Wednesday Devo
Scripture:
1 Samuel 2:27–30
27 One day a man of God came to Eli and gave him this message from the Lord: “I revealed myself to your ancestors when they were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt. 28 I chose your ancestor Aaron from among all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer sacrifices on my altar, to burn incense, and to wear the priestly vest as he served me. And I assigned the sacrificial offerings to you priests. 29 So why do you scorn my sacrifices and offerings? Why do you give your sons more honor than you give me—for you and they have become fat from the best offerings of my people Israel!
30 “Therefore, the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I promised that your branch of the tribe of Levi would always be my priests. But I will honor those who honor me, and I will despise those who think lightly of me.
27 One day a man of God came to Eli and gave him this message from the Lord: “I revealed myself to your ancestors when they were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt. 28 I chose your ancestor Aaron from among all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer sacrifices on my altar, to burn incense, and to wear the priestly vest as he served me. And I assigned the sacrificial offerings to you priests. 29 So why do you scorn my sacrifices and offerings? Why do you give your sons more honor than you give me—for you and they have become fat from the best offerings of my people Israel!
30 “Therefore, the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I promised that your branch of the tribe of Levi would always be my priests. But I will honor those who honor me, and I will despise those who think lightly of me.
Commentary:
2:27–28 Did I indeed reveal …? Did I choose him …? These are rhetorical questions, expecting “Yes, indeed!” as an answer. The house of your father in vv. 27, 28, 30 is a technical term referring to Eli’s extended family. “Your father” probably refers specifically to Ithamar, son of Aaron, who was made a priest of the Lord at Mount Sinai along with his father and brothers (Ex. 28:1; cf. 1 Chron. 24:3). Eli was a descendant of this house, according to 1 Chron. 24:3, where it is stated that his great-great-great-grandson Ahimelech was “of the sons of Ithamar.” The descent from Eli to this Ahimelech is as follows: Eli—Phinehas—Ahitub (1 Sam. 14:3)—Ahimelech—Abiathar (22:20)—Ahimelech (2 Sam. 8:17; 1 Chron. 24:6). The duties of the priest were to go up to the Lord’s altar, i.e., (1) to burn offerings on the altar (e.g., Lev. 1:9), which was connected with the privilege of being sustained from portions of the sacrifices, a privilege that Eli’s sons were abusing (1 Sam. 2:12–17); (2) to burn incense on the altar of incense (Ex. 30:1; see Luke 1:9); and (3) to wear an ephod before God. This ephod was probably not the linen garment of 1 Sam. 2:18, but the jeweled breastplate described in Exodus 28 that symbolized the people of Israel, with pockets for the sacred lots (for priests casting lots, see Lev. 16:8, etc.). According to 1 Sam. 21:9, that ephod was later kept in the sanctuary of Nob, and Abiathar took it with him when he escaped to David (23:6). I gave to the house of your father all my offerings by fire. Except for the case of burnt offerings, which were wholly burned, when an offering was made, part was burned as a “memorial portion,” but the rest of the grain offerings, sin offerings, and guilt offerings and a part of the peace offerings were normally eaten by the priests (Lev. 6:14–18; 7:1–38).
2:27 A man of God is a synonym for “prophet” (e.g., 9:6; 2 Kings 1:9). Thus the LORD has said is the regular prophetic “messenger formula.” In Samuel this formula appears also in 1 Sam. 10:18; 15:2; 2 Sam. 7:5, 8; 12:7, 11; 24:12. In the ancient world, messengers were supposed to recite their messages verbatim, so the messenger would begin with “[The sender] has spoken thus” and use the first person in the body of the message (e.g., Gen. 45:9).
2:29 You is plural here. The form of the verb scorn indicates a habitual action. By scorning the offerings, Eli is scorning the Lord and honoring his sons, while the Lord honors those who honor him and lightly esteems those who despise him (v. 30).
2:30 Though the Lord promised, he can revoke his promise for willful disregard of the terms of the promise. Far be it from me is a statement of strong denial of the previous statement (e.g., Gen. 44:7; 1 Sam. 12:23; 2 Sam. 20:20; cf. also 1 Sam. 20:9).
Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 495–496.
