Life Around "The Fire"
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Life Around "The Fire"
God's Word Remains Pure Even When Leaders Fail
What would it feel like to live in a world completely free from evil? Jesus offers us precisely this—a kingdom characterized by the total absence of evil and filled instead with righteousness, peace, and joy. This reality stands in stark contrast to the corrupt priesthood we encounter in 1 Samuel 2.
As we explore the story of Eli and his wicked sons, we discover a sobering picture of religious leadership gone wrong. These priests exploited their sacred positions for personal gain, treating holy offerings with contempt and creating a spiritually oppressive atmosphere. Their self-serving approach reveals what happens when leaders forget their true calling to serve rather than be served.
Yet even in this corrupt environment, young Samuel was being raised—a powerful reminder that God's Word remains pure even when delivered through spiritually compromised vessels. Like seed that stays clean despite contact with death, divine truth maintains its potency regardless of who delivers it.
The contrast couldn't be more striking: while Eli's sons schemed for personal advantage, Jesus demonstrated true leadership by washing his disciples' feet. One approach creates division and heaviness; the other fosters an atmosphere where love can flourish freely. This difference matters profoundly in our churches and communities today.
For those in leadership positions, this serves as a sobering warning against exploitation and self-interest. For those under corrupt spiritual authority, it raises important questions about when to confront, when to remain quietly faithful, and when departure might become necessary. Whatever your situation, remember that we're all called to citizenship in a kingdom where evil has no place—and living as representatives of that reality changes everything around us.
Join us in exploring how to create atmospheres free from evil that attract others through authentic love. Your journey toward holy living doesn't depend on perfect circumstances but on connection to a perfect God.
Loving Yeshua/Jesus, Loving people... Come as you are and you will be loved!
Feel free to check out our website by typing in lifearoundthefire.com or Life Around The Fire ... We think you'll find some beneficial stuff to look at and apply to your life.
Shalom to you and your home.
The amazing thing about Jesus is that in him, in his presence and in his kingdom, there is no evil. It's a complete absence of evil, a complete absence of evil in him, in his kingdom, in his presence. Now I want you to hold on to that thought, because we're going to be coming back to that, but we are right now in the early stages of taking a look into the book of 1 Samuel, and it is a book in the Old Testament that is rich with stories. In fact, that's probably one of, if not the primary, reason why I love it, along with 2 Samuel, along with 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles and 2 Chronicles, is that they are full of stories, some of the most famous stories that have ever been told. And we are now in the book of 1 Samuel, and again we've said that it takes a person about two and a half hours to read it out loud, to read it with feeling, and that really, you know it's not relative, it's a little bit of time, but it's relatively a short period of time to read it out loud. But in all reality, it took 100 years worth of living for that, this particular book, for that piece of history to be written 100 years. So, once again, not everything that we read is happening right away. You know, it could seem like that. So in our own lives, when things aren't happening right away, we can think it's not necessarily that way. There are years where things are sometimes barren, and it's in those times that God is actually at work, but the way it feels to us, those of us who live in the realm of time and space, is something's wrong. Hannah was barren for years before she gave birth to Samuel, and during that time she was taunted, she was mocked, she was ridiculed. It was really uncomfortable, to say the least. And so if you're experiencing things that are difficult, really don't be too hard on yourself, because sometimes it's in those times that things that take place after they're done are the most, or some of the more significant things that take place.
Speaker 1:So we're in chapter 2 of 1 Samuel, and we're at the point right now where we're going to be starting to look at Eli, and we're at the point right now where we're going to be starting to look at Eli. He's the priest, the head of the priesthood, the high priest in Shiloh, and he has two sons, hophni and Phinehas, and the whole crew is really not living a very upright life, they are living a rather self-serving life. They've taken the priesthood and turned it into kind of a profession where they can get rich on it. They take from the offerings and they line their own pocketbooks, so to speak. If they had pocketbooks right, they line their own pockets with the produce that should be given to God, and so there's a portion right now that we're going to be looking at.
Speaker 1:That's pretty significant in the sense that there is some evil going on and it's evil in the priesthood and it doesn't represent anything at all like the character and nature of God. God is holy, and holy in essence means absence of evil, set apart, set apart from evil. Evil does not exist in God, can't, can't. And so when evil exists in the priesthood and the priesthood is supposed to represent God, there's a real problem, and we see that taking place in many churches in America, in England, actually throughout the world, where there are people that are there in a position of leadership, that are there to do it because it's a profession, it's a job. They're as dead as dead can be spiritually, but they have found that it's a way to make money, because religion sells, just like sex sells. Religion sells. You can make money off of religion.
Speaker 1:And so in chapter 2, we left off in verse 11, where Elkanah went home to Ramah after he was in Shiloh and he left behind him Samuel. Hannah and Elkanah left their son, samuel, at the age of three to be reared in the house of the Lord in Shiloh. It was their offering to God to take their son and give him over to the priesthood. That's powerful. So we pick up the story in chapter 2 at verse 12. And the scripture says Eli's sons were wicked men. They had no regard for the Lord.
Speaker 1:Now, it was the practice of the priests with the people that whenever anyone offered a sacrifice, and while the meat was being boiled, the servant of the priest would come with a three frond pork in his hand. He would plunge it into the pan or kettle, cauldron or pot and the priest would take for himself whatever the fork brought up. This is how they treated all the Israelites who came to Shiloh. But even before the fat was burned, the servant of the priest would come and say to the man who was sacrificing give the priest some meat to roast. He won't accept boiled meat from you, but only raw. If the man said to him let the fat be burned first and then take whatever you want. The servant would then answer no, hand it over now. If you don't, I'll take it by force.
