A fearful message.

The anonymous prophet who told of the fall of the House of Eli.

In the historical books 1 and 2 Samuel, and 1 and 2 Kings, we find accounts of unnamed prophets who are individually referred to as ‘a man of God’ (cf 1 Kings 13:1; 2 Kings 6:9) who suddenly appear to speak powerfully to rulers.

During the time of the Philistine wars prior to the monarchy one such ’man of God’ appeared and prophesied against Eli and his generations (1 Sam 2:27), that the strength of the family would be broken, that none of his descendants would live to an old age and that the line would be displaced from the priestly leadership and reduced to poverty.

The account of Eli and his house is related in the first four chapters of 1 Samuel. Eli is suddenly introduced and his story provides a backcloth for the Samuel cycle, the end of the period of the Judges and the end of the sanctuary at Shiloh, anticipating the decline of the Eliad line of priests in favour of the Zadokites (1 Kings 2:26).

Eli functioned as ‘the priest’ by which we may assume he was the high priest, if such a term is correct at this time, at the ’house of the Lord’ in Shiloh, some 20 miles north of Jerusalem, where the tabernacle containing the ark and possibly some ancillary structures were present (1 Sam 3, 7, 9).

Use of the term hekal (temple) does imply that there was something more of a permanent structure, that at least had door posts and a door. Eli and his sons are introduced without genealogy or indication of how they came to hold their position in opposition to the line of Ele’ezer (1 Chron 6:4-15). It would seem that the family were descended from Aaron through Ithmar, his youngest son (1 Kings 2:27 cf. 1 Chron 14:3). The tradition that they had seized the priesthood from Uzzi is considered to be a later Samaritan invention.

A ‘man of God’ appeared and prophesied against Eli and his generations, that the family strength would be broken and the line displaced from priestly leadership.

Eli’s Leadership

Eli had led Israel (‘judged’, KJV) for 40 years and at the time of the visit of the unnamed prophet he is described as being aged, blind and heavy in his body. How long his degenerate sons Hophni and Phinehas had been the main functionaries is not made clear.

The sons' behaviour, which included sexual misconduct with female attendants who served at the entrance (cf. Ex 38:8) and abuse of the sacrificial system, including violent actions by third parties on their behalf, showed not only disregard of the prescribed behaviour of a priest, and misappropriation of parts of the sacrifice that they would not be entitled to (Lev 7:34), but also utter contempt for the Lord whom they were supposed to be serving.

Eli it seems had attempted to rebuke them for their conduct but with little or no effect. He should have disciplined them, or removed them from the priesthood altogether. It is all too easy to let your children run amok because you are afraid of the consequences of correction or simply intimidated. The message of the prophet concerning the decline of the house of Eli and its subsequent confirmation by the child Samuel found fulfilment in the deaths of Eli’s sons on the same day (1 Sam 4:11) and the slaughter of the priests at Nob (1 Sam 12:9-20):

I will carry out against Eli everything I spoke against his family — from beginning to end. For I told him that I would judge his family forever because of the sin he knew about; his sons blasphemed God, and he failed to restrain them. Therefore I swore to the house of Eli, ‘The guilt of Eli's house will never be atoned for by sacrifice or offering.’ (1 Sam 3:12-14)

Eli’s sons’ behaviour showed disregard of the prescribed behaviour of a priest and utter contempt for the Lord, whom they were supposed to be serving.

Weak Leadership

The emphasis in the introductory passage is that ‘he knew’ and ‘he failed to restrain them'. A second tension was that Eli appeared to have had little faith that any intercession could be made for them, and chose to bury his head in the sand (1 Sam 2:25).

Hophni and Phinehas. See Photo Credits.The message of the prophet sounds a warning today to church leadership and particularly those in leadership of groups of churches and denominations. Paul writing to Timothy describes a time of great stress in the last days and lists characteristics that resemble the behaviour of Hophni and Phinehas, which included being lovers of themselves, abusive and disobedient to their parents (2 Tim 4:1).

In the West we largely live in an orphan society where fatherhood has not been exercised in the home and leadership within the church has lost its fathering role. Fatherhood in leadership is an expression of the Fatherhood of God and as such contains the elements of correction and discipline. If one is not disciplined by one’s father one is not a son and therefore, functionally is illegitimate (Heb 12:8).

Part of the decline of the Church as an effective witness and weakness in its discipling programmes has been caused directly by what may be termed the ‘Eli effect’ of taking lines of least resistance, confronting weakness and tolerating deviant behaviour or simply ignoring problems and hoping that they will go away. The problem is that the issues left unchallenged seldom depart and if they do depart they take root elsewhere. Transferring the tension to another is not a godly solution.

