Do you really respect God? Do you know His Word? These are two questions that I was challenged with this morning as I read part of the beginning of 1 Samuel. If you read 1 Samuel 2:12-36 specifically, you are faced with these questions.
Excerpts: (thanks to www.Biblegateway.com)
"12 Eli's sons were wicked men; they had no regard for the LORD. 13 Now 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. 14 He 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. 15 But 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."
16 If 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.""
- 1 Sam 2:12-16
These underlined portions highlight a couple of things...
1 - Eli's sons were wicked, they had no respect for the Lord. They were priests and yet they had no respect for God. They did what they wanted, when they wanted regardless of what impact that had on anyone else. They used their position of authority to get what they wanted.
Where do you put God in your life? Do you hold him in high regard? Or do you use him to get what you want when you want. Do you use your title as a Christian to manipulate people - to put yourself in a higher place than you ought?
2 - The laws that God had set up were very specific about what parts of the meat the priests were supposed to get. Eli's sons would disregard this, even when asked by a lay person. The lay people were more aware of God's Word than the priests!
How well do you know God's Word? Do you hold it in high regard? When confronted with the truth of Scripture, do you listen to it? Or do you ignore it unless it lines up with what you want?
Take some time to personally reflect on these questions. Ask God to show you what areas of your life you have been disrespecting Him. Then, listen and take to heart what He is telling you. Don't be like Eli's sons and disregard God's Word for your own selfish desires. There are consequences for our actions - blessings for doing good and curses for not.
So, what happened to Eli's sons anyway... Let's finish reading 1 Samuel 2:30-33:
30 "Therefore the LORD, the God of Israel, declares: 'I promised that your house and your father's house would minister before me forever.' But now the LORD declares: 'Far be it from me! Those who honor me I will honor, but those who despise me will be disdained. 31 The time is coming when I will cut short your strength and the strength of your father's house, so that there will not be an old man in your family line 32 and you will see distress in my dwelling. Although good will be done to Israel, in your family line there will never be an old man. 33 Every one of you that I do not cut off from my altar will be spared only to blind your eyes with tears and to grieve your heart, and all your descendants will die in the prime of life. "
I don't know about you, but I'd much rather give God is proper regard!
