Everything we know about Eli is found in
1 Samuel 1-4.
Eli was a priest, a descendent of Aaron and a Godly man.
- 1 Samuel 1:9 He was a priest in the Temple of Shiloh
- 1 Samuel 1:12-13 He condemned sin
- 1 Samuel 1:17 He spoke for God (prophesied)
- 1 Samuel 3:18 He accepted God’s will for his life
He was a believer and a Godly man
Eli was a Judge of Israel for 40 years (1 Samuel 4:18)
Eli was a husband and a father (all thought his wife is never mentioned)
His sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests (1 Samuel 1:3)
ELI – Priest, Judge, Husband, Father and FAILURE
Eli the Failure, failed to see his sons get saved.
1 Samuel 2:12 Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not the Lord.
And the sons became:
- Irreverent and Sacrilegious (1 Samuel 2:13-16)
- Stumbling Blocks to Israel (1 Samuel 2:17)
- Fornicators and Adulterers (1 Samuel 2:22)
Surely Eli wasn’t responsible for his sons actions.
YES, he was! He failed to restrain them (1 Samuel 3:13)
Deuteronomy 17:9-12, Deuteronomy 21:18-21, Proverbs 22:6
Train up a child in the way he should go.
TRAIN = to form by instruction, discipline, drill.
Train a child Proverbs 22:15, Proverbs 23:13-14
A BEATING? – that’s sadistic
A SPANKING? – that’s love
“But I love my child too much to spank them”.
Proverbs 13:24 says different! DAD, it’s your job, you are responsible.
ELI Failed.
Eli loved his sons —- more than he loved the Lord (1 Samuel 2:29)
Eli’s position with God: his salvation became common place.
He was chosen by God to serve (1 Samuel 2:28)
But he took it for granted (1 Samuel 2:29)
ELI – Priest, Judge, Husband, Father and FAILURE
He’s in Heaven by the Grace of God, but his sons are in Hell.
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