In the passage in 1 Samuel 2 vs 12 to 36, it appears that Eli’s in-action cost his tribe their exclusive inheritance among the children of Israel, but did Eli really do nothing?
22Now Eli was very old; and he heard everything his sons did to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. 23So he said to them, “Why do you do such things? For I hear of your evil dealings from all the people. 24No, my sons! For it is not a good report that I hear. You make the Lord’s people transgress.
Eli did take some action regarding the behavior of his sons according to the scripture above, right? He cautioned them and admonished them. These were grown men, what else could Eli have done?
The issue at hand is not whether or not Eli took any steps to correct His sons’ actions, it was rather the attitude of His heart towards God’s scared things. This is evident in verse 1 Samuel 3 vs 18; “Then Samuel told him everything, and hid nothing from him. And he said, “It is the Lord. Let Him do what seems good to Him.” and again in in 1 Samuel 2 vs 29 where it is revealed to us that Eli no longer revered God, “… and honor your sons more than Me…”. Eli and his sons had become too familiar with our Holy God. The deaths of Nadab and Abihu in Leviticus 10 should have been enough caution for Eli or any Priest for that matter.
Eli was very old, the Bible says. He was weak and almost blind. He had many valid excuses for not taking action according to human standards. But God’s standards are not human standards. God expects absolute excellence from us.
Have we done enough to preserve our God given inheritance for the future generations? Do you think you’re doing enough?