2018-09-16T11:00:00-05:00
12:1 And the LORD sent Nathan to David. He came to him and said to him, “There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had very many flocks and herds, 3 but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. And he brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children. It used to eat of his morsel and drink from his cup and lie in his arms, and it was like a daughter to him. 4 Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was unwilling to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the guest who had come to him, but he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.” 5 Then David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the LORD lives, the man who has done this deserves to die, 6 and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.”
7 Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul. 8 And I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your arms and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah. And if this were too little, I would add to you as much more. 9 Why have you despised the word of the LORD, to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and have taken his wife to be your wife and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ 11 Thus says the LORD, ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house. And I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. 12 For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun.’” 13 David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” And Nathan said to David, “The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die. 14 Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the LORD, the child who is born to you shall die.”
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright (c)2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. http://www.esv.org
There is a tragedy in Shiloh – a moral, spiritual mess – which was instigated by two men: Hophni and Phinehas. These were not just any two men, they were priests of God. They were supposed to represent the living God to the people of Israel, and instead they were villains. Their ill behavior was a public spectacle: Hophni and Phinehas were taking their cut of the liturgical sacrifice out of order, and they were taking more than they should (vv.12-16). Not only were they pilfering what was supposed to be the Lord’s, they had become sexual deviants with the women who entered the temple to worship (v. 22). These men who were to be holy had indulged themselves in hedonism.
The lifestyles of Hophni and Phinehas were in direct contempt for the God they were supposed to love, serve, and worship. The text makes it clear that both men did not even know God. Their atheism, their misrepresentation of God, sent the priesthood into an immoral abyss. And Eli’s passivity to his sons’ activity brought judgment on Eli and his household. The men deserved God’s judgment, they had misrepresented God.
This story should cause us to pause and evaluate our own representation of God. Where have we misrepresented Him? As we were reminded, misrepresenting God is blasphemy. And at the root of every sin is blasphemy. This deserves condemnation. Such an assessment should not send us spiraling into the depths of despair thinking there is no way out. Nor should we attempt to ascend to the summit of self-righteousness, for we are not as pious as we truly are. Such reflection should lead us to the Cross.
The story ends with God raising up a faithful priest. While wicked Hophni and Phinehas are busying destroying the priesthood, God is making preparation to restore it. In His judgment, God also dispenses mercy. We see the Lord’s justice and provision in Samuel. Samuel would be a forerunner to the true and faithful Priest, Jesus. A Faithful Priest who will advocate for His people. In this knowledge, we can turn and worship God for all He has and continues to do for us.
In his book, The Knowledge of the Holy, A.W. Tozer summarizes our text so well. He writes,
“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.
The history of mankind will probably show that no people has ever risen above its religion, and man’s spiritual history will positively demonstrate that no religion has ever been greater than its idea of God. Worship is pure or base as the worshiper entertains high or low thoughts of God.
For this reason the gravest question before the Church is always God Himself, and the most portentous fact about any man is not what he at a given time may say or do, but what he in his deep heart conceives God to be like.
We tend by a secret law of the soul to move toward our mental image of God. This is true not only of the individual Christian, but of the company of Christians that composes the Church. Always the most revealing thing about the Church is her idea of God.”