"Then I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who shall do according to what is in My heart and in My mind. I will build him a sure house, and he shall walk before My anointed forever."
1 Samuel 2:35 (NKJV)
• God had sent a servant of His to Eli about his children who were incorrigible: having bad habits, living in sin and were bent for it (1 Samuel 2:27-36).
- Eli failed to correct his children, God had to put him aside and speak to a young boy—Samuel (1 Samuel 3:3-14).
- There is no one who is too big for God to do without.
NO one has special grace to continue in sin and still find favour in the sight of God.
YOU cannot continue in sin and wish grace abound (Romans 6:1).
• If you want to be relevant to God, in the service of HIS kingdom, you have to keep to His commands.
- You cannot be living the way you want, do things in your way, and have a close relationship with Him.
- If You want His intimacy, keep to His commands: “You are My friends if you do whatever I command you” (John 15:14).
• One of the criteria or conditions for the office of a bishop is to have children who are submissive, well behaved:
- “one who rules his own house well, HAVING HIS CHILDREN IN SUBMISSION WITH ALL REVERENCE
- (for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?).”
1 Timothy 3:4,5 (NKJV)
- Eli had challenges in the area of raising children.
WE do not have any record about the role that Mrs Eli played in the upbringing of their children, but we do know that those children were wayward, rebellious, and notorious. THEY abused the priesthood office! - A minister should not allow his work to take his attention away from his family.
• That being said, the minister’s wife should be able to fill the gap for the husband where there may be lapses: “Likewise, the wives must be reverent, not slanderers, temperate, FAITHFUL IN ALL THINGS” (1 Timothy 3:11).
- Children upbringing, training of children should be given an attention the way you give attentions to the assignment given to you by God.
IF you failed in the home front, particularly in children upbringing, it can affect your work, assignment, negatively, as it did that of Eli. - In a sense, Eli himself did not miss it, it was the moral failure of his children that caused the problem for him and his ministry.
GOD said his lineage would not be considered for priesthood again (1 Samuel 2:30; 3:12-14). - If you build your ministry at the expense of your home or family, it would later have an adverse effect, negative and unpleasant effects, on your work.
- Eli died on the same day that his two sons died, because of negligence on his part (I Samuel 4:17,18).
“For I have told him [Eli] that I will judge his house forever for THE INIQUITY WHICH HE KNOWS, BECAUSE HIS SONS MADE THEMSELVES VILE, AND HE DID NOT RESTRAIN [rebuke] THEM.”
1 Samuel 3:13 (NKJV)
- What happened to Eli shows us that a minister of God should not only pay attention to his work, ministry, but should pay attention to his family, in order to avoid distraction in the work.
- If you neglected your responsibility at home, you may become a public success, but private failure.
• Another important point to consider is that someone’s place can be given to another person.
- If you failed to do what said to do by God, correct what said to correct by Him, you can lose your place (1 Samuel 2:35,36).
- “‘THEN I WILL RAISE UP FOR MYSELF [God] A FAITHFUL PRIEST WHO SHALL DO ACCORDING TO WHAT IS IN MY HEART AND IN MY MIND. I will build him a sure house, and he shall walk before My anointed forever.
- ‘And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left in your house will come and bow down to him for a piece of silver and a morsel of bread, and say, “Please, put me in one of the priestly positions, that I may eat a piece of bread.”
1 Samuel 2:35,36 (NKJV)
- God usually has a substitute, an alternative vessel to use, when a vessel, someone, whom He reposes trust disappointed him.
- Eli and his sons missed the opportunity given to them to serve at the priesthood.
- You who serve at the altar should keep yourself holy.
THE sons of Eli were so wayward to the point that they began to defile the Tabernacle of God, they were sleeping with women at the entrance of the Tabernacle (1 Samuel 12:22; 2 Timothy 2:19; 1 Peter 1:16,16).
“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."
1 Samuel 12:22 (NKJV)
"Nevertheless, the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “LET EVERYONE WHO NAMES THE NAME OF CHRIST DEPART FROM INIQUITY."
