The Pulpit Commentaries
1 Samuel 2:11-26
EXPOSITION
SAMUEL'S MINISTRATIONS AT SHILOH (1 Samuel 2:11-9).
The child did minister. Left by his parents at Shiloh, Samuel ministered unto the Lord; that is, certain duties were allotted him to perform suited to his age; but few at first, when he was but three years old, but increasing in importance as time went on; for the words refer to the whole period of his service, until Eli's death. At first Samuel would be but a scholar, for, as we have mentioned on 1 Samuel 1:21, there were, no doubt, regulations for the training of children devoted to the service of the sanctuary. The peculiarity about Samuel was that he was devoted for life, for possibly it was a not uncommon practice for young persons to receive some training at Shiloh; just as we find that Samuel himself subsequently gathered youths round him at Naioth in Ramah for educational purposes. Learning practically was confined to the priesthood, and we can scarcely imagine that the knowledge which Phinehas and the family of Aaron brought with them out of Egypt would be allowed to perish. Samuel certainly had himself received careful instruction (see on 1 Samuel 10:25), and this could scarcely have happened if the training of young persons had not been part of the priests' duties at Shiloh. This then explains why Samuel was brought to Eli at so tender an age, and why the charge of so young a child was undertaken without a murmur. Before Eli means under his general superintendence. Everything done at Shiloh was done before Eli, as being the chief ruler there.
Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial, i.e. worthless men (see on 1 Samuel 1:16). They knew not Jehovah. He had never been revealed to their consciences, and so his fear had no influence upon their lives. The next words, in 1 Samuel 2:13, are difficult, but lit. mean, "The legal right of the priests, towards, or as respects, the people." On this account the Vulgate and several commentators couple the sentence with what precedes: "they knew neither Jehovah, nor their own legal rights." But the word also in 1 Samuel 2:15 is incompatible with this rendering; for if what is mentioned there be illegal, so must also the practice be which is recorded here. But neither does custom give the sense; for the Hebrews has not priest's (sing.) as the A.V; but of the priests, of all priests generally, and not of Eli merely and his sons. The right translation is that given by the Sept; Syriac, and Chaldee, namely, "the due of the priests from the people," on which see Leviticus 7:31-3. In the original this is put absolutely "And as to the priests' due from the people, when," etc; but our language requires some insertion to make it read more smoothly. "And as to the due of the priests from the people, the manner of its exaction was as follows: When," etc. But besides the due and legal portion, which, nevertheless, they took in an illegal way, they demanded a part of the flesh reserved for the feast of the offerer, and to which they had absolutely no right (see Leviticus 8:31; 2 Chronicles 35:13).
The legal due of the priest was the right shoulder and the wave breast; but before he took them they were to be consecrated to God by the burning of the fat upon the altar (Le 1 Samuel 3:5; 1 Samuel 7:1, 34). It is worth observing that the people seem well acquainted with the words of the Law, and are indignant because the priests, its proper guardians, do not abide literally by them. This contempt of the Law distressed their religious susceptibilites, while the cupidity of Eli's sons offended their moral nature. And so men abhorred the offering of Jehovah. Lit. it is the minchah, the unbloody sacrifice, or meat offering, but it is put here forevery kind of sacrificial offering.
But Samuel ministered. While the misconduct of Eli's sons was thus bringing religion into contempt, and sapping the nation's morals, Samuel was advancing in years and piety, and was gaining that education which made him fit to retrieve the evil of their doings. He is still styled na'ar, a boy; for the word, according to the Rabbins, may be used up to fifteen years (1 Samuel 1:24). In the sense of servant there is no limit of age; and as it is the word translated "young men" in 1 Samuel 2:17, it probably means there not Eli's sons, but the servants by whose instrumentality their orders were actually carried out. Samuel's dress, an ephod of white linen, was probably that worn by the Levites in their ordinary ministrations; for the ephod of the priests was richer both in material and colour (Exodus 28:6-2). As being thus the simplest ministerial garment, it was apparently worn also by laymen when taking part in any religious service, as by David when he danced before the ark (2 Samuel 6:14).
His mother made him a little coat. The coat, meil, was worn by priests (Le 1 Samuel 8:7), by kings and their sons (1 Samuel 18:4), by prophets (ibid. 1 Samuel 28:14), and even by women (2 Samuel 13:18). It was an under garment of wool, woven throughout without seam, with holes for the head and arms, and reaching nearly to the ground: when used by women it had sleeves (ibid.). Under it they had a tunic or shirt fitting so closely that a man simply so clad was considered naked (1 Samuel 19:24), and over it priests and Levites wore the ephod, and so also David on the occasion mentioned above (1 Chronicles 15:27). The meil seems, moreover, to have often been a handsome dress, as that of the priests was of purple blue, with embroidery of pomegranates in three colours, and golden bells (Exodus 28:31-2); and when made of delicate materials for the use of the rich, it and the tunic are the soft luxurious clothing spoken of in Matthew 11:8. As the meal was the ordinary dress of all classes of people, it was made for Samuel at home, and can have no special meaning; but the ephod shows that he was brought up in the daffy practice of holy duties. This annual present, however, of clothing made by the mother's hands proves that the dedication of her son to God was not allowed to interfere with home affections, and both parents and child must have looked forward with joy to happy meetings at each recurrence of the family visit to the sanctuary.
The Lord give thee seed, etc. The manner in which Eli blesses Elkanah shows that this surrender of a very young child to religious service was not looked upon as imposing a burden upon the sanctuary, but as the bestowal of a valued gift. Loan and lent by no means give the whole sense, which is in fact beyond the power of our language to express; for the Hebrew is remarkable for its manner of saying a great deal in a few words, by using them indefinitely. Besides the sense, then, of lending the child to God, the Hebrews also conveys the idea of Samuel having been obtained by prayer, but by prayer for Jehovah. Hannah had not asked simply for a son, but for a son whom she might dedicate to God. And now Eli prays that Jehovah will give her children to be her own (see on 1 Samuel 1:28).
ELI'S COMPLICITY IN THE SINS OF HIS SONS (1 Samuel 2:22-9).
Eli … heard all that his sons did. To the profanity and greed described in 1 Samuel 2:12-9 the sons of Eli added unchastity; and their sin was the greater because the women whom they corrupted were those dedicated to religious service (see Exodus 38:8). The order of ministering women instituted by Moses probably lasted down to the destruction of the temple, and Anna may have belonged to it (Luke 2:37); afterwards it appeared again in a more spiritual form in the widows and deaconesses of the Christian Church. The word rendered assembled means "arranged in bands," and shows not merely that they were numerous, but that they had regular duties assigned them, and each one her proper place and office. The frequent sacrifices, with the feasts which followed, must have provided occupation for a large number of hands in the cleaning of the utensils and the cooking of the food. But though Eli heard of the depraved conduct of his sons in thus defiling those who ministered in the tabernacle, he gives them but the faintest rebuke, and that apparently only because their misdeeds were in everybody's mouth; for the last clause of 1 Samuel 2:23 really is, "For I hear of your evil doings from all this people." Eli's old age may have increased his indifference, but his religious character could never have had much depth or earnestness, to allow him to regard such heinous sins so lightly. It seems even as if he chiefly felt the annoyance occasioned to himself by the expostulations urged upon him "from all this people." Still all that he says is wise and thoughtful. The sins of men in high station do not end with themselves; they make others also to transgress. And as Eli's sons were Jehovah's ministers, and they had led into wickedness those who also were bound to holy service, their misconduct was a sin against Jehovah himself.
