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| > Sermon Archive > Sermons by Author > Rev. Steven Swets > Wicked Leaders, Corrupted Worship | Previous Next Print |
| Order Of Worship (Liturgy) *Song of Adoration: Hymnal #84A: 1-3 “O Lord of Hosts, How Lovely” Song of Confession: Hymnal #43B “Judge Me, God of My Salvation” *Song of Preparation: Hymnal #278: 1-2, 5 “Nothing but the Blood” Scripture: I Samuel 2:12-36 ;Luke 2:39-52 Text: I Samuel 2:12-36 Message: Wicked Leaders, Corrupted Worship Song of Response: Hymnal #277 “Before the Throne of God Above” *Doxology: Hymnal #570 “Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow” |
Scripture Reading: II Samuel 2:12-36 and Luke 2:39-52
Scripture Text: II Samuel 2:12-36
Beloved Congregation of the Lord Jesus Christ,
Our text this morning is an encouraging one, but also a very serious one. It involves themes of God’s judgement and righteousness, the seriousness of sin and its consequences, and the raising up of a new prophet, priest, and king. But, it should make us pause and reflect.
Last week the well-known Reformed Baptist preacher, Pastor Steve Lawson was removed from his ministry and resigned from different positions he held in parachurch organizations. He admitted to having an inappropriate relationship. He is 73 years old. That is a frightening tale for any pastor. Men are weak vessels. But for the grace of God, so I would go as well. Some stats say the number one thing that keeps men who are interested in the ministry from entering it, is the fear of moral failure. The great Puritan John Owen said, “be killing sin, or it will be killing you.” We see something of that this morning in God’s word. What I fear as a Christian minister and brother in Christ, is that we often do not take sin as seriously as we ought to. You know, talking about sin doesn’t really give you the warm fuzzies. But it might save your soul and it will certainly honor your God and when understood in the light of Jesus Christ, it leads us to true comfort. Our theme is Our Lord desires a faithful servant-priest [in Shiloh].
I. The Need: Eli’s Wicked Sons
II. The Attempt: Eli’s rebuke
III. The Result: Eli’s household rejected
I. The Need: Eli’s Wicked Sons (v. 12-21)
Our text begins with a devastating indictment against Eli’s sons. They are called worthless men, who did not know the Lord. They were corrupt and wicked. They used their position in the church to fulfill the desires of their flesh. Their sins were many, but the two that are in focus in our text are sacrilege which leads to gluttony and sexual immorality.
Our text explains the practice of the time. The priests servant would thrust a three pronged fork, think of a pitch fork into the boiling cauldron and whatever meat came up was for the priest. However, Eli’s sons wanted the meat raw. Whether this was so that it could be sold, so that they would have more, etc. They already would have received, according to the law a breast and leg of the sacrifice (lev. 7:28-36). It seems like they wanted more. If the man who was giving the sacrifice objected to the priests servant taking the meat raw, before it was boiled, they the servant would turn into a thug, a bully, who would take it by force. A term denoting a willingness to violence. Then look at verse 17. How is that treating the offering of the Lord with contempt.
In order to understand that, you have to understand the role of the fat. It was to be burned off and they smoke of it was to reach heaven. The fat was for the Lord (Lev. 3). What Hophni and Phineas were doing was stealing the part of the offering that belonged to God. These were rotten and worthless men.
Another sin mentioned is that they would lay with the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting. Whether these were women devoted to the service of the Lord, kind of like Anna was or what their role is doesn’t really matter. These priests, who were to be consecrated to the Lord were rejecting God and his way and sinning greatly in their role.
That shouldn’t totally surprise us, our text opened by saying they did not know the Lord. It is literally, they “had no regard for” Yahweh. Without faith and softened hearts, what can one expect.
However, in the middle of this mess of wicked priests, we see a glimmer of hope in young Samuel. Throughout the text the contrast is clear between Eli’s wicked sons, and the godly, young, and kind adopted son, Samuel, who was ministering before the Lord. Our text says that he saw his birth mother each year. She would make a robe for him. This would have been the main piece of clothing with a type of underwear underneath. When ministering, he would have wore and ephod, showing his unique role in service to the Lord. Each year, Eli would bless Hannah and Elkanah for their faithfulness. God once again remembered Hannah and she had three more sons and two more daughters. God blessed Hannah for her faithfulness to the Lord. When she was an old woman, she would be able to look back on her life, surrounded by grandchildren and thank God for his faithfulness. But, the road to get there as we saw from chapter 1 was not easy at all. God doesn’t promise us 6 children if we are faithful enough, but he does promise us blessing. We are called to be faithful, and that is what we see from God’s servant Hannah.
For Samuel, he grew in the presence of the Lord. This doesn’t mean he ate his vegetables and got taller, though he would have. This means he grew in fellowship with the Lord. He was still a boy. That term denotes someone under 15 years old. Boys and girls, you can already now be serious about your love and walk with God. Continue to grow in the presence of the Lord.
II. The Attempt: Eli Rebukes Sons
Our text continues and it looks like things might improve. Maybe Eli will intervene, rebuke his sons and proper worship will be restored. If they don’t listen, then he will certainly remove them from their priestly role. But, this isn’t what happens. The old man Eli does confront his sons. He’s heard the stories, the rumors are out, things aren’t hidden. He asks them why they are doing these things in verses 23-24. He warns them that their sin isn’t simply against a man….that can be worked out with a mediator who can hear both sides and come to a conclusion. They are sinning against God first of all. They are priests in God’s house. But Eli’s warning had no effect and Eli himself did not remove them from their positions.