2 Timothy 2:19 (NKJV)
- “but as He who called you is holy, YOU ALSO BE HOLY IN ALL YOUR CONDUCT,
- because it is written, “BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.”
1 Peter 1:15,16 (NKJV)
In whatever assignment you are given to do in the vineyard of God, do it well, and keep yourself pure, holy.
There is no one that God cannot deal with, if such habitually lives in sin.
If you missed it, you committed a sin, there is a room for repentance and forgiveness, however, God does not want anyone who claim to be born-again and working for Him to entrench in sin—habitually live in sin (1 John 1:9; 2:1,2; 1 Corinthians 5:1,9-11).
Eli and his sons died the same day and left a curse for their descendants, because of the type of life they lived.
Hophni and Phineas died in the battle front, lost the ark of God to the enemies—the Philistines (1 Samuel 4:10,11,17,18).
Do not take God’s forbearance and long-suffering for granted: when he is calling you and warning you, you will do well to heed His callings and warnings and change from your evil and negative ways (Proverbs 1:24-29; Zechariah 7:11-13; Romans 2:4-9).
• In addition to that, you also need to be fruitful in whatever assignment given to you.
- You have a privilege to lead praises in a fellowship gathering; teach a Bible class; witness to the people in your workplace, school, and neighbourhood where you live, or whatever; do not take it for granted.
- You should not trivialize, disdain, whatever you have a privilege to do for the Lord; rather you should appreciate the opportunity, see it as a rare privilege to be considered for God’s work—to be used of the Lord (Acts 5:40,41).
- “And they agreed with him, and when they had called for the apostles and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.
- So they departed from the presence of the council, REJOICING THAT THEY WERE COUNTED WORTHY TO SUFFER SHAME FOR HIS NAME."
Acts 5:40,41 (NKJV)
- The disciples rejoiced and counted it a privilege to suffer shame for the name of Christ.
• If you are privileged to serve, leading a few numbers of people: two, three, five, ten or whatever, do not despise it.
- God counts on those few people whom you are given an assignment to lead, minister or witness to—your presence and commitment to the people is important to God (1 Peter 5:2-4).
- Any level of leadership you found yourself, treasure it, and be consistent in whatever work you are given to do, because God will lift you based on your faithfulness in it.
- Whatever you do in contribution to the building of God’s kingdom, the Church of Christ on earth, would not go unnoticed and unrewarded.
“FOR GOD IS NOT UNJUST TO FORGET your WORK AND LABOUR OF LOVE WHICH YOU HAVE SHOWN TOWARDS HIS NAME, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister.”
Hebrew 6:10 (NKJV)
• In whatever capacity you are leading, do not soil your garment.
DO not make merchandize of the people of God; in other words, do not turn the people of God, given to you to watch over, to a means of making money.
- One of the things that God accused Eli and his sons of was THAT they were making themselves fat with the offerings of the people (1 Samuel 2:29).
“Why do you kick at My sacrifice and My offering which I have commanded in My dwelling place, and honour your sons more than Me, TO MAKE YOURSELVES FAT WITH THE BEST OF ALL THE OFFERINGS OF ISRAEL MY PEOPLE?”
1 Samuel 2:29 (NKJV)
- If you have found yourself in a mess: you have been tampering with the money of the church or fellowship, that is not meant for your personal use, you need to repent; OR you have been having illicit love affairs with the people under your leadership, you have to repent—do not take God’s forbearance, long-suffering, for granted nor despise it.
• Eli and his sons did not end well, they ended badly, because he, Eli, was negligent and apathetic about the character defects of his children—sins found in the lives of his children.
- God said Eli did not restrain his children (1 Samuel 13:13).
- Although he did talk to them but he was not stern or strict, he was apathetic about it (1 Samuel 2:22-25; 3:18).
• Correct yourself today, right every wrong in your life.
• You will not fail in Jesus' name.
Peace!