Rot at the Top
Introduction: The Poisoned Well
We are living in an age that has a peculiar and selective outrage when it comes to corruption. We are scandalized by financial misdeeds in the boardroom and political corruption in the halls of government, as we ought to be. But our generation has a massive blind spot. We have forgotten that the most dangerous form of corruption, the kind that rots a nation from the inside out, is not found in the capitol building, but in the sanctuary. The health of a nation is downstream from the health of its pulpits. When the worship of God is polluted at its source, the entire culture becomes a toxic wasteland.
This is the situation we find in our text. We are in Shiloh, at the Tabernacle, which was at that time the very center of the covenant life of Israel. This was ground zero for the worship of the living God on earth. And at this holy center, we find a festering spiritual disease. The problem is not with the people, at least not initially. The problem is with the priests, the sons of the high priest Eli. Their names were Hophni and Phinehas.
This is not a story about minor infractions or a few bent rules. This is a story about foundational rebellion, about men in the highest spiritual office who had contempt for the very God they were supposed to serve. They were using the machinery of redemption for their own personal gratification. They were treating the holy things of God like a common buffet. And in doing so, they were not just sinning personally; they were teaching the entire nation to despise the worship of God. This is a sobering account of what happens when the priesthood goes bad, and it is a perennial warning to the church in every age.
The Text
Now the sons of Eli were vile men; they did not know Yahweh. And this was the legal judgment for the priests with the people: when any man was offering a sacrifice, the priest’s young man would come while the meat was boiling, with a three-pronged fork in his hand. Then he would thrust it into the pan or kettle or caldron or pot; all that the fork would bring up the priest would take for himself. Thus they would do in Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there. Also, before they offered up the fat in smoke, the priest’s young man would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give the priest meat for roasting; he will not take boiled meat from you, only raw.” Then the man would say to him, “They must surely offer up the fat in smoke first, and then take as much as your soul desires,” then he would say, “No, you shall give it now; and if not, I will take it by force.” Thus the sin of the young men was very great before Yahweh, for the men spurned the offering of Yahweh.
(1 Samuel 2:12-17 LSB)
The Root of the Rot (v. 12)
The diagnosis is given immediately and bluntly in verse 12.
"Now the sons of Eli were vile men; they did not know Yahweh." (1 Samuel 2:12)
The text does not mince words. They were "vile men." The Hebrew is more striking: "sons of Belial." This is not simply a description of bad behavior. It is a statement about their fundamental character. It means they were worthless, good-for-nothing men. They were antagonists to the covenant, rebels against God, occupying the highest seats in His house.
And here is the reason why: "they did not know Yahweh." This is one of the most terrifying statements in all of Scripture. These men were not outsiders. They were the sons of the high priest. They grew up in the Tabernacle. They knew the liturgy, the laws, the procedures. They could have passed any seminary exam on the sacrificial system. They knew everything about God, but they did not know God. Theirs was a religion of external familiarity, not internal fellowship. Knowledge, in the biblical sense, is not about accumulating data points. It is intimate, relational, and covenantal. You can be a professional Christian, a pastor, an elder, a theologian, and still not know the Lord. Hophni and Phinehas are the poster boys for this tragic reality. All their subsequent sins flowed from this single, dark fountainhead: they were strangers to the God they claimed to represent.
The Fork of Thievery (v. 13-14)
Their ignorance of God immediately manifested itself in their contempt for His regulations. Their first sin was a sin of gluttonous greed.
"And this was the legal judgment for the priests with the people: when any man was offering a sacrifice, the priest’s young man would come while the meat was boiling, with a three-pronged fork in his hand. Then he would thrust it into the pan or kettle or caldron or pot; all that the fork would bring up the priest would take for himself..." (1 Samuel 2:13-14)
The Law of Moses was very clear about the priest's portion of the peace offerings. The priest was to receive the breast and the right thigh (Lev. 7:31-34). It was a specific, designated portion, given to him after the Lord's portion, the fat, was burned on the altar. It was an orderly, dignified, holy process.
