Friday Devo
Scripture:
1 Samuel 2:27-36
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. 31 The time is coming when I will put an end to your family, so it will no longer serve as my priests. All the members of your family will die before their time. None will reach old age. 32 You will watch with envy as I pour out prosperity on the people of Israel. But no members of your family will ever live out their days. 33 The few not cut off from serving at my altar will survive, but only so their eyes can go blind and their hearts break, and their children will die a violent death. 34 And to prove that what I have said will come true, I will cause your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, to die on the same day!
35 “Then I will raise up a faithful priest who will serve me and do what I desire. I will establish his family, and they will be priests to my anointed kings forever. 36 Then all of your surviving family will bow before him, begging for money and food. ‘Please,’ they will say, ‘give us jobs among the priests so we will have enough to eat.’”
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. 31 The time is coming when I will put an end to your family, so it will no longer serve as my priests. All the members of your family will die before their time. None will reach old age. 32 You will watch with envy as I pour out prosperity on the people of Israel. But no members of your family will ever live out their days. 33 The few not cut off from serving at my altar will survive, but only so their eyes can go blind and their hearts break, and their children will die a violent death. 34 And to prove that what I have said will come true, I will cause your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, to die on the same day!
35 “Then I will raise up a faithful priest who will serve me and do what I desire. I will establish his family, and they will be priests to my anointed kings forever. 36 Then all of your surviving family will bow before him, begging for money and food. ‘Please,’ they will say, ‘give us jobs among the priests so we will have enough to eat.’”
Commentary:
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).
2:31–34 This is a curse for breaking the Lord’s covenant, with punishment given in words of curses similar to the curses in the covenant. Behold, the days are coming is an eschatological formula often found in the Prophets. The only one who shall be spared is Abiathar, who escaped when the priests of Nob were killed (22:20). Solomon later banished him to Anathoth; see 1 Kings 2:26–27, where it is stated that the banishment was a fulfillment of the prophecy against Eli. Jeremiah was probably descended from this house (Jer. 1:1). All the descendants is a general statement, because there are references to those who were left (see the previous clause in 1 Sam. 2:33, as well as v. 36). Eli will not live to experience the punishment, but the death of his two sons on the same day will be a sign to him that the prophecy is true.
2:35 The faithful priest with a sure house is probably Zadok, priest under David and a descendant of Ithamar’s brother Eleazar, son of Aaron (2 Sam. 8:17; 1 Chron. 24:3; see also Judg. 20:28). The Hebrew word “faithful” is the same as “sure” later in the sentence: the ne’eman priest will have a ne’eman house. The anointed is the king. The wording here is similar to that in 2 Samuel 7, where David is promised a “sure” house (2 Sam. 7:16).
Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 495–496.
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).
2:31–34 This is a curse for breaking the Lord’s covenant, with punishment given in words of curses similar to the curses in the covenant. Behold, the days are coming is an eschatological formula often found in the Prophets. The only one who shall be spared is Abiathar, who escaped when the priests of Nob were killed (22:20). Solomon later banished him to Anathoth; see 1 Kings 2:26–27, where it is stated that the banishment was a fulfillment of the prophecy against Eli. Jeremiah was probably descended from this house (Jer. 1:1). All the descendants is a general statement, because there are references to those who were left (see the previous clause in 1 Sam. 2:33, as well as v. 36). Eli will not live to experience the punishment, but the death of his two sons on the same day will be a sign to him that the prophecy is true.
2:35 The faithful priest with a sure house is probably Zadok, priest under David and a descendant of Ithamar’s brother Eleazar, son of Aaron (2 Sam. 8:17; 1 Chron. 24:3; see also Judg. 20:28). The Hebrew word “faithful” is the same as “sure” later in the sentence: the ne’eman priest will have a ne’eman house. The anointed is the king. The wording here is similar to that in 2 Samuel 7, where David is promised a “sure” house (2 Sam. 7:16).
Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 495–496.
Questions:
The passage ends with a devastating judgment on Eli's house, but also a promise: God will raise up a faithful priest who will do what is in His heart and mind. The failure of Eli, Hophni, and Phinehas creates a longing for someone who will actually represent God faithfully. Brandon connected this promise to Jesus, our ultimate and perfect High Priest.
Jesus does not only give us an example of a better priest, He accomplishes what sinful priests could never accomplish. He perfectly obeys the Father, offers Himself as the sufficient sacrifice for sin, and continually represents His people before God. That means the Christian life is not ultimately about becoming good enough to earn God's acceptance. It is about being united to the faithful Christ and then being transformed by His grace.
When we fail, we do not have to hide from God until we can make ourselves worthy, we can come honestly to the One who has already made a way for us to draw near. When we feel the weight of our failures as parents, leaders, spouses, friends, or Christians, we can remember that our hope does not rest on our perfection. God has provided the faithful Priest we could never be. And because Jesus is faithful, we can repent without despair and entrust the people and responsibilities He has given us into His hands.
Jesus does not only give us an example of a better priest, He accomplishes what sinful priests could never accomplish. He perfectly obeys the Father, offers Himself as the sufficient sacrifice for sin, and continually represents His people before God. That means the Christian life is not ultimately about becoming good enough to earn God's acceptance. It is about being united to the faithful Christ and then being transformed by His grace.
When we fail, we do not have to hide from God until we can make ourselves worthy, we can come honestly to the One who has already made a way for us to draw near. When we feel the weight of our failures as parents, leaders, spouses, friends, or Christians, we can remember that our hope does not rest on our perfection. God has provided the faithful Priest we could never be. And because Jesus is faithful, we can repent without despair and entrust the people and responsibilities He has given us into His hands.
- When you fail, what is your instinct: hide from God, punish yourself, try to fix everything, blame someone else, or run toward Him? What does your response reveal about what you really believe about God's character?
- When you consider the ways human leaders have disappointed you, the ways you have disappointed others, and the ways you yourself have failed God, what changes when your ultimate confidence rests not in the faithfulness of people, but in the finished work and ongoing priestly ministry of Jesus?
- What are you currently trying to control, fix, or carry that God may be asking you to surrender to Christ? How can you begin to entrusting those things to Him?
Prayer Topics:
- Confess the ways you have tried to hide your failures, justify yourself, or control outcomes instead of bringing them honestly to God.
- Thank God for providing a faithful High Priest in Jesus.
- Ask God to help you repent quickly and faithfully carry the responsibilities He has given you without trying to control what belongs to Him.
- Praise Jesus because He is the faithful Priest we are not.
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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