Your Daily Devotional for March 1, 2006

March 1, 2006

 

A Family’s Tragedy

by Dr. Paul Chappell

 

“Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not the Lord… Wherefore the sin of the young men was very great before the Lord; for men abhorred the offering of the Lord.”

1 Samuel 2:12, 17

 

The second chapter of 1 Samuel recounts the very sad and tragic story of how one family could change the course of a nation. We see in this chapter that because of sin in his family, God removed His hand of blessing from Eli, the priest of Israel.

 

Eli’s sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were apostate in their position. They knew of the truth but had fallen away from it. They did not know the true and living God. Some theologians believe that this sin caused Israel to move from theocracy (worship of the one true God) to monarchy (being ruled by earthly kings).

 

Truly it is a sacred and special blessing to be used by the Lord. Our lives and testimonies have a huge impact on others. We should never take this for granted. It’s a privilege to be used of God. It’s a privilege to work on a bus route, to teach or help in a Sunday school class, to sing in the choir, and to lead someone to Christ. Eli’s sons did not take their priestly duties seriously; neither did they appreciate what they had. They knew all about worship but didn’t do so according to God’s Word. Let me illustrate: They knew the Bible, they just didn’t read it. They knew about soulwinning, they just didn’t go. They had so much knowledge, but didn’t apply any of it God’s way.

 

There is one important lesson that we can glean from the wasted lives of Eli’s sons. Just being raised around the church house is NOT good enough. Hophni and Phinehas were preacher’s kids who didn’t grow up to love the Lord and fear the things of God. It’s not a guarantee that kids who are in church and go to a Christian school will grow up to live for God. Why? Because America has too many moms and dads who send their kids to Sunday school and Christian school to get a little bit of religion; then live for the devil the rest of the week!

 

The practice of religion is important. But we must not let religious ceremony take the place of authentic religion. What does that mean? Going to church on Sundays becomes a genuine act of worship when we are focused on Christ, or when our hearts are changed, or when we make decisions at the altar, or when we make sure we are right with God. Eli’s sons arrived at the place where they thought they knew it all. As a result, they became a detriment to the house of God.

 

Pray that we will never be a hindrance to our church family and to God’s work. There’s no sadder statement to be said about the family of God’s man than this: They knew not the Lord. May we as Christians always be a blessing to our pastor and to others in our church and be supportive of what the Lord wants to accomplish through our church.

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