I had the opportunity to speak to our congregation about a week ago and I believe the Spirit of Truth wanted me to talk about Holy Living and reverence for God. I’ve become very allergic to the flippancy that characterizes many of our churches today. Because of our lack of understanding of the doctrine of God, the fear of the Lord is no longer preached about. And even most people talk about fearing God, they equate it to loving God. While I believe that every born again believer in Christ should love God, it is critical that we begin with a healthy fear of the Lord.
“Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli. And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision.”
We’ll be looking at God’s Holiness today as we focus on 1 Samuel 2:12-17.
The sons of Eli are mentioned in the story, and the bible describes them as worthless. I don’t want to be known as a worthless person, nor do I want any of my sons or you to be remembered as such. What made Eli’s sons useless is the topic of today’s discussion.
Holy Living
The Passage
Eli’s Worthless Sons
12 Now the sons of Eli were worthless men. They did not know the Lord. 13 The custom of the priests with the people was that when any man offered sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come, while the meat was boiling, with a three-pronged fork in his hand, 14 and he would thrust it into the pan or kettle or cauldron or pot. All that the fork brought up the priest would take for himself. This is what they did at Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there. 15 Moreover, before the fat was burned, the priest’s servant would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give meat for the priest to roast, for he will not accept boiled meat from you but only raw.” 16 And if the man said to him, “Let them burn the fat first, and then take as much as you wish,” he would say, “No, you must give it now, and if not, I will take it by force.” 17 Thus the sin of the young men was very great in the sight of the Lord, for the men treated the offering of the Lord with contempt.
PS: I started Tayibs.com for the sole purpose of exploring difficult questions about the Christian faith that most of us shy away from. All the content generated on this website is thoroughly analyzed prior to being shared. And the site is run solely by myself, your generous support is very much appreciated
My name is Tayib Salami and I started Tayibs.com for the sole purpose of exploring difficult questions about the Christian faith that most of us shy away from. In 2017, I entered a very dark time in my life and it’s only by the grace of the Living God that I’m still alive today. It led me to really go deeper in my faith and consider a myriad of questions that I never thought about asking myself or others before. Welcome and enjoy the ride with me.