David - A Good King Who Made Some Bad Choices - 2021-10-17

 

David – A Good King Who Made Some Bad Choices

The Story Series – Part 12

Main Texts: Psalm 51; 2 Samuel 11:1 – 12:24

17 October 2021

Introduction:

Have you ever made any bad choices? Have you ever done something that seemed like a good idea at the time only to regret it later? Have you ever trusted someone that turned out to be untrustworthy? Have you ever spent your hard-earned money on something that fell apart almost immediately after you got it home? My answer to all these questions is a resounding, “YES!” I have made some very bad decisions in my life that ended up costing me dearly later.

I am embarrassed to tell you that I think in every case it turned out badly because I did not take the time nor invest the effort in seeking the Lord’s counsel and will. If I would have sought the Lord’s guidance and direction, without a doubt, He would have guided my steps in a better direction and saved me a lot of pain. Invariably I get in trouble when I blunder in and lean on my own wisdom and understanding rather than lean on Him to guide me and lead me in the right path. When I practice Proverbs 3:5-6 things seem to turn out better. Funny how that works.

Transition:

Today we are continuing with our series entitled, “The Story.” We have been taking a 39,000-foot flyby look at biblical history. I guess you could call this a Bible Survey Series. We are trying to get a mental handle on the grand sweep of God’s plan of the ages, from Genesis through Revelation and on into eternity. Of course, this does not allow us to spend very much time in any one book or looking at any one individual, but we are at least trying to understand the main points.

Last Sunday we took our first look at King David—at his anointing by the prophet, Samuel, his service to King Saul in the palace, the beginning of his military career, and his slaying of the Philistine giant, Goliath, which made him a hero in all Israel. We talked about his love for God and his zeal for the Lord’s reputation. God himself referred to David as, “a man after My own heart.” We recognized that David is the most well-known figure in the Bible after Jesus and Moses. We also learned that David stands as a forerunner and foreshadower of the King who is to come, Jesus, the Christ, Yeshua HaMashiach, Jesus, the Messiah of Israel. Just as David was anointed to serve as king over his people Israel, so Christ is the eternal Anointed One, who will reign as King over all the earth. God promised to David that his throne would be established forever, and that the promised Redeemer would come from his seed. Jesus himself verified this in Revelation 22:16 saying, “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright Morning Star.”

Main Body:

Last Sunday Matthew led us in looking at Part 1 of David’s story. For the most part that is a happy history focusing on David’s triumphs. Indeed, the first 30 years David’s life was so good it was almost like a fairy-tale. Today we are going to look at Part 2 of David’s life, and it is much less of a fairy-tale. In fact, some parts are grim. With this in mind, I have entitled this sermon, “David – A Good King Who Made Some Bad Choices.” And yet, through it all David continued to love and trust God and when he screwed up, he was always quick to ask God for forgiveness and cleansing. He was never happy to continue in sin for very long. His fellowship with God meant that much to him. And God never gave up on David. God loved him enough to discipline and even punish him when he needed it, just as a loving father disciplines his own beloved son.

But what we need to remember is that while God has promised to forgive our sins whenever we confess them to Him and turn from our wicked ways, that does not mean that He withdraws the natural consequences that result from bad choices and wicked deeds. To use a colloquial phrase, “If you do the crime, you will still have to do the time.” That was certainly true in David’s life, and this morning we will look briefly at some of the tragedies that befell him because of his sinful choices and unrighteous attitudes.

If we could just recite a list of David’s virtues and triumphs it would be nice. But life isn’t like that. David was a complex human being, and we need to learn from the good, the bad, and the ugly, and like all of us David was a mixture of all three.

·         David was a good man, but he was not perfect and sometimes he sinned, occasionally in spectacular ways.

·         David was a wise man, but sometimes he did stupid, foolish things that hurt himself, his family, and his nation.

