1 Samuel 2:33

_AND THE MAN OF THINE, WHOM I SHALL NOT CUT OFF FROM MINE ALTAR, SHALL BE TO CONSUME THINE EYES, AND TO GRIEVE THINE HEART: AND ALL THE INCREASE OF THINE HOUSE SHALL DIE IN THE FLOWER OF THEIR AGE._ And the man of thine, whom I shall not cut off from mine altar ... - i:e., those of your descendants who shall be permitted to perform official duties in the sanctuary will be so degraded and miserable that you would be overwhelmed with grief were you to be a living witness of their distress (cf. Jeremiah 31:13). AND ALL THE INCREASE OF THINE HOUSE (I:E., ALL THY CHILDREN) SHALL DIE IN THE FLOWER OF THEIR AGE, х_ 'ªNAASHIYM _ (H376), men] - say about thirty, the legal age for admission into the full discharge of the priestly functions (N

27-36 Those who allow their children in any evil way, and do not use their authority to restrain and punish them, in effect honour them more than God. Let Eli's example excite parents earnestly to strive against the beginnings of wickedness, and to train up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. In the midst of the sentence against the house of Eli, mercy is promised to Israel. God's work shall never fall to the ground for want of hands to carry it on. Christ is that merciful and faithful High Priest, whom God raised up when the Levitical priesthood was thrown off, who in all things did his Father's mind, and for whom God will build a sure house, build it on a rock, so that hell cannot prevail against it....

Verse 1 Samuel 2:33. _AND THE MAN OF THINE_] Of this passage Calmet observes: "The posterity of Eli possessed the high priesthood to the time of Solomon; and even when that dynasty was transferred to another family, God preserved that of Eli, not to render it more happy, but to punish it by seeing the prosperity of its enemies, to the end that it might see itself destitute and despised. This shows the depth of the judgments of God and the grandeur of his justice, which extends even to distant generations, and manifests itself to sinners both in life and death; both in their own disgrace, and in the prosperity of their enemies....

The meaning is explained by 1 Samuel 2:36. Those who are not cut off in the flower of their youth shall be worse off than those who are, for they shall have to beg their bread. (Compare Jeremiah 22:10.) THINE EYES ... THINE HEART - For a similar personification of the tribe or family see Judges 1:2....

EXPOSITION THE DIVINE JUDGMENT UPON ELI AND HIS HOUSE (1 Samuel 2:27-9). 1 SAMUEL 2:27 THERE CAME A MAN OF GOD. The title _man of God_ is the usual appellation of a prophet in the books of Judges, Samuel, and Kings, and as such is applied by Manoah to the angel who appeared to him (Judges 13:6, Judges 13:8). Though the recorded interpositions of the Deity in those times were generally by angels, still the readiness with which Manoah gave his

AND THE MAN OF THINE,..... Of his family, which should spring from him: whom I shall not cut off from mine altar: from serving there: who though he shall not be an high priest, but a common priest, as all the descendants of Aaron were, SHALL BE TO CONSUME THINE EYES, AND TO GRIEVE THINE HEART; that is, the eyes and heart of his posterity; who though they should see of their family ministering in the priest's office, yet should make so poor a figure on account of their outward meanness and poverty, or because of their want of wisdom, and intellectual endowments, or because of their scandalous lives, that it would fill their hearts with grief and sorrow, and their eyes with tears, so that their eyes would fail, and be consumed, and their hearts be broken: AND ALL THE INCREASE OF THINE HOUSE SHALL DIE IN THE FLOWER OF THEIR AGE; or "die men" k; grown men, not children, when it would not b...

3. THE FAILURE OF ELI AND HIS SONS CHAPTER 2:12-36 _ 1. The wicked sons of Eli (1 Samuel 2:12)_ 2. Samuel before Jehovah and Hannah blessed (1 Samuel 2:18) 3. The empty warning of Eli (1 Samuel 2:22) 4. Judgment announced (1 Samuel 2:27) The corruption of the sons of aged Eli is next exposed. They were sons of Belial; they knew not Jehovah, and yet they ministered in the outward things of the sanctuary. It could result only in the worst corruption. They handled holy things and were wicked in heart and life. It has been well said “a holiness that is but external is the worst unholines

A PROPHET FORETELLS THE DEATH OF ELI'S SONS, AND THE EXPULSION OF HIS FAMILY FROM THE PRIESTHOOD. Composed by the Deuteronomic Editor (see above, p. 273), to connect the misconduct of the sons of Eli with the massacre of his house at Nob and deposition of his descendant, Abiathar, from the priesthood in favour of the house of Zadok (1 Kings 2:26 f.); and perhaps also with the unhappy condition of the priests of the high places, after these were suppressed (2 Kings 23:8 f.), though there is no indication that the priests of the high-places as a class were reckoned descendants of Eli. 1 SAMUEL 2:27. MAN OF GOD: see Judges 13:6. D

THINE. Septuagint reads "his". GRIEVE. Hebrew. _'adab._ Occurs only here. HEART. soul. Hebrew. _nephesh._ App-13. IN THE FLOWER OF THEIR AGE. Septuagint reads "with the sword of men"....

The doom of Eli's house 27. _a man of God_ i.e. a prophet commissioned by God. Even in the general decay of religion (1 Samuel 3:1) God still had his messengers. The title "man of God" is applied to Moses, Samuel, Elijah, Elisha, and others. It is specially frequent in the Books of Kings. _Did I plainly appear_ Better, _Did I indeed reveal myself_. See Exodus 4:14 ff., Exodus 4:27; Exodus 12:1; Exodus 12:43 for revelations made to Aaron. _in Pharaoh's house_ IN BONDAGE TO PHARAOH'S HOUSE....