1 Samuel 2:30 “Therefore the
Lord, the God of
The God of the Bible is not
static. While God’s fundamental nature
never changes, there are many places in Scripture where God shifts policy and
promises based on what’s happening in the world or how certain people are
behaving. We already have seen that God
gave the world a bit of a break by saving Noah and family rather than
destroying the world entirely, that Abraham negotiated with God over
In this case, God is shifting in the
opposite direction. In Exodus, God promised
Aaron that he and his descendants would be priests before God forever…a high
honor. Eli is one of those descendants. But Eli’s sons were a disgrace and brought
dishonor to both the priesthood and to God.
God doesn’t take that lightly.
Eli’s sons pay for their abuse of the office with their lives, a curse
that extends to their descendants.
So what do we make of this? Can we trust God’s promises? Well, it depends on how you look at it. The overall promise to have the descendants
of Aaron serve as priests remains, but the promise as
it applies to specific individuals, seems to be negotiable.
I think it is a helpful reminder
that our relationship with God is not a one-sided affair. It is a covenant relationship, and a covenant
takes two. God makes certain promises,
but those promises are conditional on our keeping up our side of the
bargain. Look back through the promises
God makes to
Like it or not, it doesn’t seem to
be reality that we can simply claim God’s promises for ourselves and live as we
please. There is forgiveness and a true
desire on God’s part to honor any sincere intention to live rightly, no matter
how far short of the mark we might fall or how late in life we might decide
it. But if we think that claiming the
name of Christ is some sort of magic act that allows us to hide a deceitful or
unrepentant heart from God’s penetrating gaze, we’ve made a tragic mistake.
God’s promise of salvation, grace,
and forgiveness for the world continues to stand across the millennia. But it is not a magical guarantee,
it is the offer of a covenant. As the
old hymn says, “Whosoever will may come.” God doesn’t care who you are or what you’ve
done. Osama bin Laden can come, if he
wants. But we who come only inherit the
promise when we have the honest intention of living up to our side of the
agreement. And what is that? The prophet Micah tells us clearly: to live justly, to love mercy, and to walk
humbly with God. Jesus tells us clearly
also: Love God and love your neighbor as
yourself.
And so, heed the warning of the sons
of Eli. God’s grace is not something to
be cast in the mud. We cannot box God in
by saying, “It doesn’t matter what I do, you have to
bless me…you promised.” God offers us a
covenant relationship, and a covenant takes two.
God of Abraham and
Eli, help us to appreciate the true gift of your grace and to show our
gratefulness with our lives. Amen.
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