·         David was a devout man, who loved God and wanted to please and honour God. But sometimes David wandered off the school grounds and brought great shame and dishonour not only to himself and his family, but also to the Lord, the Holy One of Israel that he was pledged to serve.

Today we are going to look briefly at the “flip-side” of David’s life. Like I said, up until the age of 30 when he ascended to the throne of Israel his life was nearly perfect. Oh, sure he sinned once in a while like everybody else, but he was always quick to confess his sin to the Lord and receive forgiveness. But after David became King, things started to change. In fact, every aspect of his life changed radically and not necessarily for the good.

·         Now he was rich. He could have anything his heart desired.

·         Now he lived in a palace, surrounded by beautiful and costly possessions.

·         Now he had armies of soldiers led by skilled and courageous officers who would do his bidding with just a word to them.

·         Now he did not live just with men, like it had been back home in Bethlehem surrounded just by his dad and seven brothers, or even in the company of a band of rough old soldiers who fought at his side for 14 years (1 Sam. 22:2). Now he had servants to do everything for him. He was living a life of opulence and ease.

·         Now he was surrounded by beautiful women – wives, concubines, drop-dead gorgeous serving girls, etc. Temptation was all around him.

So, now let’s turn and look at some of the points in his story that were less than stellar, less than exemplary. Let’s see what he did, and why, and what happened as a result. 

Brief list of TRAGEDIES:

1.       After killing Goliath, King Saul became insanely jealous of David’s success and popularity; so much so that David was forced to flee and live the life of an outlaw until Saul’s death. This was part of the tragedy and pain of David’s life, but it was not his fault. It was not a result of his sinning. But I just didn’t know where else to mention it. David experienced a lot of hardship that was not because of anything he did wrong.

2.      But then comes 2 Samuel 11. David committed adultery with Bathsheba who became pregnant. That was not divine retribution, just a biological result of a evil moral choice on David’s part (2 Sam. 11:4-5).

3.      To cover up his sin of lust and adultery David arranged the death of Bathsheba’s faithful husband, Uriah, by arranging to send him to the front of the battle, knowing that he would be killed by the Ammonites (2 Sam 11:6-17).

4.      After being confronted by Nathan, the prophet, David confessed his sin to God and repented of it, and God forgave him, but his and Bathsheba’s child died nevertheless (2 Sam. 12:10, 13, 19).

5.      Like Eli, David failed to discipline his sons. Perhaps he justified it by how busy he was running the nation and fighting against their enemies. Whatever the reason, David was apparently an absentee father, leaving the rearing of his children to wives, nannies, and servants. His son Amnon committed the sin of rape and incest against his half-sister, Tamar; he was murdered by another of David’s sons, Absalom, two years later in a bloody slaughter that resulted in nearly all David’s son’s being killed (2 Sam. 13:14-29).

6.      Not long after that David’s son, Absalom, led a rebellion, a coup d'état, in an attempt to usurp David’s throne and make himself king (2 Sam. 16-17).

7.      Against the king’s orders, David’s “beloved son” Absalom was murdered by Joab, David’s top military advisor, putting an end to the rebellion, and David’s throne was restored. However, it was a bittersweet victory for a heart-broken father (2 Sam. 18:14-15).

8.     David ignored General Joab’s advice and called for a national census, kindling the wrath of God against David and against Israel (2 Sam. 24:2-15; 1 Chron. 21:1-4).

9.      David’s unauthorized census resulted in a deadly plague sent by God, which infected the people, killing thousands (2 Samuel 24:1-9; 15; 1 Chronicles 21:7-17). [N.B. David was at least partly responsible for this plague because against God’s wishes David ordered a census of the people and of his fighting men, which revealed a lack of faith in God and a reliance for his security on the size of the reserve of manpower he could muster in an emergency. This represented an unwarranted glorying in and dependence on human power rather than the Lord.]

10.  David wanted to build Yahweh a “house” in Jerusalem. However, God told David that he would not be allowed to build the Temple because he was a “man of blood” meaning a man of violence and war. God said that task would be reserved for David’s son, Solomon (2 Samuel 7:1-2; 1 Kings 5:16).