Major denominations and groups that have tolerated deviant teachings and behaviour have weakened the Church from within. There has been an insidious move away from Bible teaching to a pattern that is founded in psychology and first line management that has eroded the essential character of the Church as a protector of the apostolic faith and a moral influence upon society.

Part of the decline of the Church’s witness has been caused by the ‘Eli effect’: taking lines of least resistance, tolerating deviant behaviour or simply ignoring problems and hoping that they will go away.

Take These Words to Heart

In a similar manner, weak leadership caused by a fear of confrontation and a move away from strong leadership to local consensus have undermined the responsibilities, direction and effectiveness of Church leadership. We have failed to present a fatherly [not paternalistic] model based upon the Fatherhood of God.

If leaders do not keep their house in order, albeit through fear of the face of man, misguided loyalties or fear of personal rejection, internal division and party spirit, the accusation that came through the prophet remains — “why do you honour your sons more than me?”

A similar accusation resonates against the church in Thyatira (Rev 2:20) with the words “I have this against you...you allowed…”, in this case allowing false prophecy, sexual misconduct and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. It is important to remember that to maintain silence in the face of deviant behaviour or teaching is to tacitly approve of it.

The story also demonstrates that when the fear of the Lord is absent in the leadership it percolates downwards. The emphasis moves away from essential trust in God to reliance being put on artefacts (e.g. the ark — 1 Sam 4:4), institutions (e.g. the Temple - Jer 7:3) or individuals.

It is important to remember that to maintain silence in the face of deviant behaviour or teaching is to tacitly approve of it.

In the modern era it is tragic to see members of the Church following individuals in order to ‘hear a word from the Lord’ or in the belief that their own church, group or denomination have little or nothing to offer. The star status accorded to some speakers has gone a long way to undermining some individuals’ faith when some of the so-called celebrities have been shown to be all too human.

The leaders after suffering a defeat on the battlefield assumed that the mere presence of the ark of the covenant would assure them victory against the Philistines (1 Sam 4:4). The result was that in fulfilment of the prophecy, Eli's two sons were killed at the battle of Aphek (1 Sam 4:11). Upon hearing the news Eli fell off his chair and broke his neck, resulting in his own death. Archaeological evidence indicates that the sanctuary at Shiloh was destroyed at this time and the priesthood moved to Nob.

In conclusion the words which the prophet spoke to Eli should be taken to heart. “I respect those who respect me but those who despise me will meet with contempt” (1 Sam 2:30, CJB).

Originally published in Prophecy Today, 1999, Vol 15(4).

The heart of God: Dr John Garvey considers the prophetic psalms of David.

King David does not often appear on the list of Israel’s prophets. But Peter certainly regarded him as a prophet (see Acts 2:30). In fact, there are more quotations in the New Testament from the psalms which are attributed to David than from any of the other prophets, with the exception of Isaiah.

Not only was David a prophet – he was the head of a school of prophets. In 1 Chronicles 25:1 we see that David set aside “some of the sons of Asaph, Heman and Jeduthun for the ministry of prophesying, accompanied by harps, lyres and cymbals.” All the men of this hereditary guild of prophets were under the supervision of their fathers, and the fathers were under the supervision of the king himself. “The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets” (1 Cor 14:32) indicates that it was not only as their king, but as their senior prophet, that David was overseer of their ministry.

We can read the work of some of these men in the Book of Psalms, and this is also the place where we find David’s prophecy. The style and content of his words are very different from the other prophets. This is because the psalms were written as songs for temple worship, and not mainly for teaching or exhortation. What we know of David’s gifting agrees with this – he was a poet, not a preacher.

A Prophet and a King

But how did David become a prophet? We are used to prophets who confront kings, not kings who preside over prophets! We are not told directly of his call, but it seems likely that the start of his ministry coincided with his anointing by Samuel as king, when “the Spirit of the Lord came upon David in power” (1 Sam 16:13).

The cosy idea we sometimes have of the shepherd-boy David writing psalms whilst tending his sheep is unlikely. In the NIV, there are a few psalm headings which may suggest that they were written before David began his reign (for example Ps 34), but he had already been anointed as king. He may have been a poet and musician from his youth, but it took the anointing of the Spirit to make him a mouthpiece for God.

Not only was David a prophet, he was the head of a school of prophets.

