1 Samuel 2:13, commentary and pictures

The custom was that when an Israelite brought a sacrifice, the priest's servant came while the meat was still boiling with a three-pronged hook to spear out meat for the priests. In the peace offering the fat belonged to God to be burned on the altar, a set portion belonged to the priests, and the rest was returned to the offerer for a shared meal, but Eli's sons would not wait for the fat to be offered and demanded extra portions to gorge themselves on the best of the offerings. That sacrificial service was the appointed link between God and Israel to direct faith to the coming sacrifice of Christ, yet their irreverent, selfish extortion made the offering despised, hid its sacred meaning, and led the people into sin and lightness toward wrong. Eli as high priest, judge and father was accountable for his sons, but from indulgent affection and fear of displeasing them he only reproved them lightly and did not restrain or remove them, so judgment fell on his house with the death of his sons in battle, the slaughter of thirty thousand Israelites, the capture of the ark, and his own death. The record stands as a warning that parents and those in sacred office must govern the household after God with prompt, firm restraint of evil, for indulgent neglect nourishes pride and disobedience, brings reproach on truth, and leaves the negligent accountable for the ruin that follows.

Corrupt Use of Sacrifice

The custom was that when anyone brought a sacrifice, while the flesh was still boiling the priest's servant came with a three-pronged fleshhook in his hand to take meat. That taking with the hook while the meat was seething was the handling described for the priests with the people. In peace offerings God had directed that the fat be burned on the altar for Him, that a specified portion be reserved for the priests, and that most of the meat be returned to the offerer for a shared sacrificial meal. Eli's sons disregarded those directions, demanded extra portions beyond what was appointed, and would not wait for the fat to be offered to God. By that taking they made themselves fat with the chiefest of the offerings.

That sacrificial service was the link between God and Israel, a sacred service of thanksgiving meant to direct faith toward Christ's sacrifice to which the offerings pointed forward. Their corrupt conduct in it made the offering of the Lord despised and obscured its sacred significance. It caused Israel to sin, led the people to lightly regard crime, brought temptation, tested their faith and devotion, and brought guilt and loss upon Israel. The abuse was the work of Hophni and Phinehas, exalted to minister in sacred office at Shiloh at the door of the tabernacle in slaying the beasts and at the altar of sacrifice. There they imposed a corrupt custom on those bringing sacrifices, and by violent conduct and bold transgression of God's law defrauded and extorted the people in their offerings.

Their profligacy and sacrilege was iniquity in sacred office amid evils prevailing throughout the land, yet the people were more troubled by dangers to temporal interests than by those offenses. Their course was selfish, covetous, gluttonous, profligate, licentious, irreverent and vile. They gave free rein to passion while hiding depravity under religion, treating the sanctuary and its services as ordinary without reverence for their sacredness and placing the sacred on the level of common things. It was selfish gain by those entrusted with sacred work, standing opposed to self-denial and self-sacrifice. Their course was watched by God, who rewarded them according to their deeds even before the heavenly universe, and their sin was not a sin of man against man which officiating priests could atone for, but sin by the priests themselves against God with open contempt for His authority, leaving no one to atone for them.

Eli's Neglect and Its Outcome

The verse belongs to the history of Eli's sons serving as priests under Eli, who as high priest and judge of Israel and as priest and father was accountable before God for the moral and religious standing of the people and in a special sense for the character of his sons, and who was held responsible in great degree for their disobedience. He had exalted them to minister at the door of the tabernacle in slaying the beasts and at the altar of sacrifice, where they followed the corrupt custom of taking sacrificial flesh for themselves with the fleshhook. That setting is the evil ways he failed to restrain in his sons, who were unfit for holy service, dishonored God, and persisted in wrongdoing despite his rebuke.

Eli failed in parental and priestly duty, for he reproved his sons but did not restrain, remove, or judge them as their abominable example deserved. He passed lightly over wrongdoing and neglected to rebuke and correct it, allowing sin to flourish unrebuked and unchecked. He did so from fear of their displeasure, undue affection that honored his sons above God, ease-loving indulgence, lack of courage, indolence, and lack of interest, suffering them to go on in rebellion until they were a curse to Israel. He followed human wisdom and his own judgment instead of God's rules for family government, in self-confidence thinking he knew a better way of training children than God gave in His word, flattering himself that they would outgrow evil tendencies, and failing to pray earnestly for divine direction how to order the child. As a fond, indulgent parent he allowed his children to grow up from babyhood without restraint, overlooking their faults and sins when he was required to restrain this evil first by mild measures and, if those did not avail, to subdue the wrong by the severest means, reproving sin and executing justice upon the sinner, even judging with death.

