Commentary - 1 Samuel 2:22-26

Bird's-eye view

In this passage, we are confronted with a stark and necessary contrast. The house of Eli, which represents the established spiritual authority in Israel, is rotting from the head down. This is not a private family matter; it is a public and ecclesiastical meltdown. The sins of Hophni and Phinehas are not youthful indiscretions but high-handed blasphemies committed at the very center of Israel's worship. Eli's response is a textbook case of weak, feckless fathering, which is simultaneously a failure of his high priestly office. His verbal rebuke is entirely hollow, lacking the force of genuine authority and discipline.

Set against this backdrop of decay and judgment is the quiet, steady growth of the boy Samuel. As the house of Eli plummets toward its divinely appointed destruction, the house of God's true purpose is being built up in this young man. The text makes it plain that the fall of Eli's sons is not an accident of poor choices but a matter of divine decree. God had determined their end. In the midst of this corruption and judgment, God is always preparing His remedy. Samuel's growth in favor with both God and men is the first light of a new dawn for Israel, a dawn that will break over the wreckage of a compromised priesthood.

Outline

Eli's Failure and God's Sovereignty

The central issue here is the failure of headship. Eli is the father and the high priest. In both roles, he is required to exercise godly authority, and in both roles, he fails spectacularly. His sons are treating the tabernacle like a brothel and the offerings like their personal pantry. This is sacrilege of the highest order. Eli's sin is not that he was unaware, but that when he became aware, his response was pathetic. He honored his sons more than he honored God (1 Sam. 2:29). A soft rebuke for a capital crime is not righteousness; it is complicity.

This brings us to the hard edge of the passage: "But they would not listen to the voice of their father, for Yahweh desired to put them to death." This is not God being caught off guard by their rebellion. This is God, in His perfect justice, determining to bring their wickedness to its appointed end. He is not the author of their sin, but He is the author of their judgment. Their hearts were hard, and they would not listen. Why? Because the Lord had already passed sentence. This is a terrifying and glorious display of divine sovereignty. God is never a victim of circumstances. He is governing all things, including the just downfall of corrupt priests, for His own holy purposes.

Clause-by-Clause Commentary

v. 22 Now Eli was very old; and he heard all that his sons were doing to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who served at the doorway of the tent of meeting.

Eli's age is mentioned not to excuse his inaction but to highlight the long-standing nature of this corruption. This rot didn't set in overnight. He was old, and the problem had festered under his nose for years. The sins of his sons were not minor infractions. First, they were sins against "all Israel." Their abuse of the sacrificial system affected every faithful family that came to worship. Second, and more scandalously, they were engaged in sexual sin at the very entrance to God's holy tent. They were treating the tabernacle as a place for their predatory lusts. These women were there to serve, and Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of God, were exploiting them. This is the kind of high-handed sin that defiles the land and provokes the wrath of God.

v. 23 So he said to them, “Why do you do such things, the evil things that I hear from all these people?

Here is the failure in full view. Eli's response is a weak question, not a sharp rebuke or a decisive action. "Why do you do such things?" As the high priest, he should have known precisely why: because they were sons of Belial who did not know the Lord (1 Sam. 2:12). His concern appears to be more about the public report, "the evil things that I hear from all these people", than about the offense against a holy God. He is concerned with the scandal, not primarily with the sin. A father who truly fears God would not ask "why," he would command "stop." As the high priest, he had the authority to remove them from office. He did nothing of the sort. This is the voice of appeasement, not authority.

v. 24 No, my sons; for the report is not good which I hear the people of Yahweh passing about.

The weakness continues. "No, my sons" is the kind of thing you say to a toddler who is about to touch something he shouldn't, not to grown men engaged in public sacrilege and sexual exploitation. Again, his focus is on the "report" circulating among the people. Bad PR seems to be his primary concern. Of course the report was not good. The priests were turning the house of God into a den of thieves and a brothel. The people of God were being scandalized by their leaders. Eli's words are like trying to put out a raging fire with a squirt gun. He is more of a public relations manager than a high priest.

v. 25 If one man sins against another, God will mediate for him; but if a man sins against Yahweh, who can pray for him?” But they would not listen to the voice of their father, for Yahweh desired to put them to death.

Eli finally stumbles upon the theological heart of the matter, even if he lacks the backbone to act on it. He correctly distinguishes between sins against men, which can be mediated, and high-handed sins against God. They were not just offending the people; they were sinning directly against Yahweh. Their sin was at the altar. Their sin was with the offerings. Their sin was at the door of His tent. This is a direct assault on the holiness of God. Who can intercede for someone who despises the very means of intercession? The answer is no one. But then we come to the pivot of the entire passage. Their deafness to their father's weak plea was not the ultimate cause of their destruction. The ultimate cause was God's sovereign will. "For Yahweh desired to put them to death." God had handed them over to their sin and had determined that their sin would be their ruin. This is judicial hardening. God is not a helpless bystander wringing his hands. He is the judge, and the sentence had been passed. Their rebellion was now serving His righteous purpose to cleanse His house.

v. 26 Now the young boy Samuel was growing in stature and in favor both with Yahweh and with men.

And here is the glorious contrast, the gospel in miniature. While the house of Eli collapses under the weight of its own sin and God's judgment, God is quietly raising up his replacement. Samuel is growing. He is growing physically ("in stature") and, more importantly, he is growing spiritually. He found favor with Yahweh, which is the foundation of all true success. But he also found favor "with men." Unlike Eli's sons, who caused the people of Yahweh to abhor the offering, Samuel's character was evident to all. This is a direct echo of the language that will be used of the Lord Jesus Christ (Luke 2:52). While the old, corrupt system was dying, God was nurturing the new. This is how our God always works. In the midst of judgment, He is always preparing His salvation. The fall of Eli's house was necessary to make way for the rise of Samuel, and ultimately, for the rise of King David, and finally, for the Son of David, our Lord Jesus.

Application

First, this passage is a potent warning to all fathers, and especially to those in spiritual leadership. A failure to discipline your children is not kindness; it is cruelty. Eli's passivity was a direct cause of the ruin of his house. He chose the temporary peace of not confronting his sons over the lasting righteousness of honoring God. Christian fathers must take up their authority and use it. Do not provoke your children to wrath, but do not for a moment tolerate rebellion against the Lord. Your home is a little church, and you are its pastor. Govern it accordingly.

Second, we must take sins against the worship of God with the utmost seriousness. The sins of Hophni and Phinehas were not just moral failures; they were liturgical crimes. They corrupted the worship at the center of Israel's life. We must never think that what we do in church on Sunday morning is a light thing. How we approach God in worship matters. To treat it casually, to abuse it for our own ends, is to sin against Yahweh in a high-handed way.

Finally, we must rest in the absolute sovereignty of God. Even when the church is in a state of visible decay, when its leaders are corrupt and its people are scandalized, God is on His throne. He is not panicking. He is working all things according to the counsel of His will. He justly condemns the wicked, and He faithfully raises up servants for the next generation. Our job is to be a Samuel, to grow in favor with God and man, to remain faithful in a faithless time, and to trust that God will bring His purposes to pass, right on schedule.