Fat and Gluttenous

1 Samuel 2:12-16, 22, 30, 34-35

Eli's sons were scoundrels; they had no regard for the Lord. Now it was the practice of the priests that, whenever any of the people offered a sacrifice, the priest's servant would come with a three-pronged fork in his hand while the meat was being boiled and would plunge the fork into the pan or kettle or caldron or pot. Whatever the fork brought up the priest would take for himself.

In Greek, the word pharmakaia means both the study of medicine and the study of witchcraft. In medicine, the drugs are carried in the blood and stored in the fat for distribution later. Why is this fat of the offering so significant in this story of Eli and his two sons? Clearly since drugs are not being mentioned in these verses, the only other alternative meaning is witchcraft. 1 Samuel 15:23 states that "rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft." The Scripture calls Eli's two sons wicked without regard for God. The text says they had "no regard." Children with no regard for God became men without regard for him either. Eli's gluttony poisoned a family. He had no regard to God towards his appetite and his sons learned the same. Under Old Testament law, in Deuteronomy 21:18-21, a child who was a disgrace or disobedient to the parents was allowed to be taken outside the camp and stoned to death. Eli had a duty even for his grown children by right of birth and inheritance; he had a duty to make sure they followed the ways of God and had a respect for him. Disrespect of the parents translated into disrespect for God.

But even before the fat was burned, the priest's servant would come and say to the person who was sacrificing, "Give the priest some meat to roast; he won't accept boiled meat from you, but only raw." If the person said to him, "Let the fat be burned first, and then take whatever you want," the servant would answer, "No, hand it over now; if you don't, I'll take it by force."

Eli was the high priest. His position and authority were challenged by his children. As these things often do, the situation did not stop with the parents; it extended outside the home to the other priests and towards a nation. God could have smitten the nation with plagues and caused many deaths as he had in the past for one man's disobedience. Examples of these are seen in the rebellion of Korah for many and Achen for one. The sons' attitudes became their actions that had dire consequences. God in his grace confined their sins to the family, only visiting judgment on the guilty parties as in Deuteronomy 5:9. We see principles of grace at work here. The faithfulness of many can overcome the sin of a few. The faithfulness of a few can prevent the destruction of many. The priests concealed what was happening from the people and continued to do as God commanded. Notice how Eli's sons even used force to take the portions from the other priests.

Now Eli, who was very old, heard about everything his sons were doing to all Israel and how they slept with the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting. "Therefore the Lord, the God of Israel, declares: 'I promised that members of your family 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. "'And what happens to your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, will be a sign to you—they will both die on the same day.

See the command of God. For treating his offering and his people with contempt, he put Eli's sons to death. Eli was not to be judged; in God's mercy he was spared for his imperfect faithfulness to God. The fact that he was so fat he fell over backwards and died is incidental in 1 Samuel 4:18. God used even their sins to bring about grace. The promise of a new priest would have been completed in God's timing. Sometimes the circumstances obey God and sometimes the devil helps him out as in Matthew 8:27. God's judgement was so absolute over the corruption of unbridled lust that an entire family was wiped out. Not only was the high priest affected but also his sons, his grandsons, and their descendants. Notice the revocation of an assignment. For every person who failed to step forward and do what they were supposed to God stepped in. He defended the priests who went hungry. He saved the people who had incomplete sin offerings and did not know this. He especially spared the women who were raped or seduced by these men. The failure of a father made God the ultimate judge.

I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who will do according to what is in my heart and mind. I will firmly establish his priestly house, and they will minister before my anointed one always.

We see the baby left in the middle of this situation of violence towards the men and women of God in 1 Samuel 2:18-21. He was placed by a forgiving mother to train under the priest who was ultimately culpable for the terror of his sons. For this, God made Samuel their replacement. We see their disregard for the woman who left her son, the boy who never got to see his mother, the women who came to worship God and greet others, the grief of a woman scorned by her husband in favor of the other woman, and the hunger of the priests who went without due to violence. The sons were color-blind. They are much like the people of God who come to church and say 'my marriage is falling apart. The kids will not talk to each other. The spouse does not want to have sex anymore. We are filing divorce. My libido is off the charts, and I need a partner now but have not spoken with God about it in months.' Maybe the reverse is true, but you still have not spoken to him. Like Eli's sons, there may be no respect for the other people around you. Whatever the case may be, God's message is clear. His anointed, his message, and his way were all that were needed to resolve a bad situation.