Sermon 10: 1 Samuel 2:25-30

25. And they did not listen to the voice of their father, because the Lord willed to kill them. 26. But the boy Samuel continued to grow, and was pleasing both to God and to men. 27. And a man of God came to Eli and said to him: 'Thus says the Lord: Did I not clearly reveal myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt, in the house of Pharaoh? 28. And I chose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up to my altar, and to burn incense to me, and to wear the ephod before me; and I gave to the house of your father all the offerings of the children of Israel. 29. Why then have you kicked at my sacrifice and my offerings, which I commanded to be offered in the temple? And you have honored your sons more than me, so that you might eat the first portions of every sacrifice of Israel my people. 30. Therefore the Lord God of Israel says: I indeed spoke, saying that your house and the house of your father would minister before me forever. But now, says the Lord: Far be this from me! For whoever honors me, I will glorify; but those who despise me shall be disgraced.'

Although the rebuke with which Eli had corrected his sons was not such as it ought to have been — as we see it did not satisfy God — it could nevertheless have moved them, had they not become calloused and hardened in wickedness, and could have recalled them to a better way of life, and appeased the wrath of the offended deity and turned it from their necks. But we see that they were hardened and obstinate, to such a degree that they finally brought upon themselves utter destruction and ruin. And rightly so. For if a servant who knows his master's will and neglects it is worthy of double punishment, what punishment shall we consider those to deserve who, when admonished by God, not only do not repent but continue to harden their hearts against evil, and spurn the healing hand of God and reject his fatherly admonitions? For whenever God wishes us to be admonished, by whomever that may be done, he gives us certain and undoubted testimonies of his divine favor and fatherly clemency, not wishing anyone to perish. For God does not wish the death of the sinner, says the prophet, but rather that he should repent and live.

When God, then, so paternally, so benevolently, so mercifully rouses us, and has compassion on our misery by which we voluntarily rush to certain destruction, and when he gives such testimony of his kindness toward us — if on the contrary we remain torpid, and resist his call, and kick against his fatherly clemency, must we not be more than senseless, and by our wickedness — such great pride and defiance against God — bring down his dreadful judgment upon us? Therefore this must be carefully observed: that those once admonished, if they persist in sinning and are not touched by any sense of their sins, sin gravely against God, who will not leave such contempt of himself unavenged in the end. There is no room here for excuse, no place to hide; the matter itself cries out, and our own sin proclaims it before God. For all truth and power comes from God. Therefore whenever men are raised up by God, through whose admonitions and rebukes we may be recalled to integrity of life, it is certain that our salvation is being cared for by God. If then we disdain to respond to God who so carefully seeks us and cares for our salvation, and if we despise his grace, what will become of us wretches? Is it not right that he should pursue with dire punishments the great injury we have done him? For what mortal father would tolerate a son who, when admonished by him, kicks back, insolently sticks out his tongue, or when rebuked for his sins, hardens and stiffens himself in his defiance? What father, I say, would tolerate such a son and not rather wish him destroyed a thousand times over? But how much more are we bound to God than children are to their earthly fathers?

Therefore let this be said once and for all: we must by no means resist God when he admonishes us of our sins, but at the first tugging of the ear, so to speak, we must walk in obedience to him, and we must do everything in full submission so that we are not found to have been unteachable. Rather, let us be roused from our vices, in which we had indulged too much, and at last undertake a serious repentance.

Furthermore, the hardening of Eli's sons and the stubborn obstinacy of their hearts is attributed to the just judgment of God, since God is said to have willed to kill them. By these words, take care not to think that their defiance and rebellion is attributed to God, as if God himself were the author of their sin and they were free of guilt. Rather, on the contrary, it is indicated that they were given over by God to a reprobate mind because they had long allowed themselves license to sin with impunity. Therefore, although God opened the mouth of their father Eli to rebuke them, they nevertheless hardened their hearts against the paternal admonitions, so that these were of no weight with them but were utterly empty and vain. To what end, then, did God wish them to be admonished by their parent? Namely, so that every appearance of excuse might be taken from them and they might be rendered inexcusable — and indeed so that they might be plunged more and more into their wickedness. For when God sends his word to men and wishes it to be preached to them, it does not follow that is salutary for all. Indeed I acknowledge that this is the proper power of the word of God, that it brings salvation; but I also say that by accident it becomes an odor of death and is turned into poison, namely by the fault and malice of men. Thus the law of God was in all ages a doctrine of life and salvation — were it not that the perversity of men is so great, as we observe in every age. But since by nature we are inclined only to evil, and there is such opposition between human nature — that is, human affections and senses — and God's word and justice, that by nature we are enemies of God, therefore the law is said to bring death and to cast us headlong into hell. Not at all by its own nature, which, as the apostle reminds us, is perfectly holy and spiritual (Romans 7:12 and 14), but the evil proceeds from ourselves. For we are carnal, sold to be subject to sin, but the law is spiritual; and therefore it teaches all purity and holiness, that we may serve God sincerely and perfectly. We therefore always strive toward what is forbidden, and so we perpetually resist God and his commandments; from where it happens that the law becomes nothing but deadly for us. But God brought a remedy for so great an evil through the gospel. For it was impossible, as experience sufficiently teaches, to obtain grace through the law, which requires the highest perfection from men; but through the gospel we are taught that sins are freely forgiven us, and by a manner entirely contrary to the law we are invited to his worship — as when he says that if we are weak, we shall be lifted up by him, and our deficiencies shall be supplied, and that if we have offended him, we ought to pour out all our cares and anxieties as it were into his bosom, and to come to him boldly. You have therefore what the gospel is, which is also for this reason called the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes. But truly, even the gospel itself is turned into a pestilent poison by the fault of our nature, as Paul says, when he declares it to be an odor of death to death (2 Corinthians 2:16). Namely because we do not have the true taste of the gospel; and consequently it is turned into a curse for us, and at length also produces eternal destruction. From all this it is evident that the word of God indeed by its nature brings us life and salvation, but its use is changed by us, because by our fault and malice God is more and more angered, and we become daily more guilty of rebellion before his tribunal — because our slowness to believe his word is added to all our preceding sins.

