Christian Religious Studies Paper 2 WASSCE for private candidates 2019

 

Question 4

 

(a)  Explain how Eli failed as a parent. Narrate how the activities of this new king affected the Israelites
(b)   In what three ways did Israel suffer as a result of Eli’s parental irresponsibility?

(c)   state three lessons that can be learnt from Eli’s parenting

Observation

This was a popular question as many candidates were attracted to it and they performed greatly in all three parts. Those who attempted it showed a good mastery of this passage and their performance was above average. The major challenge identified is that some candidates mixed up the points of A and B together since the questions complemented each other. A detailed expectation of how candidates were expected to tackle the question is highlighted below;


A. HOW ELI FAILED AS A PARENT (I SAMUEL 2:12-36)

  1. Eli, a priest at Shiloh had two sons namely Hophni and Phinehas.
  2. The sons were worthless and had no regard for the Lord.
  3. They sinned against God by treating His sacrifice with contempt.
  4. They took raw meat instead of boiled meat as prescribed by law.
  5. In addition they took a greater portion of the meat than they were supposed to take.
  6. They had affair with the women who served at the entrance of the tent of meeting where the Ark of God was kept.
  7. Eli heard about the bad things his sons were doing and cautioned them but they did not listen.
  8. A prophet prophesied doom on Eli’s family due to his children’s behaviour.
  9. Even when God confirmed the prophecy through Samuel, “Eli said it is the Lord, let Him do what seems good to Him’’.

Points expected of candidates in the B part includse;


B. HOW ISRAEL SUFFERED AS A RESULT OF ELI’S PARENTAL IRRESPONSIBILITY. (1 SAMUEL 4:10-22)

  1. God sent the Philistines to defeat the Israelites.
  2. About 3,000 Israelites died in the war.
  3. Hophni and Phinehas, the sons of Eli were among those killed.
  4. The Ark of the Lord was also captured by the Philistines.
  5. When Eli heard that the Ark of the Lord was captured, he fell backward, broke his neck and died.
  6. When Phinehas’ wife heard about the death of her husband and the capture of the ark of the Lord, she gave birth prematurely.
  7. The child was named Ichabod which means “the glory has departed from Israel”.
  8. Thus, the priestly position of Eli was taken away from the family.

C. LESSONS THAT CAN BE LEARNT FROM ELI’S PARENTING

  1. Parents should take time to teach their children the word of God.
  2. Parents should inculcate in their children the fear of God.
  3. Disobedience to God’s commandment could lead to adverse consequences.
  4. There is the need to heed the warning of men of God like prophets.
  5. Parents should train children/ wards to acquire good moral values/ they should be role models.
  6. Parents should be stern on children/ wards who go wayward/ they should not be afraid to reprimand their children/ wards.
  7. They should have interest in the affairs of their children/wards/guide them.
  8. They should reward and encourage good behaviours.
  9. Parents should be good friends of their children/wards.