I Samuel 2:12-36 | Lesson # 4 | POOR LEADERSHIP: NEGATIVE MODEL

                                                            I Samuel 2:12-36       Lesson # 4

                                                POOR LEADERSHIP:  NEGATIVE MODEL

 

I.  Greetings.

 

II.  Crooked Ministers:  I Samuel 2:12-17.

            Q Who has met a crooked ministers?

            Q How were they crooked?

            Note:  The Bible is not a pro-minister (priest) book, nor it is anti-clergy.  It does not try to cover up the facts though, but presents the truth as it is.  It talks openly about poor clergy because they actually exist and we must learn how to deal with them and what God thinks about them.  So...

>>>>  Have someone read I Samuel 2:12-17.

            Note:  As Americans living in this century, we are not familiar with the priestly sacrificial customs of that time, but these priests were clearly abusing power and privilege.

            Note:  It is the abuse of power that will dominate the agenda when I and II Samuel talks about sin.  The Samuel books are books about leadership and how to handle power and how not to handle it.

            Q Why is abuse of power so sinful?

               An = God is the creator and in regard to power he is unbridled in His strength.  With His great power he shows us the pattern of what is good and so with His power He serves.  (Jesus came to serve not to be served and in creation God made the world for us.)  He wants the same attitude out of those who represent Him.

 

III.  Samuel Interlude:  I Samuel 2:18-21.

>>>> Have someone read I Samuel 2:18-21.

            Note: Notice how the author show us the care of the boy and God's blessing on the parents for their faithfulness.

            Q What is the difference or progression between 2:11 and 2:18 in regard to Samuel's ministry?

               An = He was ministering before Eli in 2:11 and before the Lord in 2:18.  There is growth in Samuel.  It is explicitly said in the last phrase of 2:21:  "Samuel grew before the Lord".  In Hebrew the word "great" (gadal) is used of Samuel and it is used of Eli's sons in 2:17.

 

IV.  Eli's Confrontation With His Sons:  I Samuel 2:22-26.

>>>> Have someone read I Samuel 2:22-26.

            Q Are we responsible for what our sons do?  How responsible are we?

               An = (Let your audience talk freely here.  It may get a bit off center, but let them talk and then bring it back.)  The Bible recognizes that we are judged by our children (spiritually and physically) and as much as we can influence them, they are free to make their own decisions.  If we look at just this text we do see that Eli did confront and do so strongly.  He did not defrock them however.  >>> Turn to Proverbs 10:1, 15:20, 17:25. 

            Q Why would the Proverbs bring this issue up so many times?

               An = Because it is so universally true.  One of the greatest gifts we can give our parents is to live a moral and wise life.  It is also one of the greatest difficulties of parenthood that our kids are free and they can make or break our happiness.

            Q What is your author doing by placing 2:26 in the middle of the story of Eli and His son's actions and fate?

               An = To show the growing of good leadership in the midst of bad.  Eli's sons grew great in sin, while Samuel grew great in favor with God and with man (see Bruegglemann, 22-23).

 

 

V.  Prophecy against Eli and His Household:  I Samuel 2:27-36.

>>>> Have someone read I Samuel 2:27-29.

            Q What is the sin of the priests according to these verses?

               An = More than their actual sin of sacrilege there is the sin of ingratitude.  They were given a position and respect and they did not perform it with dignity.  They were ungrateful to God for His giving them their position.  They were ungrateful!

>>>> Have someone read I Samuel 2:30-33.

            Q What is alarming about these verses?

               An = That an everlasting covenant would be invalidated (2:30).  Also, the mistakes of the fathers go forward into the lives of those who will follow them. 

            Q Is it scary that our sacrilege can affect our children?

            Q What is the cause of the covenant being broken?

               An = If we despise God then we forfeit the His honor.  It seems that what we do affects our future.  God gives us the "dignity of causation".  We can affect our future.  It is a dignity but a scary one.

>>>> Have someone read I Samuel 2:34-36.

            Q Do you think God will judge ministers who treat the flock poorly?

               An = Yes, the harshest judgment comes upon the leaders.  >>> Turn to James 3:1 and have the group discuss this.  >>> Turn to Luke 12:48  Jesus says "He who is given much, much more is required".  Is this fair?

            Q Who will be the most strictly judged in this room?

               An = Me and the other leaders in the room.  Our Lord is a great giver of gifts but He is also fair.  He will hold us accountable for the gifts of influence and power that we hold.  This is good news for those who have been abused.  It is a serious warning for those who think that leadership is a "place of perks" and not a "burden to wisely bare".