Furthermore, God is said to have specifically so willed it: namely, the equity of the divine judgments demanded that those who had made light of admonitions should be deceived by falsehood, and that the devil should obtain power over them — as Paul says in 2 Thessalonians 2:10, that because they did not receive the love of the truth, God would therefore send the efficacy of deception so that they might believe a lie. Therefore God so punished those who made no end of provoking his wrath and who heaped evil upon evil, that at length he gave them over to a reprobate mind, so that they made no distinction between right and wrong, but rushed headlong of their own accord into every sort of wickedness. And these things are indeed declared to us clearly enough in the prophet Isaiah, where God exhorted the prophet not to lose heart if he observed that his preaching accomplished little or nothing among the people: Go, he says (Isaiah 6:9), and say to this people: Hear indeed, but do not understand; and see a vision, but do not perceive. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and turn, and I heal them. A wondrous and astonishing utterance indeed. Certainly; but what can you do? The prophet needed to be fortified against the impending stumbling block. For, I ask, with what difficulties and anxieties must a godly teacher, burning with zeal for promoting God's glory, struggle, if he sees that he not only makes no progress, but that his labor is futile and vain — indeed, that everything is turned upside down to the contrary, and going to ruin? And moreover, not only this, but that those who seemed to have begun well have been cast into a reprobate mind and utterly blinded? When, I say, pastors zealous for the church's salvation behold such stumbling blocks, into what straits do you think they are reduced? Surely it is certain that they could throw off all care for the flock, and lament their own and their people's condition in these words: O vain effort, O labors undertaken in vain! Is it not far better to cast off the care of these people than to bring greater condemnation and destruction upon them? Yet we see that the prophet was not therefore commanded by the Lord to abandon his calling, even though his preaching was not only useless but also destructive to this wretched people, since they were more and more blinded by it. Therefore we must conclude that, since Isaiah not only does not break off the course of his calling but continues in it, complying with God's will, the same must be done by pastors of the gospel in this time, rather remaining constant in their vocation. For our Lord Jesus Christ teaches us that these same things must be fulfilled today, when in John 12:39 it is said that the Jews could not believe in Christ, because the prophet Isaiah had formerly said: He has blinded their eyes — so that this prophecy rightly seems to have looked to Christ. Therefore these things must be noted by us all the more diligently, because this passage was cited with the highest agreement by the four evangelists, and by the apostle Paul in two places, against the unbelieving Jews. From this we must learn that those who are contumacious and rebellious against God are at last to be so punished that God, about to avenge contempt of himself, will either sometimes take away his word altogether, so that they may be more hardened and the distinction between right and wrong may be taken from them; or if he still leaves his word, it may be for their greater condemnation and confusion. Behold with what punishments he avenges the unbelieving and ungrateful. God indeed directs his word to all, and by it invites all without exception to himself; for the gospel resounds throughout the whole world like a trumpet, and declares that God will be propitious to all who seek him and accept the grace offered. But what is this stupor of men, what great ingratitude? For you see some who are little concerned about so great a good, preoccupied by a kind of brutish sense, trampling it underfoot; others daring somewhat more, even rising up against God himself, raging and puffing themselves up more boldly; others even contriving persecution against the heralds of truth — such is their contumacy that they would destroy the truth by fire and sword if they could, and would crush God himself by their savagery and cruelty, and blot out the memory of his name from the living. Others are those who excellently dissimulate, because they wish to sit on two chairs and whitewash two walls with the same brush — openly boasting God's name, but lovers of honors and dignities, full of avarice, hatred, and fornication, yet wishing nonetheless to be enrolled among the number of the faithful. Behold in what ways the grace of God is polluted and profaned, how the inestimable treasure of God's word is nonetheless trampled underfoot. Shall we think that God will leave so great a contempt of himself, so great an insult, unavenged? Not at all. And yet his goodness is so great, and he is so inclined to mercy, that he turns his eyes kindly upon wretched men prone to every wickedness, and sends his heralds to them, by whom they may be reminded of their duty. But if God labors through his servants in vain, if rising early, as he formerly reproached his people through the prophet, to rouse us, we remain torpid and become daily more hardened — then surely so great and so shameful a malice must be followed by a severe and dreadful vengeance, and such great ingratitude must be met with severe punishments; which, if they do not appear at the earliest opportunity, are indeed deferred, not removed. Indeed, even when they are present, they are often not felt, so great is the blindness of wretched mortals. Moreover, this divine vengeance generally manifests itself against mortals in two ways. For often God takes away all knowledge of himself from those who had previously been well taught in his sacred mysteries, so that they have neither the reading nor the preaching of the divine word, but waste away like the famished — a famine of God's word that we see has pervaded the whole world. But sometimes God does send prophets raised up into the world, whose preaching may strike the ears of stupid men, but for their greater confusion. For the greater the testimonies of God's grace and benevolence toward them, the greater will be the condemnation of the same grace, at last despised and rejected, and the more severe the judgment. There is added also that blinding and hardening by the divine word, of which we spoke above — instead of the light it would otherwise have brought, and which it offered to the obedient and compliant. This indeed must be attributed not to the word itself, by whose rays they were meant to be illuminated, but to their innate malice and vice — just as the world is indeed illuminated by the grateful and healthful splendor of light, yet many who are bleary-eyed are not helped by the sun's rays, and those with afflicted eyes are more injured; and the greater the splendor of light, the more they are blinded, so that they are forced to seek a remedy for their eyes either in darkness or in dim light. Therefore, since the doctrine of salvation has illuminated the whole world, we must devote all the greater care to this: that we not be found guilty before God of rejecting so great a benefit; for an even greater blindness would be added to the former. Nor should that heavenly doctrine be heard only with fleshly ears, but it must be engraved upon our very souls; for the power of the divine word is such — as the apostle himself testifies — that it is like a two-edged sword and penetrates even to the division of soul and spirit. Therefore it must be drunk in with the ears of both body and soul, so that with the darkness dispelled we may become seeing. What then will become of those wretches who become more deaf at the preaching of the word? But the judgments of God are just, by which he shows himself as avenger; yet how many testimonies of fatherly benevolence he also displays! For through the prophet he invites us to conversion and repentance, that being displeased with ourselves we may be reconciled to him. He points out the fountain and source of our salvation, and offers it through the preaching of the word. Namely, if recognizing our native corruption, we all the more humbly accept the reproofs uttered in his name, hate our sins more and more, turn to him with our whole heart, and walk in the right path of all virtues, from which we had formerly strayed and fallen from his grace. If these things are done by us, there is certainly no reason to doubt that we shall return to health. God indeed says through the prophet that he does not want the reprobate to turn, lest they be healed; but the same God says he does not want the death of the sinner, but rather that he should turn. For his will toward the world is indeed favorable; but yet in such a way that he detracts nothing from the severity of his judgments, by which he avenges the contumacy of those who, having abused his benevolence and grace, have heaped up a treasure of wrath and vengeance upon their own heads, so that blinded and hardened they may at last be consigned to eternal punishments. Therefore the words of our author must be attentively weighed, lest we deceive ourselves — namely that God willed the sons of Eli to perish because they had given no place to their father's admonition and reproof. But on the contrary, effort must be made, if we want this doctrine to be useful to us, that we not kick so against God that we provoke his wrath against us, by which, deleted from the number and register of his people, we are thrust headlong into hell itself, and the food by which we ought to be nourished is turned into poison and pestilence. Moreover, this too must be observed: that it will profit us little if our ears are struck by frequent admonitions and exhortations, and we nevertheless persist in hardness. Therefore we must also pray to God, whose it is to open ears and bend the heart, that he may accomplish this in us by the grace of his Spirit. For by nature we bear hearts of stone, as the prophet says (Ezekiel 36:26); but if to that native hardness there is also added contumacy, by which we willfully and obstinately resist God as he warns, exhorts, and finally calls through his word, sin is all the more increased in us the more obstinate we become day by day, and harder than iron and steel. Therefore we must take the greatest care not to come to such madness, but to meet such vengeance early, submitting ourselves gently to God and accepting his fatherly reproofs, lest his gifts be turned into pestilence and ruin for us, and what was meant to be the nourishment for our nurture instead bring destruction and ruin. This is why in Psalm 69:23 the prophet pronounces this imprecation against enemies: Let their table before them become a snare, and a stumbling block, and a retribution. For by the word 'table' the prophet encompasses whatever contributes to the benefit of men, whether it be a gift of body or spirit; and he hurls these imprecations as against sworn enemies of our Lord Jesus Christ, and as against putrid members. For David, when he spoke these words, was a prophet of Christ himself, and bore his person and figure. Behold, therefore, not only from the words of the prophet Isaiah is what we have said confirmed — that the word of God is pestilent and lethal to those who despise it and are contumacious against God — but also by the testimony of the Holy Spirit speaking through David: that if we have despised the word of God and been contumacious against our Lord Jesus Christ, a dreadful divine vengeance awaits us. If by our own fault we draw back from God, to whom we were summoned by his word, the table — that is, whatever benefits both of body and soul — will be turned into a snare for us, into stumbling blocks by which we are carried headlong to destruction, and finally into poison by which we are torn apart. Far be such stupor from us, therefore! Let us not wait so long until we experience the Lord's avenging hand; but let us go early to meet the just fury of God through true and unfeigned repentance, and compose ourselves to his will revealed in his word. And if we see some who were previously well instructed in the knowledge of God returning to their vomit and degenerating into devils, let us recognize the vengeance of the just judge upon their ingratitude, and being taught by their example let us be wise, lest we contract their pestilence. That this nonetheless frequently happens, we see, alas, in all too many — that they are infected as if by some contagion by the example of others. But let us all the more diligently revere the doctrine of God and esteem it at its proper value; let us sincerely submit ourselves to God; let us fear the severity of his judgments against the ungrateful and contumacious and those who depart from the way of salvation, lest we ever turn aside to the left or the right from his paths, or be turned away by any terrors; so that God may rather multiply his gifts in us, and if we have had some taste of his fatherly goodness toward us, we may be more and more confirmed in it, and be illuminated by the splendor of his word, on which alone all our salvation and health depends. Thus Paul says he is girded with the sword of the gospel to execute vengeance against the contumacious and rebellious, to teach that this is the use of the divine word: to submit us to God. This also Paul himself testifies when he says that he was sent by Christ and received his apostleship for the obedience of faith — by which, namely, men may learn to be subject to God and be kept in his fear. Therefore the aim of Paul's preaching was not the blinding of men or the hardening of them in unbelief; and yet his very preaching of the gospel had this outcome in many. For this reason, the apostle in 2 Corinthians 2:15 calls it an odor of death to those who perish, and an odor of life to life to those who believe. And in the last chapter of Acts, Paul rebukes the unbelieving Jews with these words: Rightly indeed did the Holy Spirit speak through the prophet Isaiah to our fathers, saying: Go to this people and say: By hearing you shall hear and not understand; and seeing you shall see and not perceive. For the heart of this people has been made fat. And let this suffice concerning this point of doctrine.

