1 Samuel 4:12-18

Good morning, good morning, good morning. Welcome to Coffee and Devotions. This morning we are at 1st Samuel chapter 4. We'll begin at verse 12 and finish the chapter. Someone dies. So we're gonna find out what happens. Let's have some coffee, we'll pray, and we'll get into God's Word.
You want some lukewarm black coffee? Well, if it's, like, warm, then no. No. Oh, you'll spit it out of your mouth? Okay, well, that's fine. All right, here we go. Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for this day, and we thank you for your Word. We pray that you would please help us to read and to understand. We pray that we would Lord, we need your Holy Spirit. We need you to teach us and help us that we might love and live well. In Jesus' name, Amen.
All right, I take it back. We're not going to read through the whole chapter, sorry. Just verses 12 through 18. First thing in chapter 4 beginning at verse 12 and we'll work through verse 18.
Then a man of Benjamin ran from the battle line the same day, and came to Shiloh with his clothes torn and dirt on his head. Now when he came, there was Eli. Do you know who this Eli is? This is the priest. There was Eli sitting on a seat by the wayside watching, for his heart trembled before the ark of God. And when the man came into the city and told it, all the city cried out. When Eli heard the noise of the outcry, he said, what does the sound of this Talmud mean? And the man came quickly and told Eli, Eli was ninety-eight years old, and his eyes were so dim that he could not see. Then the man said to Eli, I am he who came from the battle, and I fled today from the battle line. And he said, What happened, my son? So the messenger answered and said, Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has been a great slaughter among the people. Also, your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been captured.
And then it happened when he made mention of the ark of God that when he made, oh yeah. Then that Eli fell off the seat backward by the side of the gate and his neck was broken and he died for the man was old and heavy. And he had judged Israel 40 years.
Okay. So, we need to ask ourselves A, what is this? About. B, what's the? Best verse to summarize it. And C, what are we? Called to do. Right, so what's this about? Um... Eli's death. Okay, so Eli dies finding out about the Ark being captured? Mm-hmm. Something like that? Yeah. Good. Yeah, so he's sitting by the tabernacle. His heart's in a turmoil. Oh no, what's going to happen to the Ark of God? Right? And Rhonda comes back, gives him the bad news. What happens? He's so shocked that he falls off of his seat backwards. Breaks his neck and dies. Old man, 98 years old. So old, cataracts or something has taken over his eyes. He can't even see. He's blind. So, yeah.
Why would God let his own ark be captured? He must be a weak puny God, that's why. No, because the priests weren't acting holy. Yeah. Interestingly, we're in the book of 1 Samuel, but notice in verse 18, how was Eli described? In verse 15? 18. Oh. For the man was old and heavy. He was old, he was heavy, and he had judged Israel 40 years. I thought the book of Judges was a few books ago. But because he's the priest. There is no king in Israel. They were being led by judges, and at this point it's Eli who's acting as the judge and the high priest. He had done so for 40 years, but now he's old, he's fat, can't see. Falls and breaks his neck. Was this an accident? I think so, yeah. Was God in control of the accident? Yeah. God had prophesied that it was going to happen. God's words don't fail. What do you think you would underline as the best verse to summarize this section? Probably 18. I got all sorts of underlines in my Bible on verse 18. Yeah, that's what I got underlined too.
Okay, well, let's talk about the last part. C, calling. What are we called to do? How does this point us to Jesus Christ? that God's in control of everything? Yeah, that God was in control of this and that God was still in control even though the ark had been captured, right? God's not bound to sit on top of an ark. It was just a symbol. Yeah, right, a symbol of God's presence with them but could God ever be contained within the tabernacle?
but it also, I think, calls us to actually walk with holiness. God wasn't going to be mocked. Thineus and Hophni, these were evil priests. Eli doesn't treat God with the reverence, the honor that he deserves with not restraining his sons, and he knows these things are going on. He'll reprimand them, but he doesn't restrain them, and so I think this points us to Christ though. We have a high priest. Perfect. None of this junk ever happens with Jesus. Remember, we have one who is in the heavenly tabernacle, who continually makes intercession for us, day and night, without ceasing. Perfect. It's way better than having some human priest who can mess up and foul up, get fat, old, blind, and die.
Anything else you want to add? Would you like me to pray or would you like to pray? Those eyes mean dad, please just pray. Okay, let's pray.
God, thank you so much for giving us Jesus Christ, our great high priest. Eli was meant to point to him as a type, and yet there were things in him that weren't showing right. Lord, we pray that you would restrain us, that you would teach us, that you would sanctify us. We are a royal priesthood, a holy nation. because your spirit is in us and you have made us into your family. So Lord, we pray that you would please teach us to be holy as you are holy, to treat you with reverence and to walk in your ways. Lord, you are a good God. Thank you for all your good gifts to us in Jesus' name. Amen.
Well, may you rest in Jesus Christ, your perfect Savior and priest. We'll see you next time. Bye.