Anointed: A Study in 1 SamuelSample

What does it say?

Eli’s sons, Hophni and Phineas, treated the people of Israel wickedly and despised God through their sin. Therefore, God cut off Eli’s family from serving as priests.

What does it mean?

God gave Moses many specific instructions about how the priests were to handle the sacrifices brought to the tabernacle. There were two main purposes behind these instructions. The first was to maximize the worship experience of the person offering the sacrifice. This wasn’t just a ritual, but worship that brought the one offering the sacrifice into a right relationship with God. The second purpose was to provide an equitable division of the edible part of the sacrifice between the worshipper and the priest. Eli’s sons treated the instructions and purposes with contempt.

How should I respond?

How do you approach worship when you come to church on Sundays? Are you excited to sing, pray, and read God’s Word with other believers? Or do you come out of a sense of duty, just to check church attendance off your “to do” list? Church is all about loving God and loving people. Believers come together because we thirst for God Himself and want to worship and love Him with everything we have. We can also develop relationships with people who become like a family. This week, try singing the worship songs to God directly, thinking about the words. Then, get involved in smaller community group and introduce yourself to someone you don’t know. How will you approach God this week?