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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - 1 Samuel 2:22 - 2:36
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The Prophecy Against Eli
v. 22. Now Eli was very old and heard all that his sons did unto all Israel, as described above, and how they lay with the women that assembled at the door of the Tabernacle of the Congregation, women who performed certain services in the court of the Tabernacle, Exo_38:8, so that the Sanctuary was desecrated by the sensual lusts of these men, by their seduction of the serving women.
v. 23. And he said unto them, Why do ye such things? For I hear of your evil dealings by all this people, the report of the wickedness having been brought to him.
v. 24. Nay, my sons; for it is no good report that I hear; ye make the Lord's people to transgress, for many took offense and followed the evil example set before them.
v. 25. If one man sin against another, the judge shall judge him, in case of transgressions between men, God, as the chief Judge, adjudicates the matter through the government instituted by Him; but if a man sin against the Lord, who shall intreat for him, in that case no man can act as intercessor. Notwithstanding, they hearkened not unto the voice of their father, to his mild reproaches, because the Lord would slay them, they had gone so far in willful sinning that they had become obdurate, they were on their way to perdition.
v. 26. And the child Samuel grew on, and was in favor both with the Lord and also with men, this being noted here once more by way of effective contrast.
v. 27. And there came a man of God, a prophet, unto Eli and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Did I plainly appear, reveal Myself, unto the house of thy father, Aaron, through his direct ancestor Ithamar, the son of Aaron, when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh's house?
v. 28. And did I choose him, rather, affirmatively, "I did choose him," Aaron, 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, Exo_28:1-4; Num_16:5; Num_18:1-7. And did I give unto the house of thy father all the offerings made by fire of the children of Israel? Lev_2:3-10; Lev_6:16.
v. 29. Wherefore kick ye at My sacrifice and at Mine offering, treading them under foot, which I have commanded in My habitation, in the Tabernacle (this was done by the contemptuous, blasphemous behavior of the priests), and honorest thy sons above Me, by not taking an energetic stand against them, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel, My people, by taking all the choicest parts of the sacrificial animals?
v. 30. Wherefore the Lord God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house and the house of thy father should walk before Me forever, in performing the service of priests; for the; fact that Eli, of the family of Ithamar, was high priest at this time, was only a temporary arrangement, the descendants of Phinehas probably lacking the energy needed for the office at that time. 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, covered with contempt and shame.
v. 31. Behold, the days come, that I will cut off thine arm, the word here standing for might, power, influence, authority, and the arm of thy father's house, that there shall not be an old man in thine house, as long as the family existed, none of its members would reach a ripe old age.
v. 32. And thou shalt see an enemy in My habitation, in all the wealth which God shall give Israel, he would, so far as his own family was concerned, see distress and affliction for the inhabitants of the Tabernacle in all the blessings which the Lord would show His people, since they would not share in the national prosperity and the consequent rejoicing; and there shall not be an old man in thine house forever.
v. 33. And the man, the descendant, 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. So there would always be a descendant of the house of Eli serving at the Tabernacle, to be a witness of the decay of the true worship, thus being consumed with anxiety and worry over the fate of the Tabernacle.
v. 34. And this shall be a sign unto thee, an earnest of the fulfilment of His threat, that shall come upon thy two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas: in one day they shall die both of them. That is the invariable consequence, when parents hold their peace at the sins of their children or venture only a faint objection, omit reproof and correction, love or fear their children more than God.
v. 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, one upon whom He could rely absolutely, and who would perform all his work exactly in the manner most pleasing to the Lord. And I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before Mine Anointed forever. This is a prophecy of Christ, who is Priest and King in one person.
v. 36. And it shall come to pass that every one that is left in thine house shall come and crouch to him, in the position of a suppliant, with bended knee, 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. He who takes his refuge to Messiah, the great Priest-king, confessing the need brought upon him by reason of his sinfulness, will find in Him grace and mercy and peace without end.