Several scenes follow that contrast the depravity of Eli’s household, whose sons
greedily steal from the sacrifices offered to God, with the fidelity of Elkanah, Hannah,
and Samuel, who faithfully make the yearly pilgrimage to Shiloh. While Samuel’s parents
encourage their son to faithful service of the Lord, Eli’s sons continue
unhindered sexual
intercourse with women serving at the Lord’s shrine and receive only a weak rebuke from
their father. As Samuel grows “both in stature and in favor with the L
ORD
and with men”
(1 Sam 2:26), an unnamed prophet pronounces judgment on Eli and his sons, a judgment
confirmed when Samuel receives a vision that the days of Eli and his sons are numbered.
This twofold witness, according to Joseph’s maxim (Gn 41:32), seals the end of Eli’s
household as fixed by God.
Judgment falls when Eli’s sons, Hophni and Phinehas, carry the
Ark of the Covenant
into battle with the Philistines. The Ark, which is the footstool of the Lord of hosts who
is “enthroned on the cherubim,” is captured, Hophni and Phinehas are slain, and Israel is
crushed. When Eli receives word, he falls from
p 140
his seat (throne) and breaks his neck.
The Hebrew text here offers a revealing word play: Eli died from the fall because he was
old and “heavy” (
kaved). This
plays on kavod, the Hebrew word for “glory,” which also
means “heaviness” or “weightiness.” Eli, who robbed God of
kavod by making himself
kaved on the sacrificial meat, is killed by his own sins.
The Ark wreaks havoc wherever it goes, causing the Philistine cities to pass it off to
one another like a hot potato. Among the afflictions caused by this throne of Israel’s God
is the destruction of an idol of the god Dagon and the outbreak of rats and tumors among
the Philistines. These chastisements show clearly God’s presence with the Ark. Why,
then, was Israel defeated when she carried the Ark into battle? Israel cannot
ignore the
covenant and then presume to force God’s action according to Israel’s desires. Rather,
God’s power is poured out by grace on those who are faithful and repent of any sin, as
Samuel is keen to point out (1 Sam 7:3). Only when God’s people turn away from their
idols and place their trust in God alone can victory be attained. After the Philistines
surrender the Ark to Israel, Samuel leads the people in worship and sacrifice at Mizpah—
a priestly leadership never displayed by Eli—and God delivers Israel from her enemies:
“So the Philistines were subdued and did not again enter the territory of Israel” (1 Sam
7:13).
Israel Asks for “Another” King
In Samuel’s old age, his sons Joel and Abijah succeed him as judges over Israel. These
corrupt men, however, are nothing like their father. The people, perhaps still mindful of
the corruption of Eli’s sons Hophni and Phinehas, gather at Samuel’s hometown of
Ramah to make a request that will change the course of Israel’s history forever. They ask
for a king to govern them “like all the nations” (1 Sam 8:5). This request
forces to the
surface the question: Does Israel have a king?
Israel does already possess a divine King, “enthroned on the cherubim,” who has
bestowed his protection and benefaction upon her. Even the tithes that Israel was called
to pay to God were a sign of God’s kingship, since, in Ancient Near Eastern practice, a
tithe was the people’s tribute to the king. The people’s request
betrays a fundamental
problem: God’s people are blind to the fact that God is
p 141
the King of kings. In asking
for a human ruler, Israel rejects God’s Kingship over them (1 Sam 8:7), wanting instead
to be “like all the nations.”
God instructs Samuel to warn the people about the consequences of their request,
which are emphasized by the fourfold use of the word
laqach (“take”) (1 Sam 8:11, 8:13,
8:14, 8:16). An earthly king will require their sons and daughters to
support the needs of
the monarchy for such things as a fortified army, harvesters, and household servants for
the royal court. An earthly sovereign will require tithes in addition to the tithes
commanded in the Torah.
Samuel’s warnings are vindicated when the future kings of Israel impose burdens on
the people heretofore unknown, and eventually enslave them (like Pharaoh reborn).
Only this time, God will not come to their rescue. Even with these warnings, the
people
God called to be his “special possession among all peoples” and a nation set apart (Ex
19:5–6) wish to exchange that vocation to become “like all the nations” (1 Sam 8:5, 20).
God gives Israel what they ask for, and although Israel’s monarchy comes from the
people’s misguided desires, God will eventually transform the earthly monarchy into an
icon of his own kingship, a kingship that will one day issue in the unending reign of the
King of kings, Jesus Christ. Ultimately, in Jesus Christ, God will once again be Israel’s
King.
A
CT
2:
S
AUL
Chia sẻ với bạn bè của bạn: