Wildwood Baptist Online

One of the most tragic characters in all of the Bible is Eli, the high priest. He was at the same time a success and a failure. He was both respected and shamed.

Eli's Successes

A success, you say? Yes, Eli was a good man who was a respected priest. When Hannah came to the Temple to pray for a son (I Samuel 1), Eli came to her and rebuked her because he thought she was intoxicated. Regardless of the fact that he had misjudged her, his concern shows us a couple of Eli's positive traits. First, we see that he cared about the Temple and did not want to see it profaned. Second, we see that he cared for the people. For her sake, Eli did not want Hannah to profane the Temple . Third, we see that others cared what he thought. Hannah respected Eli and did not want him to think she was doing something wrong.

Hannah also trusted Eli enough to bring Samuel to live with him at the Temple. She entrusted her only son to Eli for life. She believed Eli to be a man of God.

Another success in the life of Eli concerned his power in prayer. When Eli discovered Hannah's desire for a son, he blessed her and added his prayer to hers. God heard Hannah's prayer, and Eli's "and the LORD remembered her" (I Sam. 1:19). And again, after Samuel was brought to Eli, the priest blessed Hannah and her husband Elkanah, and the Lord honored the blessing of Eli. "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 conceived, and bare three sons and two daughters. And the child Samuel grew before the LORD" (I Sam. 2:20,21).

We see the success in Eli's life in terms of spiritual perception, as well. When Samuel was a lad and the Lord called Samuel, Eli recognized that it was the Lord who was calling. He told Samuel how to respond when the Lord called him again.

Eli's Failure

But Eli was not successful in one critical area -- he failed as a father to his two sons, Hophni and Phineas. The Bible says, "his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not" (I Sam. 3:13). This verse doesn't mean that Eli's sons' behavior didn't bother him. Nor does it mean that he didn't say anything to them about it. Indeed, he did question them about their behavior: "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?" (I Sam. 2:23-25). What it does mean is that while Eli's sons were in the process of becoming wicked men, Eli was not restraining them. He failed to train them while they were young. And if you fail to train children to behave correctly and fear God while they are young, what chance do you have to change them when they are grown?

Because of Eli's failure as a father, the office of the priesthood was dishonored. Also, the sacrifice of the Lord was "abhorred," or hated. The people failed to serve God because the sons of Eli failed to obey Him. And the sons of Eli failed to obey God because Eli failed to train them. The office of the priesthood, and the sacrifices, were dishonored because Eli failed with his sons.

Consider the Case of Samuel

When we condider this colossal failure on Eli's part, can we still consider him to have had a successful career? Well, lest you be too hard on Eli, consider that Samuel failed in much the same way. Samuel was reared at the Temple by Eli, and he became a faithful priest, judge, and prophet. Yet when he had children of his own, he failed with them as well. But we always think of Samuel as a great success, and we think of Eli as a failure.

When you compare the lives of Eli and Samuel, you see an almost eerie similarity. Eli was a faithful priest, as was Samuel. Eli's word was respected in Israel. This was also true of Samuel. Eli failed to restrain and train his sons. So did Samuel. Eli put his sons into the priest's office even though he knew they were not qualified. Samuel put his sons into the judge's office, only to see them pervert judgment by taking bribes. Eli's sons were rejected by God, bringing an end to the Aaronic priesthood. Samuel's sons were also rejected by God, bringing an end to the era and office of the judges.

Consider the magnitude of the consequences of these men's failures with their children! The descendants of Aaron had been in the office of the priesthood for almost 300 years. God had promised Aaron that his descendants would hold the office of priest forever. Yet Eli failed to raise sons who respected the office, or who had the character to hold it. "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" (I Sam. 2:30).

In Samuel's case, his failure with his sons meant the end of God's direct rule over Israel. The judges had ruled Israel for almost 300 years, but Samuel would be the last of the judges accepted by God. Samuel put his sons into the judge's office, but God and the people rejected them. The people then demanded a king (I Sam. 8:5,6).

The Cost

When we look at the consequences of these fathers' failures, we can see the high costs associated with them. But it is always the same. These are not isolated cases. When fathers fail to restrain and train their children, they always pay a dreadful cost.