The account, then, of the divine decree concerning the killing of Eli's sons is followed by another about Samuel — namely, that he grew and was pleasing both to God and to men — which serves as a transition to the dreadful desolation of the whole people that was impending from God, while God nonetheless reserved for himself some seed, so that he might nonetheless fulfill his promises. For what would have become of the wretched people, had not Samuel been raised up by the Lord, when, as we shall see hereafter, Eli's sons were slain in battle, and the ark of God was delivered into the hands of the enemy, and Eli himself, terrified by so unhappy a report, fell backward from his seat and died with a broken neck? What, I say, would have become of the wretched people, had not God timely provided them with a priest by whom they might be governed and taught? From this we learn that God, while preparing just punishments for men and threatening them with ultimate destruction, nonetheless remembers mercy and makes a place for it. Therefore he always cherished this people, and never left them bereft of his favor — even though at first sight they did not understand what kind of help was being prepared for them by God. For they could not foresee in their minds what would become of Samuel, for Samuel had still been a boy consecrated to the worship of God by his parents who were bound by a vow. Who, then, would ever have supposed that this boy would one day be the people's champion and defender, famous for so many great victories against the Philistines, the people's sworn enemies, so skilled in counsel, and finally so great and so celebrated a prophet? For he was the most celebrated of all the prophets since Moses, of whom even the prophets who were sent after him made honorable mention, up to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Thus it could not be perceived that God was thinking about liberating and defending his people, because the ways by which he was going to accomplish this were unknown to human senses. But we are taught that God indeed willed to punish his people and to exercise them with various penalties, but not therefore to destroy and utterly abolish them, as we shall see hereafter. Therefore the prophet Habakkuk did not speak in vain when he said that God, when he is angry, remembers his mercy — so that when he seems to want to destroy everything from the foundations, he nonetheless preserves something for himself by unknown and incomprehensible means, and makes a place for his goodness and mercy in the midst of his judgments, so that the severity of judgment is never so great that it is not somewhat tempered by his goodness. But this benefit belongs properly to the church of God; for the condition of the reprobate is different, whose punishments are like those of officers of the court, by whom a day is declared against them before the supreme judge, to experience a far more grievous and severe judgment hereafter. But when God corrects the sins of the church, it is certain that he is purging the stains of his own household, yet in such a way that, mindful of his promises, he always spares his people. And these are the remnants of the church, of which Paul speaks, explaining a passage from the prophet Isaiah, in these words: Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: Even if the number of the children of Israel were as the sand of the sea, the remnant shall be saved — indicating, namely, that God, while taking vengeance for the sins of the people, will preserve for himself the remnants of his church. From this, therefore, it should be observed that God, while punishing the sins of men so that he seems about to destroy everything and no remedy for such great evils appears to remain, nonetheless moderates his wrath in such a way that we shall one day come to know that he has made for himself some remaining seed by means unknown and incomprehensible to us. And so much for Samuel thus far; yet this also should be observed about him — namely, that he is said to have grown before God and men, so that some hope of consolation might dawn upon the faithful, and that when the sons of Eli had advanced to such great wickedness, God would provide another by whom the pattern of his worship might be restored to its original beauty and purity. God therefore wished to give his people some foretaste of a future change for the better, but they did not perceive it, because there was no hope that the people would one day be judged by Samuel.

