The Text?
I Samuel 2 33 ‘Yet I will not
cut off every man of yours from My altar so that your eyes will fail from
weeping and your soul grieve, and all the increase of your house will die in
the prime of life. ‘This will be the sign to you, which will come concerning
your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas: on the same day both of them will die.
I
Samuel 4: 10 So the Philistines fought and Israel was defeated, and every
man fled to his tent; and the slaughter was very great, for there fell of
Israel thirty thousand foot soldiers. 11 And the ark of God was taken; and
the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.
The Question
Why did God pre-ordain the death of Eli's
sons, Hophni and Phinehas?
The Answer
Of
all the questions that have come in during this series on I Samuel, this is
perhaps the hardest to answer. It is challenging to balance choice and
predestination in the biblical framework of God’s sovereignty. This single
question has been argued within the church now for 2,000 years.
In
my early years as a believer I was nurtured in a denomination that
emphasized man’s choice when applying God’s sovereignty. Later, I spent
years with churches and Christian organizations that focused on the doctrine
of predestination when applying God’s sovereignty. In retrospect, I
believe that both persuasions affected God’s will as well as the other, and
both defended their views adequately with a plethora of Scripture. For the
most part, my following views about the pre-ordained deaths of Hophni and
Phenehas primarily come from my own personal study of God’s Word.
I
can’t state definitely why God pre-ordained their deaths, other than through
His omnipresence (all knowing) He was able to foresee the choices they would
make, and thusly decided before hand to end their lives as He did and
replace them with a Godly priest like Samuel. I believe the “whys” of
the preordained (predestined) acts of God are mainly reserved for
heaven. In heaven, I will be free from all influence other than what is
God’s. The “why God does this or that”, for now, is knowledge I am
convinced I will never truly attain while on earth. My ever-present sin
(Romans 7:11), the foolish wisdom of my fellow humans (I Corinthians.
1:25), and the constant opposition of evil limit greatly my
understanding of all that He wants me to know (Ephesians 6:11-12).
Aside from these limitations, I believe Hophni and Phinehas were put to
death because they were evil and an embarrassment to the priesthood. I can
say this because I am looking back at what they did. God, on the other
hand, has the omniscience ability to foresee what they were going to do and
preordain their demise accordingly. But the question remains; why didn’t
He intervene with them like He did with Paul, the great Apostle? Paul
was quite evil himself, before making Christ his Lord and Savior. He
persecuted the church and was responsible for killing many Christians. Why
did God not intervene with Hophni and Phinehas as He did with Paul (Acts
9:3)? I don’t know, but I do know that God is perfectly just and fair
in every decision He makes.
Since we cannot know definitely why God ordains some like Hophni and
Phinehas for destruction and others like Paul for salvation, is there any
Scripture that can partially help us understand the why behind His
decisions? I believe there are some Scriptures and have included a small
sample of them below. I have also included some of my own thoughts on
these passages and suggest you do the same.
The Way God
Works
Romans 8:28-30 28 And we know that God causes all things to work together
for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His
purpose. 29For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become
conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among
many brethren; 30 and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these
whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also
glorified.
My thoughts- Romans 8:28 teaches us that God causes everything to
work together for good to those who love Him. God can even take the bad of
others and work it out for us. Hophni and Phinehas were evil.
Contrastingly, Samuel loved God. The decisions these two spiritual jerks
made ended up to be the catalyst to bring Samuel to the forefront as God
intended. What Hophni and Phinehas did was no surprise to God; He knew
their hearts before they were born. Their evil acts did not deter God’s
will for one moment.
Predestination and free will in God’s sovereignty
Psalm 139:1,7-8,13,15-16 1 O Lord, You
have searched me and known me. Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can
I flee from Your presence? 8 If I ascend to heaven, You are there; if I
make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. 13 For You formed my inward
parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. 15 My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the depths of the
earth; 16 Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were
all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not
one of them.
2
Thessalonians 2: 13 But we should always give thanks to God for you,
brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning
for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.
Ephesians 1:9-11 9 He made known to us the mystery of His will, according
to His kind intention which He purposed in Him 10 with a view to an
administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing
up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth.
11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined
according to His purpose, who works all things after the counsel of His
will,
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
I
Timothy 2:1-4
1 First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and
prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all
men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may
lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. 3 This is good
and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be
saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth
Romans 10: 11,13-14 11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him
will not be disappointed.” 13 for “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord
will be saved.” 14 How then will they call on Him in whom they have not
believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how
will they hear without a preacher?
My thoughts-
I have listed six of many passages of Scripture that talk of God’s
predestination and the choice He gives every man. They are seemingly in
opposition to one another, and this is the great paradox over which many
Christians have argued for centuries. I would like to say that I have the
answer, but I don’t. All I know is that God has a predestined plan that
includes man’s free choice, and it is all under His sovereignty. Some how
through God’s foreknowledge as described in Romans 8:29-30, God puts into
action an ordained plan for each of us that reflects His choice, His love,
and our response.
God is always fair and desires all to be saved
2
Timothy 4: 7-8 7 have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I
have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of
righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that
day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing
2
Peter 3:8-9 8 But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved,
that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years
like one day. 9 The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count
slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for
all to come to repentance.
My thoughts- I do not
believe that God ever created or desired anyone to go to hell, not even
Hophni and Phinehas. As 2 Peter 3:8 states God has always desired that
all would come to repentance. But God is righteous and fair, and will only
bring those into His kingdom who put their faith in His Son, Jesus Christ.
He is the only way to salvation (John 11:25-26). This is your only
assurance of salvation.
