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?
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)
- Eli, a priest at Shiloh had two sons namely Hophni and Phinehas.
- The sons were worthless and had no regard for the Lord.
- They sinned against God by treating His sacrifice with contempt.
- They took raw meat instead of boiled meat as prescribed by law.
- In addition they took a greater portion of the meat than they were supposed to take.
- They had affair with the women who served at the entrance of the tent of meeting where the Ark of God was kept.
- Eli heard about the bad things his sons were doing and cautioned them but they did not listen.
- A prophet prophesied doom on Eli’s family due to his children’s behaviour.
- 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)
- God sent the Philistines to defeat the Israelites.
- About 3,000 Israelites died in the war.
- Hophni and Phinehas, the sons of Eli were among those killed.
- The Ark of the Lord was also captured by the Philistines.
- When Eli heard that the Ark of the Lord was captured, he fell backward, broke his neck and died.
- When Phinehas’ wife heard about the death of her husband and the capture of the ark of the Lord, she gave birth prematurely.
- The child was named Ichabod which means “the glory has departed from Israel”.
- Thus, the priestly position of Eli was taken away from the family.
C. LESSONS THAT CAN BE LEARNT FROM ELI’S PARENTING
- Parents should take time to teach their children the word of God.
- Parents should inculcate in their children the fear of God.
- Disobedience to God’s commandment could lead to adverse consequences.
- There is the need to heed the warning of men of God like prophets.
- Parents should train children/ wards to acquire good moral values/ they should be role models.
- Parents should be stern on children/ wards who go wayward/ they should not be afraid to reprimand their children/ wards.
- They should have interest in the affairs of their children/wards/guide them.
- They should reward and encourage good behaviours.
- Parents should be good friends of their children/wards.