Good Tuesday morning my ‘Walking with Jesus’ friends,
“Pretend” is a word children use often, isn’t it? It’s little girls playing with dolls pretending to be mothers, and little boys playing with trucks in the dirt pretending to be operators of big earth moving equipment on a major construction site. Sadly, ‘pretend’ is not restricted to children, is it? It’s far too widespread among adults and goes by various words like ‘deceitful’ or ‘manipulative’ or ‘hypocrite’ or ‘scammer’ or even ‘espionage’.
Yesterday we witnessed one of the most heart wrenching scenes in the history of Israel. Mother Hannah handed over her little son Samuel to High Priest Eli, not for a weekend visit, but for the rest of his life Samuel would live at the Tabernacle, serving the LORD God of Israel, under the tutelage of Eli. Hannah and Elkanah returned home from Shiloh grieving the absence of their little son, but confident Samuel would be safe and would learn to live a God-honoring life with Eli and his priestly sons Hophni and Phinehas at the Tabernacle.
This one sentence summarizes that transition: “Elkanah went home to Ramah, but the boy Samuel ministered before the LORD under Eli the High Priest.” (1 Samuel 2:11) Oh my that sounds wonderful, and it leaves me to wonder if other parents were somewhat jealous of Elkanah and Hannah and the honor, they had of consecrating their son to serve God with Eli and his priestly sons?
But the very next sentence in the Samuel record gives us shocking insight into the terrible ‘hypocrisy’, the ‘religious scam’ going on in Shiloh at the Tabernacle! 1 Samuel 2:12 says: “Eli’s sons, Hophni and Phinehas were wicked men: they had no regard for the LORD God of Israel.” Hophni and Phinehas would have been considered privileged men since they were sons of the most prestigious, spiritual man in all of Israel, Eli the High Priest.
Following tradition, one of them would likely become the next High Priest when their father, old Eli, died. These two priests had grown up working alongside their father Eli. These two men and the other priests were the only people who could enter the Holy Place of the Tabernacle to daily tend the wicks and oil of the Golden Lampstand; and bring fresh hot coals from the altar of burnt offerings in the courtyard to the altar of Incense in the Tabernacle, and pray there; and finally, also bring the 12 loaves of freshly baked bread to the Table of Shewbread each week.
In addition, of course, the priests received and helped all Israelites, like Elkanah and his family, who came to Shiloh to present their sacrifices, worship and pray to God. Naturally, everyone assumed priests were holy men who were consecrated by their families for such holy tasks and thus must certainly have mature, almost miraculous relationships with God!
For these reasons 1 Samuel 2:12 was a powerful, damning statement which exposed the true, hypocritical, pretending hearts of Hophni and Phinehas.
The verses which follow that condemning statement explain in painful detail what Hophni and Phinehas were doing to manipulate the Israelite worshipers; defile the sacrifices they brought to the LORD; and mock the sacred worship system that God Himself had ordained. God summarized His perspective of these two sons of Eli with these words: “This sin of Hophni and Phinehas was very great in the LORD’s sight, for they were treating the LORD’s offering with contempt.” (1 Samuel 2:17)
Before pronouncing judgement on these men, God drew a contrast between their adult, hypocritical behavior and the innocence of little boy Samuel who naturally looked up to Hophni and Phinehas as his role models: “But Samuel was ministering before the LORD, – a little boy wearing a linen ephod. Each year his mother Hannah made him a little robe and took it to Samuel when she went up with her husband to offer their annual sacrifice.”
I’ve often wondered how long Elkanah and Hannah remained in Shiloh at the Tabernacle each year when they came to offer their sacrifices and worship the LORD? Did Eli give little Samuel a sort of vacation during those days so the three of them could spend day and night together? Can you imagine how the hours flew by as little Samuel tried to share all he’d seen and learned in the past year, while Hannah and Elkanah shared what had been happening back home in Ramah?
And the bigger question: did Samuel share with his parents the horrible things which were happening at the Tabernacle which Eli’s sons were doing to bring shame and dishonor to Eli and the holy priestly role?
The record tells us Eli met personally each year with Elkanah and Hannah and I imagine gave them a glowing report of how their son Samuel was doing as he learned his responsibilities at the Tabernacle. In addition, it appears they spoke of Hannah’s deep desire to have more children: “Eli, the High Priest, would bless Elkanah and Hannah saying: ‘May the LORD give you children to take the place of the one Hannah prayed for and gave to the LORD.’… And the LORD was gracious to Hannah; she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the LORD at Shiloh.” (1 Samuel 2:20-23)
Oh my friends, did you hear that? God blessed Hannah with five (5) more children after Samuel. Can’t you just see it, year after year when Elkanah and Hannah came to Shiloh with more and more children, anxious to introduce Samuel to his little brothers and sisters? How often did Hannah have to repeat the story to her other children, about how she prayed for a child and made a vow to God, and now this boy, this teenager, this young man Samuel, whom they would see each year at the Tabernacle, was this miracle son provided by God, who was consecrated by his parents to God, and was living his entire life at the Tabernacle, growing up both physically and spiritually as a ‘Nazarite’ man of God!
Oh the long conversations they must have had each year as Samuel’s family came to worship at Shiloh! Oh how Samuel’s siblings must have been envious of all they imagined Samuel experienced in this holy place, working with holy men, in the presence of Holy God?! Of course, they had no idea of the reality, the horrible hypocrisy, the blatant blasphemy which Samuel witnessed every day.
I think we need to pause right here with a few questions:
How did Samuel keep his integrity, his heart and mind pure and clean before God when surrounded by such wickedness in the priesthood?
What was God doing in Samuel to strengthen him so he could withstand the temptations all around him?
And what about you and me, my friends? Who are we more like, honestly… Samuel or Hophni and Phinehas? And how are you resisting the temptations around you while you seek to be a God honoring man or woman of purity? I leave you today with these sobering questions and this worship song, and I invite you to join me back here in Shiloh tomorrow to find out what God did about this mockery of His holy place?
Today’s Scripture is 1 Samuel 2:12-23.
Choose below to read or listen.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
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Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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