Conclusion:

How can one sum up a person’s life in just a few words? David died at the age of 70. He lived a long and full life. He ruled over Israel for 40 years. And the Bible has much to say about him. 

What are some spiritual lessons we can draw from the life of David?

1.       David’s sin with Bathsheba marked the start of a downward trend in David’s life (2 Samuel 11-20). It served as the banana peel that when stepped on results in a disastrous fall. That is certainly what happened with David. His sins of idleness, uncontrolled lust, adultery, capital murder, treachery, coverup, and lying marked a sad and very dark part of David’s story. The sad part is that this tragedy was totally avoidable had David been playing his A-game. Several lessons come to mind:

a)     Beware of idleness. David should have been on the battlefield with his men rather than hanging around the palace getting into trouble. He was not where he should have been. 2 Samuel 11:1 says, “Then it happened in the spring, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him and all Israel, and they destroyed the sons of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed at Jerusalem.” So, picture this… the Israeli army was locked in a bloody war against the Ammonites but uncharacteristically David stayed home drinking strawberry margaritas and lying in his hammock. There is an adage that says, “Idle hands are the devil’s workshop.” This proved true for David. 

b)     Beware of letting the eyes and mind dwell on sinful things. It was not a sin that David witnessed a pretty lady taking her evening bath. It was a sin that he stayed there and watched, lusted after her, another man’s wife, and then acted upon his sexual impulses by putting her into a compromising situation using his power as leverage. Had David done what Joseph did years before when tempted by a beautiful woman we would not be having this discussion. Joseph fled the locale of the temptation to save his honour and his integrity. David on the other hand, pulled up a chair and enjoyed the view, and then sent to have Bathsheba brought to his quarters. This sad story is a perfect illustration of what James says in James 1:14-16, “But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. ¹⁵ Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. ¹⁶ Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.”

c)      Beware of assuming that unconfessed sin can be covered up. David was stupid and naïve to think that God would let him get away with this sin of adultery and premeditated murder. He had been around the block enough times to know that you cannot pull anything over on God. Just observing the life of Saul should have taught him that lesson. But David became proud and puffed up with his own importance. He sinned with impunity, believing for a while that he had gotten away with it. That is, until God sent Nathan to tell David a story about a beloved little lamb that was stolen and killed by a villain. By the end of the story David was livid. Look with me at 2 Samuel 12:5-12.

Then David’s anger burned greatly against the man [in the story], and he said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, surely the man who has done this deserves to die. ⁶ He must make restitution for the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing and had no compassion.” ⁷ Nathan then said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘It is I who anointed you king over Israel, and it is I who delivered you from the hand of Saul. ⁸ I also gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your care, and I gave you the house of Israel and Judah; and if that had been too little, I would have added to you many more things like these! ⁹ Why have you despised the word of the Lord by doing evil in His sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword, have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the sons of Ammon. ¹⁰ Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ ¹¹ Thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you from your own household; I will even take your wives before your eyes and give them to your companion, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight. ¹² Indeed you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, and under the sun.’”   

d)     Beware of thinking, “It could never happen to me.” David got into this mess because he was not walking with the Lord at the time. If he had been, his conscience would have accused him, and he would have backed off and repented. Instead, ignoring what he knew to be right he justified his actions to himself thinking, “After all, I’m the king, and I can do whatever I want.” Even the strongest person can easily slip. At any moment, at any hour, any Christian anywhere can be caught off guard and can fail God miserably.

2.      David, after being confronted by the prophet Nathan, acknowledged his sin, and God forgave him. But David reaped what he had sowed. The wages of that sin continued to pay bitter dividends for many years. The child born to Bathsheba died. David’s oldest son, Amnon, fell into shameful immorality and incest when he raped his half-sister, Tamar. Another son, Absalom, led a rebellion against his father’s kingdom. Absalom was a young man with a magnetism that attracted people. Soon he stirred up a widespread rebellion against David and even hatched a plot to kill his father, forcing David to flee from the city of Jerusalem in disgrace.

