I will raise up a faithful priest. You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood.

1 Samuel 2:22-36 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Now Eli was very old; and he heard all that his sons were doing to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who served at the doorway of the tent of meeting. ²³ He said to them, “Why do you do such things, the evil things that I hear from all these people? ²⁴ No, my sons; for the report is not good which I hear the Lord’s people circulating. ²⁵ If one man sins against another, God will mediate for him; but if a man sins against the Lord, who can intercede for him?” But they would not listen to the voice of their father, for the Lord desired to put them to death.

²⁶ Now the boy Samuel was growing in stature and in favor both with the Lord and with men.

²⁷ Then a man of God came to Eli and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Did I not indeed reveal Myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt in bondage to Pharaoh’s house? ²⁸ Did I not choose them from all the tribes of Israel to be My priests, to go up to My altar, to burn incense, to carry an ephod before Me; and did I not give to the house of your father all the fire offerings of the sons of Israel? ²⁹ Why do you kick at My sacrifice and at My offering which I have commanded in My dwelling, and honor your sons above Me, by making yourselves fat with the choicest of every offering of My people Israel?’ ³⁰ Therefore the Lord God of Israel declares, ‘I did indeed say that your house and the house of your father should walk before Me forever’; but now the Lord declares, ‘Far be it from Me—for those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me will be lightly esteemed. ³¹ Behold, the days are coming when I will break your strength and the strength of your father’s house so that there will not be an old man in your house. ³² You will see the distress of My dwelling, in spite of all the good that I do for Israel; and an old man will not be in your house forever. ³³ Yet I will not cut off every man of yours from My altar so that your eyes will fail from weeping and your soul grieve, and all the increase of your house will die in the prime of life. ³⁴ This will be the sign to you which will come concerning your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas: on the same day both of them will die. ³⁵ But I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who will do according to what is in My heart and in My soul; and I will build him an enduring house, and he will walk before My anointed always. ³⁶ Everyone who is left in your house will come and bow down to him for a piece of silver or a loaf of bread and say, “Please assign me to one of the priest’s offices so that I may eat a piece of bread.”’”

In today’s text God verifies that we do not have our position in Him based on our natural inheritance. Our inheritance is in Him. The text God says:  ‘I did indeed say that your house and the house of your father should walk before Me forever’; but now the Lord declares, ‘Far be it from Me—for those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me will be lightly esteemed. People often question God’s love and compassion saying; how could a loving God send anyone to a place of judgment and condemnation? The sons of Eli are an example that God does not condemn people to judgment. They themselves, by their choices and their actions choose judgment for themselves. Eli’s sons did nothing to deserve the position they were given. They received the benefits of God only because of the grace of God. We too have not been given our position and our standing with God because we deserve it, but rather because of His grace, His compassion and His love. Ephesians 2:8-9 says:  By grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;  not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.   The sons of Eli chose to disregard and disrespect the privilege, the position and the grace they were given. It was their actions that brought judgment and condemnation on them. The text says:  Now Eli was very old; and he heard all that his sons were doing to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who served at the doorway of the tent of meeting. He said to them, “Why do you do such things, the evil things that I hear from all these people? No, my sons; for the report is not good which I hear the Lord’s people circulating. If one man sins against another, God will mediate for him; but if a man sins against the Lord, who can intercede for him?”     We do though have one who intercedes for us regarding our sin against God. Romans 8:33-34 says:  Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.    Jesus Christ, because of God’s love, interceded for us on the cross, paying the price for our sins and saying: “Father forgive them they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34)   If we, like the sons of Eli, choose to disregard or disrespect the grace of God and the reconciliation of the cross, is God to blame?  

Jesus says:  “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.” (John 3:16-21)     God does not condemn anyone to judgment. Rather we choose for ourselves whether we will accept His grace or be judged according to our love for darkness and evil.

In today’s text God says:  I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who will do according to what is in My heart and in My soul; and I will build him an enduring house, and he will walk before My anointed always.  2 Peter 2:1-12 says:  Laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby,  if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious. Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ… you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;  who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy. Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.   God is not to blame if we ourselves choose judgment, because He has chosen an inheritance in Him for us.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit; I choose to honor You. May I never disregard or disrespect the grace and compassion You have shown me by Your intercession on the cross. As You have chosen me, and are raising me up, I choose to value and esteem all that You have given me. By Your grace may I become all that You desire.   Amen.