A Small Bright Light in the Darkness. 1st Samuel 2:12-26 Think for a few minutes of a small boy, away from home for the first time, eating food that likely differed from that his mother prepared for the family. Yet we read that “the boy ministered before the Lord under Eli, the priest.” He opened the doors of the place where the Tabernacle was. That would mean he was up early in the morning, dressed in a miniature priest's garment, and did what he was told by the old priest, Eli. Eli hadn’t taught his sons much, but Samuel’s mother had prepared him as a small child to serve the Lord.
Amid evil, even in the house of the Lord, Samuel ministered before the Lord by serving Eli the priest. Eli had half-heartedly tried to correct his sons, Hophni and Phinehas, but they continued in their wicked ways. It was a spiritual desert in the house of the Lord, yet Samuel flourished as a young boy and grew like a strong plant in the right ways of the Lord. The background of sacrilege and greed in the priestly family was exposed by the brightness of a little boy growing in the Lord, shining brightly in that place.
The bright light of a child living for God made the dark background of Eli’s family’s condition stand out even more. God was receiving from a young boy what he could not get from the judge/priest and his sons. Four times, we read of Samuel bringing delight to God. “The child ministered to the Lord before Eli the priest [v.11].” He was serving God by serving others. “Samuel ministered before the Lord, even as a child, wearing a linen ephod [v.18].” Wearing a white garment like priests, the child served like a priest. “The child Samuel grew before the Lord [v.21].” He was like one planted in the house of the Lord, flourishing in the courts of our God.
Samuel may not have realized how much he was growing, but Hannah did, and so did others. Hannah had five other children younger than Samuel to care for, yet she did not forget her role in her son's life and growth, who served the Lord. Timothy was another young son whose mother and grandmother knew the importance of the word of God in his life. He learned the reality of faith from them.
“The child Samuel grew in stature, and in favor both with the Lord and men [v.26].” God watched this young, developing child with pleasure, finding in him the characteristics that delighted His heart. People who went to the house of God would have been comforted to find a young, growing man who didn’t confront them with evil demands or the vagueness of an incapable father. In Samuel, they saw one who would assure them that God still had a faithful servant there for them.
The weakness of a polluted sanctuary doesn't stop the work of God in the souls of individuals who desire God and His ways. The darkness of the days we live in cannot put out the light of holiness practiced by the few who show the right ways of scriptural gathering and practice. God enables us to keep the right perspectives on life lived for Him in their proper place, despite the circumstances of the place in which we live. When we serve other people, even by carrying out ordinary tasks, we serve the Lord. When we serve the Lord, every job we do has dignity and deserves our best efforts.
Some things in our lives happen beyond our control. Other things come into our lives, and we may not think they are too serious at first, but as time passes, we can see the danger they pose. We must act quickly and firmly on those other things lest the results have an evil effect on our family and others.
Eli's sons took advantage of their position as priests to satisfy their lust for power, uncontrolled passion, and possessions. They treated the people of God, the priesthood of which they were a part, and the worship of God with contempt. They also treated the offerings the people brought to the Lord with contempt. This called for execution because they were taking their portion before the offering was on the altar and before the fat was burned off.
Eli’s sons were scoundrels, corrupt and worthless men who did not know the Lord, even though they were in the place of priests, men who were supposed to serve the Lord and His people. They were morally and spiritually bankrupt, deficient in the basic knowledge of respectable living. They had information about the Lord, but there was nothing personal in that knowledge. In contrast to them, “Samuel ministered to the Lord.”
Eli knew the requirements for the priesthood, but he did not demand them of his sons. Neither was morally or spiritually fit to be a priest or to serve at the altar. It was merely a job to them. Those two men were examples of evil and open wickedness when they robbed God and His people of what belonged only to God. They behaved like animals in their attitudes and activities, a trend among the nation's people.
The law said that those who did what Hophni and Phinehas were doing were to be put to death, which is likely why Eli didn't deal with the situation the way he was supposed to. The problems resulting from his inaction were that many other lives were adversely affected. Priests were allowed to eat the meat of a sacrifice by putting a hook down into the pot, and whatever was pulled up was theirs. The servants of these priests used a rod with three hooks to satisfy their greed.
Irreverence for God and the house of God remains a problem today. Irreverence and immorality often go hand in hand but are overlooked because they are common. Even some so-called spiritual leaders engage in these practices, hoping no one will notice or that their sins will be overlooked because of their leadership position. Some look down on people of simple faith, take what has been given to them to further the work of the Lord, and use it to make themselves rich.
Those sons of Eli were called "sons of Belial," or "worthless men," and "children of corruption." They sinned against God's people by robbing their sacrifices and against God by taking what belongs to Him alone. They enriched themselves by robbing God and others. Nepotism and its effects can cause serious damage to an assembly of God’s people if a leader overlooks the actions of his family and seeks to place them in positions of leadership. Family connections do not qualify a person for leadership.
We can keep what belongs to God for ourselves, but payday will come. I have to search my heart to ensure that I am not doing what is unlawful for me as a son in the family of God. As a father, I am responsible for what goes on in my home. When reports of evil reach my ears about my children, I need to correct that behavior right away. I am responsible for guiding and guarding my family. I must do whatever is necessary to change wrong behavior and bring the righteousness of life before them.
Right in the middle of all this moral and spiritual darkness among the people of God, in the place where Israel was called to bring their sacrifices and offerings, God was receiving His portion from the heart of a child. While all the evil was going on around the door of the tabernacle and at the altar, Samuel, out of sight in the sanctuary, was wearing an ephod, the vestments of a priest, bringing joy to the heart of God. He was "ministering to the Lord." What a delight that must have been to the Lord. Samuel, as a happy child, glad to be serving his Lord, went about day after day and year after year, doing what was right.
Hannah’s family teaches us that blessings are not always immediate. Lessons taught to children as infants and young children do not leave them. They would have learned from a praying mother and a faithful father that deliberate acts, good and bad, are under God’s eye. Children learn more about living at home in their early years than they will from secular teachers and/or college professors. The seemingly small candlelight of a boy doing what was right when everyone else around him was doing wrong was not unnoticed by the Lord of the universe.
It is possible that we may not fully recognize the far-reaching effects of good and evil. The Lord’s people discern whether a young man is full of himself or humbly serving the Lord in whatever situation he is in and to the best of his ability. When evil and good are practiced in the same place, as in Samuel’s case, the pressure to conform to what is acceptable to most people, even when it is wrong, is very great. That is when the heritage of faith we have received from those before us becomes personal. We are challenged in those times to please God despite what others do and may try to get us to do.