Warned Again

Hannah had prayed for a son, and when Samuel was born, she dedicated him to the Lord, and brought him to Eli to teach him.  Unlike Eli’s sons, Samuel wanted to serve God, as I Samuel 3:1 tells us.  “And the child Samuel ministered unto the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was precious in those days; there was no open vision.” 

Before he gave the law, God regularly spoke to his people in visions wherever they were.   Some of those visions to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and even Moses are described.  After the law was complete and the Tabernacle was finished, there was no longer such a need for open visions to give special messages as they had his complete word.  Exodus 25:21-22 tells us that once the tabernacle was complete, god would speak to the High priests from the mercy seat.  “And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee.  And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.”  Because they were rare, these messages from God were precious to the people

We find a similar situation with prophecy in the New Testament.  Before the scriptures were completed, the gift of prophecy was crucial, but I Corinthians 13:9-10 tells us, “For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.  But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.”  Once the scriptures were completed, the gift of prophecy was no longer needed, and special revelations from God became rare.  Paul rebuked the Corinthian church for using those gifts to promote themselves rather than for building up the people, in I Corinthians 14:26-33, Giving guidelines as to how they were to be used properly.  “How is it then, brethren? when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying.  If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course; and let one interpret.  But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God.  Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge.  If any thing be revealed to another that sitteth by, let the first hold his peace.  For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted.  And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.  For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.”

Everything done in the church is to be done for the purpose of strengthening the Christians, not for attracting attention to oneself.  As a result tongues must be interpreted so everyone could benefit.  There should be no more than one person speaking in tongues at a time, and no more than three during a service. 

Prophecy simply means telling people what God has said,  and does not always refer to predicting some future event.  Today, that is called preaching, and Paul said they all could preach, but it still had to be done one at a time, with no competition or self-seeking involved.  While one preached, the others were to be checking out what he was saying to make sure it was scriptural.  If the Holy Spirit was empowering the preacher, he would be able to control himself, both physically and doctrinally to prevent causing distractions, because God does not cause confusion.  Paul finished up by saying that if a man is really Spirit led or familiar with God’s word, he will recognize these are God’s rules, in I Corinthians 14:37-38.  “If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.  But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant.”  If he doesn’t recognize these rules as coming from God we are to recognize he is ignorant about the things of God. 

God had warned Eli about what was going to happen, yet Eli had taken no actionss to stop his sons.  Although Samuel was just a small boy, God appeared to him with another warning to Eli, in I Samuel 3:11-18.  “And the LORD said to Samuel, Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle.  In that day I will perform against Eli all things which I have spoken concerning his house: when I begin, I will also make an end.  For I have told him that I will judge his house for ever for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not.  And therefore I have sworn unto the house of Eli, that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering for ever.   And Samuel lay until the morning, and opened the doors of the house of the LORD. And Samuel feared to show Eli the vision.

Then Eli called Samuel, and said, Samuel, my son.

And he answered, Here am I.

And he said, What is the thing that the LORD hath said unto thee? I pray thee hide it not from me: God do so to thee, and more also, if thou hide any thing from me of all the things that he said unto thee.  And Samuel told him every whit, and hid nothing from him. And he said, It is the LORD: let him do what seemeth him good.”

Eli recognized this was God’s word, yet he still made no effort to stop his sons, apparently believing there was no hope.  Centuries later, when Ahab was warned about what God was going to do to his family, he repented and God postponed judgment, in I Kings 21:27-29.  “And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly.  And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me? because he humbleth himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days: but in his son's days will I bring the evil upon his house.”

Had Eli acted on God’s warnings, his sons might have repented or Eli’s life might have been spared, but because he took no action things would go exactly as prophesied, leaving Israel without a judge for twenty years until Samuel grew up.  If God gives a warning, it would be wise to act on it rather than assuming it is too late.