“ And there came a man of God unto Eli, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Did I plainly appear unto the house of thy father, when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh’s house?²⁸ And did I choose him (Aaron) out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer upon mine altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me? and did I give unto the house of thy father all the offerings made by fire of the children of Israel?

²⁹ Wherefore kick you at My Sacrifice and at My Offering, which I have commanded in My habitation; and honour thy sons above Me, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel My people?

³⁰ Wherefore the Lord God of Israel said, I said indeed that your house, and the house of your father, should walk before Me for ever: but now the Lord says, Be it far from Me; for them that honour Me I will honour, and they that despise Me shall be lightly esteemed.”     1 Samuel 2:27-29.

The sons of Eli had dishonored God’s Sacrifice’s and treated them as worldly which caused the children of Israel to transgress. They no longer wanted to offer sacrifices to God because Eli’s sons would take parts of the sacrifice and not leave any for the feast of the offerer.   “Wherefore the sin of the young men was very great before the Lord: for men abhorred the offering of the Lord.” 1 Samuel 2:17.    Instead of rebuking his sons, Eli honored their will before God’s Will.  Eli became an accomplice to this abomination because of his failure to fulfill his obligation to the work of God.

Was Eli the first seeker sensitive preacher?

“And the Lord said to Samuel, Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle.  ¹² In that day I will perform against Eli all things which I have spoken concerning his house: when I begin, I will also make an end.  ¹³ For I have told him that I will judge his house for ever for the iniquity which he knows; because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not.  ¹⁴ And therefore I have sworn unto the house of Eli, that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering for ever.” 1 Samuel 3:11-14.

There is evidence of Eli’s knowledge of his son’s abomination against God but there is no evidence of Eli’s repentance for allowing his sons abomination.  Our Sacrifice, Jesus Christ on Calvary’s Cross , is of no effect without true repentance for our sin.   Knowing our sin and repenting of our sin are two different things.  Compromising and condoning those who attempt to rival the atoning work of Jesus on Calvary’s Cross for victory over sin through philosophy and schemes of man is a sin.  It is placing man’s will above God’s will and is sweeping the church to and fro with doctrines of demons…it is a sin to know this, compromise with this and not repent of this.

Eli knew of his son’s behavior regarding the work of God but did not repent for not restraining them and therefore was an accomplice to their work and not God’s work as he was called to be.  Eli honored man before God.  Sadly, Eli knew the ways of the Lord but did not follow them.  He did not judge according to Scripture, he judged according to man.  It is a tragedy how many Eli’s we have today behind the pulpit.  Many do know the ways of God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but they in fact honor man before God…they  are seeker sensitive.

“And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15.