The Book of 1Samuel—2:12-17

“The Importance of Godly Leadership” Pt.1

(2/8/15)

When we started 1Samuel we said that the main issue this book deals with is the issue of leadership.

In fact both 1 & 2 Samuel chronicle for us the lives of three of Israel’s most famous leaders— Samuel, Saul and David.

Samuel served the nation as a prophet, priest and judge; Saul as its first king and David as its second king.

Since these things were written for our learning (Rom.15:4)—the thing we learn from the history of Israel is that in the absence of godly leadership a nation will suffer and decline—whereas in the presence of godly leadership it will prosper and be strengthened.

Now up to this point, the focus has been on Elkanah and his family (1:1–2:11)—but now it will shift to Eli and his family (2:12–3:21).

And we’re going to see how the Holy Spirit will be contrasting the corrupt leadership of Eli and his sons (priesthood) with the godly leadership God was raising up in the person of Samuel.

For example—Eli’s sons, Hophni and Phinehas “abhorred the offering of the Lord” (2:17)—but “Samuel ministered before the Lord” (v. 18).

The two brothers committed evil deeds at the tabernacle and invited God’s judgment—but Samuel served at the tabernacle and grew in God’s favor (v. 26).

The priestly line would end in Eli’s family—but Samuel would be called of God to carry on a holy priesthood (2:34–3:1).

Verse 17 tells us that because of the corruption of Eli’s sons, who were supposed to be representatives, ministers of God—the people hated coming to the house of God to offer Him sacrifices (worship).

This is still a problem today in the ministry.

Ministry is like any other profession (even though I don’t think of ministry as a career but a calling)—

But having said that, ministry is like any other profession that is supposed to serve others, whether we’re talking about law enforcement, civil service, or even the medical profession—

We see people in these professions that have good hearts and only want to serve others—and then we see some that are attracted to these professions to benefit themselves.

And the same is true with the ministry—we see many people get into ministry who have good hearts, who only want to serve the Lord and help people—

But it also attracts people that only see the ministry as a way to benefit and enrich themselves.

These corrupt and selfish ‘ministers’ see the ministry as a way to make a buck and people as nothing more than pawns to be used to achieve those selfish objectives.

Of course the devil uses them to make the rest of us look bad also.

There are many in our country that look at Christianity and see these people in ministry, they see the greed, the scandals and the constant emphasis placed on money and it turns them off to church.

Of course atheists and secularists use this to prove that Christianity is a joke, loaded with crooks and phonies that are up on stage playing a part, acting like sincere men of God when all they really are are religious hucksters and con-men—and certainly some of that is true as our text demonstrates.

The problem is that the atheists and secularists divide the world into two groups—the religious and the secular—and when it comes to the religious they lump the good in with the bad and condemn us all—

Christian con-artists, Muslim terrorists, Satanists, Scientologists—anyone that believes in the spiritual regardless of what that spirituality is is lumped together and categorized and condemned as clueless idiots at best and evil nut-jobs at worst.

When in reality the world is divided into three groups not two—not just the religious and secular—it is divided into the religious, the secular and true believers otherwise known as the Body of Christ.

Those that look at the religious phonies masquerading as Christians and reject Jesus because of them will stand before God someday and give an account—

“Well God I didn’t believe in You because of all the phonies and hypocrites in the church…”

And the LORD will say to them, “I didn’t tell you to believe in the phonies and hypocrites in the church I told you to believe in My Son…”

From a human perspective it looked as though Eli’s evil sons were getting away with their wicked practices but God was preparing them for judgment—just as He is doing with the corrupt pastors and preachers we see in the church today—

2 Peter 2:1-3 (NLT) 1 But there were also false prophets in Israel, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will cleverly teach destructive heresies and even deny the Master who bought them. In this way, they will bring sudden destruction on themselves. 2 Many will follow their evil teaching and shameful immorality. And because of these teachers, the way of truth will be slandered. 3 In their greed they will make up clever lies to get hold of your money. But God condemned them long ago, and their destruction will not be delayed.