Next it follows that a man of God — a prophet, namely — came to Eli and said: Did I not plainly reveal myself to the house of your father, when they were in Egypt in the house of Pharaoh? And I chose him from all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up to my altar, and to burn incense for me, and to wear the ephod before me; and I gave to the house of your father all the sacrificial offerings of the children of Israel. Why then have you repaid me this reward for such great benefits, that my altar should be polluted by the wickedness of your sons and held in contempt and made a reproach among the Israelites? With what zeal and fervor of spirit have you guarded the purity of my worship? But you have honored your sons more than me. Therefore I will bear it no longer; I will not suffer it; I will not leave such wickedness unpunished; but whoever shall honor me, I will glorify him; and whoever despises me shall be held in dishonor.

As for that expression 'man of God,' it belongs properly in scriptural usage to the prophets — not indeed meaning that whoever walks before God in integrity of worship and in his ways are also men of God, and counted in the number of his servants and even of his children; but the term is used in a special sense of the prophets, who have received from the Lord a command to proclaim to men. It is not, therefore, their person that the expression looks to, but the office and dignity with which they are adorned, so that they may be received with honor and reverence, and their doctrine may not be held in mockery but rather heard with fear and trembling, especially when they set forth the threats of the living God. For, as Isaiah says in chapter 66:2, God recognizes his own by this mark: if they tremble at his words. When it is said, therefore, that a man of God came to Eli, this was not just anyone from the common people, but a notable prophet sent by God, who would address the priest in God's name, so that God himself seems to speak to him through the prophet — a fact that Eli evidently recognized, since he did not reply to such a threatening address, but was completely silent. And rightly so, as it seemed to one examining the matter at first glance. For the high priest represented our Lord Jesus Christ, and therefore seemed able to reject and repel an ordinary man with a severe rebuke, on the ground that it was not fitting for a man of lower rank to address the high priest with such boldness and confidence, and to pronounce sentence against him as if he were a judge or legate of God. With these, I say, or similar words, Eli seemed able to reject the man and defend his priestly dignity; but on the contrary we see that, giving glory to God, he was completely silent. From this it is evident that God, although he had chosen priests whom he elevated to the highest honors of his priesthood, did not thereby make them gods or rather idols, nor did he loosen the reins to their desires so that they might do whatever they wished according to their own will and pleasure; but that they must be subject to divine doctrine, and that even men of the highest dignity must be subject to divine doctrine, and that teachers themselves must lead others by the holiness and integrity of their lives; and if they do not do so willingly, they must, to their great shame and disgrace, be taught and corrected by others at God's command and sending. And men of the highest rank must constantly meditate on this doctrine: that there is no human dignity or power so great that it need not be subject to the word of God. Thus Jeremiah is said to be set over the people and nations — not indeed because he received earthly dominion, but such dignity and authority from the Lord that even kings themselves ought to submit to it, and God wished them to be obeyed no less than anyone from the lowest class. And in this sense those words are to be taken in which the prophet is commanded to rebuke the very mountains and hills (Nahum 1:4) — that is, to rebuke first those whom pride drives to such madness that they wish to exempt themselves from all law and discipline, as if God commands the prophet to pursue and rebuke by name those whom he sees wanting to resist and oppose him. And these things apply not only to those who govern public affairs, but also to those entrusted with the care of teaching the people, who ought to know God's truth so well that they lead others by the example of their life, so that their reproofs may have their proper effect, if they begin with themselves. For they must fear that if they do otherwise, they will bring upon themselves a heavier judgment of God and the hatred and contempt of men, even the lowest. For we often see it happen that if those entrusted with the duty of preaching the word indulge in pleasures, they come into such contempt that they are pointed at by everyone, and having been given over by God to a reprobate mind, they are exposed to the mockery and jeers of men of every condition. But here, I beg you, consider with me the supreme wickedness and diabolical invention of the pope, who is not ashamed to proclaim publicly about himself that the whole world is indeed judged by him, but he himself by no one. See by what arts he has attempted to shut the mouths of the prophets and to cut off any way of inquiring into his tyranny! For if the matter stands thus, who doubts that without contradiction he would turn heaven and earth upside down? — a possession of his tyranny which he has defended by these arts for so many centuries. Therefore let it be lawful for him to do whatever he pleases, if it is not lawful to rebuke him when he sins! Let him profane the majesty of God, turn divine and human rights upside down, mock all religion, commit any wickedness, overturn all decency. Why so? Because this beast must be inviolable. But come, who elevated the pope to the headship of the church, by what title does he make himself distinguished? He is indeed far unlike Eli, who had received his priestly calling from the Lord. And yet God corrected this family which he himself had called to the priestly office. But where shall we ever find testimony of the pope's calling? Therefore, if Eli, who bore the image of our Lord Jesus Christ and whose dignity was confirmed by the law of Moses, was nonetheless corrected, what do we suppose will be the judgment of that one who claimed for himself an authority that was not owed to him? And even if his authority were legitimate, it would nonetheless need to be subject to the word of God. And indeed on this matter we have the very well-known examples of the prophets, who spared neither princes nor any magistrates, but freely rebuked them, even though they struggled with very great difficulties in performing their duty. Nevertheless, whatever those dangers may have been, God willed it to be made clear that there is no height of dignity so great that it should not be submitted to his word and to the divine majesty shining forth in it; and indeed that no one, however distinguished in gifts, is immune from divine correction.