Ye make, etc. Eli's words are very obscure, but "Ye make Jehovah's people to transgress" is upon the whole the best rendering of the clause. Both the Sept. and Syriac have a different reading: "Ye make Jehovah's people cease to worship him" In the next verse there is no sufficient reason for supposing that Elohim, God, here means a judge. Elohim was the head of the theocracy, the ruler of Israel in all things, and he would set to rights these delinquencies of "one man against another" by the ordinary exercise of his judicial functions. So far all is easy, and we must translate, "If one man sin against another, God shall judge him." But in the last clause there is one of those plays upon words to which the Hebrew language, with its numerous conjugations, so readily lends itself (see on 1 Samuel 1:28); and it is rarely possible to transfer to another language the force of passages in which the sense depends upon the terms in the original having a double meaning. The verb rendered shall judge in the first clause is used again by Eli in the second, but in a different conjugation, in which its usual meaning is to pray. According to the lexicon, therefore, we must translate: "If a man sin against Jehovah, who shall pray for him?" But surely it was just the occasion in which the only remedy left was intercessory prayer. Bearing then in remembrance the use made by Eli of the verb in the first clause, we must translate: "Who shall act as judge for him?" "Who shall interpose as arbitrator between him and Jehovah to settle the quarrel?" The verb itself, moreover, is a rare and old-fashioned one, and apparently means to settle a dispute. So it is used of Phinehas, who by his righteous zeal put an end to the rebellion against God's laws; and accordingly in Psalms 106:30, where our version renders "executed judgment," the, Vulgate has placavit, appeased Jehovah's anger.
The sense then is, In case of wrong done between man and man, God as the supreme Arbitrator settles the dispute; but where the two parties are God and man, what third power is there which can interfere? The quarrel must go on to the bitter end, and God, who is your opponent, will also punish you. The same idea is found in Job 9:33. Naturally to so mild a remonstrance, and founded upon so low a view of the Divine nature, the sons of Eli paid but slight attention, and by thus hardening themselves in sin they made their punishment inevitable, "because it pleased Jehovah to slay them." Man can bring upon himself neither good nor evil except by the working of God's will, and the punishment of sin is as thoroughly a part of God's will as the rewarding of righteousness. An intense conviction of the personality of God was the very foundation of the religious life of the Israelites, and lies at the root of the words of Eli here and of those of Job; and it was this which made them ascribe to God that hardening of the wicked in sin which is the sure means of their punishment. We ascribe it to the working of natural laws, which after all is but saying the same thing in a round about way; for the laws of nature, in things moral as well as in the physical world, are the laws of God. In verse 26, in contrast with Eli's sons ripening for punishment, and daily more abhorred to God and man, we have Samuel set before us advancing in age and "in favour with Jehovah and also with men," like him of whom in so many respects he was a type (Luke 2:52), our blessed Lord.
HOMILETICS
Degenerate sons.
The facts given are—
1. Eli's sons manifest their extreme wickedness by profaning the worship of God.
2. As a consequence, a grievous scandal is caused, and Divine worship comes into disrepute.
3. In spite of many evil surroundings, Samuel grows up in the blameless discharge of religious duties.
4. Hannah continues to visit and take a deep interest in her son's spiritual life. The sorrowful experience of Eli in old age is sometimes repeated in modern times. Many a good man is bowed down even to the grave by the irreligion of sons of whom better things had been expected. No more painful condition can a father be in than when he scarcely dare name his children to those who ask after their welfare. The world and the Church look on with wonder and pain at the spectacle of vile children issuing from a pious home. The feeling of surprise with which men read of the family of the high priest of Israel becoming so utterly wicked is attended with the conviction that desperately bad youths ought never to issue from Christian homes. Such an event is contrary to all just expectations. The presumption that the offspring of pious parents would be holy is based on various considerations, which for the most part apply to the case of Eli.
1. There are various promises and statements to encourage the belief that the children of the pious will share in special mercies (e. g. Deuteronomy 30:2, Deuteronomy 30:6; Proverbs 22:6; Isaiah 44:7; Malachi 2:15; 1 Corinthians 7:14).
2. In so far as susceptibility to religious impressions is affected by inherited qualities, they have an advantage over others.
3. The means of grace, instruction, example, and prayer are more employed for them than for the majority.
4. The power of early habit, which plays so important a part in the formation of character, is likely to be on the side of godliness where religious influences early operate. The causes which account for the ungodliness of the children of the pious are diverse, intricate, and partly inscrutable. A broad margin must be left for the mysterious action of a free being, even under the most favourable conditions. It is not possible to trace the lines and say where parental responsibility ends and the responsibility of the child begins. The two factors are to be recognised. Moreover, anterior physical causes, operating perniciously through ancestors, may act detrimentally on the mental and moral condition. But allowing for these and other untraceable elements of the case, there are causes of this sad feature of domestic life—
I. IN THE CHILDREN. The natural depravity of the heart is a grave fact. It is the first foe to be encountered in seeking a child's salvation. Its subtle power is beyond all knowledge. There may not be the complications of wickedness which exist in the full-grown nature of the adult after years of developed sin, but the power is persistent and insinuating. Eli's children shared this tendency in common with others. The special propensities inherited are sometimes very strong, and seem to partake of the force of the old habits of the ancestors from whom they were derived. It is also a fact that where a malformation, or unequal development of the physical system, supervenes on the inheritance of special evil propensities, these latter gain immensely in force. A line of pious ancestors, as a rule, would guarantee freedom from such abnormal developments, because continuous piety tends to the symmetrical development of the entire man; but occasionally there are backward leaps in nature, and old elements reappear. Possibly some of Eli's blood relatives were not so good as they ought to have been. No doubt grace can subdue even the worst natures, but the elements referred to must be considered in connection with other causes.
II. IN THE TRAINING. It cannot be supposed that Eli was perfect in this respect. Few persons consider how much of care, of wisdom, of forethought, of yearning sympathy, of specific, well adapted guidance, and of prayer is involved in the "nurture and admonition" required in training children for God. There may be a fatal lack of faith in the very possibility of infant piety; an expectation that, as a matter of course, a child will grow up in sin till an age for conversion arrives; a cold, cruel casting of the spiritual welfare of a child on teachers, attendants, official aids—the parent, under pressure of business, declining to bear his offspring ever on his heart before God; or a lack of discretion in dealing with each soul according to its temperament. Absence of a mother's deep and tender interest tells most prejudicially. An unwise method of instilling religious truth; an assertion of mere authority in severe tones; a lack of discipline to check wrong tendencies; a constant appeal to a sense of fear; an avoidance of the essential truths of the gospel, or a low, grovelling representation of them, may create aversion, awake silent resistance, and finally set the entire nature against what is falsely supposed to be religion. Perhaps there is no department of religious obligation so little studied as this. The tender, susceptible nature of children cannot be safely treated without much thought and prayer. No wonder if the promise which hangs on a faithful discharge of most delicate and solemn duties carried on year by year should sometimes not be fulfilled. Parents have need to pray, "Search me and try me."
III. IN EXAMPLE. This is part of training, but, as exercising a perpetual and unconscious influence, it may be regarded as distinct from direct efforts. Children learn more of religion from what they observe in parents than by any other means. The life they see lived is their daily book of lessons. If it is selfish, hard, formal, worldly, no amount of verbal teaching or professed interest will avail. There is no surer encouragement for a child to despise all religion than a discovery of insincerity in the professions of a parent. Real character comes into clear view in the home, and those who, under influence of public considerations, restrain themselves in the world, but give freedom to unhallowed feelings in private, cannot wonder if children do not covet the piety they witness.