I’d like to divide this section into two main parts: 1. The Corruption of Eli’s Sons in Ministry; 2. The Preparation of Samuel for Ministry

I. The Corruption of Eli’s Sons in Ministry

A. The practices of Eli’s sons—v.12-17, 22

1 Samuel 2:12-17 (NKJV) 12 Now the sons of Eli were corrupt; they did not know the LORD. 13 And the priests' custom with the people was that when any man offered a sacrifice, the priest's servant would come with a three-pronged fleshhook in his hand while the meat was boiling. 14 Then he would thrust it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; and the priest would take for himself all that the fleshhook brought up. So they did in Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there. 15 Also, before they burned the fat, the priest's servant would come and say to the man who sacrificed, "Give meat for roasting to the priest, for he will not take boiled meat from you, but raw." 16 And if the man said to him, "They should really burn the fat first; then you may take as much as your heart desires," he would then answer him, "No, but you must give it now; and if not, I will take it by force." 17 Therefore the sin of the young men was very great before the LORD, for men abhorred the offering of the LORD… 22 Now Eli was very old; and he heard everything his sons did to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle of meeting.

The number one reason there is so much corruption in the ministry is stated right here in v.12— “Now the sons of Eli were corrupt; they did not know the LORD.”

The reason these men were so wicked and corrupt was because they were unbelievers— which is the number one reason for the vast majority of corruption among leaders in the church.

The church has become infested with false teachers and preachers—even though God warned us over and over in His Word to be on guard against them.

Matthew 7:15 (NKJV) 15 "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.

Jesus begins a section warning us against false prophets in Matt.7:15 with the warning— “Beware”.

The Greek word translated ‘beware’ means “to pay attention to, to keep on the lookout for, to be on one’s guard against”.

And Jesus is very clear as to those He is warning us to beware of—“Beware of false prophets”.

A ‘prophet’ is anyone that speaks on behalf of God—pastor, teacher, preacher etc.

False prophets are nothing new or unique to the Church Age—they have been around from the beginning—

“But there were also false prophets in Israel, just as there will be false teachers among you…” (2Peter 2:1 NLT)

So false prophets have been around since the beginning—in fact much of the ministry of God’s true prophets in the O.T. was taken up with confronting, correcting and rebuking false prophets who were like a cancer in the land of Israel—

Jeremiah 14:14 (NKJV) 14 And the Lord said to me, "The prophets prophesy lies in My name. I have not sent them, commanded them, nor spoken to them; they prophesy to you a false vision, divination, a worthless thing, and the deceit of their heart.

Of course there would be no false prophets if there wasn’t a market for their lies—

Isaiah 30:9-11 (NLT) These people are stubborn rebels who refuse to pay attention to the LORD’s instructions. 10 They tell the seers, “Stop seeing visions!” They tell the (true) prophets, “Don’t tell us what is right. Tell us nice things. Tell us lies. 11 Forget all this gloom. Get off your narrow path. Stop telling us about your ‘Holy One of Israel.’” (Comment)

Of course that was in exactly the opposite message Jesus gave us when He said that the narrow path (Him) was the only path that leads to heaven—the Broadway leads to destruction (hell). (Matt.7:13-14)

Again, false prophets wouldn’t be around if people didn’t want to hear their lies—

Jeremiah 5:30-31 (NLT) 30 A horrible and shocking thing has happened in this land— 31 the prophets give false prophecies, and the priests rule with an iron hand. Worse yet, my people like it that way! But what will you do when the end comes? (Judgment was coming—elaborate)

Paul the apostle predicted that this attitude would continue in the Church and become more and more prevalent the closer we got to the Lord’s return—

2 Timothy 4:3-4 (NLT) 3 For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will reject the truth and chase after myths.

One of the big reasons so many in the church are being deceived and drawn into false doctrine is because there is so much emphasis being placed on the mystical (experiences, visions, and dreams) and so little emphasis being placed on the biblical in the way of teaching sound doctrine.

