evil. Your life will impact your immediate family for blessing or for weeping. Your life will impact subsequent generations for godliness or for worldliness. It may be that your life will impact much more than just close family relations. If you have been given a place of leadership in the community or church, your actions affect many more people than just those in your family circle. You are accountable before God for those you affect and the type of influence you have upon them.
I pray that you will know God in your life. Truly knowing God through the grace of Jesus Christ is the turning point of all life. If your life and influence upon others is a mess of ungodliness, the answer is not found in cleaning up your life, but in turning to the Lord in repentance. Hophni and Phinehas did not first need to “do better,” they needed to confess their sins and know God. Samuel was powerful for the Lord not because of all he did, but first because he listened to the voice of the Lord and obeyed.
May the Lord help us to hear His voice and know Him today,
Pastor Vic