It remains for us to attend to the sum of that threatening. And first, that prophet reproaches the divine benefits with which Eli and his whole family had been adorned by the Lord. And in order that this divine liberality and munificence might be more illustrious, he compares the priestly dignity which Eli had obtained by divine grace with the condition in which their fathers had been in Egypt — namely, enduring harsh servitude. And not only in this passage do you see God reproaching men with his benefits toward them, but throughout the whole of Scripture, and not without reason. For how many among men, I ask, give thanks for the benefits received from God and apply them to their legitimate use — namely, the glory of God's name and the benefit of their neighbors? You will scarcely find one in many thousands who does his duty in this respect, cultivating God's benefits with a grateful heart and cherishing them in himself. For you see some puffed up by them and seizing from them an occasion to oppress their neighbors; others using them for self-indulgence, gluttony, revelry, and other such excesses. But those who have been heaped with more benefits from God should remember that they are bound by more obligations, and that they must one day render account for them to God; and that they are the more bound to their neighbors, the greater the gifts and resources with which they have been enriched by the Lord. But ambition so blinds some that they disdain and despise those unequal to them in wealth and dignity; and native corruption so deranges others that they turn God's very gifts to evil. Thus those distinguished by spiritual gifts, who have attained no common knowledge of the truth, often come to such madness that they make disciples for themselves, when they ought to have brought them to the Lord Jesus Christ. Thus, finally, you see the poor oppressed with various insults by the rich, and the simpler folk deceived by the frauds and tricks of the industrious and those endowed with sharper intellect. In short, to anyone who looks more closely at the deeds of any mortal, it will be manifest that few are found who do not abuse God's gifts and turn them to a contrary use, so that not undeservedly does God reproach them with their ingratitude, whenever he prepares to exact punishments from those by whom he has been offended. The remainder will be deferred, with the Lord's leave, to tomorrow.

25. And they did not listen to the voice of their father, because the Lord willed to kill them. 26. But the boy Samuel continued to grow, and was pleasing both to God and to men. 27. And a man of God came to Eli and said to him: 'Thus says the Lord: Did I not clearly reveal Myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt, in the house of Pharaoh? 28. And I chose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be My priest, to go up to My altar, and to burn incense to Me, and to wear the ephod before Me; and I gave to the house of your father all the offerings of the children of Israel. 29. Why then have you kicked at My sacrifice and My offerings, which I commanded to be offered in the temple? And you have honored your sons more than Me, so that you might eat the first portions of every sacrifice of Israel My people. 30. Therefore the Lord God of Israel says: I indeed spoke, saying that your house and the house of your father would minister before Me forever. But now, says the Lord: Far be this from Me! For whoever honors Me, I will glorify; but those who despise Me shall be disgraced.'

Although Eli's rebuke of his sons was not as strong as it should have been — as we see it did not satisfy God — it could still have moved them, had they not already become calloused and hardened in wickedness. It could have called them back to a better way of life and turned God's offended wrath away from them. But we see that they were hardened and obstinate to such a degree that they finally brought upon themselves utter destruction and ruin. And rightly so. If a servant who knows his master's will and neglects it deserves double punishment, what punishment do those deserve who, when admonished by God, not only refuse to repent but continue to harden their hearts, and spurn God's healing hand and reject His fatherly warnings? Whenever God wishes us to be warned — by whoever He may use to do so — He gives us certain and unmistakable evidence of His divine favor and fatherly compassion, for He does not wish anyone to perish. As the prophet says, God does not desire the death of the sinner, but rather that he repent and live.

When God reaches out to us so paternally, so mercifully, and so compassionately — having pity on our misery as we rush headlong to our own destruction, and giving such clear evidence of His kindness toward us — and if, in spite of all this, we remain cold and resistant, kicking back against His fatherly compassion, must we not be worse than senseless? By such pride and defiance against God, are we not bringing His dreadful judgment down upon ourselves? This must therefore be carefully noted: those who, once warned, persist in sinning and feel no remorse for their sins, sin gravely against God — and He will not leave such contempt of Himself unavenged in the end. There is no room here for excuse, no place to hide. The matter itself cries out, and our own sin declares it before God. For all truth and power comes from God. Therefore, whenever God raises up people through whose warnings and corrections we may be called back to an upright life, God is certainly caring for our salvation. If we then scorn God who seeks us so diligently and cares for our salvation — if we despise His grace — what will become of us? Is it not right that He should punish with severe penalties the great wrong we have done Him? What earthly father would put up with a son who, when corrected, kicks back, answers with insolence, or when rebuked for his sins, stiffens himself in defiance? What father, I ask, would tolerate such a son and not rather wish him removed entirely? But how much more are we obligated to God than children are to their earthly fathers?

Let this therefore be said once and for all: we must never resist God when He warns us of our sins. At the first hint of His correction, we must walk in obedience to Him, submitting ourselves fully — so that we are not found to be unteachable. Rather, let us be awakened from the vices we had indulged too long, and at last undertake a genuine repentance.

The hardening of Eli's sons and the stubborn obstinacy of their hearts is attributed to the just judgment of God, since God is said to have willed to kill them. But take care not to interpret this as though their defiance and rebellion is caused by God, as if God Himself were the author of their sin and they were innocent. On the contrary, what is being indicated is that they were given over by God to a corrupt mind because they had long given themselves license to sin without restraint. Therefore, although God opened the mouth of their father Eli to rebuke them, they hardened their hearts against these parental warnings — treating them as worthless and utterly empty. Why, then, did God wish them to be warned by their father at all? So that every excuse might be stripped from them, leaving them without defense — and indeed so that they might be plunged all the deeper into their wickedness. When God sends His Word to people and wishes it to be preached to them, it does not follow that it is beneficial for all who hear it. I acknowledge that the proper power of God's Word is to bring salvation — but I also say that by accident it becomes an odor of death and is turned into poison, through the fault and malice of people. In the same way, God's law has in every age been a doctrine of life and salvation — except for the perversity of people, which we observe in every generation. But since by nature we are inclined only to evil, and there is such deep opposition between human nature — that is, human desires and inclinations — and God's Word and justice, we are by nature enemies of God. For this reason the law is said to bring death and to cast us headlong toward destruction — not at all because of its own nature, which, as the apostle reminds us in Romans 7:12 and 14, is perfectly holy and spiritual, but because the evil proceeds from ourselves. We are carnal, enslaved to sin, but the law is spiritual — and it therefore teaches all purity and holiness, that we may serve God sincerely and perfectly. We always strive toward what is forbidden, perpetually resisting God and His commandments — and so the law becomes nothing but deadly to us. But God brought a remedy for so great an evil through the gospel. It was impossible — as experience makes clear enough — to obtain grace through the law, which demands the highest perfection from people. Through the gospel, however, we are taught that sins are freely forgiven us, and we are invited to God's worship in a manner entirely contrary to the law — He says that if we are weak, He will lift us up, our deficiencies will be supplied, and if we have offended Him, we may pour out all our worries and anxieties into His arms and come to Him boldly. This, then, is what the gospel is — which is also why it is called the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. But even the gospel itself is turned into a pestilent poison by the fault of our nature, as Paul says when he declares it to be an odor of death to death in 2 Corinthians 2:16. This happens because we do not truly taste the gospel for what it is — and as a result it becomes a curse to us, eventually producing eternal destruction. From all of this it is clear that God's Word by its very nature brings life and salvation, but we change how it functions for us — because through our fault and malice, God is more and more angered, and we become daily more guilty of rebellion before His tribunal, as our slowness to believe His Word is added to all our preceding sins.