Isaiah 8:19-20 (NKJV) 19 And when they say to you, "Seek those who are mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutter," should not a people seek their God? Should they seek the dead on behalf of the living? 20 To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.

And so Eli’s wicked sons did not know the Lord (were not saved) and four sins are charged to them in this passage—

1. They robbed the people of their share of the peace offering, not being satisfied with just the breast and thigh (cf. Lev. 7:28–34).

2. They demanded meat before the fat had been offered to God, thus shirking the law.

3. They wanted roasted meat instead of boiled—putting their own carnal appetites first. If anyone tried to protest, they took the meat … by force.

4. They seduced and slept with the women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. (v.22)

According to Old Testament Law, with the exception of burnt offerings, the priests were allowed to take for themselves certain parts of the animal sacrifices after they were offered to the Lord.

Instead Hophni and Phinehas took for themselves any cut of meat they wanted—including the fat which God had said belonged to Him alone.

One commentator— “The fat was thought to be the most luxurious, best part of the animal, so they gave it to God. The idea was that God should always get the best, and God should get His portion first. But in their pride the sons of Eli took their portion before they burned the fat.”

They even took raw meat so they could roast it and not have to eat boiled meat—why did the sons of Eli want raw meat?

Perhaps it was so they could prepare it anyway they pleased; or more likely, it was because raw meat was easier to sell and they sold the meat and pocketed the money.

And if all of that wasn’t enough to anger the LORD we read in v.22 that they even slept with the women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle of meeting.

Who were these women? They were probably volunteers who assisted the priests and Levites there in the house of the LORD in Shiloh.

They may have cleaned up the area where families came and ate the Levitical feasts there at the tabernacle.

Perhaps they helped care for the little children who came with the adult worshipers, or they may have been there just to be close to the presence of the Lord.

Whatever the role of these women was Hophni and Phinehas, instead of putting the spiritual wellbeing of these women before their own selfish desires—they seduced them and had sex with them right there in the priests quarters in the tabernacle area.

Immorality in ministry unfortunately is not new or even uncommon—not back then and not today.

Pastors and preachers that take advantage of women who trust them as men of God and get close to them only to be led down a path of immorality is nothing new.

These two priests were so evil that verse 16 tells us they did not hesitate to use the threat or even the act of violence to get what they wanted saying to the people “give us what we want or we’ll take it be force.”—

1 Samuel 2:17 (NKJV) 17 Therefore the sin of the young men was very great before the LORD, for men abhorred the offering of the LORD.

You say, “How did these men justify the things they did?”

Well that comes through in v.13— “And the priests' custom with the people was that when any man offered a sacrifice…”

The word translated “custom” has a basic meaning of “justice”—it’s based on the same root as the term judge.

The problem was the sons of Eli began to justify their actions based on what they thought was right.

We see this going on in many churches where it doesn’t matter that God says homosexuality is a sin and forbidden—many churches, pastors and denominations have decided it isn’t a sin because they don’t feel in their heart that it’s wrong.

They have made a judgment on this issue based on what they feel is right and now have determined that homosexuality and gay marriage are good and moral—even though God in His Word has said just the opposite—

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 (NLT) 9 Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, 10 or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God.

But with regard to the issue of judges and justice, remember that 1Samuel opens us during the period of the Judges.

These were men chosen by God to lead the nation by fighting against their enemies (Samson killed many Philistines as a Judge)—but it was also their responsibility to bring justice to Israel.

However because many of these judges wanted to live immorally or act unjustly themselves they decided to reject God’s laws in favor of doing whatever seemed right in their own eyes.

Whenever those in power decide that they are going to impose on the people they govern their own standard of right and wrong instead of following what God has said in His Word—the result is tyranny.

We are seeing this in our own country…(Barak Obama; Anise Parker etc.)

Since I’ve called this message, “The Importance of Godly Leadership”—let me digress for a few minutes and then we’ll close.

If you’ve ever listened to our congressional leaders or even people in the media talk about our country you’ll hear the word ‘democracy’ thrown around a lot.