IV. IN ASSOCIATIONS. Associations out of the home circle, both in youth and early manhood, exercise much influence over character. It is not every youth that is solely formative on others. Most young people receive more from companions than they impart. The good of home may be largely neutralised by the tone of society outside the home. Eli's sons were not strong enough to counteract the evil tendencies of the age, and their father erred in not taking precautions adequate to the occasion. Probably one reason why the sons of good and eminent men sometimes become notoriously godless is, that the utter absorption of the parent in public affairs, albeit religious, gradually issues in alienation of sons from home interests and committal to friendships evil in tendency. The charm of novelty is powerful where home life is rendered dull through inattention to the tastes and enjoyments of the young, and hence consent is given to enticing sinners. If, in any instance, there are in operation causes, either singly or combined, of the nature referred to, it is inevitable that a home, though in some degree pious, should be distressed by the presence of ungodly sons. So far as man's conduct determines religion or irreligion in offspring, it would be contrary to the action of natural laws for pious sons to be the product of efforts inadequate to the end in view. If sons are godly in spite of errors and bad influence at home, it is because God in his mercy has brought other and more blessed influences to bear. Even defective training may be ultimately remedied by a more true use of prayer for mercy.
Great sinners.
The sons of Eli were the greatest sinners of their degenerate age. From the most favoured home the worst men came forth. All sin is a great evil. It is the curse of man, the abomination of God. In its essence it is rebellion against the All-wise and Holy One. For all lack of conformity to his will implies a will supposed to be a more desirable guide than his, which is insult and insubordination. But the Bible represents some sins as of deeper dye than others. There are beings deserving to be "beaten with many stripes." The tests by which the enormity of sins is estimated are, after reference of all to the perfect purity of God—
I. THE CHARACTER OF THE DEEDS. The deeds perpetrated by the sons of Eli were of the vilest kind. In themselves they were calculated to awaken the intensest disgust and abhorrence of every pure and reverent mind. It is hard to conceive how men blessed with early privileges could sink so low, were it not that modern Christian times have produced the darkest sins in the professedly religious. The sins of open profanation of the sanctuary, of despite to the solemn sacrifice, of pollution in guiltiest lust, were but the outward expression of a state of soul foul, reckless, defiant beyond all description. So, generally, the dark, horrid deeds on which men look are but the indicators of a very hell of iniquity deep down in the soul. There are—
II. THE PRIVILEGES ENJOYED. It added guilt to the sin of the young men that they were the sons of the priest of God. It is a grave responsibility to be born of parents endued with any degree of piety. Especially are they under strong obligation to avoid sin who are, by virtue of their connection with the ordinances of worship, taught out of the law of the Lord, and surrounded by the hallowed influences of the sanctuary. Every wise book read, every kind influence exercised, every prayer offered in public, or by parents at home, gives additional light and power wherewith to avoid the paths of sin. It requires a long and hard inward struggle to keep down conscience so as to become a desperate sinner. Men do not sink to lowest depths of vice suddenly. Every successive step is taken against clear light and restraining powers, and when the final surrender to guilty deeds is made, the whole privileges of the past speak out the greatness of the evil. The poor idolater ignorantly causing his sons to pass through the fire to Moloch is less' guilty than the sons of Israel's high priest, when, crushing every sacred feeling, they turn from all the light of years to profane the sanctuary by violence and lust. Sodom was vile, but decorous Capernaum viler. The sin of despising a holier Sacrifice than of bulls and lambs is often committed by men blessed with faithful teaching.
III. THE POSITION OCCUPIED. To the eye of the Hebrew the office of priest was most sacred. The reverence cherished for the office was transferred in some degree to the person who filled it. Hence, perhaps, the patience and submission with which the worshippers endured the greed and violence of the guilty sons of Eli. In itself, being a consecration of life to the holiest of employments, and considered, also, as a type of the one perfect Priesthood, there was solid reason for the common sentiment. No position is morally higher than that of him who stands between man and God for the performance of most solemn duties. Hence in all ages it has been recognised that the ministers of the sanctuary, whether priests, as anciently, or pastors and teachers, do exercise an influence which, while increasing the force of goodness, also aggravates their guilt when sin is committed. Power, when used sinfully, means magnified sin. A professed Christian sinks relatively very low when he does what other men do. A pastor by one act may come under a condemnation from which on earth he will never recover. A judge who sells justice is the most despised of men. A statesman who barters truth and peace for personal greed is worse than a common forger. Holiness is to be loved and sought for its own sake, yet it is helpful to ask, "What manner of persons ought we to be," who stand out in society as rulers, magistrates, pastors, teachers, parents? If the ordinary sinner cannot escape the swift judgment of God, where shall they appear who by virtue of exalted position become intensely and grievously sinful when they sin?
IV. THE NATURE OF THE EFFECTS. Some sins, like the falling of heavy bodies in still water, produce wider and more violent effects than do others. The effect is always pernicious, but when prominent men and professed servants of God sin, the consequences are painfully and conspicuously injurious. The sons of Eli by their crimes not only debased their own nature and fell to lower depths of shame, but they brought the holiest services into disrepute, alienated from the sanctuary the feelings of the people, caused intense anguish in the minds of the pious Jews, gave encouragement to wicked men more freely to transgress, and thus did more than others could do to exterminate morality and religion from the land. It is a serious question forevery one, and especially ministers and all persons in positions of influence, how far the neglect of religion by multitudes is the natural effect of their own short comings. It is a mark of a great sinner when, by reason of his conduct, the "wicked blaspheme.'' Also, our Lord has branded those as great sinners who wantonly cause offence to "one" of his "little ones." If scepticism and antagonism to Christianity are most lamentable evils, it is a matter of grave consideration how far the presence of these evils is due to the formality, the greed, the gross inconsistencies of those professing to exhibit and love the religion of Christ. It behoves all to see to it that they lift up "holy hands," and speak a "pure language." Otherwise the terrible woes pronounced by the Saviour over would be religious men may find an application to modern great sinners. Arising from this subject we may notice certain
Practical lessons.—
1. The extreme importance of every one forming, by the aid of Scripture and of conscience, a proper estimate of the responsibility of his position as a professed Christian, a parent, a minister of the gospel, a teacher, or civil ruler.
2. The possibility of undergoing a process of spiritual decay by which the finer sensibilities of earlier days shall become almost annihilated, and deeds be done with impunity which once were most abhorrent.
3. The need of frequent self-examination, to ascertain whether the elements of religious degeneracy may be unconsciously at work in the soul; the more so as it is characteristic of spiritual declension to make us blind to the fact of declension.
4. The necessity of much prayer, lest, trusting to early privileges and official services, the elements of decay should enter the spiritual life, and, consequently, the duties of self-scrutiny and watchfulness be shunned.
Youthful piety.
It is not without significance that the sacred historian breaks the thread of his ordinary narrative by frequent references to the child Samuel (1 Samuel 2:11, 1Sa 2:18, 1 Samuel 2:21, 1 Samuel 2:26; cf. 1 Samuel 3:1, 1 Samuel 3:18). The contrast with ungodly priests is striking. "But Samuel ministered before the Lord, being a child." "The child was young." "The child grew before the Lord." Beautiful progression! "Following on" to "know the Lord." "The path of the just" grows brighter. Here in face of evil is the "perseverance of the saints." The case of Samuel may be regarded as a typical instance of youthful piety. The frequent allusions to him, combined with the tenor of his subsequent life, go to prove that he was a religious child from earliest days. Humanly his piety was the product of his mother's intense earnestness. Hannah had faith to believe that a child may be God's from the very dawn of life. In essential features his piety was the same as that of all God's people. There were special reasons for its assuming the form it did in that entire and early separation from home.