2:27 A man of God is a synonym for “prophet” (e.g., 9:6; 2 Kings 1:9). Thus the LORD has said is the regular prophetic “messenger formula.” In Samuel this formula appears also in 1 Sam. 10:18; 15:2; 2 Sam. 7:5, 8; 12:7, 11; 24:12. In the ancient world, messengers were supposed to recite their messages verbatim, so the messenger would begin with “[The sender] has spoken thus” and use the first person in the body of the message (e.g., Gen. 45:9).
2:29 You is plural here. The form of the verb scorn indicates a habitual action. By scorning the offerings, Eli is scorning the Lord and honoring his sons, while the Lord honors those who honor him and lightly esteems those who despise him (v. 30).
2:30 Though the Lord promised, he can revoke his promise for willful disregard of the terms of the promise. Far be it from me is a statement of strong denial of the previous statement (e.g., Gen. 44:7; 1 Sam. 12:23; 2 Sam. 20:20; cf. also 1 Sam. 20:9).
Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 495–496.
Questions:
Eli knew what his sons were doing, and he even confronted them about their behavior. But he stopped short of doing what was necessary to restrain their sin and protect God's people. God's questioned Eli to expose the deeper issue: “Why do you honor your sons more than me?” Eli's failure was a failure of worship. The approval and comfort of his sons had become more important to him than obedience to God.
Brandon challenged us to recognize how easily something good: love for our family, desire for peace, compassion for someone we care about, can become disordered when it takes a place that belongs to God alone. God had given His priests a holy responsibility, and those who treated that responsibility lightly were were dishonoring God and harming His people.
Most of us know what it feels like to avoid a difficult conversation because we fear what will happen if we tell the truth. Sometimes we call that “keeping the peace,” when underneath it may be fear of rejection, conflict, embarrassment, or losing someone's approval. Biblical love does not mean protecting people from every uncomfortable consequence; sometimes love requires truth and correction.
Eli's failure should remind us that we cannot obey God faithfully while allowing another person's approval to become our highest authority. Jesus shows us what perfect obedience looks like: He never compromised the Father's will to gain the approval of people, yet He always acted with truth and compassion. Like Jesus, we can love people deeply without loving anyone more than we love God.
Brandon challenged us to recognize how easily something good: love for our family, desire for peace, compassion for someone we care about, can become disordered when it takes a place that belongs to God alone. God had given His priests a holy responsibility, and those who treated that responsibility lightly were were dishonoring God and harming His people.
Most of us know what it feels like to avoid a difficult conversation because we fear what will happen if we tell the truth. Sometimes we call that “keeping the peace,” when underneath it may be fear of rejection, conflict, embarrassment, or losing someone's approval. Biblical love does not mean protecting people from every uncomfortable consequence; sometimes love requires truth and correction.
Eli's failure should remind us that we cannot obey God faithfully while allowing another person's approval to become our highest authority. Jesus shows us what perfect obedience looks like: He never compromised the Father's will to gain the approval of people, yet He always acted with truth and compassion. Like Jesus, we can love people deeply without loving anyone more than we love God.
- Who is the hardest person for you to disappoint? What happens when doing what is right means risking that person's approval?
- How does Jesus’ willingness to endure rejection, suffering, and the cross redefine what true, courageous love actually looks like?
- Is there a relationship where "keeping the peace" has become an excuse to avoid something God is asking you to address? Are there steps you can take to share the truth in love with them?
Prayer Topics:
- Confess the times you have valued someone's approval, comfort, or happiness above obedience to God.
- Thank Jesus for taking our disobedience upon Himself at the cross.
- Ask God for wisdom to know when love requires patience and when love requires a difficult conversation.
This Week's City 7:
Try to commit to memory!
4. Can a person be good enough to go to heaven? No. Because Jesus rose from the dead, proving He is God, I believe a person is saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.
(John 1:12, 14:6; Acts 4:12; Romans 4:1-25, 5:1-2, 6-11, 6:23, 10:1-4, 10:9; Galatians 3:26; Ephesians 2:1-9; 1 Timothy 2:5-6; Titus 3:4-7)
(John 1:12, 14:6; Acts 4:12; Romans 4:1-25, 5:1-2, 6-11, 6:23, 10:1-4, 10:9; Galatians 3:26; Ephesians 2:1-9; 1 Timothy 2:5-6; Titus 3:4-7)
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