Christian Reflection: Believers in God Should Fear God

By Quan Li

It is said in 1 Samuel 2: 12-17, “Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not the LORD. And the priest’s custom with the people was, that, when any man offered sacrifice, the priest’s servant came, while the flesh was in seething, with a meat hook of three teeth in his hand; And he struck it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; all that the meat hook brought up the priest took for himself. So they did in Shiloh to all the Israelites that came thither. Also before they burnt the fat, the priest’s servant came, and said to the man that sacrificed, Give flesh to roast for the priest; for he will not have sodden flesh of you, but raw. And if any man said to him, Let them not fail to burn the fat presently, and then take as much as your soul desires; then he would answer him, No; but you shall give it me now: and if not, I will take it by force. Why the sin of the young men was very great before the LORD: for men abhorred the offering of the LORD.”

By offering sacrifices in faith, the people of the Old Testament demonstrated their faith in Jehovah; the sacrifices must be offered by priests on the altar first, after God accepted, the sacrifices could be distributed to priests and people to eat. As priests who served God, Eli’s two sons were supposed to obey the commandments of Jehovah God, offer sacrifices for the people, make atonement for their sins, and lead them to fear God. However, they didn’t do so. They were men of greed and lust. They used their power as priests to extort from the people the best of the meat brought before them for sacrifice, committing a serious violation of God’s laws and decrees, and they even never thought about repenting. From what they had done, they did not have the slightest fear of God. They were the people who resisted God, not people who served God. They were of the same kind as Judas.

So how did their father deal with it when he found out about it? It is said in 1 Samuel 2:22-25, “Now Eli was very old, and heard all that his sons did to all Israel; and how they lay with the women that assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And he said to them, Why do you such things? for I hear of your evil dealings by all this people. No, my sons; for it is no good report that I hear: you make the LORD’s people to transgress. If one man sin against another, the judge shall judge him: but if a man sin against the LORD, who shall entreat for him? Notwithstanding they listened not to the voice of their father, because the LORD would slay them.”

When Priest Eli discovered his two sons’ attitude toward sacrifices and evil actions, he clearly realized that they had offended God’s disposition and should be seriously punished by the law. However, Eli only rebuked the two sons, and took no measures to prevent them from doing evil, nor did he disqualify them from being priests, so they still had the opportunities to take Jehovah God’s offerings out of greed or steal them. That was why Jehovah God said to Eli, “I said indeed that your house, and the house of your father, should walk before me for ever: but now the LORD said, Be it far from me; for them that honor me I will honor, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed. Behold, the days come, that I will cut off your arm, and the arm of your father’s house, that there shall not be an old man in your house. And you shall see an enemy in my habitation, in all the wealth which God shall give Israel: and there shall not be an old man in your house for ever. And the man of yours, whom I shall not cut off from my altar, shall be to consume your eyes, and to grieve your heart: and all the increase of your house shall die in the flower of their age. 34And this shall be a sign to you, that shall come on your two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas; in one day they shall die both of them” (1 Samuel 2:30-34).

Eli’s sons were priests, but they disobeyed the law by misappropriating God’s offerings. Their misdeeds provoked the wrath of God and they subsequently both died on the same day, when Israel was defeated by a battle. Neither did Eli hold to his duty: he didn’t disqualify people who stole offerings but condoned the evil doings of his two sons in a disguised way. Tragedy resulted when this priest honored his children more than God. That was the reason God got angry with him. The story of this Old Testament family reminds us that no matter how loyalty we were to God in the past, how high our position was, if we don’t possess a reverence for God, but give free rein to the things that harm the church, and if our hearts do not magnify God, we will definitely receive God’s righteous punishment. This is decided by God’s righteous disposition.

From the story of Eli and his two sons, we can see: While believing in God today and especially working to serve God, we must have a heart of reverence for God, because God’s essence is holy and undefiled by anyone. Once we have come to know God’s righteous disposition, we should always fear God and shun evil, act according to the Lord’s teachings, and seek in everything in order to conform to God’s will. Only in this way can we gain God’s approval and avoid His disgust. The story of Eli and his two sons really sounds the alarm and reminds us to fear God when we believe in Him.