This text occurs at the time-believe it or not-of the life of Samson. God had instituted judges for Israel soon after the children of Israel possessed the Promised Land that God had promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. You may know the story of Samson, the strong man who had great strength and did wonderful feats of strength on behalf of the children of Israel. He sinned, and God permitted the Philistines to take him captive. They put out his eyes and made him a galley slave, grinding out the corn of the Philistines. Samson judged Israel at the end of Eli's tenure as High Priest.

Eli served as high priest over Israel. He had two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, who served with him as priests in the temple. This record gives an account of these two derelict sons. It will help us in the discovery and discern-ment of false prophets. Their lives, ministry, and deportment give indications of their true nature. This account of Eli and his two sons plus a few other complimentary references provide five different criteria by which we can discern failure in the spiritual leadership of the Church of Jesus Christ.

First, verse 12 describes a dearth of the knowledge of God. This word "knew" has two ways you can interpret it. One way expresses factual knowledge, e.g., book knowledge, understanding, or some kind of insight into a sub-ject. In this way, you can recite certain information about different matters so that you have acquired some de-gree of mental acuity, some level of intelligence about a subject. This knowledge comes by observation and re-flection, an intellectual knowledge. Then, you can say, "I know it."

That is one kind of knowledge. However, that does not define the kind of knowledge meant here by this word "knew." The word used here to describe the two sons of Eli, when it says they "Knew not God," depicts an in-timate, personal relationship, an intimacy of knowledge by experience, a fellowship together with someone else. It is described as knowing them.

The two sons of Eli did not know God in that fashion. They had no intimate, experiential knowledge of Him. They had no personal relationship with him. It did not exist. They did not know God. They may have known some facts about Him. Maybe they could recount the story of when God came down on the mount and spoke to Moses to whom He gave the law, or when He brought the Children of Israel out of Egypt, across the Red Sea, through the wilderness, and into the Promised Land. Perhaps they could even tell some things about God, but they did not know him. They did not experience a personal, intimate knowledge of Him. They did not truly wor-ship or obey God. They did not know Him.

This illustrates a concern of those men and women in positions of authority and leadership, recognized and touted as leaders in the Christian Church. They do not know God. Oh, they know about Him. They can describe facts about him. They can tell stories from the Bible. They have some level of knowledge about him. Sadly, they do not know Him.

The priorities and practices of their lives reveal it. They have no time to spend in prayer and intimate fellowship with God. These spiritual leaders, on average, spend five minutes a day in prayer, seeking God's face. Further, the content of their preaching and teaching as well as the absence of the unction of the Holy Spirit upon it con-firms their lack of knowledge of God. They do not know Him.

No one can convey what (s)he has not experienced. Neither can leaders guide others to a spiritual level they have not attained. Further, people who follow such leaders reflect them. No wonder the Church today experi-ences spiritual decline. As in the days of the sons of Eli so our day as well exhibits a dearth of the knowledge of God, an intimate fellowship relationship with the God Whom they say they serve.

Second, Eli's sons displayed disobedience to God's word in the manner of their sacrifices. These verses describe how they offered the sacrifices and treated those who brought them. They completely violated the manner pre-scribed for them as given to Moses by God. God stipulated the acceptable offerings, the sequence of the offer-ing, as well as the portion of the offering reserved for the priest after the completion of the sacrifice.

In violation of God's decree, Hophni and Phinehas demanded their portion prior to the sacrifice. Furthermore, after the completion of the sacrifice, they stole additional parts of the offering for themselves, in disobedience to God's law. They had utter disregard for the law of God as well as those who came with their offerings. They dishonored the sacrifices and failed in their responsibilities before God. They failed to view and value the sacri-fices as God did. Eli's sons viewed them as an opportunity to satisfy their fleshly desires with gratification of luxury.

Sadly, a similar attitude of entitlement exists among many church leaders today. They claim they deserve spe-cial treatment because of their positions. They demand lives of luxury. They require high incomes and spend church funds on all manner of expensive, exotic vehicles and homes of thousands of square feet in size. They dress opulently beyond necessity. To justify their largess, they claim a special authority and anointing for them to indulge their fleshly desires.