“Eli said “He is the Lord, let Him do what is good in His eyes.”
(1 Samuel 3:18 NIV)
Eli failed to leave a legacy of godliness in his children, but we see here, in his response to impending judgement, he holds a correct view of God’s sovereignty. Eli understood that God’s perspective of good was higher than his own. Eli could admit that his earthly idea of good was deeply flawed by flesh.
I feel for Eli because no one sets out to raise awful kids. It’s no parent’s intention to leave the world worse than we found it. Often we start raising small people while we are just kids ourselves. We parent as we see fit and as Eli’s story demonstrates, our judgement is off kilter. Children come with a bend and parents have a sin nature. Pile that on with a few decades of compromise and we can find our kids in a real mess, not entirely sure how we got there.
I wonder if Eli was relieved by God’s intervention in their family story? I wonder if he had laid awake nights, worried about the future of the God’s House because his sons were so awful. We note that Eli was ‘lying down in his usual place’ when Samuel heard God’s voice and ran to him for further instruction. It doesn’t say Eli was sleeping. It seems like he had been tossing and turning over the wicked sons he had raised.
Eli’s high view of God certainly made it easier to accept his family’s fate. I think this may be particularly challenging for us Americans. We struggle to submit to authority and most of us have an overwhelming desire to steer our own ship. But what peace do we forfeit in forgetting God’s goodness? What if, instead, we believed that God had humanity’s best interest in mind? What if we decided that the view from the throne room of heaven is far more accurate than the one from our house? I suspect there’s a deafening calm found in that level of acceptance. Eli doesn’t seem shocked or upset. He seems unburdened: confident that God would protect His house despite Eli’s own significant failures.
We, too, can rest in the sovereignty of God. We can trust that even if we get it wrong, God will ultimately make it right. We can sleep soundly, knowing full well that His righteousness will prevail.
“The Lord’s justice will dwell in the desert, His righteousness live in the fertile field. The fruit of that righteousness will be peace; it’s effect will be quietness and confidence forever.” (Isaiah 32:16-17 NIV)
God can be trusted to protect His cause. Even if and when we mess up, His righteousness is more than enough to cover our failure. We can rest in peace knowing He has a plan to redeem all things.
Lord, we want to honor You, yet so often our flesh nature gets in the way. Help us recognize our failures, repent and get in step with Your divine solution. We rest in Your sovereignty, certain of Your ability to map the best route forward. We know You are good and everything You do is good. Help us keep this in mind when You see fit to change our ending. Amen.