1 Samuel 2:11-17

1. Eli’s sons’ wickedness 2:11-17

Eli’s sons were not only evil in their personal lives, but they flagrantly disregarded the will of God even as they served as leaders of Israel’s worship. They neither knew the Lord (in the sense of paying attention to Him, 1 Samuel 2:12) nor treated His offerings as special (1 Samuel 2:17; cf. Malachi 1:6-14). The writer documented these evaluations with two instances of their specific practices (1 Samuel 2:13-16). The Law ordered the priests to handle the offerings in particular ways to respect God’s holiness (cf. Leviticus 3:3; Leviticus 3:5; Leviticus 7:34; Deuteronomy 18:3). However, Eli’s sons served God the way they chose (cf. Korah’s behavior in Numbers 16). The Law allowed the priests to take for themselves the breast and upper part of the right rear leg of animals brought as peace offerings (Leviticus 7:30-34). But Eli’s sons took all that the three-pronged fork brought up when plunged into the remaining meat being boiled for the sacrificial meal (1 Samuel 2:13-14). The priests were to burn the best part of the sacrifices on the altar as offerings to God, but Eli’s sons demanded for themselves raw meat that was not cooked at all (1 Samuel 2:15-16). Meat was luxurious food in Israel’s economy, so Eli’s sons were living off the fat of the land. They were worthless men (1 Samuel 2:12, i.e., wicked in God’s sight; cf. 1 Samuel 1:16).

"To this day, arrogant assertiveness and self-seeking are temptations to all those in positions of great power in society." [Note: Payne, p. 18.]

"Their sin was particularly egregious since they were supposed to be teaching morality and representing the people of God (1 Samuel 2:22-25; cf. 2 Chronicles 17:7-9)." [Note: Heater, p. 120.]