We hear them talk about “our democracy”, we hear the president speak about our “great democracy”.

When I hear them talk like that I’m not sure if they’re being purposely deceptive or just showing their ignorance—or maybe a little of both!

America is not now, nor has it ever been a democracy—most people don’t know that.

If you doubt what I’m saying all you have to do is look to the Pledge of Allegiance as proof.

“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all”.

Notice that America is a republic, not a democracy—what’s the difference?

A democracy is government by the people where the majority rules—you say what’s wrong with that?

Well, if 51% of the people in a democracy believe that any form of religion is evil and a danger to the state—they can vote to outlaw the freedom of the 49% (minority) to practice their religion—and the same goes for any other issue.

If the majority decides that certain forms of speech are hateful and a harm to others—they can vote to outlaw that speech and those that continue to practice it can be arrested and prosecuted for hate speech.

What did Winston Churchill think about democracy? “The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.”

Karl Marx told us “Democracy is the road to socialism”—why did Marx say this?

Because as Ben Franklin said, “When the people discover they can vote themselves money from the national treasury—that will herald the end of the republic.”

However the biggest problem with democracy is that it only gives the illusion of freedom and government by the people and for the people.

In his book “The Unseen Hand” A. Ralph Epperson says: “It is generally conceded that even a monarchy or a dictatorship is an oligarchy, or a government run by a small, ruling minority. Such is also the case with a democracy, for this form of government is traditionally controlled at the top by a small ruling oligarchy. The people in a democracy are conditioned to believe that they are indeed the decision-making power of government, but in truth there is almost always a small circle at the top making the decisions for the entirety."

You say, “Alright, what then is a Republic?”

A republic is a government based on the rule of law—not on the whims, opinions and selfish desires of the majority.

One author put it this way, “In a Republican form of government, the power rests in a written Constitution, wherein the powers of government are limited so that the people retain the maximum amount of power themselves. In addition to limiting the power of government, care is also taken to limit the power of the people to restrict the rights of both the majority and the minority. What is the law upon which the American Republic rests? The US Constitution is the framework that keeps government powers in check. The Law is Supreme and the people can change America only by changing the laws. The Constitution provides the framework in which that change may occur. Want to make abortion legal? Change the law. The Constitution clearly spells out how it must be done, and the courts can’t do it.”

We have a president that is supposed to be a Constitutional scholar—but instead of following the Constitution he constantly by-passes Congress and governs by Executive Order.

But he isn’t the only one—I think more than anything else our country has become a Krytocracy.

A Krytocracy is “government ruled by judges.”

Judgements in a krytocracy are arrived at by the personal opinions of the judge.

Somewhere along the way judges in this country decided that they actually govern this country and as such our judges are now all powerful—and therefore they have rendered the will of the people practically meaningless.

Twice the people of California voted to amend their state constitution banning gay marriage— but one gay activist judge overturned it.

All of this has happened because we as a people have rejected God’s laws and we now find ourselves being governed by judges who tell us that certain forms of speech are hate crimes, killing the unborn is legal and gay marriage is a right.

Job 9:24, “When a land falls into the hands of the wicked, He blindfolds its judges.”

Isaiah 59:14-15, “Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands afar off; for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter. So truth fails, and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. Then the Lord saw it and it displeased Him that there was no justice.”

What is justice?

It is upholding God’s laws and making sure they are applied to every person across the board fairly.

When a nation no longer honors and obeys God’s laws—the result is the book of Judges—a nation where everyone does whatever seems right in their own eyes.

When a nation rejects God’s laws in favor of laws that reflect their rebellion against Him—God gives that nation over to its own wicked and oppressive laws.

Ezekiel 20:24-25 (NIV) 24 because they had not obeyed my laws but had rejected my decrees and desecrated my Sabbaths, and their eyes [lusted] after their fathers' idols. 25 I also gave them over to statutes that were not good and laws they could not live by;

We’ll continue this study next week as we look at the importance of godly leadership.