Eli and His Sons
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not corrected their want of reverence for his authority, had not checked
their disrespect for the solemn services of the sanctuary; and when
they reached manhood, they were full of the deadly fruits of skepticism
and rebellion.
Though wholly unfit for the office, they were placed as priests in
the sanctuary to minister before God. The Lord had given the most
specific directions in regard to offering sacrifices; but these wicked
men carried their disregard of authority into the service of God, and did
not give attention to the law of the offerings, which were to be made
in the most solemn manner. The sacrifices, pointing forward to the
death of Christ, were designed to preserve in the hearts of the people
faith in the Redeemer to come; hence it was of the greatest importance
that the Lord’s directions concerning them should be strictly heeded.
The peace offerings were especially an expression of thanksgiving to
God. In these offerings the fat alone was to be burned upon the altar; a
certain specified portion was reserved for the priests, but the greater
part was returned to the offerer, to be eaten by him and his friends in a
sacrificial feast. Thus all hearts were to be directed, in gratitude and
faith, to the great Sacrifice that was to take away the sin of the world.
The sons of Eli, instead of realizing the solemnity of this sym-
bolic service, only thought how they could make it a means of self-
indulgence. Not content with the part of the peace offerings allotted
them, they demanded an additional portion; and the great number of
these sacrifices presented at the annual feasts gave the priests an op-
portunity to enrich themselves at the expense of the people. They not
only demanded more than their right, but refused to wait even until the
fat had been burned as an offering to God. They persisted in claiming
whatever portion pleased them, and, if denied, threatened to take it by
violence.
This irreverence on the part of the priests soon robbed the service
of its holy and solemn significance, and the people “abhorred the
offering of the Lord.” The great antitypical sacrifice to which they
were to look forward was no longer recognized. “Wherefore the sin of
the young men was very great before the Lord.”
These unfaithful priests also transgressed God’s law and dishon-
ored their sacred office by their vile and degrading practices; yet they
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continued to pollute by their presence the tabernacle of God. Many
of the people, filled with indignation at the corrupt course of Hophni