Furthermore, God is said to have specifically willed this — and the fairness of His divine judgments demanded it: those who had made light of warnings deserved to be deceived by falsehood, and the devil deserved to gain power over them. As Paul says in 2 Thessalonians 2:10, because they did not receive the love of truth, God would therefore send a powerful delusion so that they would believe a lie. So God punished those who made no end of provoking His wrath and kept heaping evil upon evil: He finally gave them over to a corrupt mind, so that they could no longer distinguish right from wrong but rushed headlong of their own accord into every kind of wickedness. This is declared clearly enough in the prophet Isaiah, where God encouraged the prophet not to lose heart if he saw that his preaching accomplished little or nothing among the people: 'Go,' He says in Isaiah 6:9, 'and say to this people: Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive. Make the heart of this people insensitive, make their ears dull, and close their eyes, otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and return and be healed.' A remarkable and astonishing statement. But what could be done? The prophet needed to be strengthened against the stumbling block he was about to face. What difficulties and anxieties must a godly teacher burn through — one who is full of zeal for God's glory — when he sees that not only is he making no progress, but his labor is futile and vain, that everything is being turned upside down, and that those who seemed to have made a good start have been given over to a corrupt mind and completely blinded? When pastors who care deeply for the church's salvation see such stumbling blocks, into what distress do you think they are driven? It would certainly be tempting to give up all care for the flock and grieve over their own situation and that of their people, saying: What a wasted effort — labors undertaken for nothing! Would it not be better to abandon the care of these people than to bring even greater condemnation and destruction upon them? Yet we see that the Lord did not therefore command the prophet to abandon his calling, even though his preaching was not only useless but actually destructive to this wretched people, since they were more and more blinded by it. We must therefore conclude that since Isaiah not only did not break off his calling but continued in it in submission to God's will, the same must be done by pastors of the gospel today — they must remain steadfast in their vocation. Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself teaches us that these same things must be fulfilled in our time, when in John 12:39 it is said that the Jews could not believe in Christ because the prophet Isaiah had formerly said: 'He has blinded their eyes' — so that this prophecy rightly looks forward to Christ. These things must be noted by us all the more carefully, because this passage is cited with full agreement by the four evangelists, and by the apostle Paul in two places, against the unbelieving Jews. From this we must learn that those who are stubborn and rebellious against God will at last be so punished that God, in avenging contempt of Himself, will sometimes take away His Word altogether — so that they are hardened all the more and the distinction between right and wrong is removed from them — or, if He still leaves His Word, it will only increase their condemnation and confusion. See with what punishments He avenges the unbelieving and ungrateful. God directs His Word to all people and by it invites everyone without exception to Himself — for the gospel rings throughout the whole world like a trumpet, declaring that God will be favorable to all who seek Him and accept the grace offered. But what an incredible numbness — what great ingratitude — is found in people! Some are barely concerned about so great a blessing, plodding along in a kind of animal-like dullness, trampling it underfoot. Others go further, rising up against God Himself with bold rage and pride. Still others even organize persecution against the heralds of truth — their defiance is such that they would destroy the truth by fire and sword if they could, and crush God Himself with their savagery, blotting out the memory of His name from the living. Then there are those who play both sides perfectly, wanting to sit on two chairs at once — openly boasting in God's name, yet driven by love of status and wealth, full of greed, hatred, and sexual immorality, while still wanting to be counted among the faithful. See how the grace of God is polluted and profaned — how the priceless treasure of God's Word is trampled underfoot. Shall we think God will leave such great contempt of Himself and such great insult unavenged? Not at all. And yet His goodness is so great, and He is so inclined to mercy, that He turns His eyes kindly upon wretched people prone to every wickedness, and sends His messengers to them to remind them of their duty. But if God labors through His servants in vain — if, as He formerly charged His people through the prophet, He rises early to rouse us and we remain indifferent and grow harder every day — then so great and so shameful a malice must be followed by severe and dreadful vengeance, and such great ingratitude must meet with serious punishment. If those punishments do not appear immediately, they are deferred, not removed. And even when present, they are often not felt — so great is the blindness of wretched mortals. This divine vengeance generally shows itself against people in two ways. Often God withdraws all knowledge of Himself from those who had previously been well taught in His sacred truths, so that they have neither the reading nor the preaching of God's Word and waste away like the starving — a famine of God's Word that we see has spread across the whole world. But sometimes God does send prophets into the world whose preaching strikes the ears of dull people — yet only for their greater confusion and condemnation. For the greater the testimonies of God's grace and goodwill toward them, the greater the condemnation when that grace is finally despised and rejected, and the more severe the judgment. To this is added the blinding and hardening that comes through God's Word — instead of the light it would otherwise have brought, and which it does bring to the obedient. This must not be attributed to the Word itself, by whose rays people were meant to be illuminated, but to their innate malice — just as the world is illuminated by the beneficial light of the sun, yet many with weak eyes find no help in its rays and are further harmed by them; the brighter the light, the more they are blinded, and they are forced to seek relief for their eyes in darkness or dimness. Since the doctrine of salvation has illuminated the whole world, we must take all the greater care not to be found guilty before God of rejecting so great a blessing — for an even greater blindness would be added to the first. Nor should this heavenly doctrine be heard only with the physical ears — it must be engraved upon our very souls, for the power of God's Word, as the apostle testifies, is like a two-edged sword that penetrates even to the division of soul and spirit. It must therefore be taken in with the ears of both body and soul, so that the darkness may be dispelled and we may truly see. What then will become of those wretched people who grow more deaf at the preaching of the Word? But God's judgments are just, in which He shows Himself as avenger — and yet how many testimonies of fatherly goodwill He also displays! Through the prophet He invites us to conversion and repentance, so that, being dissatisfied with ourselves, we may be reconciled to Him. He points out the fountain and source of our salvation and offers it through the preaching of the Word — namely, that recognizing our native corruption, we may all the more humbly accept the corrections given in His name, hate our sins more and more, turn to Him with our whole heart, and walk in the straight path of all virtues from which we had formerly strayed and fallen from His grace. If these things are done by us, there is certainly no reason to doubt that we will be restored to health. God says through the prophet that He does not want the reprobate to turn, lest they be healed — but the same God says He does not desire the death of the sinner, but rather that he turn from his ways. For His will toward the world is indeed favorable — yet in such a way that He detracts nothing from the severity of His judgments, by which He avenges the defiance of those who, having abused His goodwill and grace, have stored up a treasure of wrath and vengeance upon their own heads, so that blinded and hardened they may at last be given over to eternal punishment. The words of our text must therefore be carefully weighed, so that we do not deceive ourselves — namely, that God willed the sons of Eli to perish because they gave no place to their father's warning and rebuke. On the contrary, if we want this doctrine to be useful to us, we must not kick so hard against God that we provoke His wrath against us — by which, deleted from the number of His people, we would be thrust headlong toward destruction, and the food meant to nourish us would be turned into poison. This too must be observed: it will profit us little if our ears are struck again and again by warnings and exhortations while we persist in hardness of heart. We must therefore also pray to God — to whom it belongs to open ears and bend the heart — that He would accomplish this in us by the grace of His Spirit. By nature we carry hearts of stone, as the prophet says in Ezekiel 36:26 — but if to that natural hardness is added a willful and stubborn resistance to God as He warns, exhorts, and calls through His Word, our sin is all the more increased in us as we become harder every day, harder than iron and steel. We must therefore take the greatest care not to come to such madness, but to get out ahead of such vengeance — submitting ourselves gently to God and accepting His fatherly corrections, lest His gifts be turned into pestilence and ruin for us, and what was meant to nourish us instead brings destruction. This is why in Psalm 69:22-23 the prophet pronounces this imprecation against enemies: 'Let their table before them become a snare, and a stumbling block, and a retribution.' By the word 'table' the prophet encompasses everything that contributes to human benefit, whether physical or spiritual — and he hurls these curses against sworn enemies of our Lord Jesus Christ, against those who are rotting members of the body. For David, when he spoke these words, was a prophet of Christ Himself and bore His person and figure. Therefore, our point is confirmed not only from Isaiah's words — that God's Word is pestilent and deadly to those who despise it and resist God — but also by the testimony of the Holy Spirit speaking through David: that if we despise God's Word and remain defiant against our Lord Jesus Christ, a dreadful divine vengeance awaits us. If through our own fault we draw back from God, to whom we were summoned by His Word, the table — that is, every benefit of body and soul — will be turned into a snare for us, into stumbling blocks that carry us headlong to destruction, and finally into poison that tears us apart. Far be such foolishness from us! Let us not wait until we feel the Lord's avenging hand — let us go early to meet the just fury of God through true and sincere repentance, and conform ourselves to His will as revealed in His Word. And if we see those who were once well taught in the knowledge of God returning to their vomit and degenerating into something worse, let us recognize the vengeance of the just Judge upon their ingratitude — and being taught by their example, let us be wise, so that we do not catch their infection. That this happens all too frequently we see with painful regularity — people infected by the bad example of others as if by a contagion. But let us all the more diligently revere God's doctrine and value it as it deserves; let us sincerely submit ourselves to God; let us fear the severity of His judgments against the ungrateful and stubborn, and against those who depart from the way of salvation — so that we never turn aside even slightly from His paths or be driven off by any terrors. Then God may multiply His gifts in us, and if we have had some taste of His fatherly goodness toward us, we may be all the more confirmed in it and illuminated by the light of His Word, on which alone all our salvation depends. This is why Paul says he is equipped with the sword of the gospel to execute judgment against the stubborn and rebellious — teaching that this is the purpose of God's Word: to bring us into submission to God. Paul also testifies to this when he says he was sent by Christ and received his apostleship for the obedience of faith — by which people may learn to be subject to God and be kept in His fear. The aim of Paul's preaching was therefore not the blinding of people or the hardening of them in unbelief — and yet for many, this very preaching of the gospel had that outcome. For this reason the apostle in 2 Corinthians 2:15-16 calls it an odor of death to those who perish, and an odor of life to life to those who believe. And in Acts 28:25-27, Paul rebukes the unbelieving Jews with these words: 'Rightly did the Holy Spirit speak through Isaiah the prophet to your fathers, saying: Go to this people and say: You will keep on hearing, but will not understand; and you will keep on seeing, but will not perceive. For the heart of this people has become dull.' Let this suffice on this point of doctrine.

