The Red Cloud chief., 1920-05-06
T.. The Wickedness Of Eli and His

!. The Wickedness Of Eli and His
Sons 2:12-l7. 27-36.
|. Eli's sons wv. l2.1T, ply. The he.
haviOr Of these sons is IN strange con
traSt tn that of the hoy Samuel. Els
SONS were priests and ministcrcd in
the things of the sanctuary, hut "knew
not the Lord" ". l2).
N) Graft wv. 12-1O. This greed
was practIccd upon the worshipers
who brought their sacrifices to the
sanctuary, according To Gods law.
God ordained that the priests should
have the breasts and shoulders Of the
animals which were brought to the nj.
tar lex. 29:27; Lev. 1881. 32). The
degenerate sons of Ell were not con.
tent with this. hut demanded more,
and even sought to obtain 1t by force
". 10y. Moreover. they lifted out
with n fork certain choice portions
while raw, and had them roasted.
Such behavior on the part of the
priests was revolving ~ the worship.
ers and resulted In the adherence OF
the Lords offerings.
.. Eli wv. 27-36). Ell was seeming
~ n good man, hat he seriously erred
before God in that ha failed TO disci.
pline his sons wv. 22-24). He knew
of their sins and was conscious of his
obligation, but his fatherly heart led
him into a sentimental indulgence; his
low got the better of his judgment.
ELI uns pnntnnt uritb n v,anl, ,n,.na
STRANGE lie was under obligation not
merely to speak against IL, but should
have acted against 1t.
70. Eli and His Sons Punished a.:
1-1S).
They ut last came to reap what
they had God has appointed n
day of judgment tActs 1T:3D. There
Is n harvest time for the sinner as
well aS for the righteous (JOel 3:13).
If one has sown In the wind he shall
reap the whirlwind. The Philistines
made war upon Israel and defeated
them with great slaughter. This iudg-
ment had been made known to Eli by
n IMAM of God" (2:2O and Samuel
3:11-lS). The Philistincs were in
strumcnts In the hands of God for
this judgment.
l. Tie battle with the PhiliStincs
wv. 100. The Israclites made an un-
successful attempt to free themselves
from the oppression of the philiStincs.
Israel was smitten and some 1000 were
slain. This aroused them 10 inquire
as 10 why the Lord had Smitten them
and to suggest that the ark be brought
from Shiloh as II defense against the
enemy. In this they committed two
blunders: () The elders had M right
= to handle the ark that belonged tO
the priests. Before taking such n step
they should have sought the mind Of
God, and IL II were his will that the
ark be brought. II should have been
dove by the priests. (2) II was a SUI
perstitiOuS use Of the ark, which was
a symbol Of Gods presence. They IL.
nOrantly assumed that the presence Of
God inhered In the symbol. forgetting
that he is the living God. who has n
will and purpose of his own, and there
fore will not give c%Ountenance to that
which disagrees with his holy purpose
and will. Processing Christians in this
age commit a similar error when they
substitute the sacraments Of the
church for the presence of God In the
soul. The earth rang out with n great
shout when the ark was brought into
the camp and the enemy was struck
with fear, for they knew what wonders
God had wrought in times past. In
their desperation they made & stand,
calling upon their mon to do their best
With their backs to the wall they
fought and won the victory.
=. %Israel's disastrous defeat (vv. 10
49,. % The army was routed and Il
great slaughter occurred ". l0 (2)
the ark of God was taken ". 100. the
symbol of the divine presence with It's
sacred memories torn from their grasp
and with 1t went lsrael's hope: CD
Els sons slain ". lO) the very priests
who were the ~cuStOdians of the ark
were slain; (i) death of Eli the high
priest ". lS). The news of the de-
feat of the army and the death GE his
900. .Fl.. A..rG. 49,. l