1 Samuel 2:11 - Meaning and Application

In these verses, we see the good character and right order of Elkanah’s family set against the bad character of Eli’s family. The writer keeps these two families woven together on purpose, so one shines a light on the other. Elkanah’s devotion made Eli’s household sin look worse, while the wickedness of Eli’s sons made Samuel’s early faith look even brighter.

First, let us look at how things went in Elkanah’s family, and how much better they were than before. Eli sent them home from the house of the Lord with a blessing, after they had brought their little son there. He blessed them with authority: “May the Lord give you more children through this woman, in place of the one she gave to the Lord.” If Hannah had already had many children, it would not have been such a remarkable act of faith to give one to God. But when she had only one child, her beloved only son, offering him to the Lord was a bold act of devotion that should not lose its reward.

Just as Abraham, after offering Isaac, received the promise of many descendants (Genesis 22:16-17), so Hannah, after presenting Samuel to the Lord, received a living gift in return. What is lent to the Lord will surely be repaid, and often in a way that greatly blesses us. Hannah gave up one child to God and was given five in return, because Eli’s blessing came true: she had three sons and two daughters. Nothing is lost by giving to God or giving something up for him. It will be repaid many times over (Matthew 19:29).

They then returned to their own home. This is mentioned twice, because it mattered. It was sweet to worship at God’s house, to bless him, and to receive his blessing. Still, they had a family duty at home, so they went back gladly, leaving their dear little son behind because they knew he was in a good place. He does not seem to have cried after them. He was ready to stay, just as they were ready to leave, showing such early maturity that he was already putting childish things away.

They also kept up their regular worship at the house of God with their yearly sacrifice. They did not think that because their son was serving there, their own duty was finished. Having found the good of drawing near to God, they would not leave out any appointed time for worship. In fact, they now had one more reason to go to Shiloh, because their son was there too. We may suppose they visited more often than once a year, since Shiloh was not far from Ramah, but Scripture especially notes their yearly visit because then they brought their sacrifice. At that time Hannah also brought Samuel a new set of clothes, a little coat and everything needed with it. She cared for him during his service at the tabernacle and made sure he was properly supplied, so he could appear decent in his work and be encouraged in his early service.

Parents should see that their children have everything fitting for them, whether they live at home or away. And children who are dutiful, hopeful, and serving the Lord deserve even more care and kindness.

Samuel himself did very well. He is mentioned several times here, and two things are said of him. First, he ministered to the Lord as far as he was able. He learned his catechism, kept up his prayers, learned to read early, and took delight in the law of God. In these ways, he served the Lord. He ministered before Eli, meaning under Eli’s oversight and as Eli directed him, not under Eli’s sons, since all agreed they were unfit to guide him. Perhaps he waited on Eli’s person, ready to go and fetch things for him, and this counted as serving the Lord. He may also have done small tasks around the altar, though he was younger than the age set by the law for Levite service.

He could light a candle, carry a dish, run an errand, or shut a door. Because he did these things with a godly heart, they are called service to the Lord, and Scripture gives them great notice. After some time, he served so well that Eli gave him a linen ephod like the priests wore, though he was not a priest, because Eli saw that the Lord was with him. Little children should be taught early to serve the Lord. Parents should train them for it, and God will accept their service. In particular, children should learn to respect their teachers, as Samuel respected Eli. No one is too young to begin living for God (Psalm 8:2; Matthew 21:15-16).

Second, Samuel received blessing from the Lord. He grew before the Lord like a tender plant. He kept growing, in strength, height, wisdom, understanding, and usefulness. Young people who serve God as well as they can will receive grace to grow and serve him better. Those planted in God’s house will flourish (Psalm 92:13). He was in favor with the Lord and with people. That is a strong encouragement for children to be gentle, obedient, and good early in life. If they are, both God and people will love them. Such children are dear to both heaven and earth. What is said here about Samuel is also said of our blessed Savior, our great example (Luke 2:52).

