June 27

The Death of Eli

            A man of Benjamin ran from the battle line, and came to Shiloh the same day, with his clothes torn and with earth upon his head.  When he arrived, Eli was sitting upon his seat by the road watching, for his heart trembled for the ark of God. 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 came quickly and told Eli.  Now Eli was ninety-eight years old and his eyes were set, so that he could not see.  The man said to Eli, “I have just come from the battle; I fled from the battle today.” He said, “How did it go, my son?” The messenger replied, “Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has also been a great slaughter among the troops; your two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been captured.”  When 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 he was an old man, and heavy. He had judged Israel forty years.

1 Samuel 4:12-18

    

             The Hebrews and the Philistines were long-time rivals.  They were always arguing over borders and fighting skirmishes or battles of some sort.  This time the Philistines won the conflict, killing 4,000 Jews on the battlefield.  The Israelites decided that the best way to turn the tide was to retrieve the Holy Ark of the Covenant and use it as a weapon against their enemies.  God would be their tool and no army would be able to stand against them.  Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were there at the front, carrying and transporting the ark into the battle.  It was a rout as tens of thousands of Israelites were killed and the Ark was lost.

            God is not a tool.  His blessings cannot be manipulated.  His favor cannot be wielded like a sword as we swing the power of God in whatever direction we so desire.  God’s power and His favor and His blessings come through our obedience to His will and following His path.  This is where Hophni and Phinehas failed.  They saw God as a cosmic system that would respond to their bidding if they followed the right procedures and protocols.  He was another authority that could be manipulated if they played the system right…just like their father.

            Eli was a good man…a godly man who longed to hear God’s voice and lead His people well.  He may even have been a good father in other circumstances.  However the combination of his authority and his responsibilities and his natural bent towards avoiding conflict led to him raising sons who had no regard for the living God or His children.

            The first idea of God that children have is a direct representation of their parents, especially their father.  Kids will hear stories about God and imagine that He responds to things just like their dads respond to things.  Are their fathers playful and silly?  They tend to see God as gracious and merciful, loving but with little use for sin and judgement.  Are their fathers loose cannons?  They tend to see God as violent and wrathful, lashing out in anger whenever we do something wrong.  Are their fathers distant and unemotional?  They tend to see God as judgmental and rule-driven.

            Eli’s sons watched their father and saw that he could be manipulated into giving them power that they did not deserve.  They knew the words to say and the duties to perform that could trick him into trusting them.  When evidence came against them and Eli threatened them, they just laughed because they knew he would never follow through on his threats.  They had the same views about God…and turned out to be mistaken.

            We are the first example of who God is for our children.  What do we hold to be acceptable and unacceptable?  How do we respond to success and failure?  What do they have to do in order to earn our love and affirmation?  They internalize all these things and assume that God works the exact same way.  For good and for ill, they will hear and read scripture with our voices and our faces speaking for the Almighty.

            Let us strive to make that representation as accurate as we can.

  

A moment to reflect:

Imagine who you are through your child’s eyes.  How do they see you?  What does that mean about how they see God?  Is that the picture that you want them to have?