The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1901-10-06
THE SIN OF ELI.
Selected Tor The Times.l

For / have told him that I will judge
his house forever, for the iniquity which
he knoweth; because his sons made them
selves vile he restrained them mott.
Samuel, 3, IS.
From the days and rule of Joshua,
Israel had had many judges, more or
less worthy OF this place of honor. Time
would fail to tell of all of them and their
deeds of valor-
Eli is the last but one in the Ions dis
astrous rule of the judges. He fifty chose
this period Of the history Of Israel. He
was not only judge. but high priest as
well. 1t is the only instance, however,
of the union of these two highest offices
in one person. It would seem to indicate
the gradual advance towards political
consolidation which later eliminated in
a King. It also hints that he may, like
his own sons, have acted as a soldier in
his carly years.
In times OF peace the priest attains &C
tive political power as the head Of a rude
people, but this age was the reverse of
quiet Israel had to guard continually its
table land against numerous enemies, and,
therefore, needed a warrior to protect
and lead them.
Since the days Of Joshua, the center OF
the Hebrew Commonwealth had been
Shiloh, {; spot about twenty miles north
OF their future capital, Jerusalem. Shut
in by hills, it lay in the quiet hollow of
an upland valley, amidst orchards and
vineyards, the earliest and as yet the
most sacred sanctuary of the nation. The
tabernacle constructed under Moses in the
wilderness and pitched at Gilgal had
been finally removed to Shiloh; there it
remained until the days Of Saul. Amid
all the darkness and corruption OF the
age it had at least given the nation q
local center and been a witness for ,!e-
hovah ELI was high priest. AS Saul he
was Gods chosen representative TO His
people. To him was given the vast re-
sponsibility OF nstructing and correcting
his household and his nation. In an age
of careless Indifference, it was his duty to
be rigidly exact in all observance of the
law and to teach by example as well as
by rrecept.
1cIl was amiable This is shown in the
absence of envy when the child Samuel
was preferred to be the medium OF
Gods message--and such a MESA ge!-to
him.
He was deeply religious. His life work
had accentuated that For more than forty
years he judged Israel. When he received
the warning and finally the sentence of his
fanily.s utter overthrow, his faith and
his submission to Gods viii We're beauti
fully expressed In the words: ut is the
Lord; let Him do what seemeth Him
good
What, then, was his sin? A sin so ter
rible that it allotted out in one day the
whole family, root and branch.
He had associated with him his two
sons, Hophni and Phineas. perhaps,
on account of his feeble health They
had shown themselves utterly unworthy
Of the sacred Office. Shopping to the level
| OF the debased idolatry around they had
brought discredit on the worship of Je-
hovah. Nor was this all. The duties of
| the sanctuary at large We're treated by
| them with the most insolent disrespect
| The very offerings we're rudely seized for
| their own ables, and they used their sa-
cred office only. for their unbridled self
Indulgence.
such dissertation Of a function so
lofty and awful might well have called
forth the sternest reprebation from Eli
as at once the High Priest Judge OF
i Israel. but It wassstill more binding on
him as the IA her OF the transgressors.
]. He contented himself with a mild rebLke.
whenthe most severe and vigorous action
was Imperative g man of Cod strove
to alarm him and incite him to his duty.