1. A mother's prevision had respect to a new and higher office to be created and duly authenticated.
2. Extraordinary preparation was needful for the great work to be finally entered on, and such as separation to the hallowed service of the sanctuary would secure.
3. The mother could thus evince her freedom from mere selfish gratification in seeking a child from the Lord, and at the same time do all within her power to advance the coming kingdom.
4. There was a secret providence in this preparing the way for the first great step in the reformation of the people, namely, the authoritative announcement of national disaster (1 Samuel 3:11, 1 Samuel 3:20). Taking, then, Samuel's as an instance of typical youthful piety, we may notice—
I. That YOUTHFUL PIETY IS A POSSIBILITY. Evidently it was in Samuel's case. Since all children are psychologically alike; are born under the same covenanted mercies; and are, therefore, open to the same Divine regenerating influence, the position might be considered as established. But the Church has been slow to believe the truth; and much of the nurture of families seems to proceed on the supposition that, as a rule, at least early manhood must be reached ere piety be regarded as trustworthy. The causes of this unfortunate distrust of child piety are varied. They may be indicated as—
1. The habit of estimating all piety by the forms and manifestations appropriate to adult life, which habit is based on—
2. A misconception of what constitutes the essence of all true religion.
3. The long continued neglect of the Church, as a consequence of this misconception, issuing in a scarcity of youthful piety.
But the possibility of it is seen in—
1. The nature of a child being capable of the essentials of true piety. In Samuel, and so in every child, there was a capability of recognising the Great Unseen and Holy One; of cherishing pure love for the living, ever present Friend; of trusting on Almighty care with an unusual absoluteness; of learning the truth concerning the works and ways of God, both by witnessing and sharing in acts of worship, and listening to special instruction; and of obedience to a sovereign Will. Indeed, in some respects the nature of a child, being free from the carking cares of life and the unhappy suspicions of mature years, is much more susceptible of holy, elevating influences than is that of men.
2. The remarkable welcome to children given by Christ. The child Samuel was welcome in the house of Jehowth. He "grew up before the Lord," and was in "favour with God." Thus in his case we see a beautiful congruity with, and may we not say prophetic of, the loving welcome given later on by the blessed Saviour himself, in terms never to be forgotten. Possibly some officious priests might deem the presence of the child clad in sacred ephod an innovation and a nuisance in the tabernacle, just as some in excessive but erring zeal would not have Christ troubled with little ones who could not be supposed to understand his profound teaching. The only recorded instance of Christ being "much displeased" is when it was supposed that he was indifferent to the spiritual condition of little children.
3. The harmony of Hannah's conduct and Samuel's piety with the general tone of Scripture. Hannah both consecrated and nurtured her son for the Lord, thus exemplifying the precepts, "Train up a child in the way he should go," "Bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord," and also illustrating the just expectation of the apostle, who seemed to take for granted that pious parents rightly conforming to all their covenanted duties and privileges would have "holy" children (1 Corinthians 7:14).
II. That YOUTHFUL PIETY IS VERY DEPENDENT ON CAREFUL NURTURE. All religion needs culture. It is the most delicate as also the most precious of our treasures. The production of piety in children, though of God, as the Source of all grace, is intimately connected with the prayers and faith of parents. Hannah travailed in spirit for a holy child long before Samuel was born, and the succeeding nurture was only an expression of the same earnestness. There is no warrant to think that the world would have been blessed with a pious Samuel apart from the deep piety of a Hannah; and so the presence and growth of piety in our children rests with the Church of God. The very condition of children in a sinful world suggests a care on their behalf most wise, tender, and constant. The elements of true nurture are seen in Hannah's care of Samuel. There was—
1. The one and perpetual devotement of the child to the Lord—the absolute giving up to the grace of God with a faith that would take no denial. This act was repeated in spirit day by day for years. When leaving him in Shiloh; when silently bowing before God at home; when engaged in making the little ephod; when refitting it, as year by year he grew: when with joyous heart visiting Shiloh at the annual festivals—the mother carried Samuel on her heart before God, and gave him up to be blessed. This is what mothers can ever do for their loved ones, and they sorely need such care in this sinful world.
2. The impressive teaching imparted. Surely Samuel was not placed in the house of the Lord without much teaching suited to his capacity as to the holy life he was to live. It is something to make a child believe that he is the Lord's, to see the beauty and joy of being given up to his service. With exquisite delicacy did Hannah teach her son that he must forever be holy. The girding with the ephod meant to him, "Thou art a servant of God, a child of the sanctuary, thou canst not do any unworthy deeds or speak unholy words. Remember thou belongest to the Lord, my son." Happy they who know the art of showing their sons the beauty of holiness, and the manner of persons they ought ever to be.
3. Association with the sanctuary. The hallowed associations of the house of God exercised power over the tender child; and so the principle is set forth that in our nurture of youthful piety we must seek to encourage a love for the worship of the Lord and of all pertaining to his service. It is a great gain when our youth can rejoice in the Sabbath services, feel that in the sanctuary they have a much loved spiritual home.
4. Engagement in useful religious work. It was a wise choice of this mother to divert the child's attention from the evil habits of the age by absorption in works suited to his little powers, and under the immediate eye of a venerable man of God. Whatever love to God may dwell in the heart of a child is strengthened and guarded by being exercised in deeds pertaining to his service. And the service of God is very wide and varied. There are many ways in which youthful piety may be exercised. Let children be caused to feel that they by life, by simple prayers, and by sympathy can bless the sorrowing world, and their piety will grow and the world will be enriched. The momentous interests involved in the presence or absence of youthful piety should awaken deep concern on several
Practical questions:—
1. To what extent does it prevail in Church and home?
2. How far the lack of early piety is due to parental neglect, erroneous views, defective Church organisations, or unhealthy literature?
3. In what form can the existing piety of children be more utilised for their own benefit and for the good of the world?
4. How is it possible to render the services of the sanctuary more interesting and helpful to the young?
5. How can the missing link between the youthful and more mature piety of the Church be restored?
6. By what means can Christian parents be led to manifest an all-absorbing concern for the development of piety in their offspring?
7. What would be the effect on the ultimate conversion of the world if the Church could be so wrought upon to exercise faith in the possibility of early piety as to save the need of employing agencies to convert in adult age any who have passed through its hands?
Faith's symbols.
Judged by the customs of the age, it was a daring thing for Hannah to clothe her child with the ephod, the every day robe of the priest, seeing that her son was only a Levite (1Ch 6:19, 1 Chronicles 6:23; cf. Exodus 39:27; 1 Samuel 22:18). She clearly intended him to be invested with the prerogatives of the priest. The holy daring went further in her making for him the "little coat," which properly was part of the dress of the high priest, and sometimes of princes and nobles. The act is in perfect keeping with the first deed of consecration, and with the tenor of the inspired song. To her prophetic vision this child was from birth ordained to be an extraordinary servant of God, for the reformation of that age and the advancement of that kingdom the glories of which she saw afar. It is not likely that a woman of such strong and exalted hope would be ready to speak out in detail what was in her heart, and yet the force of her faith would demand adequate expression. Some natures are not demonstrative by words, but prefer silent acts to both indicate their thoughts and to nourish their faith and hope. Therefore the clothing of Samuel with the pure "ephod" and the "little coat" was the creation of permanent symbols of faith for his instruction and impressment, and her own satisfaction and support. It is not for mere notice of casual incident that the sacred writer refers to the event, but evidently to set forth valuable truth.
