The other side of Eli.
The Book of 1 Samuel
Bible study 6.
The other side of Eli.
Eli lived for 98 years.
In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions.
(1 Samuel 3:1)
When looking at the history of the high priests in the land of Israel, Eli was the first to meet the wrath of God.
The reason is that he did not love and honor God but loved his sons more and overlooked their sins.
The sins of his sons angered the Lord in matters next to the Tabernacle.
As a result, he lost two of his sons in a battle against the Philistines on the same day.
The ark of God has been captured by the enemy. 4:11.
All these things are only a side view of him.
At the same time, we can see another side of him.
Samuel was three years old when he came to the Tabernacle.
Eli took care of him and guided him from that day.
It was Eli who engaged him in the works in Tabernacle and guided him in the ways of God.
The scriptures do not say that he was treated harshly
1. Samuel was not ill-treated
2. He was taught the ways of God.
3 when God told Samuel of the doom that would come to the family Eli was not jealous of Samuel.
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4. He treated Samuel like a son.
Although he did not reprimand his children, he was honest and upright in Samuel's affairs.
Lessons we learn through this.
1. Those who can guide us in spiritual ways, no matter what others think
What matters is how they treat us.
2. It is our duty to patiently learn the spiritual lessons of the experiences of the one whom God entrusts us to or leads us to.
3. As long as God allows us to have all the experiences we need from Him.
4. We should respect Him even if others ignore them.
5. We should be submissive to him until God relieves us from him.
6. It is not good to be separated from the spiritual leader that the Lord had placed in our lives before God's time.
7. Great leaders in the eyes of the world may not be able to properly guide us on the spiritual path in our lives. At the same time, the leaders that the Lord allows may be wrong from another point of view, but they will be used to fulfill the purpose of the Lord in our lives. Ezekiel Shanmugavel