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And God arranged that the sustenance for the. priests should come from the offerings presentedvat the altar; thus the priest had the add£d honor of be ing near to God. That any one should complain, or “kick” about this arrangement seems unthinkable. But Eli did (cf, v. 29). Furthermore, Eli honored his sons above: his God by refusing to rebuke their evil actions. Eli could fyave controlled his sons, but all he did was to halfheartedly rebuke them (cf. vs. 22-24). Their actions brought the priesthood into disrepute among the people who, quick to . imitate these wicked men, began to despise God’s altar and His worship. Hence, Eli and his sons had to be removed, and other leaders appoint ed. God had said that the priesthood should be forever, but that did not preclude a change in the house of the priest. The priest would be estab lished in the office as long as he put God first, and honored Him before the people. II. E li ’ s S uccessor (2:35) In this passage, the immediate ref erence is to Samuel. Nevertheless, by the law. of double reference—that is, that principle in Scripture by which two characters or two events are seen at once—a Priest greater than Samuel is in view, that is, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the faithful One, per forming all the duties of the Priest’s office, according to the heart and mind of God who appointed Him. His “house” (v. 30), would be made sure, because He would put God the Father first in all His life and work. And because of this honoring of God, God would honor Him (v. 30; cf. Heb. 1 : 2 , 8 ). The words, “he shall walk before mine anointed,” contain a reference to Messiah, as the word “ anointed” means. III. E li ’ s D eath (4:12-18.) The conduct of Eli’s sons, together with Eli’s refusal to correct them, had driven the people so far from God that the ark, which typified God’s presence, was regarded merely as a sort of charm. God must maintain His honor. Thus He permitted the ark to fall into the hands of the Phi listines, when He gave them the Vic tory over Israel in battle. As Eli listened to the sad news-of the messenger, the prophecy that had been uttered earlier by the man, of God (cf. 2:31-35), must have been in his mind. Perhaps there came to Eli’s heart some return of his early manhood’s honor of God as he heard the messen-
is stated a little differently in .Mark 1:15: “Repent ye, and believe the gospel.” These *words, “ repent ye,” mean “change your minds” about sin. We must turn from sin and turn to Christ. _ But Jim Jar is not able to clean }iis own life in order to make room for Christ. Jim has to receive Christ as his Saviour, and allow Christ to cleanse away these evil things. Suppose just the bottle of vinegar, representing whisky, and the imita tion cigarette were taken out, and the other things remain in the jar. The picture of Christ would still look out of place with a heart of hatred, lying, stealing, and unbelief, to say nothing of a show ticket and cards. When they are all taken out, it seems right for Christ’s ,picture to be inside the jar. People who have re pented and received Christ as their Saviour often find the problem of cer tain sins in their lives as Christians. But that is not God’s best plan for them, for the Lord Jesus Christ is able to keep the Christian’s heart clean. 1 :1 .to. 4:18. ' off the seat ba'ckward by the side of the gate, and his neck brake, and he died: for he was an old man, and heavy. And he had judged Israel forty years. LESSON T E X T : 1 Sam. 2:27-30, 35; 4:12-18. GOLDEN T E X T : “ For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God,, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins” (Heb. 5:1). D E VO TIO N A L R EAD ING : Heb. 5:1-9. Outline and Exposition I. E li ’ s .F ailure (2:27-30) B OD HAD made Himself known This was an office of highest honor, because the priest was the representa tive of the people before God. He was the only one permitted to enter God’s presence, to offer sacrifices and offerings, and to engage in any of the duties pertaining ‘ to the office.
LESSON: What is wrong with- this jar? “ It has a lot of had things in it.” You are right, Bill. ,This jar is so much like some people that we might call it' Jim Jar. The greatest need that any boy or girl has is to know Christ and to have Him abiding with in. Here is a picture of Christ. Can I put it in the jar along with these other things? "Oh, no;-it would not look right to have the picture of Christ in the jar as long as those other things were there.” You are right. We, must get rid of these other things; This same truth 1 Samuel 2:27 And there came a man of God unto Elirv and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Did I plainly appear unto the house of thy father/when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh's house? 28 And did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer upon mine altar,. to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me? and did I give unto the house of thy father all the offerings: made by fire of the children of Israel? 29 Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice and at mine offering, which I have commanded in my habitation; and honorest thy sons above.me, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people? 30 Wherefore the Lord God of Israel saith» I said Indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the Lord saith, Be it far from me; for them that honor me I will honor, and they tjiat despise me shall ibe lightly esteemed. *• 35 And I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is In mine heart and in my mind: apd I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before mine anointed for ever. 4:12 And there ran a man of Benjamin out of the army, and came to Shiloh the same day with his clothes rent, and with earth upon* his head. 13 And when he camé, lo, Eli sat upon a seat by the wayside watching: for his heart trembled for the ark of God. And when the man came into the city, and told it, all the city cried out. 14 And when Eli heard the noise of the crying, he said, What meaneth the noise of this tumult? And the man came in hastily, and told Eli. 15 Now Eli was ninety and eight years old; and his eyes were dim, that he could not see. 16 And the man said unto Eli, I am he that came out of the army, and I fled today out of the army. And he said, What is there done, my son? 17 And the messenger answered and said, Israel is fled before the Philistines, and there hath been also a great slaughter among the people, and thy two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God Is taken. 18 And It came to pass, when he made mention of the ark of God, that he fell from
AUGUST 13, 1944 THE PRIEST IN THE LIFE OF ISRAEL 1 S amuel .
to the children of Israel when they were in Egypt, and had chosen Eli’s forefather to be the priest.
BLACKBOARD LESSON
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