I. FAITH SEES GERMS OF FUTURE GOOD WHERE UNBELIEF WOULD SEE NOTHING. It is probable that neighbours reflected on the eccentric conduct of the mother who so unnecessarily parted with her child. To them he was as other children. The spiritual travail of his birth was hidden from them. But Hannah, being in sympathy with God's merciful purposes to mankind, saw in her son the man of the future, the defender of the faith, the restorer of pure worship, the consecrated spirit which has spiritual right to do priestly work, and it was rest to her soul to express this faith not by words which might be contradicted, but by a solemn act full of instruction to the child, and a permanent record of what she knew would be. So is it ever. The eye of faith sees in the infant Church of God the promise of a "glorious Church." Simeon saw in a babe the "Salvation" of God. A few poor men saw in the "Man of sorrows" the coming "King of glory." The true believer now sees in the occasional triumphs of the gospel the earnest of a world's subjugation to Christ.
II. FAITH HOLDS MORE THAN CAN BE PUT INTO WORDS. There was no one to whom Hannah could unfold in words all that was grasped by her faith. To her the presence of this holy child in the house of God, serving him in the minor details of daily routine, was virtually the realisation of the prophet's office, and the enhancement of Messiah's glory. "Faith is the substance of things hoped for." The essential reality of the remote is already in the heart. The future is as though it were present. Prevision and accomplishment become subjectively one. This holy mysticism of the highest spiritual life is foolishness to the unspiritual, but, is a profound and blessed fact in the experience of the true children of God. God s word given is as good as fulfilled, and the soul finds more in the consciousness of this truth than can ever be indicated in language. There is always a vast reserve of religious feeling that can never find expression. Life is more than the forms of life. The "ephod" and "little robe," and the annual visits to the child, were outward signs—symbolical forms—of a something which was too great for utterance. They were the shadows of a great reality too sacred, too rich, too varied in its issues to be set forth in ordinary terms. So likewise our faith holds a Christ more glorious and precious than any terms can utter. He is "formed in the heart." He is the "unspeakable gift." Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor heart conceived what is grasped by the Christian's faith as an ever present treasure. Human speech, in prose or song, falls below the soul's sense of blessedness in Christ.
III. FAITH IS VENTURESOME IN ADOPTING FORMS OF EXPRESSING ITSELF. Holding converse with realities which lie beyond the ordinary mind, it deviates from routine, and carves out new and rare modes of indicating its existence. Hannah could not rest content with telling Elkanah, Eli, and Samuel, in casual conversation and fleeting words, what she knew this ministering child was to be in days to come, and what she knew of the coming kingdom. Jacob made a coat of many colours to gratify a questionable feeling of partiality. Jochebed made a covering of bulrushes to save a precious life, possibly with a trust in a wise Providence. But Hannah had a faith in God, in the revival of religion, in the Messiah's glory, which not only sought vent for itself, but dared to create new and, to the eye of man, questionable forms of expression. Persistently, year by year, as the sacred ephod required readjustment to varying stature, did the faith reassert itself in every stitch and every trial of approval. Innovation it might be, but it was true to faith, and faith loves reality, and seeks congruity between itself and its outward forms. The apostle writing to the Hebrews on the triumphs of faith recognises its heroism, its superiority to conventional forms, its intense energy in asserting itself (Hebrews 11:1.). There are modern instances of the same holy daring. Symbolism may, like other things, sometimes be the resort of weak minds and superstitious tendencies, yet it may be a legitimate outgrowth of strong faith. The stately sanctuary; the hushed feeling in listening to the word of God; the surrender of fortune to the propagation of the gospel; the adoption of righteous usages against the current of opinion and custom, are only some of the symbols of a faith that longs and dares to indicate its presence. As feelings grow in power when exercised, so faith nourishes itself by fit permanent expressions, especially when in some bold and truthful deed.
Practical considerations.—
1. How far the faith of these times is a reality as distinguished from a formal consent to what is commonly believed.
2. Whether the Church of Christ sufficiently lays hold of the fruition of all future toil in the acquired results of present toil. 3 To what extent the individuality of a powerful religious life proves itself by deeds of daring devotion.
4. The distinction to be drawn between a safe or unsafe symbolism in stated forms of worship, and the natural spontaneous symbolism of an energetic personal faith.
5. The possibility of a masterful faith in degenerate times, rightfully deviating from established practices, and being used by God as preliminary to great reformations.
Solid character.
The facts are—
1. Eli forms a favourable estimate of the conduct and character of Elkanah and Hannah.
2. God enriches them with several children.
3. Samuel advances in years and gains in repute.
4. The sons of Eli, becoming more dissolute, are rebuked by their father. Time had gradually brought out to the view of Eli the solid character of Elkanah and his wife. Their regular attendance on worship at the appointed seasons, and their reverent spirit, were in striking contrast with the degenerate habits with which Eli was too familiar. Their quiet, unassuming conduct harmonised with Hannah's early professions of piety, and the child which they had presented to assist Eli in his ministrations had fully answered his expectations. Here, then, we have solid character:—
I. APPRECIATED BY MAN. The opportunities given through a succession of years had enabled Eli to form a favourable estimate of these obscure dwellers on Mount Ephraim. He was the more glad to give them his priestly benediction because of the rash words with which he once (1 Samuel 1:13, 1 Samuel 1:14) wounded a "sorrowful spirit." It is a blessed thing to enjoy the approval of the good. A good name is a precious treasure. There is a sweet reward for years of toil, and possibly under misapprehension and neglect, in being at last fairly appreciated for what one is and has done. Although there are proud ungodly men who will despise the godly poor, yet the conditions of character being appreciated by the better sections of society are within the reach of the most lowly. These conditions are—
1. Constancy in the discharge of religious duties. Observance year by year of public worship and of all the ordinances of God is a good sign of a religious spirit. Eli was not wrong in supposing that there must be solid worth in a family that kept to the ways of the Lord when so many neglected religious duties. A man cannot claim a reputation by asking for it. The testimony of faithfulness in religious worship is admitted by all. Fluctuations in religious zeal always awaken distrust. Constancy is an element always honoured.
2. Manifestation of an unostentatious spirit. This must have impressed Eli very strongly. The quiet, unpretending spirit of the Levite and his wife gained on the venerable man year by year. And so always the quiet, even tenor of life tells an irresistible story. All sensible men shrink from the egotism and ostentation which sometimes assume the garb of religion. The proper thing for all is an earnest, lowly mind, more concerned with quietly doing what is right and pleasing to God than with making an impression on man. Those who think much of what men will say and think, and make corresponding demonstrations of zeal, are sure to fall into the snare of "eye service." Like the steady influence of light and dew, quiet goodness at home and in the Church and world is a real power. There are thousands of such lives in Christian homes.
3. Self-denial in God's service. Though Hannah's joy in giving her heart to God took off the edge of self-denial, yet Eli could not but be deeply impressed with the unusual self-sacrifice of both husband and wife. The true religious spirit of a man comes out in spontaneous offerings to the efficiency of the services of the sanctuary and the advancement of Christ's kingdom. Character expressed in free, unconstrained surrender of money, or time, or sons for religious purposes cannot but be appreciated. It is in the power of all to perform some acts of self-denial for God, and apart from such acts, no professions will establish a reputation in the true Church of God. The intrinsic value of self-denial lies much in its freeness, its timeliness, its form. The surrender of a Samuel at such a time, in such a spirit, is an example to all ages. Are there no other Hannahs? Is all the "precious ointment" of the Christian Church exhausted?