Hophni and Phinehas replaced God's law with their own thuggish system. They invented a new liturgical instrument: a three-pronged fork. This was their tool. They would send their servant to plunge this fork into the boiling pot and claim whatever it brought up. This was a sin on multiple levels. First, it was theft. They were taking more than their allotted share. Second, it was arbitrary. They were taking indiscriminately, treating the holy sacrifice like a common stew pot. Third, it was arrogant. They were replacing God's specific commands with their own greedy impulses. Their appetites, not God's Word, determined their actions at the altar. This was liturgical anarchy.
The Sin of Sacrilege (v. 15-16)
But their rebellion went deeper than simply taking too much. They also sinned in the timing and priority of their theft, which was an act of high-handed sacrilege.
"Also, before they offered up the fat in smoke, the priest’s young man would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, 'Give the priest meat for roasting; he will not take boiled meat from you, only raw.'" (1 Samuel 2:15)
This is a staggering escalation. The fat of the animal was explicitly and repeatedly declared to be the Lord's portion. "All the fat is Yahweh's" (Lev. 3:16). It represented the best, the richest part, and it was to be burned on the altar as a pleasing aroma to God. This was the central act of the offering. It had to happen first. But Eli's sons had a culinary preference. They wanted their meat roasted, not boiled, which meant they needed it raw, before the fat was removed and offered to God. Their desire for a barbecue trumped God's holy portion.
Notice the response of the faithful worshiper in verse 16: "They must surely offer up the fat in smoke first, and then take as much as your soul desires." This man knows the law. He is trying to be faithful. He respectfully reminds the priest's servant of the proper order: God first, then you. This is the essence of true worship.
The reply from the priest's man is chilling: "No, you shall give it now; and if not, I will take it by force." This is not just corruption; this is extortion at the altar. This is the mafia running the Tabernacle. They are using their office and the threat of violence to coerce God's people into participating in their sacrilege. They are placing their own appetites ahead of God's glory and daring anyone to object.
God's Verdict (v. 17)
The Holy Spirit then gives us the divine summary and evaluation of this wretched behavior.
"Thus the sin of the young men was very great before Yahweh, for the men spurned the offering of Yahweh." (1 Samuel 2:17)
God Himself weighs this sin, and His verdict is that it was "very great." Why? What made this sin so heinous in His sight? The text tells us precisely: "for the men spurned the offering of Yahweh." The word for "spurned" means to treat with contempt, to despise, to scorn. They were not just breaking rules. They were showing their utter disdain for the entire system of worship God had established. They looked at the means of grace, the sacrifices that pointed to the coming Christ, the very heart of Israel's relationship with God, and they sneered at it.
Their sin was a public sin, and it had a devastating effect. They were causing the people of God to abhor the worship of God. They were turning the pathway to God into a toll road run by thugs. When the ministry becomes a platform for self-enrichment and the gratification of personal appetites, it teaches the world that our God is not glorious, that His worship is a sham, and that His forgiveness is a commodity to be exploited. This is why the sin was so great. It was an attack on the very character and glory of God.
Our Great High Priest
The story of Hophni and Phinehas is a dark and tragic one, but it shines a brilliant light on the glory of the gospel. This account demonstrates, in the starkest terms, the failure of the Aaronic priesthood and the absolute necessity for a better one. A corrupt priesthood cannot save. A priesthood that takes from the people, that despises the offering, that puts itself before God, is a barrier to salvation, not a bridge.
Into this darkness steps the Lord Jesus Christ, our great and perfect High Priest. He is the ultimate contrast to the sons of Eli. Hophni and Phinehas used a three-pronged fork to take for themselves; Jesus stretched out His hands on a three-pointed cross to give Himself for us. They demanded the best portion for their own roasting fire; Jesus was the best portion, the perfect fat offering, consumed in the fire of God's wrath on our behalf. They took by force; Jesus gave Himself willingly. They spurned the offering of Yahweh; Jesus became the offering of Yahweh.
The warning for the church today is severe. We must have zero tolerance for leaders who do not know the Lord, who use their office for personal gain, or who treat the holy things of God with contempt. But the comfort of the gospel is profound. Our standing before God does not depend on a flawed human mediator. We have a High Priest who is holy, harmless, undefiled, and who ever lives to make intercession for us (Heb. 7:25-26). He did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many. He did not despise the offering; He is the offering, once for all.