1. Cost to the Individual

The Scriptures give us clear warning concerning the cost to the sons and daughters of fathers who fail. These consequences to the individual are ruination, shame, defeat, and sometimes even death. Look at some of the consequences and the verses containing warning.

Children who are not restrained--

Become lawbreakers and make mistakes with damaging results to their own lives.

"Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; and the years of thy life shall be many.

I have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in right paths.

When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble."

(Prov. 4:10-12)

See also Proverbs 28:7.

Hate or despise their parents. Have no respect for authority.

"A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish man despiseth his mother." (Prov. 15:20)

Live without insight to their own destruction.

"Whoso curseth his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness." (Prov. 20:20)

Live ungodly lives.

"Whoso loveth wisdom rejoiceth his father: but he that keepeth company with harlots spendeth his substance." (Prov. 29:3)

Lose influence and come to poverty.

See Prov. 29:3 above.

Lose authority.

"A wise servant shall have rule over a son that causeth shame, and shall have part of the inheritance among the brethren." (Prov. 17:2)

Lose hope.

"Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying." (Prov. 19:18)

This verse apparently teaches that there comes a point in a child's life when he will not be corrected. There is no hope for change. This is the point which Eli's sons had reached before he spoke to them about their sin. By this time, their doom was sealed. The Bible says, "Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto the voice of their father, because the LORD would slay them" (I Sam. 2:25b).

2. Cost to the Parents

Not only does the father's failure have a high cost to the individual, but the parents reap terrible consequences as well. Look at this list and see how high the cost is to the parents!

Sorrow

"The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother." (Prov. 10:1)

Grief and Bitterness

"A foolish son is a grief to his father, and bitterness to her that bare him." (Prov. 17:25)

Shame

"The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame."

(Prov. 29:15)

Calamity

"A foolish son is the calamity of his father..." (Prov. 19:18)

Reproach

"He that wasteth his father, and chaseth away his mother, is a son that causeth shame, and bringeth reproach." (Prov. 19:26)

Robbed by their children

"Whoso robbeth his father or his mother, and saith, It is no transgression; the same is the companion of a destroyer." (Prov. 28:24)

3. Cost to the Community

The cost of a father's failure to the community is measured in terms of the father's influence and of the potential influence of the children. If the father's sphere of influence was national, the scope of the calamity is national. The failure of both Eli and Samuel to train their sons produced devastating results for the nation of Israel.

Eli's sons were killed and the ark of God was taken. Great shame fell on the house of Eli and on the nation of Israel. Worse yet, the name of God was reproached. I Samuel 4 has got to be one of the darkest chapters in Israel's history. The first verse offers hope and promise when it says, "And the word of Samuel came to all Israel..." But the rest of the chapter tells of disaster upon disaster:

Israel lost a battle against the Philistines, with the loss of about 4,000 men.

Then Israel lost again despite the presence of the ark of God. This shows the incredible lack of spiritual power at work in the nation! More than 30,000 Israelites were killed in this battle. The ark of God was taken by the Philistines.

Hophni and Phineas were killed. When Eli heard this news, he fell backward off his seat and died.

Finally, Phineas' wife delivered a child, and died in childbirth. And appropriately, with her dying breath, she gave the child a name to summarize the disastrous time: Ichabod -- the glory is departed.

Dark days had indeed come to Israel. And why? Because the sons of Eli "made themselves vile, and he restrained them not" (I Sam. 3:13)

Why Eli failed to discipline and train his sons, we do not know. Perhaps, like many preachers, he had his priorities scrambled. Perhaps he thought the work of the Temple more important than his family. Or perhaps he was just busy, or careless. But when we consider the terrible cost of failing at the task, how can we let anything stop us from properly carrying out the duties of fatherhood? I don't know about you, Dad, but I don't want a ministry like Eli's or like Samuel's, if I have to lose my kids in the process. The people thought Eli and Samuel were successful, but the nation suffered terrible consequences because they raised wicked and rebellious sons.

We must make every effort to be the kind of fathers God wants us to be. We cannot afford to raise rebellious and disobedient children. The cost to them, to us, and to the kingdom of God, is much too high.