To further humiliate his father Absalom went in and raped 10 of David’s concubines who had been left behind to care for the palace when David and his household fled Jerusalem. This was the direct fulfilment of what the Lord had said in 2 Samuel 12:11-12. Certainly, that was Absalom’s sin but it was also the rotten fruit brought about by David’s sin.

To continue living in sin will bring dreadful consequences. True, the sin can be forgiven. But the Bible does not create the impression that people get away with their sin, or that God approves of it. 2 Samuel 11:27 says, “But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord.”

3.      David was not without faults. He was guilty of great sins and offenses. But unlike King Saul, David was not rebellious and disobedient. David was quick to repent. Because of this willingness to repent, Paul says that David was a man whose heart was inclined toward God. In Acts 13:22, we read the Lord’s appraisal of David: “I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after Mine own heart, who shall fulfil all My will.” Even though David was a powerful king over Israel for 40 years and his heart was inclined Godward, he was still a sinner and flawed in some ways. For example, David sinned in placing confidence in human strength and wisdom (2 Samuel 24:9-10), and he manifested weakness as a father, whose sons brought him shame (2 Samuel 13:21; 14:28). Yet God used him despite these things! Thus, David’s life is a prime example in the Scriptures of how God works through weak and frail and sinful persons, like you and me, to accomplish His purposes.

4.      David was not without troubles. One of the basic fallacies which many Christians secretly hold is the idea that when you are right with God, you ought to have nothing but good fortune. But David had his share of troubles. He brought some of them upon himself because of his sin with Bathsheba and his lack of discipline over his children—but it is also clear that David faced many troubles for which he was not responsible.

Adversity and trouble are not always punishment for evil that we have done. It is certainly proper for us to examine ourselves and to confess our sins frequently, but when hard places do come it will not always be possible to put our finger on something we have done. We will not always have an immediate explanation as to why we have been dealt with so harshly. Many times, God does what He does simply because He is who He is and offers no explanation, as it was in the case of Job.

5.      David was not without limitations. He was powerful, but he recognized that he was not the “All-Powerful One.” David knew that he needed a power outside himself, and he was not too proud to admit it. He said one time, “My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God” (Psalm 42:2). On another occasion, he said, “The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1). David was a man after God’s own heart. He had faults and troubles and limitations. But one of the beautiful things about his life is that he was not too proud to hold out his hand for help.

6.      David is mentioned in the “heroes-of-faith” chapter (Hebrews 11). Beginning at verse 32, we read: “And what shall I more say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthah; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets: Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.” (Hebrews 11:32-34). These men of faith were divinely enabled to perform remarkable deeds beyond their own natural abilities. The Apostle Paul in his sermon at Pisidian Antioch recorded by Luke in Acts 13:36 summarized King David’s life using only nine words: he said [David] “…served the purpose of God in his own generation.” When you think about it that is a glowing testimonial coming from God himself.

I would challenge us all to apply these lessons from the life of David to our lives. To seek to emulate his good and godly traits, and to avoid the mistakes that David made.

Just one more thing… perhaps the most beautiful, powerful, and poignant of all the Psalms is Psalm 51. Turn there for just a moment. This is David’s prayer to the Lord right after he was confronted by Nathan, the prophet. This is David being totally honest with God, hiding nothing, making no excuses or attempts at justifying his sins against God and against men. This is David “unplugged” transparent before the Lord and before us. Let’s look at that Psalm for a moment.

Parents and Sons - 2021-10-03

 

“Parents and Sons”

“The Story” Series

1 Samuel 1-3

3 October 2021 

 INTRODUCTION:

There are two kinds of giants: those that are great, and those that are merely large. In English we use the word “giant” in both senses and rely on context to tell which meaning is intended. For example, we might say that Abraham Lincoln was a giant of a man. However, while taller than average, he was not physically large. Yet he was a giant in a more important sense—in character, conviction, and courage.

