{"id":32828,"date":"2024-09-30T22:00:17","date_gmt":"2024-10-01T05:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/1-samuel-2_1-11-copy\/"},"modified":"2024-09-30T22:11:16","modified_gmt":"2024-10-01T05:11:16","slug":"1-samuel-2_12-26","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/1-samuel-2_12-26\/","title":{"rendered":"Living All For One Name, Even When Others Around You Don\u2019t"},"content":{"rendered":"

1 Samuel 2:12-26\u00a0 (CLICK HERE FOR\u00a0BIBLE VERSES)<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is 1 Samuel 2:12-26.\u00a0 As usual,\u00a0I encourage you to read the passage yourself first and see what you can glean with the Holy Spirit\u2019s help, then read the GAME sharing below.\u00a0 Let’s go!<\/p>\n

In\u00a01\u00a0Samuel\u00a02:12-26 we see the stark contrast between\u00a0Samuel\u00a0and the sons of Eli.\u00a0 All of them were priests serving in the same place of worship, but they were worlds apart in terms of character.\u00a0 As a result, though you could find them in the same place, they were moving in opposite directions.\u00a0 It\u2019s your character, not your surroundings, that matters most.\u00a0 Let\u2019s take a look in more detail.<\/p>\n

1 Samuel 2:12-17 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n12\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Eli’s sons were wicked men; they had no regard for the\u00a0LORD.
\n13\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Now it was the practice of the priests with the people that whenever anyone offered a sacrifice and while the meat was being boiled, the servant of the priest would come with a three-pronged fork in his hand.
\n14\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0He would plunge it into the pan or kettle or caldron or pot, and the priest would take for himself whatever the fork brought up. This is how they treated all the Israelites who came to Shiloh.
\n15\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0But even before the fat was burned, the servant of the priest would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give the priest some meat to roast; he won’t accept boiled meat from you, but only raw.”
\n16\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0If the man said to him, “Let the fat be burned up first, and then take whatever you want,” the servant would then answer, “No, hand it over now; if you don’t, I’ll take it by force.”
\n17\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0This sin of the young men was very great in the\u00a0LORD’s sight, for they were treating the\u00a0LORD’s offering with contempt.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses\u00a012-17:\u00a0 Eli\u2019s sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests like their father Eli. Yet verse\u00a012\u00a0says that \u201cEli\u2019s sons were wicked men\u201d and \u201chad no regard for the Lord\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0 Verses 13-17 describe one example of their wickedness: the Jewish law required that when people brought meat to the priest to sacrifice, the priest was to burn the fat as an offering to the Lord first (for example, see Leviticus 3 and all the references to offering the fat to the Lord, such as Leviticus 3:16 – \u201cAll the fat is the Lord\u2019s\u201d).\u00a0\u00a0 After offering the fat to the Lord, the priests could then in certain cases take the rest of the meat for themselves.<\/p>\n

But Eli\u2019s sons refused to offer the fat to the Lord first.\u00a0 Instead, they would take whole pieces of raw meat, including the fat, for themselves and offer none of the fat to God (v16).\u00a0 They were taking for themselves the best parts that belonged to God, and left God with the leftovers.\u00a0 In this way, \u201cthey were treating the Lord\u2019s offering with contempt\u201d (v17) and sinning greatly against God.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0Give to God first.\u00a0\u00a0The Bible says that all of us who have trusted Jesus Christ are priests and that we are to offer the first tenth of our income to God before taking any for ourselves, also called tithing (for example, see Proverbs 3:9-10; Matthew 23:23).\u00a0 Let me ask you, fellow priest: \u00a0Do you tithe?\u00a0 Do you take the first part of your income and offer it to God, or do you use it on yourself and leave God with the leftovers? \u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s not be like Hophni and Phinehas, taking what belongs to God and using it on other things with no regard for the Lord.\u00a0 As Jesus says, if we seek first God\u2019s kingdom and His righteousness, everything else we need will be added (Matthew 6:33).\u00a0\u00a0The key to being blessed is not to short-change God, but to give Him what He is due trusting that He will take care of you.<\/strong><\/p>\n

1\u00a0Samuel\u00a02:18 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n18\u00a0<\/sup>But\u00a0Samuel\u00a0was ministering before the LORD–a boy wearing a linen ephod.<\/em><\/p>\n

Verse 18:\u00a0 While Eli\u2019s sons carried out their corrupt practices,\u00a0Samuel\u00a0ministered before the Lord with integrity, wearing an ephod, the traditional garb for a priest.\u00a0 What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0When those around you are not following the Lord as they should, do not let that deter you from following Him with all your heart.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0Samuel\u2019s life is a great illustration of\u00a01\u00a0Timothy 4:12\u00a0\u201cDo not let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example in speech, in faith, in life, in love and in purity.\u201d<\/p>\n

1\u00a0Samuel\u00a02:19 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n19\u00a0<\/sup>Each year his mother made him a little robe and took it to him when she went up with her husband to offer the annual sacrifice.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 19:\u00a0 \u00a0For me verse 19 is one of the most touching pictures in the Bible.\u00a0 Though they were far apart and could only see each other once a year,\u00a0Samuel\u00a0was always in his mother Hannah\u2019s heart.<\/p>\n