However, anointed kingship alone did not make him a prophet either. Of the kings who were descended from him, only his son Solomon was a prophet, and though Solomon wrote many proverbs he only wrote one psalm. What was so special about David? To answer that, we must look at the content of his prophecy.

It could be argued that every psalm is prophetic, because all were inspired by the Spirit and included in the canon of Scripture. But it will be more useful here to distinguish ‘prayer’ from ‘prophecy’ and look at those parts of David’s psalms which specifically declare God’s will and foretell his future acts. If we do this, we find that David’s prophecy has two particular emphases.

Prophetic Themes

His first theme is the righteous and the wicked, viewed as a king would view them; as the righteous who need to be encouraged, and the wicked who need to be disclosed and weeded out of the kingdom if the king is to rule well. Examples of this are Psalm 5:9-10 (quoted in Rom 3:13), where David calls on God to banish the wicked; and Psalm 12:5 – God’s own oracle to a discouraged king declaring that he himself will protect the weak and needy from those who malign them.

His second theme is the king himself, and in particular the descendant whom God promised would inherit his throne forever. God had made this promise to David by the Prophet Nathan: “I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever” (2 Sam 7:12-13). This is the promise, or covenant, on which depends the whole concept of Jesus as the Messiah, or Anointed One.

David may have been a poet and musician from his youth, but it took the anointing of the Spirit to make him a mouthpiece for God.

In Acts 2:30-31, Peter said that David was a prophet and “knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. Seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to the grave, nor did his body see decay.” This refers to Psalm 16:8-11, which Peter had already quoted to the Pentecost crowd.

The apostle presents a picture of David as trusting fully in God's promise and being enabled by the Spirit to see something of how it would be fulfilled in Jesus. How far he understood what he was seeing, and how far it was unconscious, we perhaps cannot know.

King of Kings

Some psalms, like Psalm 110, seem to have been written for use on royal ceremonial occasions, such as a coronation. That is, they concern David himself and the later kings as well. And yet, they include things which could never apply personally to any human king, as Jesus himself pointed out (Matt 22:41-46). In Psalm 110 David calls the king “my Lord” (v1) and “a priest for ever” (v4).

Other psalms, like Psalm 22, were personal prayers which, in the light of the events of Jesus’ life, astound us with their accurate prediction of his sufferings. It is almost as if David himself, half consciously and half unconsciously, were living out the life of the coming messianic king.

This is perhaps the best way to look at David's prophetic gift. Unlike the other prophets, he was not just a chosen watchman, but himself a central figure in God's salvation plan. He was the first of the royal line that would lead to Jesus. He was a ’type’ of Christ, just as the Passover was a ‘type’ of his Passion and the temple a ‘type’ of his Church.

Like King Jesus, King David rescued his people from their enemies, ruled them with justice and compassion, and led them in their worship of God. His victories foreshadowed Christ’s victory. His sufferings exemplified those of the one who was to come. Israel looked back at the golden age of David as a model of the eternal reign of ‘David’s greater Son’.

David was not just a chosen watchman, but himself a central figure in God’s salvation plan.

Understanding the Heart of Christ

No man before David ever understood better the mind and heart of Jesus. The very nature of his role as Israel's archetypal king, a “man after God's own heart”, led to so many comparisons with the life of his promised successor. Then again, God's providence created more parallels, such as his persecution by evil men and his betrayal by close friends. We see these reflected in David's prayers, prayers from the depths of a godly heart. If we add to that a spirit guided by prophetic insight to see what his descendant’s reign would bring, then we can see that David’s prophecy gives us a unique view of our Lord.

We might almost say that if you want to know what Jesus has done, you must read the Gospels; but if you want to understand his heart, you must read the Psalms. This, above all, is David's prophetic word to the people of God today.

What did the prophets do at a time when the nation had deserted God, "everyone did was right in his own eyes" and the church of the day had embraced the culture of the world?

The situation in Israel during the period of the Judges is summed up in the scriptural verdict, "Everyone did what was right in his own eyes." It was a time when standards of behaviour fell far short of what the law of God demanded, a time when Israel deserted the one true God for the gods of the heathen.

Towards the end of that period the wicked sons of the ageing high priest Eli exhibited their grabbing materialism and compromised their religious commitment by having intercourse with the female Temple workers. Eli's feeble protests against all this wrongdoing were totally ignored (1 Sam 2:22-25).

This was the time when God raised up Samuel to deal with Israel's moral degeneracy. Described by one writer as 'God's emergency man', Samuel combined within himself the three offices of judge, priest and prophet, and through these offices he transformed the situation in Israel.