Notice what it says there at the end of verse 25. Their fate was solidified. God himself would remove them from office. Their desecration of worship, their leading the people astray, their sexual immorality because of their office, would meet with God’s judgment. It was the will of God to put them to death. It was as if they were beyond repentance.
We see something similar take place in the New Testament in Romans 1:18-32. You could read Hophni and Phineas into these verses easily. V. 21 “though they knew God, they did not honor him as God.” Verse 24 says that God gave them up to the lusts of their heart. That phrase, “God gave them up” or “God gave them over” is a weighty one. They become hardened in their sin. In our text, God had determined to kill off Eli’s sons. In Romans 1, we see the perverted debauchery of the a crooked mind and heart. In 2024 we see the same thing taking place. The warning for us is not merely to not be a part of this wickedness and lustful impurity, but as Rom. 1:32 says (read).
God is not going to let wickedness go unpunished. Don’t play with fire, or you will get burned. Sin has a way of getting a death grip on an individual. Don’t let it….rather flee from it. For Hophni and Phineas, God determined to put them to death. But notice again the next verse. The boy Samuel continued to grow. There is the hope again. We look to the one greater than Samuel, the one who is able to deliver us from our sins and forgive us and restore us. You see, in our text, the worship of God was desecrated. It was through that worship that the Israelites were uniquely connected to God and it had become corrupted. God would restore it. Not only, does Jesus forgive the sins of his people by grace, but he also restores that broken relationship. When we fall into sin, we should have shame, like Adam and Eve in the garden, because it is that shame that helps guide us to repentance. But through repentance, we are restored to God again. David prayed in Psalm 51, “restore to me the joy of your salvation.” This is the fruit of repentance. Dear friends, if you are feeling down about your sin today, good, that is the way of acknowledging our need and then finding in Jesus Christ our everything. Our text is longing for a new priest. Well, look to the priest who didn’t take the sacrifice for himself, but look to the lamb of God who became the sacrifice. Hebrews calls him our great high priest. He was the final one. He was the perfect one.
III. The Result: Eli’s Household Rejected
In verse 27 a man identified simply as “a man of God” came to Eli. That is a common designation for a prophet. His actual name is unimportant. The message is what is important, a truth we must remember. This man of God remind Eli of some history. Aaron and his descendents were set apart for the unique work of ministering as priest. Eli is a descendent of Aaron. But, as we have seen, the priesthood has become corrupt. Though Eli rebuked his sons, he did not remove them to protect the worship of Yahweh.
Two sins are mentioned that Eli was complicit in. First, he seems to partake of the stolen sacrificial food. Verse 29 mentions fattening themselves with the best of the best. We know Eli is fat as 4:18 tells us. This is likely connected. However, the greater sin in verse 29 is honoring his sons above God. God will not put up with contenders. His role is to be first, but since Eli was too lenient on his sons, the priesthood is going to be removed from his family and given to more faithful priests.
The initial fulfillment of this prophecy happens in the days of Solomon. Abiathar the priest is removed and Zadok the priest is ordained. Both Abiathar and Zadok are descedents of Aaron, but Abiathar, being the great, great grandson of Eli and Zadok descending from Eleazar.
So, it is not true to say that Eli is being punished because of his sons….he sin was his own. His sons will be punished when they perish in battle on the same day. Their descendants will reap the devastating consequences of rejecting the Lord their God.
Notice here the conditional nature of God’s promise to the house of Eli. Like Deuteronomy 28 listing the blessings for obedience and the curses for disobedience, Eli’s household will no longer be able to serve before the Lord. God is going to remove that privileged position and give it to another. Understanding God’s righteous nature, it should not surprise us. It doesn’t surprise us that Assyria would end up defeating the northern tribes, thereafter, Babylon would defeat the southern tribes. It doesn’t surprise us that when Jesus came to his own and they rejected him that the gospel, in fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham, went out to the nations. The warning to the churches in Revelation 2 and 3 is that if they want to mess with sin, their lampstand will be removed. Out of all Israel, God had chosen the family line of Eli, but no longer will that be the case. He will give it to another.
Notice also the connection between church leadership and the faith of God’s people. Pray for your leaders, your pastor, elders, and deacons. So often as the faith of the leadership goes, so goes the congregation. Hophni and Phineas’ sin was impacting the worship of God’s people. Pray that God might raise up humble and faithful leaders.
Another point of application is to notice the nature of Eli’s rebuke to his sons. He seems to be clear, but he was not bold enough. Things would have worked out different if he took more serious and decisive actions. Think of how this might apply to us. Realize, that we can end up being in grave sin by thinking that it is so extremely important to be nice to people. I am certainly not advocating rudeness and kindness is a fruit of the Spirit. But, with the goal of not rocking the ship, we might have a tendency to not say what needs to be said. Whether in parenting and wanting our kids to like us, whether in family and not wanting to make Thanksgiving awkward, or “leaving religion out of the workplace”, etc. Do not fall into sin by being nice. It could be a matter of eternal life and death.
And finally, notice that chapter 3:1 will mention Samuel again. The contrast is clear. If man messes things up, God will fix it in his own way and timing. It might be a painful process, but nothing can thwart the good plan of the Lord. The Lord Jesus Christ is the solution to our mess. Let that be a comfort to you in these trying times. No one can dethrone God.
Sin isn’t something to be trifled with. The allurement of the flesh and the world are powerful; but behold, Jesus has overcome the world. Amen.
* As a matter of courtesy please advise Rev. Steven Swets, if you plan to use this sermon in a worship service. Thank-you.
(c) Copyright 2024, Rev. Steven Swets
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