TRANSITION:

In the Bible we find both kinds of men. For example, Goliath was a giant, literally, and he came from a whole family of giants. They were all huge and extraordinarily strong. And Saul, the first king of Israel, although not technically a giant was “head and shoulders above every other man in Israel.” Evidently, he was very tall, of large stature, and devilishly handsome—every woman’s dreamboat. Unfortunately, however, he was not great in character, integrity, honesty, or good sense.

On the other hand, we learn that David was small in stature. He was the youngest of his family, the runt of the litter. Although he learned about warfare and became mighty in battle, it was not because of his physical size but because of his skill and his dependence upon God. He was not a giant in stature, but he became a great man.

Today we are going to investigate the life of a giant—one of my favourite characters in Scripture—the man Samuel. He was a special man for a special time. His birth was miraculous, a direct answer to prayer. From his earliest years his life was dedicated to God's service. He stood in the gap as the bridge between two great periods of Israel’s history—the time of the Judges, and the reign of the kings. In fact, he was the last of the Judges and the first of the prophets, and he was the prophet who anointed the first two kings of Israel.

However, we are at the same time going to look at another man, Eli the High Priest who was Samuel’s mentor for several years. He was not a giant. In fact, in contrast to Samuel’s mother, Hannah, who was a good and godly mother, Eli was one of the worst fathers in all of Scripture, and yet God, in His sovereignty, saw fit to place young Samuel under Eli’s authority and tutelage.

MAIN BODY:

Samuel was not perfect, but he was remarkable. He was good, and wise, and he loved and served God with all his heart. He had the ability to look deeply into a person’s soul and know what was going on in there. He had a heart for God and lived his life in a way to try and please and honour God in all that he did. He was fearless. He was not afraid to confront sin and call it by its real name. He was respected by men, honoured by God, and feared by those who chose to do evil. His life is worth studying, and worth emulating. Today I want us to look at the birth and first few years in the life of this giant of a man. But to understand Samuel, we must also understand his parents, especially his mother, Hannah.

The story of Samuel’s birth is familiar to many of us. It is recorded in the OT book of 1 Samuel, chapter 1. It is interesting to observe that very often the finger of God is seen very clearly in connection with the birth and early training of those who are to become His greatest agents—e.g., Moses, Samson, John the Baptist, and Jesus. Very often the family from which the great man is raised-up is among the obscurest and least distinguished of the country.

Samuel came from an interesting family. His father, Elkanah, was of the priestly line of Levi, meaning that Samuel was a Levite as well. You can read more about his family tree in 1 Chronicles 6:3ff. He grew up in the hill country near Shiloh, the place where the Tabernacle sat for many years until the Temple was built in Jerusalem.

His father had two wives—Hannah (meaning “grace”), and Peninnah (“pearl”). Hannah was his first wife, and Elkanah loved her very much, but she was barren and could not give him heirs, so he took a second wife, who was very fertile and bore him many sons and daughters. However, their home situation was hellish. Peninnah grew to despise Hannah, probably out of jealousy because Elkanah continued to show favour to Hannah even though she was barren. The biblical text says that because Hannah was Elkanah’s favourite wife, she received double portions of everything. Because of this, Peninnah tormented Hannah continually and verse 7 of our text says that this went on year after year.

Elkanah was a godly man and he loved Hannah dearly, but verse 6 tells us “…the Lord had closed her womb.” To be barren in Israel was a great shame, both for the woman as well as for the man, because it meant that their family line would be cut off with no one to carry on their family name and heritage. This undoubtedly bothered Elkanah, but for Hannah it was a daily torture as she saw other women with children and received their constant taunts because of her barrenness. She wanted to be a mother. The Bible tells us that in her great distress she constantly prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly. Yet her sorrow never turned to anger against God. She loved God, and she knew that He is faithful, and that He answers prayer.

