To depart from God

“…the ark of God has been captured.” When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell backward off his chair by the side of the gate. His neck was broken and he died, for he was an old man and heavy. I Samuel 4:17-18

During my Sunday school years, I thought that Eli, the High Priest, was a kind and wise man of God. He took in Samuel as a young boy, and taught him about serving God. Eli gave Samuel a part of the service in the Temple and also showed Samuel that the words he heard were from God. Eli was respectful of the message Samuel brought from God. When the ark was captured by the Philistines, Eli’s heart was distressed – so heart-wrenching was this news, that Eli fell and died upon hearing it.

And yet, a deeper look reveals another side to Eli. When he first sees Hannah in prayer, his immediate reaction is “How long will you keep getting drunk?” [I Sam 1:14] And Eli’s two sons were well known to be corrupt and greedy. Although they served as priests, their wickedness was obvious. Eli allowed their wickedness to continue, and he allowed them to continue in service as priests. Because of this, God no longer spoke to Eli. The word of the Lord was rare. The consequence of Eli’s sin was that his family line would end. There would be no atonement, and so his family would be wiped out.

Eli was a man with good and evil qualities. He loved God and brought Samuel up to know God. But he did not restrain his own sons from evil, and was quick to condemn Hannah. Like all mankind, he failed to be perfect. But what Eli did not do was to turn back to God in repentance. Other examples of sinners are in God’s Word. King David, Jacob and Peter all had times of sin and separation from God, but all repented when they realized their sin. God has not changed in this regard – we still need to recognize our departure from God, repent of it (turn back to God), and obtain His forgiveness.