June 16th, 2026
1 Samuel 2:12 — Now the sons of Eli were worthless men. They did not know the Lord.
Without the surrounding context, this first sentence reads quite comically. In the first chapter, Eli’s sons are introduced as priests of the Lord and sons of Eli. One would expect the sons of a priest who are themselves priests to understand the reverence and importance of their role, yet these men did not know the Lord and are described as worthless.
These two young men served in the house of the Lord, yet they did not know God! This should serve as a warning to all of us in the church. Hophni and Phinehas were priests in service of God. Serving under their father, Eli, yet they are ignorant of the Lord. They utilized their position to eat from the offering of God, while it still burned on the altar. For context, a portion of the offering was designated for the priests, but these men took a three pronged fork and took an additional portion while it grilled! While it was still purely an offering to God! They had no respect or reverence for God. Worthless men.
There is so much more that could be said regarding their actions. Not only did they steal from God’s offering, but they used their position to sleep with the women who served at the entrance to the Tabernacle (1 Sam 2:22). Talk about clergy abuse! Worthless men!
Yet before we discard these men, we should reflect on ourselves. Sure, none of us are priests in the Tabernacle, but how often do we take from God’s offering? Whether it be material means or gifts and talents, it is easy to take the first fruit of something intended for God to use for ourselves. It is far to easy to be distracted by comfort, success, or entertainment and misuse that which God has placed before us to use for His glory and utilize it for other ends.
God forbid that any of us be as pitiful and worthless as Hophni and Phinehas, but let us not fall into the trap that we are better than them simply because we belong to the church, attend on Sunday, spend a little time in half-hearted prayer and Bible study, etc. These men lived in the presence of God, yet they did not know Him. Let us use their story as a warning and encouragement to seek God intentionally more and more this week.
This is a charge to myself as much as to all y’all! It is far too easy during my devotional time to be distracted by what illustration I want to use in a sermon or how am I going to connect X to Y, or even what will be for dinner! Distraction is easy, especially during our devotional time, so please do not think of me more highly than you ought. We all need God’s Spirit afresh each day! We need His Word!
So let us remember the words of Luke the Evangelist - “If you then who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”
Seek the Lord this week so that no one may say of you, “Worthless men. They did not know the Lord.”
United in Christ,
Rev. Joshua Fried
Pastor
Without the surrounding context, this first sentence reads quite comically. In the first chapter, Eli’s sons are introduced as priests of the Lord and sons of Eli. One would expect the sons of a priest who are themselves priests to understand the reverence and importance of their role, yet these men did not know the Lord and are described as worthless.
These two young men served in the house of the Lord, yet they did not know God! This should serve as a warning to all of us in the church. Hophni and Phinehas were priests in service of God. Serving under their father, Eli, yet they are ignorant of the Lord. They utilized their position to eat from the offering of God, while it still burned on the altar. For context, a portion of the offering was designated for the priests, but these men took a three pronged fork and took an additional portion while it grilled! While it was still purely an offering to God! They had no respect or reverence for God. Worthless men.
There is so much more that could be said regarding their actions. Not only did they steal from God’s offering, but they used their position to sleep with the women who served at the entrance to the Tabernacle (1 Sam 2:22). Talk about clergy abuse! Worthless men!
Yet before we discard these men, we should reflect on ourselves. Sure, none of us are priests in the Tabernacle, but how often do we take from God’s offering? Whether it be material means or gifts and talents, it is easy to take the first fruit of something intended for God to use for ourselves. It is far to easy to be distracted by comfort, success, or entertainment and misuse that which God has placed before us to use for His glory and utilize it for other ends.
God forbid that any of us be as pitiful and worthless as Hophni and Phinehas, but let us not fall into the trap that we are better than them simply because we belong to the church, attend on Sunday, spend a little time in half-hearted prayer and Bible study, etc. These men lived in the presence of God, yet they did not know Him. Let us use their story as a warning and encouragement to seek God intentionally more and more this week.
This is a charge to myself as much as to all y’all! It is far too easy during my devotional time to be distracted by what illustration I want to use in a sermon or how am I going to connect X to Y, or even what will be for dinner! Distraction is easy, especially during our devotional time, so please do not think of me more highly than you ought. We all need God’s Spirit afresh each day! We need His Word!
So let us remember the words of Luke the Evangelist - “If you then who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”
Seek the Lord this week so that no one may say of you, “Worthless men. They did not know the Lord.”
United in Christ,
Rev. Joshua Fried
Pastor
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