The account of God's decree concerning the death of Eli's sons is followed by another about Samuel — namely, that he grew and was pleasing both to God and to people — which serves as a transition to the dreadful desolation of the whole people that was coming from God, while God nevertheless reserved for Himself a seed, so that He might still fulfill His promises. What would have become of the wretched people if Samuel had not been raised up by the Lord — when, as we shall see later, Eli's sons were killed in battle, the ark of God was delivered into the hands of the enemy, and Eli himself, shattered by such terrible news, fell backward from his seat and died with a broken neck? What, I ask, would have become of the wretched people if God had not provided them in time with a priest by whom they might be governed and taught? From this we learn that God, while preparing just punishments for people and threatening them with ultimate destruction, nonetheless remembers mercy and makes room for it. He therefore always cared for this people and never left them without His favor — even though at first they did not see what kind of help God was preparing for them. They could not foresee what would become of Samuel, for he was still a boy consecrated to God's worship by parents who had made a vow. Who would ever have supposed that this boy would one day be the people's champion and defender — celebrated for so many great victories against the Philistines, the people's sworn enemies — skilled in counsel, and finally such a great and renowned prophet? He was the most celebrated of all the prophets since Moses, of whom even the prophets who came after him spoke with honor, right up to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

It could not be perceived that God was planning to liberate and defend His people, because the means by which He would accomplish this were unknown to human senses. But we are taught that God did indeed intend to punish His people and test them with various trials — yet not to destroy and wipe them out entirely, as we shall see later. The prophet Habakkuk therefore did not speak in vain when he said that God, in His anger, remembers His mercy — so that even when He seems ready to destroy everything from the foundations, He still preserves something for Himself by unknown and incomprehensible means, making room for His goodness and mercy even in the midst of His judgments, so that the severity of judgment is never so great that it is not somewhat softened by His goodness. But this benefit belongs properly to the church of God — the situation of the reprobate is different; their punishments are like those of a court summons, by which a day is set before the supreme Judge for them to face a far more grievous and severe judgment later. But when God corrects the sins of the church, He is certainly purging the stains of His own household — yet in such a way that, mindful of His promises, He always spares His people. These are the remnants of the church about which Paul speaks, explaining a passage from Isaiah in these words: 'Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: Even if the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, the remnant will be saved' — indicating that God, even while taking vengeance for the sins of the people, will preserve the remnants of His church for Himself. We must therefore take note that God, even while punishing people's sins so severely that it seems He is about to destroy everything with no remedy left, nonetheless moderates His wrath in such a way that we will one day find He has kept for Himself a remaining seed by means unknown and incomprehensible to us. This much concerning Samuel; but note also that he is said to have grown before God and people, so that some ray of hope might dawn on the faithful — so that when Eli's sons had sunk to such great wickedness, God would provide another through whom the pattern of His worship might be restored to its original beauty and purity. God therefore wished to give His people a foretaste of a coming change for the better, though they could not yet perceive it, since there was as yet no reason to expect that the people would one day be governed by Samuel.

