Eli and Samuel: Mercy and Judgment
by Will Cabrera and Karen S. Roberts
When God gives statements of coming judgment, He also offers an opportunity to repent and to experience His mercy.
Out of a heart of mercy and love, God gives an opportunity to turn from our own ways and come back to Him.
Judgment Was Announced
In 1 Samuel 2, the priest Eli allowed himself and his two sons serving with him to slip far from their holy calling. God sent a prophet to shine light and to give them a chance to cry out for mercy and repent.
Why do you kick at My sacrifice and at My offering which I have commanded in My dwelling, and honor your sons above Me, by making yourselves fat with the choicest of every offering of My people Israel?’ Therefore the Lord God of Israel declares, ‘I did indeed say that your house and the house of your father should walk before Me forever’; but now the Lord declares, ‘Far be it from Me—for those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me will be lightly esteemed.
1 Samuel 2:29-30 NASB
Eli’s sons were defiling the holy sacrifices being offered for the forgiveness of sin. As priests, there were specific instructions on how they should carry out the burning of the sacrifices. After the fat was burned, priests were allowed to take a certain portion of the meat for themselves. But these priests were taking the meat with the fat, in disobedience to God’s instructions. Also they were seducing women who came to the tabernacle to worship.
The prophet announced that all of Eli’s male descendants would die without growing old.
Eli had previously pointed out to his sons that their actions were sinful, but he had done nothing to remove them from their priestly duties.
Mercy Was Offered
After hearing the word, Eli did not respond. So God gave another opportunity for repentance. The boy Samuel served the priests and ministered to the Lord in the tabernacle. He lived with Eli, who was his mentor.
Samuel did not yet recognize the voice of the Lord. God called out to him three times in the night, and he went to Eli to see if he needed something. Eli told him that he had not called him. But the third time this happened, Eli recognized that it must be God who was calling Samuel. He told Samuel that if he heard the voice again, he should answer, “Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening.”
This was Samuel’s induction into his prophetic calling. He heard God’s voice and answered in the way Eli had instructed. However, when he received God’s message, he was afraid to share it with Eli.
The next morning, Eli asked what the Lord had said to Samuel, telling him not to hold back anything. Samuel gave the message that what God had formerly predicted about Eli’s sons and descendants would come true. There had been no repentance since the prophet had given the first message, and Eli had not taken action to stop his sons from their sin.
As final as God’s judgment was proclaimed, mercy always triumphs over judgment. Scripture verifies that even when judgment is proclaimed, it was God’s way of giving the recipient time to change.
Time Ran Out on the Offer of Mercy
Years went by. Samuel grew up and became a great prophet of God. Eli and his sons did not repent. Finally the offer of mercy was withdrawn and judgment came.
Eli and sons didn’t change and it didn’t end well with them. All three of them died on the same day. You can read how that happened in 1 Samuel 4.
Our Prayer Today
Thank the Lord that we don’t live under the Old Covenant. We don’t have to worry about performing the proper animal sacrifices and rituals. But we do have to make sure our hearts don’t wander by honoring anything or anyone above God. Systems, structures, and ideologies all relentlessly compete for our devotion and placing God above it all. If we do lose focus, in His mercy, He will do all He can to bring us back. If we don’t come back, that’s where it gets ugly. Our hearts get hard, and we lose our ability to spiritually see, hear, and perceive.
Father, thank You for Your heart of mercy that leads and guides us. We hear Your voice and seek to be a people who truly only do and say what we see You do and hear You say. May we be quick to respond with full repentance when we realize that we place anything above honoring Your presence in our lives. Thank You for the New Covenant that assures us we get to live in a way that isn’t just like the world with a side of Jesus. You are everything. We love You and pray for Your church to unify as we meet together at the cross.
