Then the Lord got up as if He had been asleep. He awoke like a man who had been drunk with wine. He struck down His enemies and disgraced them forever. (Verses 65-66)
In the wake of the disobedience of His people toward Him, God took away His presence from their midst. Trouble befell them. The favor the Israelites took for granted suddenly lifted and it wasn't pretty. The shakina, God's glory, disappeared from their lives. It seemed He went to sleep on them.
Eli and his sons, Hophni and Phineas were priests at Shiloh. All three of them were fat, which in and of itself isn't a sin, but how they gained those unwanted pounds is what's important. They ate the choicest parts of every offering together. Lots of filet mignon. The process for the portion of meat that goes to the priests was that when a man offered a sacrifice, he would boil the meat. The priest's servant would then come by with a long fork and plunge it into the boiling pot. Whatever the fork had attached to the tines was what the priest would eat. The sons of Eli didn't appreciate their meat boiled. Their servant would demand, "Give the priests raw meat. They won't accept it boiled." If the sacrificer balked, the servant said, "No, you must give it now or I will take it by force." Both the priest and the one sacrificing were forced this way to disobey God. And that made God mad. He said they were worthless men who didn't know Him. Worse yet, the boys were sleeping with the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting. Right in front of God.
He'd watched it for years. The priests and the people taking His presence for granted. So God got up from what seemed to be His indifferent sleep and let Israel go out to battle with the Philistines. Let them be slaughtered by the enemy. Four thousand Israelites in one day. Routed and bewildered, the army sent for the ark of the covenant which housed the presence of God in the shakinah glory. His very presence is what they wanted. Guess who carried it from Shiloh to the battlefield. Hophni and Phineas. Ew, boy. The army gave a mighty shout. God with them!
The Philistines, it seems, had more reverence for the Presence than the people of God because they were afraid. "Isn't this the God who saved these people from Egypt? Woe to us! Woe to us! Who can deliver us from the power of this God?" But they took courage. Acted like the real men they were. Went out and defeated Israel and stole the ark of the covenant with the Presence. The Philistines returned it to Israel after seven months because it turns out God didn't like living with them. But that's another story.
Hophni and Phineas were killed in the battle. Eli heard about it and "fell over backward from his seat by the side of the gate, and his neck was broken and he died, for the man was old and heavy." The wife of Phineas was pregnant and went into labor early when she heard the news about the men in the family. Her dying words were, "name the child Ichabod, for the glory has departed from Israel."
That's when it seemed God went to sleep. Favor gone. Had he forgotten His dear children? God did let them have their own way for a while. Let them understand their victories weren't because they were so darned smart, but because He fought for them. Let them drink the cup of their own making for a while. All the time God knew, though, what He was going to do when He came near again. Samuel was already being groomed in Shiloh. This priest would anoint David as king. The shepherd kid from the tribe of Judah. A great-grandfather of Jesus, King of Kings.
I don't want to lose His favor. I am quite sure I have no idea all the benefits I enjoy simply because God loves me and takes care of me. What I do know blows me away. To think that I could do things on purpose that fly in the face of His holiness makes me quake. No wonder God moves away from such behavior. Let's us take the consequences for a while. Hophni and Phineas along with their dad made an entire army face defeat because the boys didn't know God. And didn't want to. Even though they were the local pastors of the church in Shiloh. They used the things of God, His holy things, for their own pleasure, discounting His very presence. Maybe that is why it appears our God is asleep today. In our society. May we who know Him stay close and speak up because He won't sleep forever.
In the wake of the disobedience of His people toward Him, God took away His presence from their midst. Trouble befell them. The favor the Israelites took for granted suddenly lifted and it wasn't pretty. The shakina, God's glory, disappeared from their lives. It seemed He went to sleep on them.
Eli and his sons, Hophni and Phineas were priests at Shiloh. All three of them were fat, which in and of itself isn't a sin, but how they gained those unwanted pounds is what's important. They ate the choicest parts of every offering together. Lots of filet mignon. The process for the portion of meat that goes to the priests was that when a man offered a sacrifice, he would boil the meat. The priest's servant would then come by with a long fork and plunge it into the boiling pot. Whatever the fork had attached to the tines was what the priest would eat. The sons of Eli didn't appreciate their meat boiled. Their servant would demand, "Give the priests raw meat. They won't accept it boiled." If the sacrificer balked, the servant said, "No, you must give it now or I will take it by force." Both the priest and the one sacrificing were forced this way to disobey God. And that made God mad. He said they were worthless men who didn't know Him. Worse yet, the boys were sleeping with the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting. Right in front of God.
He'd watched it for years. The priests and the people taking His presence for granted. So God got up from what seemed to be His indifferent sleep and let Israel go out to battle with the Philistines. Let them be slaughtered by the enemy. Four thousand Israelites in one day. Routed and bewildered, the army sent for the ark of the covenant which housed the presence of God in the shakinah glory. His very presence is what they wanted. Guess who carried it from Shiloh to the battlefield. Hophni and Phineas. Ew, boy. The army gave a mighty shout. God with them!
The Philistines, it seems, had more reverence for the Presence than the people of God because they were afraid. "Isn't this the God who saved these people from Egypt? Woe to us! Woe to us! Who can deliver us from the power of this God?" But they took courage. Acted like the real men they were. Went out and defeated Israel and stole the ark of the covenant with the Presence. The Philistines returned it to Israel after seven months because it turns out God didn't like living with them. But that's another story.
Hophni and Phineas were killed in the battle. Eli heard about it and "fell over backward from his seat by the side of the gate, and his neck was broken and he died, for the man was old and heavy." The wife of Phineas was pregnant and went into labor early when she heard the news about the men in the family. Her dying words were, "name the child Ichabod, for the glory has departed from Israel."
That's when it seemed God went to sleep. Favor gone. Had he forgotten His dear children? God did let them have their own way for a while. Let them understand their victories weren't because they were so darned smart, but because He fought for them. Let them drink the cup of their own making for a while. All the time God knew, though, what He was going to do when He came near again. Samuel was already being groomed in Shiloh. This priest would anoint David as king. The shepherd kid from the tribe of Judah. A great-grandfather of Jesus, King of Kings.
I don't want to lose His favor. I am quite sure I have no idea all the benefits I enjoy simply because God loves me and takes care of me. What I do know blows me away. To think that I could do things on purpose that fly in the face of His holiness makes me quake. No wonder God moves away from such behavior. Let's us take the consequences for a while. Hophni and Phineas along with their dad made an entire army face defeat because the boys didn't know God. And didn't want to. Even though they were the local pastors of the church in Shiloh. They used the things of God, His holy things, for their own pleasure, discounting His very presence. Maybe that is why it appears our God is asleep today. In our society. May we who know Him stay close and speak up because He won't sleep forever.
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