Not title but character.

Introduction: I am currently reading through some of my favorite books of the Bible. The books of 1 and 2 Samuel are about the necessity of having God as king. They are simultaneously about what happens to people when hirelings and false shepherds are at the helm. When there are godless leaders at the top of any organization, spiritual scorched earth will be the result.

When 1 Samuel opens, it begins by introducing several characters that embody the apostasy of some spiritual leaders. Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were two of those men. They had the title of priests (1 Samuel 1:3). But they were wicked to the core. And God would deal with them in short order. They had the titles of spiritual leaders, but their character was wanting. God put it plainly: “Now the sons of Eli were worthless men. They did not know the LORD” (1 Samuel 1:12).

Is that unclear? They were godless priests. They were unsaved men. They hated God. They just wanted the benefits of being priests, but their hearts were not in it. They were hirelings. And God was using them as examples of corruption to teach the people that we get the leadership we deserve. If we are a wicked people, we should not be surprised that many spiritual leaders are not any different.

And yet God still had his people. Amidst all the evil, noble people emerged. Hannah is one example. Samuel is another. And on and on it goes.

Hophni and Phinehas were killed when the Philistines defeated Israel: “And there was a very great slaughter, for thirty thousand foot soldiers of Israel fell. And the ark of God was captured, and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died” (1 Samuel 4:10b-11).

Encouragement: Titles don’t make the man, dear ones. What’s down in the well comes up in the bucket. Therefore, drink from wells of righteousness, and drink deeply. It’s not about titles but about character.