II. HONOURED BY GOD. God does not save by virtue of human merit, but through Christ; yet he honours fidelity by his special favour and greater blessing. Hannah had been honoured variously; e.g. in being heard, in having a son according to promise, in being permitted to consecrate him to the special service of God, in receiving grace to part with him from home if not from heart, and in being enabled to enjoy a blessed vision of One greater and more holy than Samuel. But the fidelity wherewith she and her husband had, during the period covered, served God in home and in public life, as also by the general tenor of their lives, was crowned with a great increase of domestic joy. The home of Hannah emptied for God became full The surrendered child was returned in fivefold form. The long, pining years of early life were followed by old age of blessed satisfaction. Thus do all ages show that "there is that scattereth and yet increaseth." "I sent you forth;" "lacked ye anything'?" There is a promise of a "hundredfold" for all that has been forsaken for Christ. In one way or another God will prove that he is not unrighteous to forget the work of faith and labour of love. "Them that honour me I will honour."
Practical lessons:—
1. Let the lowly be patient in their endeavour to follow out the light they enjoy in worship and in service.
2. Many individuals and families can win for themselves the precious treasure of human and Divine favour, even though the wealth and fame coveted in the world fall not to their lot.
3. The multiplication of quiet, unostentatious religious characters is an end earnestly to be sought, as adding in every sense to the welfare of the world.
4. The severity of our trials in the cause of Christ, if entered into rightly, is sure to be crowned with blessing.
Abandoned.
The facts are—
1. Eli in advancing years hears of the abominable deeds of his sons.
2. He remonstrates with them, pointing out the con sequences of their conduct.
3. Heedless of the warning, they persist in sin, being abandoned by God. The narrative of the sacred historian seems to take in two extremes—two elements working on in moral antagonism till the one passes away and the other becomes ascendant. The abominations and profanations of Eli's sons, and Samuel's purity and entire devotion to God, are placed in striking contrast. The history of the former is sketched as explaining the course of Providence in the deliverance wrought by Samuel's subsequent conduct. The stage in the course of the dissolute priests here indicated brings into view—
I. FEARFUL PROGRESSION IN SIN. The iniquity of years culminates in the most abominable crimes men could commit. The descent to shamelessness and utter corruption becomes very rapid. One can hardly imagine these vile sons of Belial as once having been gentle youths taught to revere Jehovah's name, and to tread his courts with awe. The momentum gained by evil desires when once let loose is among the most fearful features of human experience. It is the same sad story as often told now to the hearts of wailing parents:—disobedience,. aversion to holy things, formal observances, secret associations of evil, seared conscience, loss of self-respect, profanation of sacred places, contempt for religion, self-abandonment to lust, defiance of God. What tears fall to earth nightly over erring ones! What blasted hopes lie on life's pathway! What cruel triumphs of sin over all that is fair and strong in human nature! Holy Saviour, many of thy followers share in thy tears once shed over sin finished in righteous doom! (James 1:15). When, when shall the mighty power come in answer to the cry of try Church to turn back the tide of woe, and drive the curse from the heart and home of man? "How long, O Lord, how long?"
II. DEFECTIVE DISCIPLINE. No doubt Eli, as a good man, deplored the vices of the age, and above all the crimes of his sons, and he performed a father's part in remonstrating with them on account of their deeds, warning them of the dangers to which they were exposed at the hand of the invisible Judge. But the day for warning and remonstrance was past, and the day for swift, unsparing punishment had come. As judge in civil capacity, and as high priest in spiritual capacity, the course of Eli was clear—immediate banishment from office and capital punishment (Le 1 Samuel 18:6, 1 Samuel 18:20, 1Sa 18:29; 1 Samuel 20:10; 1 Samuel 21:6, 1 Samuel 21:7, 17, 23). We see how a man good in many respects, may recognise duty and not perform it. Eli knew that the sin of contempt for the ordinance of sacrifice, utter disregard of the honour due to God, prostitution of the holiest office to the vilest uses, was past condoning, past covering even by sacrifice. For God, as Eli puts it, makes no provision to pardon and save those who wantonly scorn the means of pardon and salvation. No sacrifice l no intercessor! Yet the appointed judge in Israel is content with a bare declaration of truth, refraining from an exercise of the powers wherewith he is invested for the vindication of justice and the maintenance of order. Moral weakness was the sin of Eli. The imperious claims of God, of public welfare, of religious purity, appealed to the sense of duty in vain, because of some personal sentiment or lack of resolution. Cases often arise in national affairs, Church discipline, home life, where duty comes into collision with private sentiments and personal affection. Sometimes, as with Nathan in accusing David, and Ambrose in placing Theodosius under the ban, moral strength is conspicuous. Often, as with Eli, Jonah, and David in one instance, sense of duty yields to inferior impulses. True moral courage is a quality of high order. It confers great honour on those in whom it appears, and is a most important element in securing the welfare of the individual, the home, and the public. Its presence in most perfect Christian form may be ascribed to the combination of various elements.
(a) A natural sense of justice—a psychological condition in which moral perceptions have more prompt influence than transitory emotions.
(b) A careful culture of the conscience through early years, and in relation to the minutiae of life.
(c) Intelligent faith in the inviolability of moral law.
(d) Formation of the habit of immediate submission to moral dictates, on the general principle that in morals first thoughts are truest.
(e) Strength of will to endure present suffering, as not being the worst of evils.
(f) A nature brought fully under the quickening influence of practical Christianity, as consisting in radical renewal, obedience to the precepts of Christ, fellowship with a holy God, and perpetual aspiration after holiness. There are instances still in which failure in moral courage is the one great blot on an otherwise excellent life. Where such occur sin flourishes, and the righteous mourn. The severe hand of justice is frequently the hand of true kindness. Favouritism and subordination of righteousness to personal ends, in public and domestic life, cause iniquity to abound, and sooner or later these will be visited by the judgment of God.
III. DIVINE ABANDONMENT. The sons of Eli were given up by God to their deserved doom. They heeded not remonstrance, for they had gone so far into sin as to be left destitute of that gracious influence from God, without which the soul is held fast in the cords of its iniquity. The outward fact of despising the father's warning was evidence to the historian that God had judicially abandoned them. "They hearkened not, because the Lord would slay. them." The solemn truth is clear that men may persist in sin so utterly as to be given up by God without mercy to all its consequences.
1. The evidence of this is full.
(a) Men are sometimes smitten with death as a consequence of persistent sin, as in case of Sodom, and the rebellion of Korah, all means of repentance being judicially cut off.
(b) The New Testament references to the sin against the Holy Ghost, and the apostasy of counting the blood of Christ an "unclean thing."
(c) The fact that at the end of life the impenitent are given over to look for "tribulation and anguish."
2. The rationale of this is partly discoverable. It is not mere arbitrariness, nor is it the effect of imperfect benevolence.
(a) It is consonant with the working of natural law. Physiology and psychology prove that there is a tendency to permanence of character in all. This is especially true of those who persist in strong unhallowed desires.
(b) There are transgressions even in society which admit of no restoration to society.
(c) In a wise and endlessly ramified moral government which rests on an eternal right, there can be no proof that a moral Ruler, whose existence is bound up with right and order, is obliged to cover the past of free beings who have deliberately persisted in evil, by giving them a new power which shall make them different from what they prefer to be.
(d) The judicial abandonment of the intensely sinful acts as a wholesome deterrent on the moral universe, by vindicating the holiness of God, and the claim of universal society on the pure, loving life of each of its constituents, and this too while giving to free beings only what they prefer.
Practical lessons:—
1. The importance of guarding against first tendencies to deviate from the path of purity and truth.
2. The value of early habits of devotion, regard for right and purity, as a preventive of habits of a reverse character.
3. The extreme danger to the Church of a professional religion in alliance with a tendency to sensual indulgence, and the need of watching closely against such a possible combination.
4. The value of an early training of. the moral sense, and its constant culture, as against the inferior elements of our life.