Now let us look at how badly things went in Eli’s family, even though they lived right by the door of the tabernacle. The nearer they were to the church, the farther they were from God. Eli’s sons were terribly wicked. Scripture calls them sons of Belial, meaning worthless, lawless men. Nothing in the text suggests that Eli himself was not a good man. He had likely given his sons good teaching, good examples, and many prayers. Yet when they grew up, they became sons of Belial, openly profane and shameless men. They did not know the Lord.

They could not have been without some outward knowledge of God and his law, a kind of knowledge that people may talk about without obeying it (Romans 2:20). But because their lives did not match that knowledge, Scripture speaks of them as if they knew nothing of God at all. They lived as though God did not matter. Parents cannot give grace to their children, and godliness does not run in the blood. Many truly godly parents live to see their own children become openly ungodly and profane, for success does not always go to the swift.

Eli was high priest and judge in Israel, and his sons were priests by birth. Their calling was sacred and honorable, so they should have lived with special care for their reputation and conduct.

They lived right at the source of both civil power and ministry, yet they were worthless men. Their honour, power, and learning only made them worse. They did not go off to serve other gods, as people did who lived far from the altar, because their money and rank came from the house of God itself. But, far worse, they handled God’s service as if he were only one of the filthy idols of the nations.

It is hard to say which insults God more, idolatry or irreverence, especially when it comes from priests. Look at the wickedness of Eli’s sons, and it is a sad sight. They dishonored the Lord’s offerings and used them to feed their own greed and luxury. God had already given them enough from the sacrifices, but they were not satisfied. They served not the God of Israel, but their own appetites (Rom 16:18), like the greedy dogs who never have enough (Isa 56:11).

They robbed the worshipers by taking part of the peace offerings for themselves. The priests were supposed to receive the wave breast and the thigh (Lev 7:34), but that was not enough for these men. While the meat was boiling for the worshiper and his friends to eat in a holy meal, they sent a servant with a three-pronged meat hook. Whatever he lifted out of the pot, the priest claimed it for himself (1Sa 2:13, 1Sa 2:14). The people, because they had so much reverence, let this become a habit, until custom was used to excuse a clear wrong.

They also pushed in ahead of God himself and took what belonged to him. As Isaiah said, they wearied God as if it were a small thing to wear people out too (Isa 7:13). It is worth noting, to Israel’s credit, that even though the people quietly gave in to these demands, they still cared that God should not be robbed. They said, “Let them burn the fat first” (1Sa 2:16). The altar must have its due, because that is the main matter. Unless God receives the fat, there is little comfort in the flesh for anyone else.

It was a shame that the priests needed to be corrected by the people about their duty, but they would not listen. The priest wanted to be served first, and he wanted the fat too, because boiled meat was not enough for him. He wanted roasted meat, so they had to give him the sacrifice raw. If the worshiper objected, not for his own benefit but for the altar’s sake, saying the fat should be burned first, the priest’s servant became so rude that he would either take it at once or forcefully seize it. Nothing could be a greater insult to God or a greater abuse of the people.

The result was, first, that God was angry. The sin of these young men was very great before the Lord (1Sa 2:17). Nothing provokes God more than when holy things are treated with contempt and people use the Lord’s offerings to feed their own desires. Second, religion suffered because of it. People began to hate the offerings of the Lord. All good people hated the way these men handled the sacrifices, and many others slowly came to despise the offerings themselves because of them. It was the people’s sin to think badly of God’s commands, but it was the much greater sin of the priests that gave them cause to do so. Nothing brings greater shame on religion than ministers who are greedy, self-indulgent, and bossy.

In the middle of this sad story, Scripture again mentions Samuel’s devotion. “But Samuel ministered before the Lord” was a bright example of God’s grace, keeping him pure and godly in the middle of such a wicked group. This also helped keep the fading honor of the sanctuary alive in the people’s minds. After they had said all they could against Eli’s sons, they still had to admire Samuel’s seriousness and speak well of religion because of him.

