By Olubunmi Adebayo
*The greatest consequence of the abuse of power in the case of Hophni and Phinehas was never mentioned yesterday, and this is the focus of our discussion today.*
*Remember we mentioned yesterday four (4) dire consequences arising from the abuse of power and position of Hophni and Phinehas. They were listed as :*
*A) The Ark of God being captured by the enemy.*
*B) Hophni and Phinehas dying on the same day at the battle front.*
*C) Their father (Eli) dying too on the same day on hearing the news of the capture of the Ark.*
*D) A daughter-in-law of Eli (the wife of Phineas) on hearing the news of what had happened to Hophni and Phinehas, and her father in law falling and dying,on hearing of the capture of the Ark, forcefully went into labour, delivered a baby called Ichabod (Glory has departed from Israel) and died thereafter.*
*But may I tell you that the greatest and gravest consequence of the abuse of power of Hophni and Phinehas was the rejection of their father, Eli and his family from being priest before God and to the nation of Israel – No other point came close to this.*
*Imagine how God lamented his disappointment in Eli and his family :*
*1 Samuel 2: [27] 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 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 ye at my sacrifice and at mine offering, which I have commanded in my habitation; and honourest 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 saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the LORD saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.*
*[31] _Behold, the days come, that I will cut off thine arm, and the arm of thy father’s house, that there shall not be an old man in thine house_.*
*God rejected the family of Eli from presiding over the priesthood of Israel (verse 30 above) and went on to curse the family with grave curses :*
*[31] Behold, the days come, that I will cut off thine arm, and the arm of thy father’s house, that there shall not be an old man in thine house.*
*To cut off the arm of a family refer to killing the male members of the family. God also went further to say the men in Eli’s lineage will die young.*
*In rejecting the family of Eli, God raised Samuel who was never of the ancestry of the priesthood of Israel :*
*1 Samuel 1:[1]Now there was a certain man of Ramathaimzophim, of mount Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephrathite:*
*[2]And he had two wives; the name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah: and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.*
*Samuel that succeeded Eli was of the tribe of Ephraim, and not of the family of Levi.*
*The consequence of the rejection of the family of Eli manifested gravely about 80 -100 years after the pronouncement of God :*
*1 Sam 22:[17] And the king said unto the footmen that stood about him, Turn, and slay the priests of the LORD; because their hand also is with David, and because they knew when he fled, and did not shew it to me. But the servants of the king would not put forth their hand to fall upon the priests of the LORD.*
*[18] And the king said to Doeg, Turn thou, and fall upon the priests. And Doeg the Edomite turned, and he fell upon the priests, and slew on that day fourscore and five persons that did wear a linen ephod.*
*[19]And Nob, the city of the priests, smote he with the edge of the sword, both men and women, children and sucklings, and oxen, and asses, and sheep, with the edge of the sword.*
*The 85 priests that were killed in verse 18 above were the descendants of Eli. Not only the priests were killed, King Saul also directed that all inhabitants of the city of Nob be killed, including the animals of the city, just because one Priest Ahimelech was deemed to have done the wrong thing in helping David.*
*Take your time and analyze the curses that God placed on the family of Eli, they are serious and grave for the future of any man and his family – all because two people abused their position and power.*
*If you don’t want anything to tamper with your future and the future of your children, you need to be careful how you engage the power of your position and office in relationship with people around you.*
*Take for instance, if you know what some bosses have done to female staff under them, God, have mercy! Such actions will have consequences one day.*
Top of the day to you 👍.
©️ Olubunmi S Adebayo.
