1 Samuel 3:11 - Meaning and Application

Here is the message God gave Samuel after all that introduction, about Eli’s family. God did not come to tell Samuel how great he would become or how famous he would be in Israel. Young people are often curious about their future, but God came to Samuel for a better purpose, to put him to work in his service and send him on a message to someone else.

That first message likely stayed with Samuel for life. It would later help him when his own sons turned out badly, though not as badly as Eli’s sons, still not as faithfully as they should have been (1 Samuel 8:3). The message is short, much shorter than the one the man of God had already brought (1 Samuel 2:27). Samuel was only a child, so God did not overload his memory with a long message. Children should not have their minds burdened too much, even with holy things.

It was also a sad message, a message of judgment. It confirmed the warning already given in the last chapter and fixed the sentence there spoken, because Eli may not have taken that warning as seriously as he should have. God’s threats become no less sure when people ignore them. In fact, the less they are heeded, the more certain they are to come and the heavier they will fall.

The message first speaks about Eli’s sin, the sin he knew about (1 Samuel 3:13). The man of God had told him of it, and Eli’s own conscience had often spoken to him too. We all have guilt and corruption in us that our own heart knows about. Eli’s sin was this: his sons made themselves vile, and he did not restrain them. The Hebrew wording can also mean that he did not look on them with a stern enough face. He may have shown disapproval, but not as strongly as he should have. He rebuked them, but he did not punish them for the evil they did, and he did not take away their power to keep doing evil, though as father, high priest, and judge he could have done so.

Sinners make themselves vile by their own wickedness. They corrupt themselves, because each person is tempted when dragged away by his own desires (James 1:14). In doing so, they lower themselves and become hateful not only to holy God, but also to holy people and angels. Sin is a vile thing, and nothing shames people more deeply (Psalm 15:4). Eli’s sons treated God lightly and made his offerings seem cheap in the eyes of the people, but the shame came back on them. They made themselves vile.

Those who have authority and do not restrain the sins of others, when they have the power to do so, share in the guilt. They will be held responsible as accomplices. People in authority have much to answer for if they do not make the sword they carry a terror to those who do wrong.

The message then speaks about the punishment, the same punishment God had already described for Eli’s house (1 Samuel 3:12, 13). God had said that he would judge Eli’s house forever, meaning a lasting curse would rest on his family from one generation to the next. The details of that curse had already been given and are not repeated here. But one new point is added: when the sentence began to be carried out, it would be so dreadful that all Israel would be shaken by it (1 Samuel 3:11). Everyone who heard it would feel it in his ears, as if they rang with alarm. Every Israelite would be struck with fear and amazement when they heard of Eli’s sons being killed, Eli’s neck being broken, and his family being scattered. How terrible God is in judgment. If this is done in a green tree, what will be done in the dry? God’s judgments on others should move us to holy fear (Psalm 119:120).

These first events in the judgment would also be clear signs that the rest would certainly follow. God said, when he began, he would go on and finish everything he had threatened (1 Samuel 3:12). This suggests there may be a delay before judgment starts, but delay is not pardon. Waiting is not the same as canceling the sentence. When God does begin, he finishes the work. Though he may seem slow, he strikes firmly.

There would also be no hope of reversing the sentence or softening its execution (1 Samuel 3:14). God would not take back his word, because he had backed it with an oath: he had sworn to Eli’s house. God does not turn back from what he has sworn, whether in mercy or in judgment. And there would be no way to settle the matter through sacrifice. The guilt of Eli’s house would not be cleansed by sacrifice or offering forever. No atonement would be made, and no punishment would be lifted.

This showed the weakness of the law’s sacrifices, because there were sins they could not reach and could not cleanse. But the blood of Christ cleanses from all sin, and those who trust in him are kept from the eternal death that sin deserves.