If a single word can describe Hannah, I think it would have to be the characteristic of “HOLINESS.” Her unfailing devotion to God and her desire for a son led her to make a solemn vow to the Lord, recorded for us in 1 Samuel 1:11: “O Lord of Hosts, if Thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of Thy maidservant and remember me, and not forget Thy maidservant, but wilt give Thy maidservant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life.”

Having made this commitment, God gave her His peace, and so the Bible says, “…she went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.” Verse 19 says: “And the Lord remembered her, and it came about in due time, after Hannah had conceived, that she gave birth to a son; and she named him Samuel, saying, ‘Because I have asked him of the Lord.’” Indeed, Samuel’s name means, “asked of God.”

That child that Hannah dedicated to the Lord grew to become a godly prophet and one of the greatest men in all of Scripture. Chapter 2, verse 21 tells us that after the birth of Samuel God gave Hannah and Elkanah three more sons and two daughters, making 6 children in all. But Samuel, her firstborn, her miracle baby, was always special to Hannah. 

To this day, mainly because of the example of Hannah, parents bring their children to dedicate them to the Lord. My mother dedicated me to the Lord. I dedicated my three children to the Lord. Many of you have done the same thing. We know that children are a gift from God, loaned to us for a few short years to love and train and nurture, but they do not belong to us.

Hannah, in an act of holiness and devotion to God, gave Samuel back to the Lord, and just look what God did with him! What will God be pleased to do today if Christian parents give their children over to the Lord and raise them to know, love, honour, and serve Him, living out before their little watching eyes a life of consistent personal holiness?

Now this is where we need to switch gears and jump forward in time a bit. To pick up the context look at 1 Samuel 1:28. It says that Hannah left Samuel with Eli in Shiloh, “And he worshipped the Lord there.” Now look down at 2:11 – “But the boy ministered to the Lord before Eli the priest.” Even though Samuel was just a little boy he was serving the Lord and helping in the ministry.

The very next verse tells us about the nasty can of worms into which young Samuel was dropped. 1 Samuel 2:12 says, “Now the sons of Eli were worthless men; they did not know the LORD.” In Hebrew it is even worse. It says literally that they were “sons of Belial,” which is one of the names for Satan. God calls them “demon spawn, sons of the devil.” That’s bad!

How many times have you swept a problem under the carpet, only to have it become much worse? Maybe you thought the problem would go away by itself, or maybe you were too uncomfortable to confront it head on. Most of us try everything in our power to avoid confrontation. And nobody likes to be the bearer of bad news. In the workplace, delivering bad news (e.g., reprimanding, firing, demoting, or transferring someone) is one of the toughest jobs that managers face. So, often, they stall to avoid the issue rather than facing it.

One of the hardest things chaplains and police officers must do is notify family members of a person’s death or injury. It is a painful, unpleasant task. It is said the ancient Roman emperors sometimes executed the bearers of bad news they did not want to hear. We do not do that anymore, but the fear of sharing bad news still lingers with most of us.

Why are we so afraid of delivering bad news?

ü  We do not want to appear as the bad guy. On the job we do not want to be unpopular or thought of as a dictator.

ü  We tend to “awfulize,” that is, we think the confrontation will be worse than it really is.

ü  We avoid because we do not know how to handle conflict effectively.

It is bad enough for an adult to be called on to deliver bad news. But when a child must do it, it is especially painful. Samuel began his ministry in the house of the Lord in Shiloh as a little boy of 4-5 years of age. From that time on, Samuel lived in the courts of the tabernacle in Eli’s shadow, helping the old priest and learning from him.

Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, the high priest at Shiloh, were first mentioned back in 1:3 although nothing is said there about their character or reputation. However, here in 2:12-13 we start to get the lowdown on them. It says they were “worthless and did not know the Lord.” Neither did they follow the accepted protocols for priests. They were rude and ruthless and greedy. According to verses 15-16 when people would come to Shiloh to offer up their sacrifices Eli’s sons would use threats, extortion, and intimidation to get meat for their barbeque. Verse 2:17 sums up the situation: “Thus the sin of the young men was very great before the Lord, for the men despised the offering of the Lord.” This word “despise” does not mean to hate, but rather to underestimate, to look down on, or to think little of. They we guilty not only of the sins of greed and gluttony but also of treating the holy things of God with total disrespect. They just didn’t care.

Verse 18 tells us that one day young Samuel was “ministering before the Lord” wearing his little Junior Priest outfit. His mother, Hannah, kept him outfitted with clothes that she made herself. She would bring them to Shiloh each year when she and Elkanah would come to make their yearly sacrifice to the Lord and receive a blessing from Eli, the priest.

In verse 22 we learn that Eli was aware of the sins of his sons. He knew the awful things they were doing, how they were treating the people and how they were molesting the women who came to worship. He finally said something to them about it, but he did nothing to stop their sinful behaviours. Because of this fact, before God he was complicit in their sinning. As the High Priest he had the authority but because they were his own sons, flesh of his flesh, he failed to act. In so doing he chose them over God. He neglected his sacred duty perhaps out of fear of what they might do, or hoping to avoid a scandal, or hoping upon hope that they would listen to his warning and stop on their own. But he had the obligation to remove them immediately and punish them, but he chose to do nothing.

In verse 25 we see that Eli knew that his sons were sinning against the Lord, so he too was without excuse. It says that “the Lord desired to put them to death.” Maybe if Eli had acted earlier, years earlier, things would never have gotten to this point. We will never know.

God has His people in places where we would never look for them. Several times in Scripture God would send a nameless, unknown prophet to deliver a message. That is what happened here. In verses 27-36 we learn that God sent “a man of God” to deliver a message to Eli. It was a horrible message, frightening and sad, and it left no doubt what God had planned for the House of Eli.

Through His messenger God said to Eli in verse 29, “Why do you scorn My sacrifice and offering that I prescribed for My dwelling? Why do you honour your sons more than Me by fattening yourselves on the choice parts of every offering made by My people Israel?” You see God knew exactly what was going on. Apparently, Eli was getting some of that stolen meat himself (cf. “yourselves”). 

God said that He would “cut off” the descendants of Eli so that there would be none left. His line would be broken with nothing remaining. To put a fine point on it, in verse 34 God said, “And what happens to your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, will be a sign to you—they will both die on the same day.”  

Moving into chapter 3 we find Samuel again “ministering to the Lord before Eli.” Josephus, the Jewish/Roman historian, tells us that Samuel was approximately 12 years old at this point, so several years had passed since the prophecy at the end of chapter 2.

In 3:1 we get an interesting tidbit of information. It says, “And word from the Lord was rare (lit. precious) in those days, visions were infrequent.” Why do you think that was? I think it was because there were so few people in Israel who were walking in faith and obedience during that time that there were very few who were worthy to hear from God. Samuel was the exception, so he became God’s chosen instrument to carry God’s message. 

In the early morning before dawn God spoke to Samuel in an audible voice. Never having heard the Lord speak before Samuel thought that it must have been Eli who had called him, so he ran in and asked the old priest what he wanted. This happened three times and finally Eli realized that God was speaking to young Samuel, so he told him to respond next time saying, “Speak, LORD, for Thy servant is listening.” So, Samuel went back to his cot in the tabernacle near the Ark of the Covenant and he lay down waiting. 

Verse 10 says, “Then the LORD came and stood and called as at other times, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’ And Samuel said, ‘Speak, LORD, for Thy servant is listening.’”

At this point the LORD unloaded the message He had for Eli and his sons. The day of reckoning had finally come. Several years have passed since the warning was given by that unknown prophet and yet no changes were made, no sins were repented of and now it is too late. If Eli and his sons had heeded the warning and turned from their wicked ways and thrown themselves on the mercy of God, I believe that judgment could have been averted but now that ship had already sailed.

