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Now Eli was very old; and he heard everything his sons did to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. So he said to them, “Why do you do such things? For I hear of your evil dealings from all the people. No, my sons! For it is not a good report that I hear. You make the LORD’s people transgress. If one man sins against another, God will judge him. But if a man sins against the LORD, who will intercede for him?” Nevertheless they did not heed the voice of their father, because the LORD desired to kill them. And the child Samuel grew in stature, and in favor both with the LORD and men.

Wow! This is sobering. First of all, in the background of all of this, we get a verse here or there about the status of the temple or some comment about the relationship status between God and Israel. Several verses come to my mind from this story arc.

First verse
1 Samuel 1 13-14

Now Hannah spoke in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli thought she was drunk. So Eli said to her, “How long will you be drunk? Put your wine away from you!”

Eli (and I would hazard to say, the rest of Israel) has likely, in his lifetime, never seen someone whose heart burned with zeal for the Lord and someone who desperately poured out their heart in devotion to the Lord. See Romans 8:26-27 for an exposition of what Hannah is doing. She is praying with groanings that cannot be uttered. That is, utterances are something made with the tongue or sensical vocalization. This prayer of Hannah is unutterable and uninterpretable. It is a groaning from deep within.

This is probably the first time in a long time since anyone in the nation of Israel has ever engaged the Lord in this manner. Especially when you consider that in the nation of Israel at the end of the book of Judges, “everyone did what was right in his or her own eyes” (Judges 21:25).

Eli, who has no relationship with the Lord, as is evident from later, assumes she is drunk and accuses her of this. Eli spends the course of his recorded life in the biblical record, judging according to the outward appearance. Samuel would later make the same mistake in his selection of Israel’s second king. Eli does not use the discernment that was, at some point, available to the House of Levi (see Moses and Aaron’s work in Numbers 16 during the rebellion of Korah and the plague against Israel). The only thing that we can infer is that Eli judged Hannah’s outward appearance. This is the mistake we too often make in all sectors of Christianity when we are scared to see someone actually pouring the fullness of their emotions out to the Lord. We are afraid that somehow the person pouring out their life before the Lord is going to disrupt our man made order. When we do that, we get into trouble and interfere with what the Spirit may actually be doing. Let this be a word of warning to all you would-be pastors who are weak in the area of discernment: Do not interrupt what may be happening emotionally in some of your congregants, for the very thing that is happening emotionally, may be the very healing that needs to take place, so that your congregations can ascend to the next level and function in the fullness of the way in which the Spirit designed them to function.

Even in spite of this read the respect of verse 15

1 Samuel 1:15

But Hannah answered and said, “No, my lord, I am a woman of sorrowful spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor intoxicating drink, but have poured out my soul before the LORD.”

Did you see that. She said, no my lord. No, my Adon (where we get the word Adonai). It is a reverence for the office of Eli and an understanding that the LORD has place Eli, as the descendant of Aaron, in the place of Aaron as the LORD God’s representative. Eli’s relationship and knowledge of the LORD does not influence Hannah’s respect. Rather, it’s her acknowledgment of the LORD’s positioning of Eli, and her reverence for that office that the LORD Himself had establish that guides her attitude. I guarantee that there are many of you who have been placed under leaders that you thought were less anointed or able to hear the voice of God, and in some cases that may be true, but it does not justify the attitude of disrepect you may still be choosing to walk in towards that leader. God’s leader is God’s leader, and if God has placed you somewhere, then it is your responsibility to treat God’s positioned authority with the respect due the office. You may disagree with the organization, with the polity, with the dress code, with the vested political power, but that does not justify rebellion. Only when the authority genuinely steps outside the bounds of God’s word in sacred Scripture do you have a place to speak up, or if you have a legitimate concern or something does not jive with what you feel the Spirit may be saying. And even when you have a concern, you still need to approach the concern with all humility. Leadership responds better when humility and concern are the hallmarks of the flock, instead of arrogance or pride. Hannah’s response to Eli, even though he does not deserve it, is one that we need to emulate towards the leadership that God has placed us under.

Second, Hannah is doing the opposite of drinking. She is offering a drink offering to the LORD, pouring out the very heart and life’s blood of her soul to the LORD. A son would mean the world to her, and it would mean the breaking of a shameful societal stigma. It would produce all sorts of gruit in her life. Moreover, a son would mean that the LORD has favored her. And, what is interesting is Hannah has even made a vow the LORD cannot resist. This is one found in the Law of Moses in Exodus 13:2.

