“And did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer upon mine altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me? and did I give unto the house of thy father all the offerings made by fire of the children of Israel?”
My Notes
What Does 1 Samuel 2:28 Mean?
God confronts Eli through a prophet with a devastating reminder: I chose your family. Out of all the tribes, I selected your house to be my priests. To stand at my altar. To burn incense. To wear the ephod. To receive the offerings. The privilege was total. And it was My choice, not yours.
The rhetorical questions pile up: did I not choose? Did I not give? Each question demands the answer "yes." Yes, God chose. Yes, God gave. The privilege of the priesthood wasn't earned by Eli's house. It was conferred. And the conferral came with expectation.
The "fire offerings of the children of Israel" represent the people's most sacred gifts — their sacrifices to God. Eli's house was given custody of these offerings. And what did they do? Eli's sons treated the offerings with contempt (2:12-17). The family that received the most sacred trust abused it.
Reflection Questions
- 1.Where has God given you privilege (role, gifting, access) that you might be treating with contempt?
- 2.Does the principle (greater privilege = greater accountability) challenge how seriously you take what you've been given?
- 3.How do Eli's sons' sins (taking the best before offering, sexual misconduct at the tabernacle) mirror modern abuses of spiritual privilege?
- 4.What would it sound like if God asked you the same questions: 'Did I not choose you? Did I not give you...?'
Devotional
I chose you. Out of all the tribes. I gave you the altar. The incense. The ephod. The offerings. Everything. And this is what you did with it?
God's case against Eli's house is built entirely on privilege. The accusation isn't that they were ordinary people who failed. It's that they were chosen people who abused what they were chosen for. The privilege measures the accountability. The higher the gift, the greater the responsibility. And Eli's house received the highest gift in Israel — and trashed it.
Did I choose him? Yes. Did I give the offerings of fire? Yes. Every question God asks has a "yes" answer that makes the failure worse. You can't claim ignorance when you were selected. You can't plead poverty when you were given everything. The choosing and the giving eliminate every excuse.
Eli's sons took the best meat before the offering was made (2:13-16). They slept with women who served at the tabernacle (2:22). They treated the LORD's offering with contempt (2:17). And they did all of this from the position of maximum privilege — standing at God's altar, wearing God's ephod, handling God's sacrifices.
The greater the privilege, the greater the corruption when the privilege is abused. A corrupt priest is worse than a corrupt farmer — because the priest handles sacred things. Abuse of the ordinary is bad. Abuse of the sacred is catastrophic.
God asks the questions because the answers condemn. I chose you. I gave you everything. Did you think the choosing exempted you from accountability? It doubled it.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice, and at mine offering, which I have commanded in my habitation,.... To be offered in…
An ephod - The High Priest’s ephod, in which was Urim and Thummim. Did I give ... - The bountiful provision made by God…
And did I choose him - The high priesthood was a place of the greatest honor that could be conferred on man, and a place…
Eli reproved his sons too gently, and did not threaten them as he should, and therefore God sent a prophet to him to…
him Perhaps we should read, it (the house of Aaron) to be my priests (Exo 28:1-4). The priestly functions are mentioned…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture