Eli’s Sons

Scripture

Eli’s sons were wicked men; they did not respect {fear} the LORD.

~1 Samuel 2:12 (CSB)

Quote

Life is a series of choices: do your best to make the right ones and if you err, learn from the bad ones.

~Image Quotes

I am a sequential learner which means I make a lot of notes and I am prone to make list. As I was reading through 1 Samuel 2, I couldn’t help but notice the list of vices that doomed the sons of Eli. [1] First of all they were SELF-INDULGENT or self-serving might be an appropriate synonym. When the Israelites brought their sacrifices to the tabernacle, the sons of Eli took the best portions for themselves before the worshipers had a chance to make their sacrifice. [2] They had CONTEMPT for God and man. They neither feared God nor respected men: they used the threat of force to take whatever they wanted. [3] They were OBSCENE, VULGAR and PROFANE. Since the days of Moses, young Israelites maidens dedicated their lives to the service of the tent. They stood at the door and ministered to the people who came to worship. We do not know all the things they did: many believe they took care of all the menial task such as cleaning, washing, preparing food and giving attenders aid when they needed it. You will remember Anna of the N.T. who was one of these ministering ladies. Anna spent most of her time in prayer. The sons of Eli seduced these women and probably used force. Their wicked behavior was the talk of the town. Eli confronted them, “The news I hear the LORD’s people spreading is not good.” But it was not gossip, it was the truth. [4] The sons of Eli were DISOBEDIENT to their father. They paid no attention to Eli’s mild rebuke because they were WORTHLESS men.

The irony of this story is that Samuel, Eli’s adopted son, was the opposite of Eli’s wicked sons. Eli himself was not a wicked man, he too was indulgent and had grown not only old but very fat but he was not wicked. Eli may have been lazy and he was certainly too lenient with his sons, but is it not amazing, that Samuel, son of Grace, turned out great while Eli’s sons were worthless. I don’t think Eli’s wicked sons could blame their dad for they lewd and rude behavior. Eli was not a perfect father but his sons were responsible for their own bad choices. I don’t have much respect for those who blame their bad habits on their parents. It is certain, that blaming others for our sins will not hold up in the SUPREME court. My mother beat the living hades out of me. By the time I was 12 years old, I thought I hated her but all of that changed as I grew up. By the time I was 18, I understood that my mother was the best friend I had and she loved me like no other {Jesus excluded}. My mother saw the rebellion in me and she was determined to break me from my foolish and stubborn ways. I don’t know where I would be today had she not taken up the switch. Eli should have disciplined his sons instead of giving them mild rebukes. Those boys needed a firm beating early on but that is no excuse for their behavior. It is certain that I inherited some traits from my father but I dare not blame him for my sins. I don’t blame him for anything. He was a merciful man or else he would have beat me to death himself. You think I am exaggerating but I’m not. If my parents had practiced O.T. law, I would have been stoned to death before I reached puberty.

• Bro Robert Cruise is the Pastor at New Canaan Baptist Church where Colleen Edmondson, our Church Clerk, is the Church Secretary.  Please pray for Bro Robert, Jennifer and their 5 little girls. They were away from home last night and their house burned to the ground. They lost everything.
• David and I went out to Grace Point yesterday after lunch to get some shots [photos] from his drone but the wind was so bad, he could keep it in the air. I bet the temperature dropped 20 degrees in an hour or perhaps it was just the wind. I almost froze and David was wearing a T-shirt.
• Getting ready to put out a DIGEST and I may use these Phylis Diller quotes:
  • Whatever you may look like, marry a man your own age. As your beauty fades, so will his eyesight. 
  •  

    Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing up is like shoveling the sidewalk before it stops snowing.

  •  

    The reason women don’t play football is because 11 of them would never wear the same outfit in public.

  •  

    Best way to get rid of kitchen odors: Eat out.

  • Bachelor is a guy who never made the same mistake once.
  • I want my children to have all the things I couldn’t afford. Then I want to move in with them.
  • Most children threaten at times to run away from home. This is the only thing that keeps some parents going.
  • Any time three New Yorkers get into a cab without an argument, a bank has just been robbed.
  • We spend the first twelve months of our children’s lives teaching them to walk and talk and the next twelve years telling them to sit down and shut up.
  • Burt Reynolds once asked me out. I was in his room.
  •  What I don’t like about office Christmas parties is looking for a job the next day.
  • The only time I ever enjoyed ironing was the day I accidentally got gin in the steam iron.
  • His finest hour lasted a minute and a half. 
  • Old age is when the liver spots show through your gloves.
  • My photographs don’t do me justice – they just look like me.
  • Tranquillizers work only if you follow the advice on the bottle –  keep away from children.
  • I asked the waiter, ‘Is this milk fresh?’ He said, ‘Lady, three hours ago it was grass.’
  • The reason the golf pro tells you to keep your head down is so you can’t see him laughing.
  • You know you’re old if they have discontinued your blood type.

• • Housework can’t kill you, but why take a chance?