1 Samuel 4:12-18
A man of Benjamin ran from the battle line and came to Shiloh the same day, with his clothes torn and with dirt on his head. When he arrived, Eli was sitting on his seat by the road watching, for his heart trembled for the ark of God. And when the man came into the city and told the news, all the city cried out. When Eli heard the sound of the outcry, he said, “What is this uproar?” Then the man hurried and came and told Eli. Now Eli was ninety-eight years old and his eyes were set so that he could not see. And the man said to Eli, “I am he who has come from the battle; I fled from the battle today.” And he said, “How did it go, my son?” He who brought the news answered and said, “Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has also been a great defeat among the people. Your two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been captured.” As soon as he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell over backward from his seat by the side of the gate, and his neck was broken and he died, for the man was old and heavy. He had judged Israel forty years.
Tag: Spiritual Condition Impacts Community
The above story shows the truth that the spiritual condition of believers can impact all aspects of the community around them. Eli and his two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were the spiritual leaders of the day. But, together, they did not honor God or the worship of God:
1 Samuel 3:12-14
On that day I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. And I declare to him that I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them. Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.”
God had warned them. But, they did not listen. Eli simply knew that God would do what God would do and did not think of repenting and/or correcting his sons. When Samuel told him everything God said to him, here was Eli’s response:
1 Samuel 3:18
So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. And he said, “It is the Lord. Let him do what seems good to him.”
Failure to repent and change course will result in affliction to not only yourself, but the community around you. Because of their failure, Israel lost thousands of soldiers and a defeat to God’s enemy. When we fail to correct course we impact the community around us. Even though Eli was warned time and time again, he did not repent, he did not correct course. Instead he impact his sons and the entire nation. Failure to correct course impacts an entire community.
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