Exodus 13:2 Whatever opens the womb or matrix, whether man or beast, belongs to the LORD.

This is an extension of the principle of tithing. The tithe comes off the top and goes to the LORD, in recognition that God owns absolutely everything. When God sees that you have given him the first portion, then He will bless the rest. When Hannah pledged Samuel to the LORD, the LORD blessed Hannah and gave her 5 more children besides Samuel.

Second Verse
1 Samuel 1:8
And Elkanah, her husband, said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep? And why do you not eat? And why is your heart sad? Am I not more to you than ten sons?”

Elkanah did not understand her grief. No, Elkanah could not take away her shame. A son was her heart’s desire, and Elkanah refused to see that. Once you attempt to take the place of what a woman truly desires, that woman will begin to despise whatever is attempting to satisfy her desire. Men, take a piece of counsel from this. You cannot satisfy or replace the godly and righteous desire of a woman’s heart, once she has set her mind and affection on something as deep and abiding as a child, you cannot slake that desire at all. Motherly affection is a natural outflow of her being. Perhaps this is a bit of commentary on that passage in 1 Timothy 2 that says “a woman will be saved through childbearing.” Maybe what it means to say is that a woman’s honor in society is partly tied to her ability to bear children, who will be able to carry on the family name and legacy. Without children, a woman has no abiding legacy and no way to leave behind a blessing to this earth.

Third verse

1 Samuel 2:12
Now the sons of Eli were corrupt; they did not know the LORD.

Knowing the LORD and having a relationship with Him was the secret to living a full and honorable life. Not knowing the LORD led to corruption. Eli, it would seem either tried to teach his sons the knowledge of the LORD, and it did not take with them, or he did nothing. Either way, knowing the LORD is a key theme in all of Scripture, and because they did not know the LORD, they could not leave a spiritual legacy to Israel.

Fourth verse

1 Samuel 2:25b
Nevertheless the sons of Eli did not heed the voice of their father, because the LORD desired to kill them.

This is where the LORD decides to move next in this account (the first movement being the birth of Samuel in response to Hannah’s dedication). It’s His desire to place in the office of high priest, one who will do all His will. Samuel is this man.

Fifth verse

1 Samuel 3:1
Now the boy Samuel ministered to the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was rare in those days there was no widespread revelation.

During the events described in 1 Samuel 2, Samuel, as a boy, was minsitering to the LORD. It was probably the first time in many generations that someone who actually knew the LORD (read “had a working relationship with Him”) stood in the office of priest and ministered to and worshipped Him without pretense or hidden or corrupt agenda.

The sad state of the second verse was the state of Israel. Their relationship with their God had stagnated and deteriorated that they chose not to and could not hear Him. Because his people chose not to hear Him, why would He bother speaking to them?

These verses set the stage for what is about to be prophesied to the house of Eli. Due to their refusal to seek God and have a relationship with Him, He is about to seek after a priest who will do according to all that is in His heart and mind.

So, I was in the car on the way home from Philadelphia, when my wife and I saw the following billboard
Kresha, my wife, was talking to me about this billboard, and wondered what the verse was.
Remembering that Revelation 1:6 is the kings and priests verse, I recalled the context and said to her that Revelation 1:7 said something to the effect of “Behold, he is coming with the clouds and every eye will see him.”
My wife asked, “Why would they use that verse with that comment?”
I replied, “Well, why not?”
“That verse is not about dying. It’s about the Second Coming.”
“Well, I can see how that verse could be used. Regardless of who is dead or alive at His coming, every eye will indeed see him. At some point, every eye will indeed see him.”
“But still, it’s not talking about the dead rising, it’s talking about His return.”
My wife had a point. This verse was taken out of context, and there would have been better verses to use with that statement. More bumper-sticker theology, as my old pastor used to stay.
But, then I got to thinking. There is a point for using that verse, out of context though it may be.
When you consider that we humans are currently corraled in the cage of time. We have events that happen in sequence. We grow old, have children, build a career, and die at some point. Then when we die, we enter into eternity, and somehow we come off the timeline. Time flows differently on that side of eternity. I do not know how, but it does indeed.
And the billboard grabbed me. When we die, and enter into eternity like the thief on the cross did, we will see Him. As lightning flashes from the east to the west, so shall the appearing of the son of man be.
Every eye will see him, and many will weep on account of Him.
When you die, you do meet Him. And you will give an account.
It has nothing to do with when you meet Him, but THAT you will meet Him.
What will be your standing?
Will the Spirit give witness that you are His child?
He gives witness to all redeemed.
At that point, your offenses and unforgiveness will not matter. It will only be you and Him. No others. None of your friends, or even family members.
What account will you give Him on the day that every eye will see Him?
Behold, He comes with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who have pierced Him, and all nations will weep because of Him.
Blessings on your day, and may you think about what will happen on that day. Your eternity depends on what happens now.

