Eli was a good man, but not a good father. He was guilty of 4 fathering errorsthat we definitely do not want to make! So who was this man?
Eli lived during Bible times. He was the high priest, and a judge of the people of Israel. In other words, he was a very busy man. He had raised two boys, who had grown into men with little regard for doing what was right. Priests also, they demanded portions of the sacrifices the Israelites made during their worship, and they slept with women who came to the temple.
Unfortunately, Eli turned a blind eye and a deaf ear to his son’s activities. When he was told what they had been doing, instead of responding with harsh consequences, he said, “Why do you do such things? It is not a good report that I hear.” What an understatement!
The tragedy of this story is that Eli knew what a good father should do, but he didn’t do it. Both of his sons died as young men, on the same day.
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