Because he did not promptly and firmly restrain them, Eli was cursed by God with all his house. Their sins were declared never to be purged with sacrifice nor offerings forever. His neglect brought fearful calamity and disaster when the Philistines overcame Israel and carried away the ark of the testament: his wicked sons fell in battle, thirty thousand of Israel were slain, the ark of God was taken by enemies, and when Eli heard the ark was taken he fell backward and died. Permitting disobedience in children thus leads to transgression and death, and Eli's failure to reprove and restrain allowed sin to remain among Israel with fearful consequences, showing that wrongdoing by those in sacred office must not be treated lightly or left uncorrected.

Because Eli restrained not his children, God passed him by and made known to the boy Samuel the sins of Eli's sons and the heavy curse to follow. He accepted Samuel when his mother dedicated him to service, the aged priest having neglected his solemn, sacred charge and failed to train his children in the right way. Samuel was raised in Eli the high priest's household amid the corrupt practices and lived among corrupting influences that polluted the people around them, seeing and hearing what grieved him, yet remained untainted because he loved God and kept close to Heaven. The careful moral instruction he received from his mother helped him resist those evil influences. When Samuel told Eli the message, Eli submitted and said it is the Lord, let him do what seemeth him good.

The iniquity in sacred office at Shiloh was amid evils prevailing throughout the land, yet the people were more troubled by dangers to their temporal interests than by that profligacy and sacrilege. That iniquitous course brought widespread corruption into Israel which threatened the moral and spiritual welfare of the people. It made necessary a barrier against corruption and a means of promoting righteousness and furnishing qualified leaders and counselors acting in the fear of God, which was supplied when Samuel established the schools of the prophets.

Warning for Households Today

The fleshhook custom belongs to a history recorded for future generations as a warning to parents and to those in holy office not to repeat Eli's mistake. Eli's sons were unfit for holy service, dishonored God, persisted in wrongdoing despite rebuke, and profaned the house of God through their priestly conduct, and Eli's failure to restrain them brought guilt and loss upon Israel. Their wickedness and iniquity in sacred office grew into sin left among Israel, ending in disaster and death to Eli himself, ruin to his wicked sons, ruin to thousands in Israel, with his sons slain, Eli losing his life, the ark taken, and thirty thousand Israelites killed. That outcome teaches that wrongdoing by those in sacred office must not be treated lightly or left uncorrected, and that defects in home management and failure to address wrongdoing make one's sin like Eli's.

Right instruction and good example are not enough, for parents must lead and govern their children rather than be led by them. They must with promptness and decision restrain the inclination to evil, correct passions, subdue wrong, and command the household after God, first by mild measures and, if those do not avail, by the severest means, reproving sin and executing justice upon the sinner. Eli as priest and judge was accountable before God for the moral and religious standing of the people and in a special sense for the character of his sons, yet he overlooked their faults, flattered himself they would outgrow evil tendencies, feared their displeasure, and suffered them to go on in rebellion until they were a curse to Israel. Especially servants of God must govern their own families and have them in good subjection with order at home first, striving to make their families patterns of good works, or they are not prepared to judge or decide in matters of the church.

Mistaken fond love and fondness from babyhood allows children their own way without restraint, consults their pleasures, and indulges what is not for their good. That indulgence nourishes pride, vanity, self-love, haughtiness, and uncontrolled passion, puts trimmings and fixings upon them that make them vain and lead them to think dress makes the lady or gentleman, and confirms forward, selfish, disagreeable ways into habits rendering them unloving and unlovable. It causes children to lose respect for parents and regard for the authority of God and man, to despise parental authority, to be led captive by Satan, to develop unrestrained traits that become second nature and a lifelong curse reproduced in others, and to corrupt their ways before God through unchecked sin, passion, unthankfulness, disobedience, headiness and high-mindedness. Permitting such disobedience to grow through indulgence trains them to disobey the Heavenly Father, makes religion common, makes them candidates for perdition, and leaves a father who does not rule well his own house and does not restrain his children to see them become corrupt and a proverb of reproach exerting a corrupting influence where they live.

Those who through lack of courage, indolence, or lack of interest fail to reprove wrong and purify the family or church are held accountable for the evil resulting from their neglect as if the acts were their own. The blood of souls is upon neglectful parents, for God holds parents responsible in great degree for the conduct of their children because parents form their characters, and neglect to restrain and command the household after God reflects back upon parents in this life and affects their future life. Such a course brings God's frown and judgment upon the father, disgusts unbelievers, brings reproach upon the cause of truth and disgrace on the cause of Christ, and brings ruin upon themselves and their households. Because of Eli's position his negligent, ease-loving family government was imitated throughout Israel and molded thousands of homes, and when those appointed as teachers fail to control their households they mislead many and their guilt is greater as their position is more responsible.

The test of the Christianity of a home is the type of character begotten by its influence. In a pre-eminent degree those who minister in sacred things must be examples to the flock and make their families patterns of good works. He who fails to direct wisely his own household is not qualified to guide the church of God, and God is just as particular in these last days, so parents must govern children, correct their passions and subdue them, or God will destroy the children in the day of His fierce anger and the parents who have not governed them will not be blameless.