1 Samuel 2:27-35

Prophecy against Eli's wicked sons. 1 Samuel 2:27-35

27 And there came a man of God unto Eli, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Did I plainly appear unto the house of thy father, when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh's house?
28 And did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer upon mine altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me? and did I give unto the house of thy father all the offerings made by fire of the children of Israel?

29 Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice and at mine offering, which I have commanded in my habitation; and honorest thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people?

30 Wherefore the Lord God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the Lord saith, Be it far from me; for them that honor me I will honor, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.

31 Behold, the days come, that I will cut off thine arm, and the arm of thy father's house, that there shall not be an old man in thine house.
32 And thou shalt see an enemy in my habitation, in all the wealth which God shall give Israel: and there shall not be an old man in thine house for ever.

33 And the man of thine, whom I shall not cut off from mine altar, shall be to consume thine eyes, and to grieve thine heart: and all the increase of thine house shall die in the flower of their age.

34 And this shall be a sign unto thee, that shall come upon thy two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas; in one day they shall die both of them.

35 And I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in mine heart and in my mind: and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before mine anointed for ever.

36 And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left in thine house shall come and crouch to him for a piece of silver and a morsel of bread, and shall say, Put me, I pray thee, into one of the priests-' offices, that I may eat a piece of bread.

23.

Who was the man of God? 1 Samuel 2:27

Sometimes we labor under the false apprehension that only the men mentioned in the Scriptures are active in the service of God. In every age God has had a great host of people who do His bidding. Some of them are important enough to be mentioned by name; others are anonymous characters that move across the pages of the Scripture and fulfill their ministry without much recognition. Of such nature was this man of God who came to Eli and pronounced God's judgment upon Eli's house. He was an unnamed prophet, a servant of God.

24.

Was Eli's father in Egypt? 1 Samuel 2:27 b

Eli's father would have lived in the age of the judges. The period of Judges itself covers some three hundred years, and prior to this era was the time of Joshua. Moses preceded Joshua and led the people out of Egypt. The use of the word father in this verse must indicate that it refers to an ancestor. Levi was the son of Jacob, the founder of the tribe of which Eli was a member. God spoke to the Levites as they were in bondage in Egypt. He led these predecessors of Eli out of Egypt.

25.

Who was chosen to be priest in Israel? 1 Samuel 2:28

God chose the tribe of Levi to be the priestly tribe. He further selected his priests to be the descendants of Aaron. Aaron himself was the first high priest. Aaron had four sonsNadab, Abihu, Ithamar, and Eleazar. Two of the sonsNadab and Abihuwere killed when they offered strange fire before the Lord (Leviticus 10). All the priests were thus descended from Ithamar and Eleazar, the sons of Aaron. These were the men whom God chose to be his priests. Eli was out of this priestly family.

26.

How did Eli kick at God's sacrifices? 1 Samuel 2:29

Eli himself may not have rejected God's sacrifices. We have no record of his making a complaint or kicking about what was provided for him. His sons were the ones who abhorred the offerings of the Lord. Since Eli was the high priest, he was responsible for the conduct of all the priests. He was especially responsible for the conduct of his own sons, and he is blamed for what was going on in the priesthood.

27.

What judgment was passed upon the house of Eli? 1 Samuel 2:30-33

God did not mean that he would literally cut off Eli's arms (1 Samuel 2:31), but he meant that the line of Eli would not expand. This would be the end of Eli's house. Those who were not actually to die in the flower of their youth would be removed from the priesthood and caused to beg as poor people in the street. God had ordained that his priests would be supported through the tithes of the Israelites; but if the priests did not appreciate what He had done for them, He would put them out of their offices. They would then be wishing to have what they had rejected and would say put me I pray thee in one of the priest's offices that I may eat a piece of bread (1 Samuel 2:36).

28.

What sign did God give Eli that he would be removed from the priesthood? 1 Samuel 2:34

God told Eli that both his sons would die in the same day. This explains partly why Eli took so seriously the announcement of the loss of the Ark and the death of his two sons. He knew that this was the end of his house. God had said that these things would come to pass and gave him a token of their being fulfilled. When the thing transpired, Eli knew that God was fulfilling His word.

29.

Who was the faithful priest? 1 Samuel 2:35

Some people believe that this was Samuel, but it is taken to be a reference to the other line of the priesthood. When Solomon put down the attempted usurpation of Adonijah, he took Zadok out of the priest's office and put Abiathar in his office (1 Kings 2:35). Ezekiel makes reference to this change in the priesthood in his book (Ezekiel 44:15) and there is also a reference to it in 1 Chronicles 29:22. Samuel served as priest in the transition period. David had two priests (2 Samuel 8:17; 2 Samuel 20:23-26) while the change was being made; but the word of God was fulfilled eventually nonetheless.