1 Samuel 2:36, commentary and pictures

The verse foretells that those left of Eli's house would be brought down to poverty and disgrace, forced to bow and beg for a little money and food and to plead for even a low priestly task just to eat. Their having to beg for such a place shows they had lost their rightful priestly standing, a judgment that included the cutting off of his sons. That judgment came because Eli knew his sons' wickedness yet failed to restrain them or remove them from sacred office, letting them dishonor God, defile the sanctuary, and lead thousands to ruin. God holds fathers accountable for such neglect even when they stand in holy office and serve in His work, and indulgent parents who leave children without restraint confirm them in selfish and perverse habits to the ruin of themselves, their children, and many others. To escape that curse parents must make God's word their only guide in training, decisively correct wrongdoing, and bring up their children in obedience, simplicity, and purity rather than for fashion and the approval of the world.

Judgment on Eli's House

Those left in Eli's house would be brought down to humiliation and poverty, forced to crouch and beg for a piece of silver and a morsel of bread and to plead to be put into one of the priests' offices merely to get something to eat. That begging for a priest's place to obtain food meant the family would lose its priestly standing. The judgment included the loss of his sons.

The same judgment declared that because of unfaithfulness they would not win their battles but would be given over to their enemies. The cause was Eli's failure to restrain his wicked sons and to remove them from sacred office though he knew their sins, letting them continue to serve in holy office while dishonoring God. Those evils were polluting the sanctuary and leading thousands in Israel to ruin. His failure to control them was not an unavoidable difficulty, and it brought God's curse upon his house.

The passage in 1 Samuel 2:22-36 and 2:27-36 is God's warning of threatened judgment on Eli's house. God warned Eli but he did not heed the warning, so God declared that his house would not be blessed and that his sons' transgressions would not be pardoned. The execution of the sentence was delayed year after year to give time to redeem past failures. What was required was true repentance that renounces sin and takes effective measures to correct the evils. Confession of guilt without renouncing sin did not meet it, nor did merely making the warnings to his house known to the whole nation to counteract past neglect.

God could not speak through Eli and his sons because their sins like a thick cloud had shut out His Holy Spirit. In the midst of evil the child Samuel remained true to Heaven, and giving this message of condemnation was his commission as a prophet of the Most High. The warning and reproof concerning Eli's house were made known to the whole nation through Samuel, in hope of counteracting the harm caused by Eli's earlier neglect. Without reform, divine forbearance only hardened Hophni and Phinehas to bolder transgression. The warnings were disregarded by priests and people alike. Surrounding nations, knowing of Israel's open iniquities, became bolder in idolatry and crime because Israel had not preserved its integrity, and because God's authority had been set aside and His worship neglected and despised a day of retribution had to come to maintain the honor of His name.

Warning to Parents Today

Eli, though standing in holy office, was a fond, indulgent parent who put human wisdom above God's commands and allowed his sons to grow up without restraint until their forward, selfish, disagreeable ways became confirmed habits and they became wicked and perverse, bringing disaster and death to himself, ruin to his sons, and ruin to thousands in Israel. Neglect to teach children from the cradle to submit their wills and to discipline and mold their minds in childhood leaves them self-willed, stubborn, irritable and self-sufficient, and ruins Christian character and church peace and unity. His failure to control his sons was not an unavoidable difficulty, for the curse of God came upon Eli himself for his guilt in not restraining them from their sinful course, not only upon the children for their wrongdoing.

The verse warns that God holds fathers responsible for neglecting their children's training even when they are experienced and serve in His work, and parents who fail to restrain and correct their children can contribute to their ruin. Elis are numerous in this age of the world, the sin of parental neglect is no less aggravating to God than in the days of Eli, and parents will be called to render an account to God for their sinful neglect. His mournful history is a warning especially to those today who stand like Eli in holy office and in self-confidence think they know a better way of training children than God has given, failing to pray earnestly how to order the child. God Himself established family relations and His word is the only safe guide in managing children, because the Creator best understands all the needs of children and feels the deepest interest in their welfare, having bought them with His own blood, so only careful study and faithful obedience of His word and being doers of the Word will prevent soul-anguish over perverse conduct and escape the curse.

To escape that curse parents must decisively correct wrongdoing, for failing to do so brings the severe consequence shown in the survivors reduced to begging for food and asking for priestly work merely to eat. Fathers and mothers must keep their children free from the demoralizing fashions of the age, instruct them to have beautiful characters and keep the way of the Lord, and present them in simplicity and modesty of apparel rather than training them for stylish appearance and the approval of the world. The warning about Eli's house was a lesson Samuel should have taken to heart, but his own indulgence allowed his sons to become corrupt and unjust.