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I want to grow as a leader, and I want to help others grow. Sharing my thoughts on leadership is intended to help us grow together into all God wants for us. I hope you enjoy my blog.

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Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Compromise - Eli

Eli was the priest in Shiloh at the time of Samuel's birth.  We are told about the wickedness of Eli's sons, Hophni and Phinehas.  The Old Testament law was that when sacrifices were offered, the fat was to be burned first, before the meat was eaten.  However, these sons did not respect the offering, and would demand the meat while it was raw, and threatened to take it by force if it wasn't given to them.  They also would lay with the women at the door of the tabernacle.  They did not listen to their father Eli when he corrected them.  But Eli was compromising along with his sons.  In 1 Sam. 2:29 the Lord said to Eli, "Why do you kick at My sacrifice and My offering which I have commanded in My dwelling place, and honor your sons more than Me, to make yourselves fat with the best of all the offerings of Israel My people?"  Eli was compromising with God, in order to honor his sons.  He did not want to lose the relationship with his sons, so he compromised his relationship with God.  By doing this, he lost God's blessing on his life.  Israel came under attack from the Philistines, and they lost the battle, and Hophni and Phinehas were killed in the battle.  When the news of the battle came to Eli, he fell backwards off his seat, and broke his neck and died.  Then Phinehas' wife heard the news, and she went into labor, and died after the child was born, which she named Ichabod, which means "the glory has departed from Israel."  Eli's compromise was very costly for Israel.  Because he did not put God first, but allowed compromise into his life, his family, and his nation suffered greatly, and came into captivity to their enemy.  Compromising our relationship with God for other people will always bring bad results in our lives.  We can learn a lesson from Eli - Do not compromise with God.

How can I stop compromise from becoming part of my life?     

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