But Samuel was ministering before the L-RD- a boy wearing a linen ephod. Each year his mother made him a little robe and took it to him when she went up with her husband to offer the annual sacrifice. Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, saying, “May the L-RD give you children by this woman to take the place of the one she prayed for and gave to the L-RD.” They they would go home. And the L-RD was gracious to Hannah; she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, Samuel grew up in the presence of the L-RD.
Samuel wos ministering before the L-RD and grew up in His presence. And as a result of Hannah’s giving up the firstfruits of her very womb, according to the Law, G-d multiplied the fruit of her womb over and over and over again, to the point where she had FIVE chidlren besides Samue l, and they grew up in the presence of a mother and father who cherished them very much, and this modeled the love of G-d to the children, and for us to show us how well the L-rd carried for Samuel. This family, at least from the perspective of Hannah, had gone from being a dry barren desert, to a fruitful vineyard. And Hannah’s dedication of the firstfruits, Sameul, to the L-rd, was the breaking point for all of this.
It just shows that when we dedicate the first portion to the L-rd, in recognition that He owns everything, how much he can do with the rest and bless us above and beyond what we can ask, think, or imagine.

Thus the sin of the young men was very great in the sight of the L-RD, for the men treated the offering of the L-RD with contempt. (1 Samuel 2:17)

They held the offering of the L-rd with contempt…
hese are Eli’s sons who ate the fat of the priest’s offering, slept with the women who served in the temple, and neither listened to or respected their father. But more than that, they “did not know the L-rd.”
Remember what happened in Matthew 7 when Jesus said there would be some who cried out “L-rd, L-rd” who would not enter the kingdom of heaven? It was because He did not know them. There was no relatonship there.
So it was with Eli’s sons, and, I would contend, with Eli. Eli made no attempt to cultivate a relationship with the L-rd, just like much of Israel. That was dangerous. To be serving in the L-rd’s temple without knowing Him is a dangerous place.
And it was because they held the offering of the L-rd with contempt...
That phrase leapt off the page at me, so I asked myself the following:

“How do we treat His offering with contempt?”

We do that when we do not pay Him His due in worship, when we do not honor Him for the liberty He has given us, when we give His tithes with contempt and grudgingly, and, when an issue that involves forgiveness exists between our brother and us and we refuse to make things right.

If you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift” (Matt. 5:23-24)

This is the passage that deals with us receiving forgiveness from our brother or sister for wronging him or her. If we do not make things right with our brothers, then our attitude toward our offering is one of contempt. The priority in the eyes of the kingdom of G-d is relationships, and real restoration of those relationships, between us and G-d and us and our fellow man or woman.

“And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses” (Matthew 11:25)

This has to do with how we treat others who offend us. Jesus, in both of these passages, is putting the ball in our court to take the active role in making things right. He is not shouldering the responsibility on others. It never has anything to do with the other person; rather, it is about you and I taking that personal responsibility before the kingdom to be obedient and to take the initiative to make things right.
The old saying is that we cannot change anyone except for ourselves. I think that is why Jesus is telling each factor in the relationship to take the initiative, because each of us cannot be sure that the other person in the relationship will.
Offense is what holds us from being able to completely offer ourselves up to the L-rd, regardless who who else is involved. Offense and unforgiveness are the two things that will always hold the offering of the L-rd with contempt.
Also important to this case is 1 John. In that letter, John treats us to a discourse on how we treat others, and whether or not the love of G-d and the knowledge of G-d really are within us. I could cite any passage from chapter 4, or chapter 1.
But suffer to say, the entire letter bears reading and taking to heart if we are to keep ourselves from holding the things of G-d, the offerings of G-d with contempt.