(For part
1, see 10/7/26)
1 Samuel
3:11, “And the LORD said to Samuel, Behold, I will do a thing in
Israel, at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall
tingle. 12In that day I will perform against Eli all things
which I have spoken concerning his house: when I begin, I will also
make an end. 13For I have told him that I will judge his house for
ever for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons made
themselves vile, and he restrained them not.” Note: there was a
time for repentance (see 1 Sam. 2:27-36), but it was too late at
this point. “14And therefore I have sworn unto the house of Eli,
that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be purged with sacrifice
nor offering for ever. 15And Samuel lay until the morning, and opened
the doors of the house of the LORD. And Samuel feared to shew Eli the
vision. 16Then Eli called Samuel, and said, Samuel, my son. And he
answered, Here am
I. 17And he said, What is
the thing that the LORD
hath said unto thee? I pray thee hide it
not from me: God do so to thee, and more also, if thou hide any
thing from me of all the things that he said unto thee. 18And Samuel
told him every whit, and hid nothing from him. And he said, It is
the LORD: let him do what seemeth him good.”
In 1
Samuel chapter 4, we observe the fulfillment of God's judgment upon
the house of Eli. Israel went into battle against the Philistines, and
the battle did not go well for them. The Israelites sent for the Ark
of the Covenant to be brought to the battlefield, presumably to elicit
the intervention of God and encourage the soldiers to press on to
victory. However, the Israelites were already defeated. There was
nothing that could be done: “the iniquity of Eli's house shall not
be purged with sacrifice nor offering forever,” v. 14. This was all
according to God's plan to bring Hophni and Phinehas to the
battlefield as they accompanied the Ark. The Ark was captured, and
Eli's two sons were killed in battle. Eli, having received the news
of what had happened, fell backward off his seat, broke his neck, and
died. Phinehas' wife, being with child, went into labor when she
heard of her husband's death. She named the child Ichabod, which means
“the glory is departed from Israel.” God's warning was that He
would cut off the house of Eli. 1 Sam. 2:31, “...there shall not be
an old man in thine house.”
The
death, devastation, and destruction in Israel was because there was
not a man who would hear the Word of the Lord. The glory was departed
from Israel because they would not hear the Word of the Lord. The
death, devastation, and destruction in our world is because of man's
failure to hear the Word of the Lord. In 1 Samuel 7:3, we observe the
beginning of Samuel's revival ministry, “And Samuel spake unto all
the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto the LORD with all
your hearts, then
put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare
your hearts unto the LORD, and serve him only: and he will deliver
you out of the hand of the Philistines. 4Then the children of Israel
did put away Baalim and Ashtaroth, and served the LORD only... 9And
Samuel took a sucking lamb, and offered it
for a burnt offering wholly
unto the LORD: and Samuel cried unto the LORD for Israel; and the
LORD heard him.” It is imperative that the Body of Christ
continually receive specific instructions from the Lord Jesus for our
mission each day until He returns for us.