Have you ever been bemused by God’s way of doing things? I have, and in the end have stood in awe of His timing, patience, grace and goodness.
A number of years ago (in another world) I taught at a Bible college deep in the jungles of Kalimantan (formerly known as Borneo). For several years I had a student who was a source of great consternation to me. It seemed that no matter what subject I had him for he just could not “get it”! His academic situation came up repeatedly in our faculty meetings but no one had the heart to say, “Sorry, he just isn’t making it - let him go!” So from year to year we granted him a provisional pass to the next level of study and every year we wondered. But he kept pressing on. Everyone loved him. His gentleness, humility and transparency captivated all who knew him.
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I was responsible for student accounts at the time and one day he came to my office to ask for some money from his account. I had just reviewed the books and his account was more than empty, so I asked him, “On what basis are you asking me this?” (literal translation). He pulled himself up straight and declared, “On the basis of the grace of God!” I could hardly contain myself and found some extra funds that we had for just such an occasion - grace funds! Total dependence on the grace of God seemed to be the theme of his life.
In his fourth and final year I was assigned to be his practicum supervisor and evaluator. He was pastoring a church in a nearby village and I went with him several Sundays to evaluate. I had taught him homiletics but his sermons bore no resemblance to anything we had studied. I was seriously considering recommending to the school that he was not cut out for the ministry. However, after the services I went with him as he walked from home to home in that village, praying for people, encouraging them to be strong in their faith, counselling, advising and loving - and the people loved him in return. The church in that village had never been so healthy and vigorous. We graduated him that year (with no little sense of misgiving) and that was the last I saw of him for 14 years as my wife and I were denied extensions to our visas and returned to Canada that summer. In the intervening years we have often wondered.
I had the privilege this summer of returning to Kalimantan and visiting in this same young man’s home and witnessing the amazing grace of God. He is married with three children. He and his wife are involved together in a marvelous cross-cultural ministry. As we spoke I learned that he has already planted a church amongst a very difficult people group. He has turned that church over to another man to continue the pastoral work and is now in the process of building a second work which involves not just a church plant but also a Christian school as well - again, in the midst of a most difficult ethnic group. It defies human explanation.
Oh, the wonderful grace of Jesus! God’s economy is one of utter grace.
In those days Israel had no king. Each man did what he considered to be right.
Judges 21:44
Eli the priest of God at Shiloh was the default leader of Israel at the opening of the book of 1 Samuel. He was elderly and his two sons, Hophni and Phinnehas, performed the regular priestly duties at the Tent of Meeting. The second chapter of 1 Samuel records that those two sons were evil, ruthless, dissolute, immoral and godless men. How is it that they were allowed to continue to “minister before the Lord”? The answer is found in the fact that their father was a leader with a profound lack of spiritual understanding. He was not a spiritual man. It seems to me that the culture of the day that we find mentioned at the end of the book of Judges has seriously affected this leader of his people and clouded his spiritual understanding. As I read the account I find the following indicators.
1. Spiritual insensitivity
With Hannah – Eli assumed she was drunk (1:14). Maybe it is a statement on Eli’s spiritual expectations that his natural reaction to Hannah’s weeping before the Lord in the tabernacle was to accuse her of drunkenness. Why would he jump to that conclusion unless his ability at spiritual discernment was severely dulled.
With Samuel – it took three attempts to wake Eli to the fact that God was calling the young boy (3:1-9)
2. Spiritual inattention
With his sons – Eli disregarded their wickedness (2:22). Despite one feeble rebuke recorded in 2:22-25 the condemnation was leveled at him by an unknown messenger from God that he was honoring his sons above God. He had lost sight of spiritual priorities.
With God – God’s visitations to his people were rare and His word was rarely heard in those days (3:1). It would seem that the reason for the scarcity of God’s revelation was because Eli, the priest, was not listening to God. He was not spiritually inclined to seek for the voice of God and so it became silent.
3. Spiritual ignorance
The ‘man of God’ who came to Eli and warned him of God’s impending judgment had to remind Eli of God’s calling and anointing on the priestly lineage (2:27,28). It is quite an indictment that the man of God levels at Eli. The rhetorical questions, “Did I not…” imply that Eli has either forgotten or is totally ignorant of God’s dealing with Israel and particularly God’s appointment of the priestly line.
4. Spiritual imprudence
In the account of Eli’s death it is recorded that he was old and very fat (4:18). When the man of God rebuked Eli he condemned him because he had made himself fat off the illicit spoils provided by his sons (2:29). Gluttony blurred Eli’s capacity to think and act as a spiritual leader should.
5. Spiritual indifference
When told of God’s judgment he shrugged it off almost fatalistically (3:18). His response, “He is the Lord, let him do what seems good to him” stands in stark contrast to David’s casting himself on God’s mercy after being rebuked by the prophet Nathan. Once again this points to a lack of a true understanding of God’s nature and God’s dealings with people.
It seems to me that the story of Eli should make every Christian (and particularly those in leadership) take a long hard look at their own spirituality. Are there areas of our lives where the culture of the day has dimmed our spiritual vision or dulled our sensitivity? What do our lives demonstrate as to the quality of our spirituality. Do we need to wake up and take stock?
(This was also posted on the Northwest Baptist Seminary website for which I am the webmaster.)