During the period of the Judges, everyone did what was right in his own eyes and Israel deserted God, so God raised up Samuel to deal with the situation.

Samuel and the Prophetic Schools

Probably it was through Samuel that the 'schools of the prophets' came into existence at this time. Here, young men could help to call a halt to the national degeneration as they were instructed in the law of God and taught the message and practice of prophecy. From this time, around 1050 BC, right down to the time of Nehemiah c.445 BC, there is evidence in Scripture of prophets meeting and ministering together.

No-one can estimate the influence such groups of studious religious men had on the history of Israel, but we can see - at a time when Britain is turning against God's moral standards and is forsaking the one true God in a morass of syncretism - how much we need 'schools of prophets' today, where men and women can study the word and ways of our God and learn how to speak his life-changing words where they most need to be heard.

The 'Sons of the Prophets' and their Lifestyle

The Old Testament indicates that there were prophetic guilds or 'schools of the prophets' at a number of places, including Gibeah, the home-town of Saul, sometimes called the hill of God or the hill of Saul (1 Sam 10:5; Gibeah means 'hill').

There were companies of prophets at Bethel and Jericho (2 Ki 2:3,5) and probably also at the Jordan (2 Ki 2:7 and 6:1). There were others at Gilgal and in the hill country of Ephraim (2 Ki 4:38 and 5:22). One of the most important was at Ramah, Samuel's home-town, where he presided (1 Sam 19:18-24). Some scholars take the word 'Naioth' as a place-name. It is more likely to be the name given to the school of the prophets in Ramah. Naioth, which means a dwelling or residence, comes from a root word meaning 'to rest', as at home; a lovely thought!

There were prophetic guilds or schools in a number of places, including Bethel, Jericho and Samuel's home-town of Ramah.

The prophets living in their school buildings were called the 'sons' of the prophets, and they referred to their leaders as 'my father' (2 Ki 2:12 and 13:14). It is likely that they wore a prophet's garb, with a garment of hair, a leather belt and sandals (2 Ki 1:8, Is 20:2, Zech 13:4). They were self-supporting, a feature that persisted down the years to and beyond Paul's tent-making. They were not celibate, as we see by the mention of a widow of one of the prophets (this woman brought her problem to Elisha when she ran into financial difficulties after the death of her husband, one of the prophets, in 2 Ki 4:1-7).

They erected the buildings in which they were to live. One such school was bursting at the seams and needed an extension. Elisha approved of this, and helpfully recovered an axe-head used by one of the men so that their log-cabin could be enlarged (2 Ki 6:1-7).

It would appear that there were up to a hundred people at some of these schools (2 Ki 4:43). They were self-catering, and during a time of famine went round the fields to gather what herbs they could find. Unhappily, on one occasion they brought back a poisonous gourd, and only the intervention of Elisha (manifesting the saving power of God) prevented serious after-effects (2 Ki 4:38-41).

The prophets lived in school buildings and were self-supporting, erecting their own buildings and gathering their own food .

One day Elisha received a complaint from the Jericho school to the effect that the water was bad and the land was unproductive. Elisha threw salt into the spring and "the water has remained wholesome to this day". Some of the PWM Team who were in once in Israel can testify that that claim is still true, for we sampled its water and enjoyed its oranges! This was possible only because Elisha's spring still flows sweetly today (2 Ki 2:19-22).

Their Education

In these schools such figures as Samuel, Elijah and Elisha would share the things they had learned about God's dealings with men. They would recount the story of God's protective guidance to Israel. They would explain the reasons for the sad experience concerning the high priest Eli and his perverted sons. They would pass on their knowledge of God's law and the blessedness of obedience (1 Sam 15:22-23).

In helping their trainees to face current situations they would at times need to pray, "Lord, open his eyes that he may see" (2 Ki 6:17). They would learn how to listen to God and how to begin to prophesy.

As a background to these activities the leaders would draw their attention to the state of affairs in their country and in the home life of its people. They would realise that God's message is conveyed in two principal ways: by prophetic words and by mighty deeds, the two being bound indissolubly together (Heb 11:32-35).

Their Ministry

These were assistants to leaders such as Elijah and Elisha. Apart from a few instances (1 Ki 18:43-44, 2 Ki 5:20 and 6:15-17) most of their names are not recorded. They were sent as messengers (2 Ki 9:1-3). They were concerned with the welfare of people in need (2 Ki 8:1-6). Kings and people alike turned to them for guidance (1 Sam 9:7-8, 1 Ki 22:27). It appears that some of them developed a predictive ability (2 Ki 2: 3, 5).

