NOW

WOW the sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not the LORD. And the priest's custom with the people was, that, when any man offered sacrifice, the priest's servant came, while the flesh was in seething, with a fleshhook of three teeth in his hand; and he struck it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; all that the fleshhook brought up the priest took for himself. So they did in Shiloh unto all the Israelites that came thither.

And before they burnt the fat, the priest's servant came, and said to the man that sacrificed, Give flesh to roast for the priest; for he will not have sodden flesh of thee, but raw. And if any man said unto him, Let them not fail to burn the fat presently, and then take as much as thy soul desireth; then he would answer him, Nay; but thou shalt give it me now: and if not, I will take it by force.

Wherefore the sin of the young men was very great before the LORD: for men abhored the offering of the LORD.

But Samuel ministered before the LORD, being a child, girded with a linen ephod. Moreover his mother made him a little coat, and brought it to him from year to year, when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.

And Eli blessed Elkanah and his wife, and said, The LORD give thee seed of this woman for the loan which is lent to the LORD. And they went unto their own home.

And the LORD visited Hannah, so that she bare three sons and two daughters. And the child Samuel grew before the LORD.

Now Eli was very old, and heard all that his sons did unto all Israel; and how they lay with the women that assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

And he said unto them, Why do ye such things? for I hear of your evil dealings by all this people. Nay, my sons; for it is no good report that I hear ye make the LORD's people to transgress. If one man sin against another, the judge shall judge him: but if a man sin against the LORD who shall intreat for him?

Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto the voice of their father, because the LORD would slay them.

And the child Samuel grew on, and was in favour both with the LORD, and also with men.

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? 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?

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

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 honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed. 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. 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.

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.

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. 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.

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.

Question.-How are we to understand these words, "The sons of Eli were sons of Belial ?" Answer.-By Belial is sometimes meant the devil. The exact meaning of the word is "worthless, something from which no good arises;" and it is applied to wickedness generally. The sons of Eli, then, were worthless, bad men.

Q.-What was the particular sin committed by them which aroused the anger of the Lord?

A.-They were greedy, and took more of the offering than the law allowed them. According to the law, as delivered by Moses, the only portions of the peace offerings to which the priests were entitled were the shoulder, breast, cheeks, and the maw (a portion of the stomach). But the sons of Eli made their servant put a fleshhook into the kettle, and all that he brought up with it they kept for themselves; and, besides, the people were forced to give flesh to roast for the priests, which the law did not allow, and for this gluttony the priests were punished. They not only defrauded the people, but they expressly disobeyed the Lord.

Q.-A "man of God" is mentioned as coming to

Eli. Who was he?

4. His name is not mentioned. From several similar passages of Scripture we may infer that the Lord gave His Spirit to certain good men, not more particularly mentioned in Scripture, and charged them to declare His will. It is remarkable that the Lord does not seem Himself to have communicated with Eli; in this passage

He sends a message by a "man of God," and afterwards by the little child Samuel.

Q-What is the meaning of the words "I will cut off thine arm, and the arm of thy father's house?"

A. This terrible threat meant that the Lord would break down the strength and power of the family of Eli. He would not at once destroy Phinehas and Hophni, would not cut them off "from mine altar," but their conduct would be such as to consume the eyes of Eli (wear them out by weeping in grief) and grieve his heart. This was fulfilled by their bad conduct and their death, the news of which caused their father's death.

Q.-There is a promise that a faithful priest would be raised up. Who was he?

A.-This promise refers to the substitution of the house of Zadok for that of Eli in the priesthood. The descendant of Eli, Abiathan having conspired with Adonijah, Solomon removed him from the priesthood, as we read in the First Book of Kings," from being a priest unto the Lord, that he might fulfil the word of the Lord which he spoke concerning the house of Eli, in Shiloh." Eli was descended from Aaron, through Ishamar, the younger of the two sons, who survived him. After the death of Eli the priesthood passed to his grandson Ahitub, whose grandson was Abiathar, displaced by Solomon, who made Zadok priest in his place. Zadok was of the family of Eleazar, the third son of Aaron, but older than Ishamar. We are not informed why Eli, a descendant of a younger son of Aaron, was chosen for the priesthood."

AND the child Samuel ministered

unto the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was precious in those days; there was no open vision.

And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place, and his eyes began to wax dim, that

he could not see; and ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep;

That the LORD called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I.

And he ran unto Eli, and said, Here

am I; for thou calledst me. And he said, I called not; lie down again. And he went and lay down.

And the LORD called yet again, Samuel. And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And he answered, I called not, my son; lie down again.

Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, neither was the word of the LORD yet revealed unto him.

And the LORD called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And Eli perceived that the LORD had called the child.

Therefore Eli said unto Samuel, Go, lie down and it shall be, if he call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, LORD; for thy servant heareth. So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth.

And the LORD said to Samuel, Behold I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle. In that day I will perform against Eli all things which I have spoken concerning his house: when I begin, I will also make an end. For I have told him that I will judge

his house for ever for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not. And therefore I have sworn unto the house of Eli, that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering for ever.

And Samuel lay until the morning, and opened the doors of the house of the LORD. And Samuel feared to shew Eli the vision.

Then Eli called Samuel, and said, Samuel, my son. And he answered, Here am I. And he said, What is the thing that the LORD hath said unto thee? I pray thee hide it not from me: God do so to thee, and more also, if thou hide any thing from me of all the things that he said unto thee. And Samuel told him every whit, and hid nothing from him. And he said, It is the LORD: let him do what seemeth him good.

And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground.

And all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the LORD.. And the LORD appeared again in Shiloh for the LORD revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the LORD.

Question.-We are told that in those days the word of the Lord was precious, and that there was no open vision. What is meant by that?

Answer.-The original may be read, "no prophetic vision."

There was, probably, in consequence of the sin of the priests, the sons of Eli, no direct communication of the Lord with His people as in former days. We have just seen that the Lord did not speak directly to Eli. Q-Is anything stated respecting the age of Samuel when the Lord called him?

4.-It is not mentioned in the Bible, but he had probably been several years in the temple with Eli, for it is stated that his mother brought him a little coat every year, and that he "grew on." Josephus, the Jewish histo

rian, on the authority, we suppose, of the traditions preserved by his people, says that Samuel was twelve years old when the Lord spoke to him. It is interesting to note that that was the age at which Jesus was taken by his mother and Joseph to the temple in Jerusalem, and argued with the learned men there.

Q.-Did Samuel only hear the voice, or were there other signs of God's presence?

A. It is said that "the Lord came and stood," from which words we may suppose that there was a visible presence, but that was not until Samuel had replied, as Eli had instructed him, "Speak, for thy servant heareth." We must open our hearts to receive the knowledge of God, and humbly ask Him to teach us His will. We read that, before this night, Samuel did not know God.