What follows next is that a man of God — a prophet — came to Eli and said: 'Did I not clearly reveal Myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt, in the house of Pharaoh? And I chose him from all the tribes of Israel to be My priest, to go up to My altar, to burn incense for Me, and to wear the ephod before Me; and I gave to the house of your father all the sacrificial offerings of the children of Israel. Why then have you repaid Me like this for such great benefits — that My altar should be polluted by the wickedness of your sons and held in contempt and made a reproach among the Israelites? With what zeal and devotion have you guarded the purity of My worship? But you have honored your sons more than Me. Therefore I will bear it no longer — I will not put up with it — I will not leave such wickedness unpunished. Whoever honors Me I will glorify; whoever despises Me will be held in dishonor.'

The expression 'man of God' in Scripture refers specifically to the prophets — not that only prophets are men of God, since anyone who walks before God in integrity of worship and in His ways also belongs to that category and is counted among His servants and even His children; but the term is used in a special sense for the prophets, who have received a commission from the Lord to proclaim to the people. The expression therefore points not to the prophet's person, but to the office and dignity with which he has been entrusted — so that he may be received with honor and reverence, and his message may not be held in mockery but heard with fear and reverence, especially when he sets forth the warnings of the living God. As Isaiah says in Isaiah 66:2, God recognizes His own by this mark: they tremble at His words. When it is said, therefore, that a man of God came to Eli, this was not some ordinary member of the people, but a notable prophet sent by God, who would speak to the priest in God's name — so that God Himself seemed to speak to Eli through the prophet. Eli evidently recognized this, since he did not reply to such a threatening address but was completely silent. And rightly so, as it seemed at first glance. For the high priest represented our Lord Jesus Christ, and might have seemed entitled to turn away an ordinary man with a sharp rebuke — on the grounds that it was not fitting for a man of lower rank to address the high priest so boldly and to pronounce sentence against him as though acting as God's judge or representative. With such words Eli might have seemed justified in rejecting the man and defending his priestly dignity; but instead we see him giving glory to God by remaining completely silent. This makes clear that God, although He chose priests and elevated them to the highest honors of the priesthood, did not thereby make them little gods or idols, nor did He give them free rein to do whatever they pleased — but that even the highest dignitaries must be subject to God's Word, and that teachers themselves must lead others by the holiness and integrity of their lives. And if they will not do so willingly, they must — to their great shame and disgrace — be taught and corrected by others at God's command. Those in the highest positions of dignity must constantly meditate on this: there is no human dignity or power so great that it does not need to be subject to God's Word. Thus Jeremiah is said to be set over peoples and nations — not because he received earthly authority, but because God gave him such dignity and authority that even kings themselves ought to submit to it, and God wished him to be obeyed no less than anyone from the lowest class. In this sense those words must be understood in which the prophet is commanded to rebuke even the mountains and hills — that is, to rebuke those whom pride has driven to such madness that they wish to exempt themselves from all law and discipline — as though God commands the prophet to pursue and rebuke by name those who want to resist and oppose Him. This applies not only to those who govern public affairs, but also to those entrusted with the care of teaching the people, who must know God's truth so well that they lead others by the example of their lives, so that their corrections may have their proper effect when they begin with themselves. They must fear that if they act otherwise, they will bring upon themselves a heavier judgment from God and contempt from the people — even from the lowest among them. We often see it happen that when those entrusted with preaching God's Word give themselves to pleasures, they fall into such contempt that everyone points at them — and being given over by God to a corrupt mind, they are exposed to the mockery and jeers of people of every condition. But consider here, I beg you, the supreme wickedness and diabolical invention of the pope, who is not ashamed to claim publicly that the whole world is judged by him, but he himself by no one. See by what means he has tried to silence the prophets and cut off any ability to examine his tyranny! For if the matter stands this way, who would doubt that he could turn heaven and earth upside down without objection — a grip on tyranny he has maintained by these means for so many centuries? Then it would be lawful for him to do whatever he pleases, since he cannot be rebuked when he sins! He could profane God's majesty, overturn all divine and human law, mock all true religion, commit any wickedness, and destroy all decency. Why? Because this beast must be untouchable. But come — who raised the pope to the headship of the church, and by what title does he justify his position? He is far unlike Eli, who had received his priestly calling from the Lord. And yet God corrected that family which He Himself had called to the priestly office. But where shall we ever find evidence of the pope's divine calling? Therefore, if Eli — who bore the image of our Lord Jesus Christ and whose dignity was established by the law of Moses — was nonetheless corrected, what do we suppose will be the judgment upon one who claimed for himself an authority that was never owed to him? And even if his authority were legitimate, it would still need to be subject to God's Word. We have the well-known examples of the prophets, who spared neither kings nor any other rulers but rebuked them freely, even at great personal risk. Whatever those dangers may have been, God made it clear that no height of dignity is so great that it should not be submitted to His Word and to the divine majesty shining forth in it — and that no one, however distinguished in gifts, is immune from divine correction.

It remains for us to attend to the main points of that warning. First, the prophet confronts Eli with the divine benefits with which God had adorned him and his whole family. And in order to make God's generosity and goodness all the more striking, the prophet compares the priestly dignity Eli had received by divine grace with the condition of their ancestors in Egypt — enduring harsh slavery. God's practice of reminding people of His blessings toward them is not unique to this passage; you see it throughout all of Scripture, and not without reason. How many people, I ask, truly give thanks for the benefits they have received from God and use them for their proper purpose — namely, the glory of God's name and the good of their neighbors? You will scarcely find one in many thousands who does his duty in this regard — cultivating God's gifts with a grateful heart and honoring them within himself. Instead you see some puffed up by God's gifts, using them as an occasion to oppress their neighbors; others using them for self-indulgence, gluttony, excess, and similar abuses. But those who have received more gifts from God must remember that they are under greater obligations — that they must one day give an account to God for those gifts, and that the greater the resources and blessings with which God has enriched them, the more they are indebted to their neighbors. But ambition so blinds some that they look down on and despise those beneath them in wealth and status; and their own corruption so distorts others that they turn God's very gifts to evil. So those distinguished by spiritual gifts — who have attained considerable knowledge of the truth — often come to such foolishness that they make disciples for themselves, when they ought to have been pointing people to the Lord Jesus Christ. Similarly, you see the poor oppressed with various wrongs by the wealthy, and simpler people deceived by the schemes and tricks of those with sharper minds. In short, whoever looks carefully at the conduct of any mortal will find that few avoid abusing God's gifts and turning them to a contrary use — so that God does not reproach them without reason for their ingratitude whenever He prepares to exact punishment from those who have offended Him. The remainder will be deferred, God willing, to tomorrow.