In the schools, trainees would learn how to pray and prophesy, and would learn to understand the state of affairs in the country at large.

Undoubtedly some of them rose to become prophets whose pronouncements are familiar to us in the Old Testament. Amos appears to be an exception, for he says of himself, "I was neither a prophet nor a prophet's son..." (Amos 7:14), indicating that he had not been to any of the schools of the prophets.

The 'Sons of the Prophets' and the Spirit

The Spirit had come upon individuals such as Othniel, Gideon, Jephthah and Samson (Jud 3:10, 6:34, 11:29 and 13:25), but it was at the schools of the prophets that the first corporate stirrings of the Spirit came down upon the seventy elders during the time of Moses (Num 11:24-29).

The students at the school of the prophets in Jericho were concerned to receive confirmation that Elisha was the God-appointed successor to Elijah. They did not wait in vain, for as Elijah ascended to heaven his cloak fell upon his protege; and when Elisha struck the water with it and cried, "Where now is the God of Elijah?", the waters of the Jordan divided. This miracle confirmed to the prophets that he was their new leader and that the same fullness of the Spirit was now to be manifest through him (2 Ki 2:11-15).

The truth on which the schools of the prophets were established is this: no-one can prophesy unless the Spirit has come upon him (1 Sam 10:6 and 19:20-23). Even a false prophet recognised that men can prophesy only when the Spirit comes upon them (1 Ki 22:24).

The schools of the prophets were established on this truth: no-one can prophesy unless the Spirit has come upon them.

Their Music

As was still true a thousand years later, the coming of the Holy Spirit on the sons of the prophets caused them to break forth into sacred music and praise (1 Sam 10:5 and Eph 5:18-19). They did not restrict their praise just to within the four walls of their seminaries, but organised 'praise marches'. Taking with them an assortment of musical instruments, they went out into the open air, prophesying with inspired praise. What they sang and played was given to them spontaneously as they marched along.

By the time of King David the prophets, divided into music guilds, were responsible for the leading of praise and worship. "Some of the sons of Asaph, Heman and Jeduthun [were set apart] for the ministry of prophesying accompanied by harps, lyres and cymbals" (1 Chron 25:1). Two hundred and fifty years later, after Hezekiah had purified it, "He stationed the Levites in the Temple of the Lord with cymbals, harps and lyres in the way prescribed by David and Gad the king's seer and Nathan the prophet; this was commanded by the Lord through his prophets" (2 Chron 29:25).

We must not make the mistake of imagining this singing arising from choirs commanding only small forces. Towards the end of David's reign he went on record as saying, "Four thousand are to praise the Lord with musical instruments I have provided for that purpose" (1 Chron 23:5).

Their Archives

When we study the historical books of the Old Testament we come across references to books that were written by the prophets. These were the result of careful recording of events by contemporaries and have been quoted by the writers of our Old Testament. We read of "the records of Nathan the prophet...the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite...the visions of Iddo the seer", also "the records of Shemaiah the prophet" and "the records of Samuel the seer...and the records of Gad the seer" (2 Chron 9:29, 12:15 and 1 Chron 29:29).

We are indebted to the 'schools of the prophets' for housing and protecting these records, also for adding to their collection by making contemporary records of the events of their day. Clearly it was a work of the Holy Spirit that moved them to archive this material for the benefit of others.

As was still true a thousand years later, the coming of the Holy Spirit on the sons of the prophets caused them to break forth into sacred music and praise.

Their Duration

There can be no doubt about the importance of these schools in the purposes of God, but we cannot be certain how long they continued. We know that they came into being, probably as we saw earlier under the influence of the prophet Samuel, around 1000 BC. They continued during the reign of David and most likely merged into the guilds that he instituted, especially the guild of prophetic musicians.

However, by the time of Amos (779-743 BC), under the leadership of Elijah and followed by that of Elisha, we find that they were still flourishing as centres of religious training and devotion. Some would claim that they continued throughout the period of the monarchy. The reference in Isaiah 8:16 suggests that there was a group of disciples associated with the prophet in his day, around 740 BC, but it is difficult to prove that schools continued as centres of worship, study, corporate life and proclamation after that time.

Living as we do at a time when prophecy has been ignored or devalued, it is surely time that provision be made for men and women filled with the Spirit to once more come together to study, to practice and to learn how to manifest prophecy and the other gifts of the Spirit.

First Published in Prophecy Today, Vol 5 No 5, September/October 1989.