Samuel then delivered this message to Eli. He kept it quiet until morning (1 Samuel 3:15). He likely lay awake, thinking over what he had heard, repeating it in his mind, and considering how he should use it. After we receive the spiritual food of God’s word, it is wise to be still and let it settle in our hearts.

In the morning he opened the doors of the house of the Lord, as he usually did. He was up early in the tabernacle, and this was an act of remarkable readiness in a child. But on this morning it also showed humility. God had highly honored him above all the children of Israel, yet Samuel was not proud of it. He did not think himself too important for humble work. He still went and opened the doors of the tabernacle with the same willingness as before.

Those to whom God reveals himself are kept low in their own eyes. He makes them willing to do anything that serves his glory, even if it is only to stand as a doorkeeper in his house. We might expect Samuel to be so full of his vision that he forgot his usual duties, or ran to tell his companions about his night with God. Instead, he quietly kept it to himself and went on with his work. Private fellowship with God is not something to shout from the rooftops.

He was also afraid to tell Eli what he had seen. If he feared Eli would be angry and rebuke him, that would suggest Eli was often harsh with this promising child, even while he was too gentle with his own wicked sons. But it may be that Samuel was simply reluctant to grieve the old man and trouble him.

If Samuel had hurried at once to tell Eli this news, it might have looked like he was glad about Eli’s coming downfall and hoped to build his own family out of Eli’s ruin. So it was proper that he was not quick to speak up about the vision. No good person takes pleasure in carrying bad news, especially Samuel, speaking to Eli, his teacher and the man he loved and respected.

Eli then carefully questioned Samuel about it, as in 1 Samuel 3:16-17. As soon as he heard Samuel moving about, he called him, likely to his bedside. Since he already sensed that God had spoken to Samuel, he pressed him, first with earnest words, “Do not hide it from me,” and then with a solemn oath, “God do to you, and more also, if you hide anything from me.” Eli had plenty of reason to fear that the message meant harm for him, yet because it came from God, he could not bear to remain in the dark. A good person wants to know all of God’s will, whether it brings comfort or warning.

His oath also points to the awful end of unfaithful watchmen, that is, those appointed to warn others but who stay silent. If they do not warn sinners, they bring on themselves the very wrath and curse they should have spoken against those who keep on sinning.

Samuel at last gave the message faithfully, as in 1 Samuel 3:18. He told Eli everything. Once he knew he must speak, he did not soften the message, hide the hard parts, or try to make it sound better than it was. He delivered it plainly and fully, without leaving anything out. Christ’s ministers must speak with that same honesty.

Eli then accepted it in a godly way. He did not question Samuel’s honesty, grow angry with him, or argue that the sentence was unfair. He did not complain, like Cain did, that the punishment was too heavy to bear. Instead, he submitted patiently and accepted the penalty for his sin. “It is the Lord; let him do what seems good to him.”

Eli understood that the sentence meant a punishment in this life, with shame and poverty passing to his family line, not a final loss of God’s favor for all of them. So he submitted gladly. He did not complain, because he knew how guilty his house was. He also did not ask God to cancel the sentence, since God had confirmed it with a solemn oath and would not take it back. In this way, he quieted his heart in humble surrender to God’s will, like Aaron did in a similar situation (Leviticus 10:3), when Aaron held his peace.

In short, Eli rests on this comforting truth: “It is the Lord.” It is he who gives the judgment, and no one can appeal his decision or object to it. It is he who carries it out, and no one can resist his power, challenge his justice, or question his rule. It is the Lord who will glorify and honor himself in this, and it is right that he should. He is righteous and never does wrong to any of his creatures, nor does he demand more than their sin deserves.

From that truth, Eli draws this wise conclusion: “Let him do what seems good to him.” He has nothing to say against God’s way of dealing. God is righteous in all his ways and holy in all his works, so God’s will must be done. “I will bear the Lord’s anger, because I have sinned against him.” In this way, we should calm our hearts under God’s correction and never argue with our Maker.