The Tragic End of Eli's Family

Prepare: God's judgment is sure to come.
Read: 1 Samuel 4:12-22

The death of Eli: When the news of Israel's defeat reached Shiloh, all the people of Israel mourned. There was a great lamentation in the city. Eli, now 98 years old, who could not see, but heard the great uproar, also learnt about the worst defeat of Israel at the hands of their enemies, the Philistines. His sons, Hophni and Phinehas, also died. Above all, the ark of the covenant of God was captured and taken away by the Philistines. The priests, who were entrusted with the maintenance of the ark of God,were now dead. When Eli heard all the bad news, he fell down and died in great distress. Eli was a judge for forty years. Probably, it was true in Eli's period also that "in those days there was no King in Israel; Evereyone did what was right in his own eyes" (Judges 21:25).

The death of Eli's daughter-in-law: The wife of Phinehas, Eli's daughter-in-law, was in an advanced stage of pregnancy. The news of the death of Eli and her husband and the capture of the ark of God brouht labour pain and she delivered a boy baby. She named him Ichabod, meaning the "glory has departed", before her death. This is a very sad reading.

Those who are in God's service should be very careful about their families. The tragic end of a father unwilling to discipline his children and the sad end of the unrepentant children should be a lesson for all of us.

Respond: Lord, help us to realize that You are a righteous judge.