Compassionate Rebuke
First Samuel 3:13 reads, “‘For… I am about to judge [Eli’s] house forever for the iniquity which he knew, because his sons brought a curse on themselves and he did not rebuke them.’”
The level of responsibility seems somewhat astounding. Eli’s sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were – especially in their position of leadership as priests – highly accountable for their evil. Sentenced for both their defrauding of sacrifices (1 Sam. 2:12-17) and their promiscuity (v. 22), the two were slain in one day of battle (see 1 Sam. 2:34, 4:11).
And yet, Eli, their father, wasn’t immune either. For, though he had challenged his sons (“Why do you do such… evil things...?” 2:23), still the thirteenth verse in chapter three shows that his correction availed nothing, and was not even effective in dismissing him from responsibility. His house was to be judged “for the iniquity which he knew,” but “did not rebuke.”
Perhaps his choice to appease his sons in their transgression was from not wanting to create friction. Or maybe Eli was more interested in letting the two maintain their position and power. Yet whatever the reason, Eli’s inaction in dealing with his sons’ transgressions proves his attitude toward sin. For, had he been serious about their holiness, had his utmost desire been for their sanctification, he would have ‘delivered those who were being taken away to death’ (Pro. 24:11). Instead, he stood by and watched his sons bring upon themselves their own destruction.
And yet God does not deal with us that way. For, while God, who “is not mocked” (Gal. 6:7), will let us experience the consequences we have wrought, He does not stand idly by to let us destroy ourselves. Were He any less concerned with the gravity of sin, He would, like Eli, refrain from disciplining us. Yet Hebrews 12:10 explains the benevolence of His correction: “He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness.” The heart of His rebuke is not to blind-side us, or to torment, but rather, to purge us of what would ultimately yield our fatal undoing. His intention toward us is not to condemn, but rather, to convert us. Not to render us powerless, but purified.
Even the command in James 5:19-20 exposes the Lord’s desire for us: “My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.” Christ’s purpose is to employ those around us for our confession and consecration.
And so, what seems a high cost for not rebuking another’s sin, is actually a grace: that God, who exhorts us to live righteously before Him - ‘to do justice, to love righteousness, and to walk humbly with our God’ (see Micah 6:8) - would even extend to us the mercy of supplying those who would challenge us when we bring a curse upon ourselves.
Praise be to the One who so desires our deliverance, who so wills our being ‘held back from the slaughter’ (Pro. 24:11), that He would, through accountability, bind others to the well-being of our souls!
The level of responsibility seems somewhat astounding. Eli’s sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were – especially in their position of leadership as priests – highly accountable for their evil. Sentenced for both their defrauding of sacrifices (1 Sam. 2:12-17) and their promiscuity (v. 22), the two were slain in one day of battle (see 1 Sam. 2:34, 4:11).
And yet, Eli, their father, wasn’t immune either. For, though he had challenged his sons (“Why do you do such… evil things...?” 2:23), still the thirteenth verse in chapter three shows that his correction availed nothing, and was not even effective in dismissing him from responsibility. His house was to be judged “for the iniquity which he knew,” but “did not rebuke.”
Perhaps his choice to appease his sons in their transgression was from not wanting to create friction. Or maybe Eli was more interested in letting the two maintain their position and power. Yet whatever the reason, Eli’s inaction in dealing with his sons’ transgressions proves his attitude toward sin. For, had he been serious about their holiness, had his utmost desire been for their sanctification, he would have ‘delivered those who were being taken away to death’ (Pro. 24:11). Instead, he stood by and watched his sons bring upon themselves their own destruction.
And yet God does not deal with us that way. For, while God, who “is not mocked” (Gal. 6:7), will let us experience the consequences we have wrought, He does not stand idly by to let us destroy ourselves. Were He any less concerned with the gravity of sin, He would, like Eli, refrain from disciplining us. Yet Hebrews 12:10 explains the benevolence of His correction: “He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness.” The heart of His rebuke is not to blind-side us, or to torment, but rather, to purge us of what would ultimately yield our fatal undoing. His intention toward us is not to condemn, but rather, to convert us. Not to render us powerless, but purified.
Even the command in James 5:19-20 exposes the Lord’s desire for us: “My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.” Christ’s purpose is to employ those around us for our confession and consecration.
And so, what seems a high cost for not rebuking another’s sin, is actually a grace: that God, who exhorts us to live righteously before Him - ‘to do justice, to love righteousness, and to walk humbly with our God’ (see Micah 6:8) - would even extend to us the mercy of supplying those who would challenge us when we bring a curse upon ourselves.
Praise be to the One who so desires our deliverance, who so wills our being ‘held back from the slaughter’ (Pro. 24:11), that He would, through accountability, bind others to the well-being of our souls!
posted by Purple at 8:05 PM
1 Comments:
Thank you. I really needed this one.
Affirmation is a great thing.
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