5. The use of the lessons of history, as illustrating the terrible power of sin, and the damage done to society and the Church by defective discipline.
HOMILIES BY B. DALE
1 Samuel 2:11. (SHILOH.)
Samuel's childhood and. growth.
"And the child did minister unto the Lord before Eli the priest." "And the child Samuel grew on, and was in favour both with the Lord, and also with men" (1 Samuel 2:26). (1 Samuel 1:24; 1 Samuel 2:18, 1Sa 2:19, 1 Samuel 2:21; 1 Samuel 3:1.) "Great is the reverence due to children." It is said of an eccentric schoolmaster in Germany, who lived about 300 years ago, John Trebonius, that he never appeared before his boys without taking off his hat and bowing very humbly before them. "Who can tell," said he, "what may not rise up amid these youths? There may be among them those who shall be learned doctors, sage legislators, nay, princes of the empire." Even then there was among them "the solitary monk that shook the world." But a much greater than Luther (with whom he has been compared—Ewald) was the little Nazarite, who with unshorn locks ministered in the tabernacle at Shiloh; and at a very early age he gave signs of his future eminence. "Even a child is known by his doings" (Proverbs 20:11). "The child is father to the man." But what he will be depends greatly on his early training; for "the new vessel takes a lasting tincture from the liquor which is first poured in" (Horace); "the soft clay is easily fashioned into what form you please" (Persius); and "the young plant may be bent with a gentle hand, and the characters engraved on the tender bark grow deeper with the advancing tree" (Quinctilian). Consider—
I. HIS EDUCATION, or the influences to which he was subject, consisting of—
1. Impressions under the parental roof. He did not leave his home at an age too early to prevent his receiving deep and permanent impressions from the example, prayers, and instructions of his parents. His destination would be explained to him by his mother, and made attractive and desirable; so that when the time came for the fulfilment of her vow he might readily make it his own. The memory of those early days must have been always pleasant to him; and the sacred bond of filial affection would be renewed and strengthened by the annual visit of his parents, and by the yearly present which his mother brought to him (verse 19). The making of the "little coat" was a work of love, and served to keep her absent boy in mind, whilst the possession of it was to him a constant memorial of her pure affection. The first impressions which he thus received were a powerful means of preserving him from evil, and inciting him to good. "Every first thing continues forever with the child; the first colour, the first music, the first flower paint the foreground of life; every new educator affects less than its predecessor, until at last, if we regard all life as an educational institution, the circumnavigator of the world is less influenced by all nations he has seen than by his nurse" (Locke).
2. Association with holy things. Everything in the tabernacle was to his childish view beautiful and repressive, and overshadowed by the mysterious presence of the Lord of hosts. "Heaven lies about us in our infancy." And the veil which separates the invisible from the visible is then very attenuated. When he afterwards saw how much beneath the outward form was hollow and corrupt, he was strong enough to endure the shock, and distinguished between "the precious and the vile." Association with sacred things either makes men better than others, or else very much worse.
3. Occupation in lowly services. Even when very young he could perform many little services in such a place as the tabernacle, and in personal attendance on Eli, who was very old and partially blind. A part of his occupation we know was to open the doors (1 Samuel 3:15). By means of such things he was trained for a higher ministry.
4. Instruction in sacred truth, given by his kind hearted guardian in explanation of the various objects and services in the tabernacle, and, still more, gained by the perusal of the religious records stored up therein (1 Samuel 10:25).
5. Familiarity with public life. "There at the centre of government, he must early have become conversant with the weightiest concerns of the people."
6. Observation of the odious practices of many, especially Hophni and Phinehas. For this also must be mentioned among the influences that went to form his character. It as impossible to keep a child altogether from the sight of vice. External safeguards are no protection without internal purity. On the other hand, outward circumstances which are naturally perilous have often no effect on internal purity, except to make it more decided and robust. "The jarring contrast which he had before his eyes in the evil example of Eli's children could but force more strongly upon his mind the conviction of the great necessity of the age, and impel to still more unflinching rigour to act up to this conviction" (Ewald). But this could only take place by—
7. The power of Divine grace, which is the greatest and only effectual teacher (Titus 2:11, Titus 2:12). The atmosphere of prayer which he breathed from earliest life was the atmosphere of grace. The Holy Spirit rested upon him in an eminent degree, and he grew up under his influence, "like a tree planted by the rivers of water," gradually and surely to perfection.
II. HIS CHARACTER, or the dispositions which he developed under these influences. He "grew on" not only physically and intellectually, but also morally and spiritually, manifesting the dispositions which properly belong to a child, and make him a pattern to men (Matthew 18:3).
1. Humble submission.
2. Great docility, or readiness to learn what he was taught.
3. Ready obedience to what he was told to do. How promptly did he respond to the voice of Eli, who, as he thought, called him from his slumber (1 Samuel 3:5). The watchword of childhood and youth should be "Obey." And it is only those that learn to obey who will be fit to command.
4. Profound reverence. For "he ministered before the Lord," as if under his eye, and with a growing sense of his presence. "He was to receive his training at the sanctuary, that at the very earliest waking up of his spiritual susceptibilities he might receive the impression of the sacred presence of God" (Keil).
5. Transparent truthfulness and guilelessness.
6. Purity and self-control (1 Timothy 4:12; 2 Timothy 2:22).
7. Sincere devotion to the purpose of his dedication to the Lord. In this manner he gradually grew into the possession of a holy character, and needed not, like many others, any sudden or conscious "conversion" from the ways of sin to the ways of God. Like John the Baptist, "he grew and waxed strong in spirit" (Luke 1:80); and his childhood is described in the very words employed to describe the childhood of our Lord:. "And Jesus increased in favour with God and man" (Luke 2:40, Luke 2:51, Luke 2:52).
III. HIS ACCEPTANCE, or the favour he obtained (Proverbs 3:4).
1. With God, who looked down upon him with delight, beholding in him the effect of his grace, and a reflection of his light and love. For "the Lord taketh pleasure in his people" (Psalms 149:4).
2. With men. The gratification which Eli felt in his presence and service appears in the benediction he uttered on his parents when they visited the tabernacle, and in accordance with which they were compensated with three sons and two daughters for "the gift which they gave unto the Lord" (1 Samuel 2:20, 1 Samuel 2:21). Even Hophni and Phinehas must have regarded the young Nazarite with respect. And the people who brought their offerings to the tabernacle looked upon him with admiration and hope. So he was prepared for the work that lay before him.—D.
1 Samuel 2:12-9. (SHILOH.)
A degenerate priesthood.
"The best things when corrupted become the worst." It is thus with official positions such as were held by the priests of old. Their positions were an hereditary right, and their duties consisted largely of a prescribed routine of services. It was required, however, that their personal character should accord with their sacred work (Malachi 2:7); and their influence was great for good or evil. Whilst they reflected in their character and conduct the moral condition of the times, they a]so contributed in no small degree to produce it. The sons of Eli employed their high office not for the welfare of men and the glory of God, but. for their own selfish and corrupt purposes, and afford an example of "great and instructive wickedness." Concerning them the following things are recorded:—
I. CULPABLE IGNORANCE OF GOD (1 Samuel 2:12). They had no proper conception of him as holy and just, and they did not consider that he observed and hated sin by whomsoever it was committed, and would surely punish it. They had no communion with him, no sympathy with his purposes, and no sense of their own obligations to him. They were unspiritual men, and practically infidel. And they were such notwithstanding the instructions they received, the opportunities they possessed, and the services they rendered. Although the servants of God, "they knew not God," and were "without excuse." Amidst a blaze of light men may be dark within. "And if the light within thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!"
