by Chris Alexion, Copyright February 27, 2008, all rights reserved. 905 views
Eli the priest appears in the first chapter of 1 Samuel when he blesses Hannah, soon to be the mother of Samuel, for her faith. But it's not really until the next chapter that we learn what kind of a leader Eli was. 2:12 tells us something important: "Now the sons of Eli were worthless men. They did not know the Lord…." The passage goes on to describe how Eli's two sons "treated the offering of the Lord with contempt" because they used it as a means to make gain for themselves. They threatened force against their fellow Israelites if they didn't comply with their demands, and slept with the women who served at the entrance to the tabernacle.
Eli knew what his sons were doing. "Now Eli was very old, and he kept hearing all that his sons were doing to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who were serving at the entrance to the tent of meeting. And he said to them, 'Why do you do such things? For I hear of your evil dealings from all the people. No, my sons; it is no good report that I hear the people of the Lord spreading abroad'" (2:22-24).
So Eli rebukes his sons for their evildoing. Good, right? An act of godly leadership? But less than a page later, a man approaches Eli with a message from God. "Why," he asks, "do you scorn my sacrifices…and honor your sons above me by fattening your selves on the choicest parts of every offering of my people Israel?" (2:29). The prophet continues:
Therefore the Lord, the God of Israel, declares: "I promised that your house and the house of your father should go in and out before me forever," but now the Lord declares, "Far be it from me, for those who honor me I will honor, and those who despise me shall be lightly esteemed. Behold, the days are coming when I will cut off your strength and the strength of your father's house, so that there will not be an old man in your house. … The only one of you whom I shall not cut off from my altar shall be spared to weep his eyes out to grieve his heart, and all the descendants of your house shall die by the sword of men." (2:30-33)
Harsh words. But what was Eli's mistake? He didn't do these things; his sons did. And he rebuked them for it. So where's the problem? It becomes a little clearer in 2:11-14:
Then the Lord said to Samuel, "Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel at which the two ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. On that day I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. And I declare to him that I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them. Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever."
Giving his sons a fatherly talking-to wasn't enough. Eli, as priest, failed to "restrain them." He allowed them to remain in their ministerial roles even when they were perverting justice. As priest he should have taken steps to ensure the purity of the house of God. And for this the sin of his own house was never forgiven.
A godly leader, then, must exercise biblical discipline within his office. Kenneth Lay can't blame Arthur Andersen when Enron's books don't line up. Bush can't blame everything on Rove, Libby, or Rumsfeld. In other words, there's a sense in which a leader becomes responsible for the actions–even the mistakes–of those who serve under him. A true leader will use his authority to "restrain" evil quickly, before it brings down the entire structure.
1 • Lynn • February 28, 2008 • 1:40 AM
Shows how important godly parenting is. God looks at the sins of the children, or how a parent deals with a child's sins, as that shows the parent's true heart.
2 • Laura Sherman • March 10, 2008 • 9:30 PM
Thankyou for sharing this article insight and reminder how important it is to "follow through". Parenting is tough work. And it is all that more important in a day when most parents seem to just write off disrespectful behaviors.
I recommend a book to anyone by John Rosemond struggling with finding the balance and knowing what to correct. It is titled 'Raising a Non-Violent Child'. It's excellent, Godly in principle. Sounds pretty intense, but behaviors left to run their course can have future effects no one wants to see, as you've so well presented in this article. Thanks
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