1 Samuel 3:18

1 Samuel 3:18

I. Notice first the history and fate of Eli. (1) Observe his amiability and kindness, shown in his readily retracting his opinion of Hannah and changing the language of uncharitable-ness into that of benediction. (2) Observe the piety of Eli. What meek submission is discernible in his exclamation when, through the instrumentality of Samuel, the destruction of himself and of his father's house was predicted! "It is the Lord; let Him do what seemeth Him good." (3) Eli was a good man, a pious man, but he was weak and indolent, and in consequence he did not discharge with vigour the duties of an office which he might have declined, and the emoluments of which he enjoyed, the further consequence being a great detriment to the public affairs of the Church and nation over which he presided. (4) For this Eli met with the punishment he deserved; he sacrificed his duty for the sake of peace, and notwithstanding his sacrifice he found trouble; his grey hairs were brought in sorrow to the grave.

II. Consider the early years of Samuel. (1) Samuel, young as he was, seems alone in Eli's house to have been conscientiously doing his duty, and among the revealed dealings of God with man we find this to have been a general rule, that God selected as His immediate agents persons who had been previously prepared by moral discipline for the work for which He designed them. (2) In this preparation of Samuel, although something depended on himself, yet in some things he was also dependent on others. It was Hannah who brought him to the house of the Lord when he was yet young. His piety, though an acquisition, was also an inheritance. He was supported by her prayers as well as his own; her precept and example had influence over him; he was indebted to Eli also. By our actions we help one another; by our prayers we are to help one another. No man liveth unto himself. Man, from his very birth, is linked to man.

W. F. Hook, Parish Sermons,p. 21.

References: 1 Samuel 3:19. J. Harrison, Christian World Pulpit,vol. xiv., p. 49; R. M. McCheyne, Additional Remains,p. 81. 1 Samuel 3:19. G. B. Ryley, Christian World Pulpit,vol. xiii., p. 185.