(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
1 Samuel 3:11–18, “And the LORD said to Samuel, Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle. In that day I will perform against Eli all things which I have spoken concerning his house: when I begin, I will also make an end. For I have told him that I will judge his house for ever for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not. And therefore I have sworn unto the house of Eli, that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering for ever. And Samuel lay until the morning, and opened the doors of the house of the LORD. And Samuel feared to shew Eli the vision. Then Eli called Samuel, and said, Samuel, my son. And he answered, Here am I. And he said, What is the thing that the LORD hath said unto thee? I pray thee hide it not from me: God do so to thee, and more also, if thou hide any thing from me of all the things that he said unto thee. And Samuel told him every whit, and hid nothing from him. And he said, It is the LORD: let him do what seemeth him good.”
The Lord had already sent a prophet to tell Eli that He was displeased with Hophni and Phinehas, Eli’s sons. He had warned Elis to turn away from his own evil ways. For, as the priest, Eli was responsible for the conduct of ceremonies, keeping of regulations and the standard of behaviour in the Tabernacle precinct but he allowed his sons to ignore the Law and the ceremonial regulations. In this sense, Eli was fully responsible for his sons behaviour but he had refused to take any warnings an be restored the Lord through confession and repentance. The Lord took one last drastic step to make sure that Eli heard His message. However, it was too late, at that stage for Eli to repent and he was definitely going to be punished along with his evil sons. On the other hand, Samuel was still quite young and Eli was his master while he was an apprentice so he was afraid of Eli and didn’t want to tell Eli what the Lord had said. When Eli saw that Samuel was reticent to pass on the message he threatened to curse Samuel. He was far stricter with his young apprentice than he had been with his sons. Samuel was just the Lord’s messenger so he told Eli everything that the Lord had said. Eli was an old man and ready to die anyway. He wasn’t too interested in what might happen to his sons so he accepted the Lord’s message.
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