| International Bible Studies |
LESSON FOR AUGUST 14, 1983
Hophni and Phinehas:
Corrupt Priests
KEY VERSE: “For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.” —Psalm 1:6
SELECTED SCRIPTURE: I Samuel 1:3; 2:12-17, 22-25; 4:11
THE sons of Eli had been brought up in the courts of God, and were instructed out of the Law. But in spite of their knowledge, they had very little respect or concern for the things of the Lord. It was said of them that they were the sons of Belial (evil, ungodly, wicked men). Eli, their father, was a good man and probably set his sons a good example in private life. But he yielded to a natural weakness of the flesh and was too indulgent of the sins and the transgressions of his sons. By his indulgence he condoned the many abuses of the sanctuary and unlawful customs they established, and this made way for even greater abominations which eventually included immorality.
Many were so offended by the conduct of the priest’s office that they refused to worship in the Temple. For example, the priests by Law were entitled to the breast, the right shoulder, the cheeks, and the maw from every peace offering. (Lev. 7:29-34; Deut. 18:3) But in addition to this, it became the custom for the servants of the priests to come (while the flesh was boiling, for the use of the offerer and his friends) and take a portion from the pots. Also in some instances, the priests required additional prerequisites to satisfy their avarice. They also postponed or neglected to burn the fat of the offering which was especially to the Lord. Thus the priests lorded it over God’s heritage, and ignored the sacrifice which he had commanded.
The Lord sent a prophet to Eli to voice his displeasure and to pronounce judgment upon Eli’s conduct of the priesthood, saying, “Behold, the days come, that I will cut off thine arm, and the arm of thy father’s house, that there shall not be an old man in thine house. … And this shall be a sign unto thee, that shall come upon thy two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas, in one day they shall die, both of them. And I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in mine heart and in my mind, and I will build him a sure house, and he shall walk before mine anointed forever.”—I Sam. 2:31,34,35
In fulfillment of this prophecy, the Lord raised up Samuel to be his servant and the Lord dealt with him instead of with Eli. It came to pass in time that “the Philistines put themselves in array against Israel: and when they joined battle, Israel was smitten before the Philistines; and they slew of the army in the field about four thousand men. And when the people were come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, Wherefore hath the Lord smitten us today before the Philistines? Let us fetch the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord out of Shiloh unto us; … it may save us out of the hand of our enemies.”—I Sam. 4:2,3
“And when Eli heard the noise of the crying, he said, What meaneth the noise of this tumult? And the man came in hastily, and told Eli. And the man said unto Eli, I am he that came out of the army, and I fled today out of the army. And he said, What is there done, my son? And the messenger answered and said, Israel is fled before the Philistines, and there hath been also a great slaughter among the people, and thy two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the Ark of God is taken. And it came to pass, when he made mention of the Ark of God, that he fell from off the seat backward by the side of the gate, and his neck broke, and he died: for he was an old man, and heavy. And he had judged Israel forty years.”—I Sam. 4:14,16-18
In this experience there is a lesson for the footstep followers of Jesus during this Gospel Age, that we must hold fast to the ordinances and instructions the Lord has given us. We think of the instructions given to us by the Apostle Paul, “We then as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain … giving no offense in anything, that the ministry be not blamed: but in all things approving [establishing] ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, … by pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by love unfeigned.”—II Cor. 6:1-6