They also corrupted the women who came to worship at the door of the tabernacle (1Sa 2:22). They had wives of their own, but they were like overfed animals with no restraint (Jer 5:8). It would have been shocking enough to go after common prostitutes, but they used the influence they had as priests over women who were devout and inclined toward religion, and led them into their sin. It is hard to imagine that men who called themselves priests could commit such dreadful wickedness. Heaven and earth should be stunned by it.

Eli’s rebuke of his sons for this wickedness comes next. Eli was very old (1Sa 2:22), so he could no longer supervise the tabernacle service as he once had, and he left everything to his sons. Because of his weakness in old age, they looked down on him and did whatever they wanted. Still, he was told what his sons were doing, and we can only imagine how painful that was to him and how much it added to his burdens in old age. Yet it seems he did not even rebuke them until he heard about their corruption of the women, and then he decided to speak. If he had corrected them earlier for their greed and self-indulgence, this later evil might have been prevented. Young people should be corrected as soon as they begin to show excess, before their hearts become hardened.

What Eli said was fair and sensible. He told them the facts were too clear to deny and too public to hide. “I hear about your evil dealings from all these people” (1Sa 2:23). This was not just a rumor from one or two people. Many were openly complaining, and everyone around them was crying out against them and bringing their complaints to him, expecting him to make things right.

He also showed them the harm they were causing. They were not only sinning themselves, they were making Israel sin too. They would have to answer for the people’s sin as well as their own. Men who should have turned others away from sin (Mal 2:6) were instead leading the Lord’s people into wrongdoing and corrupting the nation instead of reforming it. They were tempting people to turn from the God of Israel when they saw how badly he was being served.

He warned them about the danger they had brought on themselves (1Sa 2:25). He was pointing them toward what God later told him plainly, that this guilt would not be removed by sacrifice or offering (1Sa 3:14).

If one person sins against another, the judge, that is, the priest appointed to judge many cases (Deuteronomy 17:9), can hear the case, settle it, and make atonement, which means a way for the offense to be covered and peace restored, for the wrongdoer. But if someone sins against the Lord, if a priest dishonors the holy things of the Lord, if the one who should stand before God for others offends God himself, who can plead for him?

Eli, the high priest, was also a judge and had often prayed for sinners. Yet he says in effect, “You who sin against the Lord, against God’s law and honor, in the very things that belong to him and through which reconciliation is made, how can I plead for you?” Their situation was desperate. Their own father could not say a good word for them, nor could he rightly appear as their defender.

Sins committed against the remedy itself, against the atoning sacrifice, are especially serious. They are like trampling on the blood of the covenant, because then there is no other sacrifice left (Hebrews 10:26). Eli’s rebuke was also too soft. He should have rebuked them sharply, because their sins deserved it and their stubborn hearts needed it. Gentle treatment would only harden them further.

When Eli said, “It is no good report,” he should have said that it was a shameful scandal that must not be tolerated. Whether he was held back by love for his sons or fear of them, his weak response showed a lack of zeal for God’s honor and his sanctuary. He left them to God’s judgment, but as high priest and judge he should have dealt with their crimes himself and restrained and punished them. What he said was true, but it was not enough. Sometimes our rebukes need more force. Some people must be rescued with fear (Jude 1:23).

Their stubborn refusal to listen made things worse. Eli’s mild warning did not move them at all: they would not listen to their father, even though he was also a judge. They ignored both his authority and his love, which was a clear sign of their ruin. The reason was that the Lord intended to kill them. They had long hardened their hearts, and now God, in just judgment, hardened them further, seared their consciences, and withheld the grace they had resisted and lost.

Those who are deaf to wise correction are plainly marked for destruction. The Lord has decided to destroy them (2 Chronicles 25:16; Proverbs 29:1). Right after this, Samuel’s ready obedience is mentioned again (1 Samuel 2:26), to shame their stubbornness: “The child Samuel grew.” God’s grace belongs to him alone. He withheld it from the sons of the high priest and gave it to the child of an ordinary Levite from the country.