The Price of Rebellion

1 Samuel 2:27-36
Darrin Mariott, Lead Pastor

Big Idea: God’s correction is for our good, and our best response is to heed His Word.

I.The Price of Rebellion (vv. 27-34)
1 Samuel 2:27-34
27 And there came a man of God to Eli and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Did I indeed reveal myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt subject to the house of Pharaoh? 28 Did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up to my altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me? I gave to the house of your father all my offerings by fire from the people of Israel. 29 Why then do you scorn my sacrifices and my offerings that I commanded for my dwelling, and honor your sons above me by fattening yourselves on the choicest parts of every offering of my people Israel?’ 30 Therefore the Lord, the God of Israel, declares: ‘I promised that your house and the house of your father should go in and out before me forever,’ but now the Lord declares: ‘Far be it from me, for those who honor me I will honor, and those who despise me shall be lightly esteemed. 31 Behold, the days are coming when I will cut off your strength and the strength of your father’s house, so that there will not be an old man in your house. 32 Then in distress you will look with envious eye on all the prosperity that shall be bestowed on Israel, and there shall not be an old man in your house forever. 33 The only one of you whom I shall not cut off from my altar shall be spared to weep his eyes out to grieve his heart, and all the descendants of your house shall die by the sword of men. 34 And this that shall come upon your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, shall be the sign to you: both of them shall die on the same day.

A. Though Eli confronts his sons (see vv. 22-25), he does not go far enough. Eli and his family have enjoyed the honor of God’s calling and the benefits of God’s provision (cf. Deut. 18:1-5), but those blessings are conditioned on their faithfulness to God and His Word (v. 30). Now, not just Eli, but his whole family, will pay the price of ignoring a problem.

B. Eli knew his sons were corrupt, but he failed to correct it and, in the process, revealed:

1. A lack of reverence and humility (vv. 27-28) – Eli took for granted the blessings of his position.

2. A scorn toward God’s holiness and grace (v. 29) – Eli’s priorities were out of order.

3. The corporate impact of sin (vv. 30-34; cf. 1 Cor. 5:6-8) – Our sin can impact those around us as well.
1 Corinthians 5:6-8
6 Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? 7 Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 8 Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

C. We are reminded here not only of the importance of good leadership, but also of the consequences of poor leadership. God will keep His promises, but we have responsibilities too.

II. The Purpose of Correction (vv. 32, 35-36)
1 Samuel 2:32, 35-36
32 Then in distress you will look with envious eye on all the prosperity that shall be bestowed on Israel, and there shall not be an old man in your house forever.
35 And I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who shall do according to what is in my heart and in my mind. And I will build him a sure house, and he shall go in and out before my anointed forever. 36 And everyone who is left in your house shall come to implore him for a piece of silver or a loaf of bread and shall say, “Please put me in one of the priests’ places, that I may eat a morsel of bread.”’”

A. While this confrontation seems harsh, it is a necessary corrective to Eli’s lack of spiritual leadership. God’s correction reveals not only His love as our heavenly Father, but also His character (cf. Prov. 3:11-12; Heb. 12:3-11).
Proverbs 3:11-12
11 My son, do not despise the Lord’s disciplineor be weary of his reproof, 12 for the Lord reproves him whom he loves,as a father the son in whom he delights.

Hebrews 12:3-11
3 Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. 4 In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5 And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,nor be weary when reproved by him. 6 For the Lord disciplines the one he loves,and chastises every son whom he receives.” 7 It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9 Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. 11 For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

B. The purpose of God’s correction:

1. To train us and teach us.

2. To reveal God’s holiness and righteousness.

3. As a reminder that it’s not all about us.

C. However, correction also serves as a warning to us and those institutions that stray from God and His Word that they can lose their spiritual relevance and inheritance.