Tuesday, January 19, 2010
The Curse of Eli
(I Samuel 2:27-36)
Eli’s failure with his sons brought grave consequences to bear upon future generations of his family. An unnamed prophet came to Eli, pronouncing an everlasting curse upon his progeny. The curse involved shortened life expectancies for all of Eli’s descendents (31-33). In addition, Eli’s two offending sons would both die on the same day (34).
What was the essence of Eli’s failure? The Bible gives a hint in verse 29: Eli had honored his sons above the Lord. His permissiveness was not merely a lax parenting style. The Lord viewed it as an affront to Himself. Essentially, Eli feared the wrath of his sons and their displeasure with him more than he feared God. His lack of child discipline revealed his irreverence for the high calling of the priesthood. In short, he put his son’s desires before the Lord’s.
Eli’s sin finds repetition in Christian parents who refuse to use Scriptural discipline in relation to their children. When they fail to draw the line with their children, they begin to tolerate sinful actions—believing that enforcing standards will drive their kids away. The trouble is, toleration of sin is an affront to God. In short, they fear the wrath of their children more than the wrath of God.
Eli’s family was eventually replaced with a different family of faithful priests, the priestly line of Zadok. The son’s of Zadok proved to be so faithful that their priestly line will one day serve Jesus Christ Himself in the future millennial temple (Ezek. 44:15; 48:11). Moral of the story: God honors those first who honor Him best. Let’s be careful that we put nothing—not even our children—before Him.