Verses 11-14: And the Lord said to Samuel: “See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make the ears of everyone who hears about it tingle. ¹² At that time I will carry out against Eli everything I spoke against his family—from beginning to end. ¹³ For I told him that I would judge his family forever because of the sin he knew about; his sons blasphemed God, and he failed to restrain them. ¹⁴ Therefore I swore to the house of Eli, ‘The guilt of Eli’s house will never be atoned for by sacrifice or offering.’”

The next day Samuel went about his duties hoping to avoid any awkward questions from Eli. But Eli was perceptive and asked Samuel directly what the LORD had said to him. So, Samuel unloaded his burden. Verse 18 says, “So, Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. And he [Eli] said, ‘It is the LORD; let Him do what seems good to Him.” Eli was too late smart. There is no remedy for what is to come. The LORD has spoken.

The divine sentence was carried out in short order as recorded in chapter 4. In a battle against the Philistines the army of Israel lost, the Ark of the Covenant was captured by the enemy, and Hophni and Phinehas were both killed, on the same day just as the LORD had said. A man of the tribe of Benjamin ran to Shiloh to carry the news. As he approached Eli, the old priest asked him how the battle had gone. Verse 17 says, The man who brought the news replied, “Israel fled before the Philistines, and the army has suffered heavy losses. Also, your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been captured.” ¹⁸ When he mentioned the Ark of God, Eli fell backward off his chair by the side of the gate. His neck was broken, and he died, for he was an old man, and he was heavy. He had led Israel forty years.

CONCLUSION:

So, as I draw this message to a close, I want to make a few brief observations about Hannah, Eli, and Samuel, in that order.

1. First, let’s look at Hannah, one of the best parents in the Bible.

·         Have you ever felt that God has dealt you a bad hand, that He has acted unfairly toward you?

·         Have you ever been tempted to yell at God and then walk away in bitterness and frustration?

·         Do you sometimes doubt that He hears you when you pray to Him?

·         Do you pray once then give up hope before the answer comes?

Hannah has much to teach us about endurance and about prevailing prayer and about sacrificial love for God. Out of the crucible of her pain and heartbreak eventually came great blessing, which spread outward to many people through her son, Samuel. Hannah, this godly woman with a mother’s heart, will stand out for time and eternity as a model of selfless, sacrificial love.

2. Secondly, I want us to look at Eli, without a doubt one of the worst parents in the Bible. God blessed him with two sons, two little boys to raise in the instruction and admonition of the Lord, but Eli failed miserably. Nothing is mentioned in the text of him having a wife, but he certainly had one. We know nothing about her. But God put the blame for Hophni and Phinehas squarely on Eli’s shoulders and God does not make mistakes. Now we all know of cases of godly people having rebellious children, but this story is much more than that. Because of Eli’s unwillingness to rein in his sons as they were growing up God held him responsible for their wickedness later in life. Does that seem fair to you? The Bible says that a father who loves his son will not spare the rod of correction. Love and discipline go hand in hand and apparently Eli did not love his sons enough to chase them off the road to destruction, so in the end he and they paid a terrible price for their gross wickedness.

3. But what can we say about Samuel? Samuel was indeed a choice servant of God. He was a man like no other in his time. He walked with the Lord. He trusted God, and he served Him with his whole heart, from his childhood through his old age.

Verses 19-21 sum up the evaluation of his character and ministry. “Thus, Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fail. ²⁰ All Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the Lord. ²¹ And the Lord appeared again at Shiloh, because the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the Lord.” So, the Lord was with Samuel, and He backed Samuel up, standing by him, and He revealed Himself to Samuel. I would draw your attention back to 3:1, which says, “And word from the Lord was rare (lit. precious) in those days, visions were infrequent.” Samuel was the exception because he had his ear attuned to the Lord’s voice, so God could easily speak to him. I think there is a message in that for us as well.