Old Testament # 21
“God Will Honor Those Who Honor Him”
1 Samuel 2–3, 8
Challenge from Lesson 20: Do one thing for an extended family member
Introduction
It seems to me that the recurring theme in the Old Testament is one of having faith to overcome trials and learning to rely on the Lord. When President Nelson urged us as strongly as he could to
“stretch beyond your current spiritual ability to receive personal revelation, for the Lord has promised that ‘if thou shalt [seek], thou shalt receive revelation upon revelation, knowledge upon knowledge, that thou mayest know the mysteries and peaceable things—that which bringeth joy, that which bringeth life eternal.’ . . . My beloved brothers and sisters, I plead with you to increase your spiritual capacity to receive revelation.”[1]
I believe one way we can do this is learn from the men and women in the scriptures who have done just that. And that it is a line upon line principle—something we can, we get to, work on every day.
One wonders why Eli ignored the misdeeds of his sons, Hophni and Phineas—such that they eventually led to the destruction of his whole line death and the loss of the Ark of the Covenant to the Philistines. Similarly, Samuel’s sons, Joel and Abiah also led unrighteous lives and because of that, Israel demanded kings rather than judges. Maybe saying that they ignored their sons’ misdeeds is too harsh. How much can we influence the lives of our adult children? And what of their mothers and wives? We need personal revelation so we can “teach correct principles.” “But I have commanded you to bring up your children in light and truth” (D&C 93:40).
1. The sons of Eli honor themselves above the Lord.1 Samuel 2:12–17, 22–25.
The phrase that keeps coming to my mind is “love the sinner, not the sin.” There are so many ways to go wrong, better to concentrate on staying right. The recent General Conference talk by Elder Larry J. Wilson had this image
A familiar image, but a little different interpretation:
In contemplating this image, I see in my mind’s eye throngs of people traveling that path, some with their hands firmly gripping the iron rod, but many others simply following the feet of the people in front of them. This latter approach takes little thought or effort. You can just do and think what others are doing and thinking. This works fine in sunny weather. But the storms of deception and the mists of falsehood arise without warning. In these situations, being familiar with the voice of the Holy Ghost is a matter of spiritual life and death.[2]
According to 1 Samuel 2:17, 24, the people saw what Hophni and Phinehas did and followed “their feet” all the way into the mists of darkness.
With regard to Eli and his sons, President James E. Faust said:
Eli the priest was relieved of his calling when he permitted wickedness in the house of the Lord. The Lord said, “For them that honour me I will honour.”The great priesthood power and authority with which we have been entrusted must be exercised by those authorized to do so who have proven themselves worthy to do so. Only in this manner will our acts be sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise and thus be honored by the Lord.[3]
By ignoring his sons’ blatant corruption of their priesthood responsibilities and ordinances, Eli brought destruction on his whole family. President Joseph F. Smith said:
There should [not] be any of us so unwisely indulgent, so thoughtless and so shallow in our affection for our children that we dare not check them in a wayward course, in wrong-doing and in their foolish love for the things of the world more than for the things of righteousness, for fear of offending them (Gospel Doctrine,5th ed. [1939], 286).
3. Samuel honors the Lord. 1 Samuel 3
But let’s leave Eli and his sons and the terrible fate that awaited them and turn to Samuel. Samuel is the child blessed to his parents after Hannah pleaded with the Lord for him and vowed to give him to the Lord. Eli somehow manages to understand that the Lord would talk to Samuel, when he no longer qualified to receive revelation himself.
Because Samuel listened to the Lord, we have this verse: “And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground” (1 Samuel 3:19). I’d be interested to know what you think this means. I think that it has to do with “establish his words” (2 Nephi 11:3; 27:14). At any rate, as Samuel honored the Lord, the Lord honored him (see 1 Samuel 2:30).
4. The Israelites honor the world.1 Samuel 8.
But—wouldn’t it be nice if there wasn’t a but! Like Eli, Samuel had two sons, who are only briefly mentioned but not in a good light. Samuel made them judges, they perverted their role—their priesthood. With the result that as Samuel got old, the people did not want his sons to be their leaders. They demand a king. But the whole idea of judges was that they already had a King—The King, Jehovah, so, as the Lord says, “they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them (1 Samuel 8:7). The Israelites wanted to be like “other nations.” Follow the trend—“the feet of the people in front of them.”
We have aired some difficult subjects the last few weeks in Sacrament Meeting and in Relief Society. Hasn’t this to do with whom we see as our King? Whom we give power to, over our lives! Food for thought.
Additional Material
https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2011-03-063-whom-the-lord-calls?lang=eng
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