It's not that the Lord wants to put anyone to death but in the case of Hophni and Phinehas they are in too much of a position of power and influence to be allowed to continue setting such an atrocious example for the people. Their work as priests at the tabernacle makes them extremely visible to one and all and their sins have become visible to one and all. They are greedy and selfish and are stealing the portions of the offerings that are to belong solely to the Lord, which is an encouragement to anyone who is tempted to steal or to feel covetous of what belongs to others. These priests have seduced young, naive women who serve at the doorway of the tabernacle (and have perhaps seduced women who are not so young and naive but who struggle with sexual temptation). The people of Israel know that these men are taking advantage of women who may be enthralled with or intimidated by their power and authority and that in doing so they are committing adultery, for we'll see later on that they are married men. This type of disregard for their holy marriage vows encourages others to take their own marriage vows lightly. The Lord can't allow these men to remain in office or even to remain on the earth. Their sphere of influence is too great and they are too famous; they would continue to be watched and imitated by some of their fellow citizens.
The Lord knows the hearts of Hophni and Phinehas and He is fully aware that their hearts contain no feelings of guilt and no desire to repent. Because the Lord knows everything everyone will ever do, He knows these men will never feel sorry for their sins and repent of them. He knows how far many citizens of Israel will fall into sin if they keep observing the ungodly behavior of these priests. There's really nothing else He can do, for the safety of the nation, than to remove these men from the scene.
Today we'll find an unnamed prophet coming to Eli to pronounce judgment against his sinful sons and against this whole branch of the family tree. "Now a man of God came to Eli and said to him, 'This is what the Lord says: 'Did I not clearly reveal Myself to your ancestor's family when they were in Egypt under Pharaoh? I chose your ancestor out of all the tribes of Israel to become My priest, to go up to My altar, to burn incense, and to wear an ephod in My presence. Why do you scorn My sacrifice and offering that I prescribed for My dwelling? Why do you honor your sons more than Me by fattening yourselves on the choice parts of every offering made by My people Israel?'" (1 Samuel 2:27-29) The Lord asks, "Did I not specifically choose Aaron and grant him and his family line the honor of standing before Me in My house as priests? Did I not reveal My holy character and My awesome power to him and to his family in Egypt and in the wilderness? Did I not make My laws and commandments clear? Why then have you and your sons disrespected My holy name and My tabernacle? Why have you robbed Me of the parts of the offerings that are Mine alone? Why have you not dealt harshly with your sons instead of being so soft on sin? Your spiritual softness has led to physical softness; you've shared in their ill-gotten delicacies and have grown fat on them while your respect for Me has become emaciated and frail."
The author of 1 Samuel will tell us in Chapter 4 that Eli is very fat. His obesity will be one of the main contributing factors of his death. The Lord's words indicate that Eli was not ignorant of his household's source of the choice cuts of meat they were enjoying with the fat still attached to it. The elderly priest may not have been one hundred percent certain of the source of this meat but that could be because he didn't want to know for sure and didn't ask. If he didn't have his suspicions confirmed then he wouldn't have to deal harshly with his sons. On top of accusing him of being reluctant to remove his sons from office, the Lord appears to be accusing Eli of enjoying the rich delicacies of the table so much that he was loathe to give them up even though they were obtained sinfully.
The Lord said earlier in the Bible that only direct descendants of Aaron can be priests. But Eli isn't the only man of Israel who is descended directly from Aaron and the Lord does not have to allow men of Eli's branch of the family tree to serve as priests. "Therefor the Lord, the God of Israel, declares: 'I promised that members of your family would minister before Me forever.' But now the Lord declares: 'Far be it from Me! Those who honor Me I will honor, but those who despise Me will be disdained. The time is coming when I will cut short your strength and the strength of your priestly house, so that no one in it will reach old age, and you will see distress in My dwelling. Although good will be done to Israel, no one in your family line will ever reach old age. Every one of you that I do not cut off from serving at My altar will I spare only to destroy your sight and sap your strength, and all your descendants will die in the prime of life.'" (1 Samuel 2:30-33) The promise of the priesthood continuing down Eli's branch of the family tree was conditional upon the house of Eli honoring the Lord. If they had honored Him, He would have honored them. But since they showed scorn for Him and for His house, He will remove the priesthood from the line of Eleazar, the son of Aaron from whom Eli is descended, and move it to the line of Aaron's son Ithamar. We will find all the prophecies of verses 30-33 coming true as we continue to move through the Old Testament.
The Lord continues His prophecy against the house of Eli with these ominous words: "And what happens to your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, will be a sign to you---they will both die on the same day." (1 Samuel 2:34) Eli will know that the Lord truly has spoken through the unnamed "man of God" when the sign comes true. A person could not be considered a genuine prophet of the Lord unless he could make a specific prediction that was to come true in the near future, during the lifetime of those who were hearing his prophecy. If he could not make a prophecy about something that would soon come to pass, then anything he said about the far off future was to be rejected. The man of God gives Eli a prophecy for the very near future that will take place during his lifetime. Hophni and Phinehas will die on the same day. If they do not die on the same day, then anything else this prophet said must be disregarded. This would be the proof that he is not a genuine prophet of the Lord. But when Hophni and Phinehas do die on the same day in Chapter 4, Eli will know for certain that everything else this prophet has said will happen.
In our own times there are those who make prophecies and predictions that are not coming true. They will say a particular thing is going to happen on a particular day. The day passes and the thing does not happen. Biblically speaking, this automatically disqualifies them as a prophet. It is all the proof anyone should need that their message is not from the Lord. He has not spoken to them or sent them to His people to declare that this or that is going to happen. I don't feel we have much genuine prophecy in today's world because it is not needed when we have the Holy Bible to consult and when the Lord's people have the Holy Spirit living within us to direct our steps. But whenever anyone---no matter who it is---proclaims that this or that is going to happen, the test of a prophet is whether he or she can accurately predict, in a very specific and unambiguous manner, something that is to happen in the very near future. If a person says a specific thing is going to happen in a specific way or on a specific day and it does not happen, then obviously they are no prophet of the Lord because the Lord is never wrong. When He sends a message it is clear and it comes true exactly the way He said it would.
The message the Lord sends to Eli is very clear. Every word of it will come true, with the prediction regarding Hophni and Phinehas coming true in the very near future and with the remainder coming true as time goes on. These final verses of Chapter 2 will come true as well, though not in Eli's lifetime. "I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest, who will do according to what is in My heart and mind. I will firmly establish his priestly house, and they will minister before My anointed one always. Then everyone left in your family line will come and bow down before him for a piece of silver and a loaf of bread and plead, 'Appoint me to some priestly office so I can have food to eat.'" (1 Samuel 2:35-36)
The office of high priest would have continued being passed on down Eli's family line if his family had given the Lord the respect due Him. But they have disqualified themselves for the office of high priest. Eli's sons once took the best for themselves and cheated both the bringers of the offerings and the Lord Himself but in times to come the descendants of these men will be begging for bread. Oh how the mighty have fallen, as the saying goes! They were lifted up in pride and arrogance. They thought more of themselves than they thought of the Lord. They mistreated the Lord's people who faithfully brought offerings to the house of God. They led the Lord's people into sin. Because they held Him in low esteem, He holds them in low esteem. There is no one to blame but themselves because they are simply reaping what they have sown. The Lord has the right to choose who will stand before Him as high priest and to reject anyone who won't honor His name and be a godly example to the nation. That is exactly what He's talking about here in Chapter 2 as He makes His intentions known to Eli before these things take place. He will confirm these intentions through what He reveals to Samuel in Chapter 3 when He calls Samuel to be a prophet.
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