When God Hides His Word

I Samuel 3:1: “In those days the word of the LORD was rare; there were not many visions.”

The early chapters of I Samuel reveal a people whose spiritual leaders were corrupt . . . completely devoid of submission and obedience to the LORD. The sons of the chief priest, Eli, were particularly despicable in their handling of their office as priests. These two men, Hophi and Phinehas, gorged themselves on the sacrificial food offerings brought by the people. They were supposed to commit the sacrifices first to the Lord by placing them into a boiling kettle, then they were to pick out with a pronged fork a portion that they would consume themselves. The first fruits were the LORD’s; they were to honor the LORD first before their own physical needs. In contrast, however, these priests would threaten the people who brought food sacrifices to the LORD by demanding these offerings for themselves immediately. They warned that if they did not receive the uncooked meat, they would take it by force. God referred to their actions as “treating the LORD’s offering with contempt” (2:17).

These same religious leaders were also known for engaging in sexual acts with women who served the priests at the Tent of Meeting. They were men who in effect considered themselves their own gods; they used their position of influence to satisfy their own lustful desires over serving the LORD.

Eli, their father, attempted to rebuke his sons for such detestable practices, but he did not strive to remove his sons from their positions. As 2:29 & 4:18 suggests, Eli may himself have been benefiting from his son’s flagrant disregard for the sacrifices of the LORD. Nonetheless, Eli was not proactive in his calling as priest to remove evil from the sight of the LORD. He continued to allow his sons to use their offices to exploit the people and desecrate the worship of the LORD by seeking their own selfish desires over God Himself.

The Lord declared that He would “disdain those who despised Him.” He proclaimed that Eli’s sons would be killed, leading to the severing of the priestly line through his offspring.

What is ironic was the way in which Eli’s sons handled themselves when danger was presented to the Israelites by their enemies, the Philistines. When a war ensued, the Philistines gained a quick battle victory, which resulted in the death of 4000 Israelites. Hophni and Phinehas thought that if they took the Ark of the Covenant with them into battle, God would have to provide the Israelites with victory. Even though their hearts were estranged from a true relationship with the LORD, they believed that the mere association with a tangible object associated with the LORD would compel God to provide victory. Never do we find that these sons showed remorse for their sins; in their brazen arrogance, they expected God to come to their rescue.

Sadly, the Israelites were soundly defeated by the Philistines. 30,000 foot soldiers were killed in a second battle, and Eli’s two sons also perished in the battle. When word returned to Eli that his sons were killed and the Ark of the Covenant was captured, the elderly priest fell out of his chair and broke his neck. Eli’s death was the final act of judgment upon his family by the LORD for the egregious acts of rebellion perpetrated by his family. God would be vindicated in His holiness; all who attempted to challenge this sovereignty were destroyed.

The focal passage of which I have mentioned at the beginning of this devotion deals with the lack of God’s Word being given to a wayward people. We would do well to hear from history; when we are wrapped up in our own selfish desires instead of being submitted to the LORD, we should not expect that the LORD will open the portals of heaven to reveal the blessing of Himself to us. When our intimate walk with the LORD is compromised by sin in our lives, we will find that God will seem to be noticeably absent in our lives. What we need to remember is that the LORD can be found when we repent of our sin and seek Him above ourselves. This truth is wonderfully declared in Jeremiah 29:13: “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all of your heart.” God will be found when we passionately pursue Him and are obedient to Him above all other persons and things.