II. OFFICIAL ROBBERY OF MEN (1 Samuel 2:13, 1 Samuel 2:14). Not satisfied with the liberal portions of the peace offerings which were legally assigned to them (the breast and shoulder), they claimed other and larger portions, to which they were not entitled, and robbed the people for the gratification of their own appetites. What they would have fiercely denounced in others they deemed venial offences in privileged men like themselves. How often do official positions and selfish indulgences blind men to the injustice of their conduct, and harden them in iniquity.
III. WILFUL VIOLATION OF THE LAW (1 Samuel 2:15). It was required by the Levitical law that the fat should be burnt on the altar before the offering was divided between the priest and the offerer; but instead of doing this, the priest sent his servant beforehand to demand his portion with the fat, that it might be better fitted for roasting than boiling, which was not to his taste. He thus appropriated to his private use what belonged to the Lord, and "robbed God" of his due. It was a gross act of disobedience, sacrilege, and profanity, prompted by the same pampered appetite as his dishonesty toward men; and, in addition, it hindered the people from fulfilling their religious purposes, and made his own servant a partner in his sin.
IV. DESPOTIC EXERCISE OF AUTHORITY (1 Samuel 2:16). When the people gently remonstrated, and promised to give up their own portion if the fat were first burnt on the altar, it was said to them, "Nay, but thou shalt give it me now, or else I will come and take it by force." Reason as well as right was overridden. Instead of regarding himself as a servant of God for the good of men, the priest made himself a "lord over God's heritage" (1 Peter 5:3). Having cast aside the authority of God, he made his own arbitrary dictum the law of others, and urged obedience to it by the threatening of force. By the same means, backed by spiritual terrors, he has often sought to accomplish his wishes in every age.
V. INJURIOUS INFLUENCE ON RELIGION (1 Samuel 2:17, 1 Samuel 2:24). Men abstained from presenting as many offerings as they would have given, or even from presenting them at all, being repelled from the service of God by the evil conduct of his ministers. "Ye make the Lord's people to transgress" (1 Samuel 2:24). One unworthy priest has often made many unbelievers. Instead of strengthening what is noblest and best in men, he has destroyed it, and made its restoration impossible. And, generally, ungodly conduct on the part of professed servants of God is a great hindrance to the spread of truth and righteousness, and a powerful influence in extending error and evil in the world. "One sinner destroyeth much good." To complete the picture, two other things must be added, viz.—
VI. SHAMELESS INDULGENCE IN VICE (1 Samuel 2:22). They knew nothing of self-control, gave the rein to their lusts, and indulged in vices which the heathen commonly associated with their idol worship, and which made that worship so terrible a temptation to Israel. The idol feasts at Shiloh were doubtless scenes of gross sensuality; and the sons of Eli scarcely cared to disguise their participation in similar indulgences, and made the tabernacle of the Lord like a heathen temple.
VII. SUPERSTITIOUS USE OF SACRED THINGS (1 Samuel 4:11). Having become insensible to the presence of the invisible King, they treated his services as a mere outward ritual, which may be performed without any felt inconsistency between it and any amount of immorality. Why should they observe it at all? From self-interest and from superstition. They still supposed that there was some mysterious benefit inseparably connected with the ark, and enjoyed by those who possessed it, apart from their moral and spiritual state. Their religion had become a superstition, like that of the heathen. And hence they took the ark into the battle field, in sure confidence of their safety, and were deprived of it by the heathen, and they themselves destroyed.
1. It is possible for men to possess the highest privileges, and yet sink into the deepest degradation.
2. The patience of Heaven toward sinners, is wonderful, and designed to lead them to repentance.
3. When men despise the goodness of God, and persist in transgression, they are certain to meet with signal punishment.—D
1 Samuel 2:22-9. (SHILOH.)
Ineffective reproof.
A man may possess many amiable qualities, and be, on the whole, a good man, and yet be marked by some defect which mars his character, prevents his usefulness, and makes him the unintentional cause of much mischief. Such a man was Eli. Of his early life nothing is recorded. He was a descendant of Ithamar, the youngest son of Aaron, and held the office of high priest, which formerly belonged to the elder branch of the Aaronic family, that of Eleazar (Numbers 20:26), but which was now transferred to the younger, from some unknown cause, and which continued therein until the time of Solomon. At the age of fiftyeight he became judge, and "judged Israel forty years" (1 Samuel 4:18). When first mentioned he must have been at least seventy years old. His sons were children of his old age; for some time afterwards they were spoken of as young men (1 Samuel 2:17), and, as is not uncommon in such cases, he treated them with undue indulgence. He was hasty and severe in reproving Hannah, but slow and mild in reproving them. The inefficiency of his REPROOF appears in that—
I. IT WAS NOT ADMINISTERED IN PROPER TIME. The tendency to go wrong generally appears at an early age; and it must have been seen by him in his sons long before the rumour of their flagrant transgressions reached him, if he had not been blind to their faults. But he had no adequate sense of his parental responsibility, was old and weak, of a gentle and easy going temperament, and omitted to reprove them (1 Kings 1:6) until they had become too strongly devoted to their evil ways to be amenable to expostulation. A little plant may be easily rooted up, but when it has grown into a tree it can only be removed by extraordinary efforts. If some children are "discouraged" (Colossians 3:21) by too much strictness, far more are spoiled by too much indulgence. "Indulgence never produces gratitude or love in the heart of a child."
II. IT WAS NOT GIVEN WITH SUFFICIENT EARNESTNESS (1 Samuel 2:23, 1 Samuel 2:24). Gentle reproof may sometimes be most effective, but here it was out of place.
1. It was not sufficiently pointed in its application; being given to them collectively rather than individually, in indefinite terms, by way of question, and concerning things which he had heard, but into the certainty of which he had not troubled himself to inquire.
2. It exhibited no sufficient sense of the evil of sin (1 Samuel 2:25). He spoke of the consequences rather than of the nature, the "exceeding sinfulness" of sin, and spoke of them in a way which indicated little deep personal conviction.
3. It showed no sufficient determination to correct it. He did not say that he would judge them for their injustice toward men; and with reference to their sin against the Lord, which was their chief offence, he simply confessed that he could do nothing but leave them to the judgment of a higher tribunal. "In the case where the rebuke should have descended like a bolt from heaven we hear nothing but low and feeble murmurings, coming, as it were, out of the dust. Cruel indeed are the tenderest mercies of parental weakness and indulgence. And the fate of Eli shows that by such tender mercies the father may become the minister of vengeance unto his whole house" (Le Bas).
III. IT WAS NOT FOLLOWED BY ADEQUATE CHASTISEMENT. The law of Moses in the case of disobedient children was very severe (Deuteronomy 21:18-5). But Eli neither observed this law "when they hearkened not to his voice" (1 Samuel 2:25), nor took any further steps to prevent the continuance of the evil which he reproved. He had none of the zeal for which Phinehas the son of Eleazar was approved (Numbers 25:11-4); but as a father, a high priest, and a judge he was guilty of culpable infirmity and wilful disobedience (1 Samuel 3:13). "Osiers," says an old writer, "can never be pillars in the State or in the Church."
IV. IT DID NOT RESULT IN ANY IMPROVEMENT (1 Samuel 2:25). Their contempt of reproof showed that they were already infatuated, hardened, and abandoned to destruction; or (reading for—therefore), it filled up the measure of their iniquities, and exposed them to inevitable judgment. "He that hateth reproof shall die" (Proverbs 15:10).
1. Reproof is often a solemn obligation.
2. It should be given in an effective manner.
3. When not so given it does more harm than good.
4. When justly given it should be humbly and obediently received.—D.