It's the Heart That Counts

God chooses people to serve Him, and God also chooses the role of service for each person. Sometimes God determines a special position of leadership and blessing, as He did for the house of Aaron. Regarding the tribe of Levi, "Thus says the LORD, 'Did I not indeed reveal Myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt in bondage to Pharaoh's house? Did I not choose them from all the tribes of Israel to be My priests?'" (I Samuel 2:27-28).

By the time this passage was recorded, many generations had passed. God's choice of the tribe of Levi to serve as priests was well-established and long-standing. It seemed to be a given that every Levite to follow would enjoy the same position of honor and distinguished service.

The story of Eli and his sons, however, reveals that God has requirements for those who would serve Him in special roles. In addition to the warning delivered through young Samuel, God also sent a prophet to declare His displeasure with the sons of Eli.

The prophet proclaimed, "Therefore the LORD God of Israel declares, 'I did indeed say that your house and the house of your father should walk before Me forever'; but now the LORD declares, 'Far be it from Me - for those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me will be lightly esteemed'" (I Samuel 2:30).

God's message through the prophet reveals that He did indeed intend for the role of the Levites as priests to be a given. God intended for that role to continue perpetually. In Eli's case, however, God was making an exception. The position of honor would be taken from Eli's family. Eli's sons would die, and Eli's family would be disgraced. God said that He would "not cut off every man" of Eli's family, lest the grief be too much to bear, but "everyone who is left" would have to come begging before the new priest, asking for the most menial jobs in order to have food to eat (vs. 33&36).

What had happened in Eli's family that warranted such harsh judgment? What had they done to deserve being cut off from the historic and traditional role of the Levites? The two sons were worthless men" (v. 12). They made themselves "fat with the choicest of every offering," abusing the system of provision God had established (v. 29). They forcibly appropriated meat without even allowing it to follow the normal offering procedure (vs. 15-16). "They lay with the women who served at the doorway of the tent of meeting" (v. 22). God's summary was that these sons "despised" the very worship in which they were supposed to be serving (vs. 17&20). Sadly, Eli never did more than offer verbal rebukes. God declared that Eli honored his sons above God Himself (v. 29).

God's decision was clear. He would not allow such godless, self-honoring men to continue in roles of distinguished service. God would bring dishonor instead of the honor they had enjoyed until now. These men who cared nothing for God's work but who cared only for themselves and their own pleasure would no longer be permitted to continue in their positions. The father who allowed and enabled his sons to take such a careless position would see the ruination of his family.

The heritage of these men did not matter. Their heritage was rich. Their family had been hand-chosen by God and placed into the special role as priests. For many years the Levites had continued in that role. Their ancestor Aaron was a great man of God, and there were instances in which only the Levites remained faithful when the rest of Israel fell into sin. The Levites had sometimes been called upon to execute purifying judgment as well as to continually lead in right worship. That heritage was not enough to save Eli and his sons.

The actual position of these men did not matter. They were in the role of priests and had been so for many years. In spite of their abuses, shenanigans, and sins, they had so far remained in that position. It probably seemed as if their position made them immune from judgment. They had gotten away with their self-honoring practices for so long that it seemed they would be allowed to continue using the priestly office for their own benefit. God determined that their actual position was not enough to save them.

It is not hard to see why God was so displeased with these men. Any fair-minded reader will acknowledge that it was right for God to remove them from their office. They clearly fell far distant from God's expectations.

If heritage and position are not God's requirements, what are His requirements? What would a man have to be like in order to be approved for God's service? God reveals His answer by telling about the priest He would choose. "But I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who will do according to what is in My heart and in My soul; and I will build him an enduring house, and he will walk before My anointed always" (I Samuel 3:35).

Someone who would serve God must be faithful. He must do what God wants him to do. He must be in tune with God's heart and care about the same things God cares about. Someone who serves God must be God-honoring instead of self-honoring. Instead of despising God's work, he must be devoted to that work. When God finds a servant with these characteristics, He is willing to establish such a man or woman in perpetual service. This is the kind of person who can serve with God's approval until the day he dies.

"My eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me; he who walks in a blameless way is the one who will minister to me" (Psalm 101:6)