Then the Lord said to Samuel, “Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel at which the two ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. On that day I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. And I declare to him that I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them.
— First Samuel 3:11-13
When the Lord called to Samuel the fourth time, Samuel responded as Eli had told him, and the Lord spoke to Samuel of His judgment upon Eli’s house.
This was a very severe word. God was angry with Eli for not keeping his two sons from evil, which involved both gross immorality in God’s own sanctuary and the abuse of their priestly privilege. God did not temper His judgment upon Eli just because he had faithfully raised up Samuel. It was a judgment that God said would cause tingling in the ears of all those who heard of it in Israel (1 Sam. 3:11).
Adapted from David: After God’s Heart, page 24.
Tomorrow: “A Severe Judgment (3)”