Beginning of the End: Eli’s Unfaithfulness Leads to Ruin

 

“A man of God came to Eli and said to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: ... “Why do you ... honor your sons more than Me, to make yourselves fat with the best of all the offerings of Israel My people?” Therefore the Lord God of Israel says: “I said indeed that your house and the house of your father would walk before Me forever.” But now the Lord says, “Far be it from Me; for those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me shall be lightly esteemed. ... I will raise up for myself a faithful priest who shall do according to what is in My heart and in My mind. I will build him a sure house, and he shall walk before My anointed forever.”’”

Those whose blind affection for their children leads them to pamper them in their selfish desires, not rebuking sin and correcting evil, make it clear that they honor their wicked children more than they honor God. Eli should have first attempted to restrain evil by mild actions; but if these did not work he should have subdued the wrong even if by the severest methods. We are just as responsible for evils that we might have stopped in others by parental or pastoral authority, as if the acts had been our own.

Eli overlooked the faults and sins of his sons in their childhood, fooling himself that after a time they would outgrow their evil tendencies. Many today make a similar mistake. They encourage wrong tendencies in their children, offering the excuse, “They are too young to be punished. Wait until they become older and we can  reason with them.” Thus the children grow up with traits of character that are a lifelong curse to them.

There is no greater curse on a home than to allow youth to have their own way. The children soon lose all respect for their parents, all regard for authority, and become captive to the will of Satan. The influence of an undisciplined family is disastrous to society. It builds a tide of evil that affects families, communities, and governments.

Thousands of homes throughout Israel followed Eli’s family life. Actions speak louder than the most positive claim of godliness. The evils of parental unfaithfulness are great under any circumstances, but they are ten times greater in the families of those who teach the people.