PC Study Bible Data
Reference: 1 Samuel 4:1-21.
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Do you know Eli happened to be one of the High Priests
in Israel? He served meritoriously after the order of his fathers. At least,
there was no record of a personal wrongdoing in his ministry. But, he failed in
raising his children to know the Lord. The Bible called them Sons of Belial (1
Samuel 2:12). They knew not the Lord.
What an irony! The kids of the High Priest for that
matter.
At a point, the Lord sent a warning through young
Samuel to him, to warn him of the impending doom, hanging over his household.
Rather than holding unto God for a way out, what was Eli’s response?
“He is the Lord, let him do what pleases him
(1 Samuel 3:18).
Because of such lackadaisical attitude, Eli lived
to see his two sons killed in battle, the Ark of the Covenant captured by the
Philistines, and his daughter-in-law giving birth to a child called Ichabod,
which means ‘the glory has departed from Israel’.
Brethren, there is a lesson here.
Today, the devil is trying to take the Ark — God’s
influence — out of our homes. Through the media and peer pressures, the forces
of darkness are seeking to capture the minds of our children by exposing them
to the wrong values.
Mum, Dad, what’s being written over your house?
‘The glory has departed’, or’…. as for me and my
house, we will see serve the Lord’ (Joshua 24:15).
We are in a war, but a lot of us have not been at
war!
If we are going to ‘fight the good fight of fight’
for and with our children, we need to get our act together.
Children don’t mind following someone who’s showing
by example how it’s done, and who’s doing it with them.
Hannah, Eli’s neighbor, was such a parent. After
years of barrenness, she made a vow to God: ….if you will give me a son, I
will give him back to you all his life…’ (1 Samuel 1:11). God answered her
prayers with Samuel, who became one of Israel’s greatest Prophets.
Later, God gave Hannah more children’…..so she
became the mother of three sons and two daughters…’ (1 Samuel 2:21).
That’s because He knew He could fulfil Hannah’s
deepest longing and that it wouldn’t make her selfish. He knew she was more
interested in His glory and benefit than she was in her own.
Parent, can God trust you like that?
May grace abound to us more and more.