1\u00a0Samuel\u00a02:20-21 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n20\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, saying, “May the\u00a0LORD\u00a0give you children by this woman to take the place of the one she prayed for and gave to the\u00a0LORD.” Then they would go home.
\n21\u00a0<\/sup>And the LORD was gracious to Hannah; she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy\u00a0Samuel\u00a0grew up in the presence of the LORD.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 20-21a: God would bless Hannah with 5 more children after she gave her firstborn\u00a0Samuel\u00a0to serve as a priest (v21).\u00a0 This is another great illustration of how when we give first to God, He gives us even more.<\/p>\n

1\u00a0Samuel\u00a02:21b (NIV)<\/strong>
\n21\u00a0<\/sup>\u2026Meanwhile, the boy\u00a0Samuel\u00a0grew up in the presence of the LORD.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 21b:\u00a0 Even though\u00a0Samuel\u00a0grew up apart from his natural parents, he always had his Heavenly Father with him, and\u00a0Samuel\u00a0\u201cgrew up in the presence of the Lord\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0May this bring comfort to you who are parents.\u00a0 We want to and need to do everything we can to be present in our children\u2019s lives.\u00a0 But in circumstances where we cannot always be there for our children, we know that our children have a Heavenly Father who will never leave them or forsake them.\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0We can trust that when we are not able to, God Himself will give our children everything they need to grow up loved, loving, happy, healthy, wise, and strong.<\/p>\n

1 Samuel 2:22-24 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n22\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Now Eli, who was very old, heard about everything his sons were doing to all Israel and how they slept with the women who served at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.
\n23\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0So he said to them, “Why do you do such things? I hear from all the people about these wicked deeds of yours.
\n24\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0No, my sons; it is not a good report that I hear spreading among the\u00a0LORD’s people.
\n<\/em>
\nOn verses 22-24:\u00a0 Here we see a second example of how Hophni and Phinehas were wicked: they would sleep with the women who served at their place of worship (v22).\u00a0 Rumours of their corruption were beginning to spread among the people (v24).<\/p>\n

1\u00a0Samuel\u00a02:25 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n25\u00a0<\/sup>If a man sins against another man, God may mediate for him; but if a man sins against the LORD, who will intercede for him?” His sons, however, did not listen to their father’s rebuke, for it was the LORD’s will to put them to death.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 25: Eli tried to warn and rebuke his sons for their wicked behaviour, but they wouldn\u2019t listen.\u00a0\u00a0Their unteachability would ultimately lead to their downfall and death.\u00a0\u00a0Proverbs 13:1\u00a0says, \u201cA wise child accepts a parent\u2019s discipline; a mocker refuses to listen to correction.\u201d<\/p>\n

How about you?\u00a0 Are you someone who humbly accepts correction and learns when rebuked, or are you set on doing your own thing regardless of what anybody says?\u00a0 We have a choice: we can either learn from correction and live, or we can despise correction and die.<\/p>\n

1\u00a0Samuel\u00a02:26 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n26\u00a0<\/sup>And the boy\u00a0Samuel\u00a0continued to grow in stature and in favor with the LORD and with men.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 26:\u00a0 Again, juxtaposed against Eli\u2019s sons is\u00a0Samuel.\u00a0 While Eli\u2019s sons were descending into wickedness,\u00a0Samuel\u00a0was growing up and beginning his ascent as a man of God and a leader for his people.\u00a0 Luke would use similar words to describe Jesus\u2019 development as a boy. \u201cAnd Jesus grew in wisdom, in stature and in favour with God and people.\u201d (Luke\u00a02:52)\u00a0 Likewise, I pray that you individually and we as a church together would grow in wisdom, stature and in favour with God and people.<\/p>\n

Father, I pray that we would not be like Hophni and Phinehas, who on the surface were priests but who deep down were wicked, corrupt and unteachable.\u00a0 I pray that we would be humble and teachable like\u00a0Samuel\u00a0and grow up in Your presence, becoming the people and priests You made us to be. In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n

Copyright \u00a9 2022 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is 1 Samuel 2:12-26.\u00a0 As usual,\u00a0I encourage you to read the passage yourself first and see what you can glean with the Holy Spirit\u2019s help, then read the GAME sharing below.\u00a0 Let’s go!\u00a0
\n\u00a0
\nIn\u00a01\u00a0Samuel\u00a02:12-26 we see the stark contrast between\u00a0Samuel\u00a0and the sons of Eli.\u00a0 All of them were priests serving in the same place of worship, but they were worlds apart in terms of character.\u00a0 As a result, though you could find them in the same place, they were moving in opposite directions.\u00a0 It\u2019s your character, not your surroundings, that matters most.\u00a0 Let\u2019s take a look in more detail.<\/p>\n

1 Samuel 2:12-17 (NIV)
\n12\u00a0\u00a0Eli’s sons were wicked men; they had no regard for the\u00a0LORD.
\n13\u00a0\u00a0Now it was the practice of the priests with the people that whenever anyone offered a sacrifice and while the meat was being boiled, the servant of the priest would come with a three-pronged fork in his hand.
\n14\u00a0\u00a0He would plunge it into the pan or kettle or caldron or pot, and the priest would take for himself whatever the fork brought up. This is how they treated all the Israelites who came to Shiloh.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":32829,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32828","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32828","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32828"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32828\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32830,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32828\/revisions\/32830"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32829"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32828"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32828"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32828"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}