Speaker 1:This sin of the young men was very great in the Lord's sight, for they were treating the Lord's offering with contempt. But Samuel was ministering before the Lord, a boy wearing a linen ephod. Each year, his mother made him a little robe and took it to him. When she went up with her husband for the annual sacrifice, eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, saying may the Lord give you children by this woman to take the place of the one she prayed for and gave to the Lord. Then they would go home and the Lord was gracious to Hannah and she conceived, gave birth to three sons and two Verse 21.
Speaker 1:Let's rewind Right Eli's sons. They were Hophni and Phinehas. Eli's sons were wicked men, meaning they were evil. Remember I said that Jesus, our high priest, our high priest, he in his own self, as God, there is no evil. There is no evil in Jesus, there is no evil in his presence and there is no evil in his kingdom, and we are called to be citizens of his kingdom. We are born again by his spirit.
Speaker 1:When we believe in Jesus, when we place our faith in Jesus, we are transformed into a new creation. Our old nature is dead. It died with Christ on the cross. We are crucified with Christ, but nevertheless we live yet, not us, but Christ who lives within us, powerful, powerful transaction, covenant relationship. We become partakers of a divine nature. We are a new breed.
Speaker 1:So we live in a kingdom Check this out. We live in a kingdom where there is no evil, there is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit that makes up the kingdom of God. That's the air, the atmosphere. Where things are right, they're in right order, they're righteous, there's peace, there's shalom, all good things taken together. Where there is no lack and joy, where there's an undercurrent of just this, knowing that things are being taken care of and that there are no worries, zero, no worries and no evil.
Speaker 1:Because evil is a heavy thing. Evil divides, evil creates strife, envy, bitterness, jealousy, rage, sexual immorality, broken relationships, first and foremost with God, but also with each other. Evil. Evil is a heavy thing, the byproduct of evil, sin and death. When it is removed, when it is not just covered, but when it's cleansed, the feeling of that is so liberating initially. But we're not just called to live it initially, we're called to live it out.
Speaker 1:And that's what the high priests and the priests underneath the high priest, the Levites, the Levitical priesthood they were granted the place of receiving the anointing of the Spirit to live in that type of atmosphere and to project it in adherence to the law. But these priests, eli's sons, were wicked men. So the atmosphere was heavy, you get. So the atmosphere was heavy, you get it. The atmosphere was heavy and they had a practice of taking from the offerings that were offered to God and taking them for themselves. Eli had taken so much from the offerings that he was actually an obese man and gluttony in that day was really very, very, very egregious, in the sense that a person would eat and then vomit what they ate. They would gorge themselves, vomit and then eat some more so they could keep eating Gluttony. And Eli was an obese man because he would receive from the sacrifices along with Hophni and Phinehas. And we find out later that Hophni and Phinehas were having sex with the women that were at the entrance of the temple. So it was really a very dark atmosphere that Samuel was being raised in. Dark atmosphere that Samuel was being raised in.
Speaker 1:But there's a passage in Leviticus, chapter 11, interesting passage where it says if the seed to be sown has a dead body that touches it or falls on it, does it make the seed clean or unclean? And the answer is the seed remains clean even if a dead body falls on it. How is that relevant to this story? The seed represents the word of God. The living word of God is the seed of God and even if a dead body falls on it, even if a dead priest administers the word of God, the word of God remains pure, even if the people are evil. Samuel was raised in that environment where the people were evil, but the word of God was pure. Folks, some of you have people that are leading the fellowship that you're in and they are dead spiritually, but you can rejoice over the fact that the Word of God remains pure, even if it's delivered by a dead body.
Speaker 1:It might be boring, it might sound bland, it might sound empty, but at least it's the Word of God, the Scriptures, these people provide for us an example of what not to do. They provide for us an example of what evil looks like in leadership. Self-serving Jesus portrayed leadership when he took his robe, tied it around his waist and took up a towel and washed the feet of his disciples. A servant leader. Gave us an example. That's what leadership is Taking the place of a servant. Not self-serving, but serving others. That's what a true leader does. The best leaders are those who are the greatest servants.
Speaker 1:God has a unique way of taking that which looks weak and demonstrating the strength of his very nature. It looks weak, god looks strong because God is strong. One time I was asking the Lord why I just felt so weak, and he said to me David, if you stay close to me, you'll look like you're strong. We are dependent upon God. These individuals were self-serving and dependent upon their own devices, their own schemes. Their own schemes. Evil schemes things. Wisdom has a plan based upon the knowledge of God, the knowing of God. Evil schemes things schemes things.
Speaker 1:Connives, shrewd thievery, trickery, control. Also, there's a statement that just jumped out at me in verse 17,. The sin of the young men was very great in the sight of the Lord, for they were treating the Lord's offering with contempt. There's a statement that goes like this Over-familiarity breeds contempt. You become overly familiar with something. It's just like ah well, it's just an offering. They didn't treat it as An act of worship, they treat it as just another thing, kind of like Same old, same old. Here they come More meat. Okay, well, what can we do with the meat? You know what we can do with the meat. We can probably sell the meat. We can probably take some, eat some, sell some, why not? We probably take some, eat some, eat what we want, sell some, why not? They think it's going to God. It's just going up in smoke. Wow, overfamiliarity Becoming too overly familiar with God, the mighty God, god Almighty, hallelujah, holy, holy, holy is the Lord, god Almighty, who was and is and is to come.
Speaker 1:That is being declared around the throne of God as we speak, by seraphim cherubim, holy angels of God, making declaration of God's holiness, in essence saying you are set apart, there's no one like you and there is no evil in you. No evil, not a shred. We are heading toward a day where that's going to be eternally the way it is the day of the Lord. Time will be no more. We'll enter into an eternal dynamic, in the realm of God's kingdom, where there is no evil.
Speaker 1:Do you know how freeing that is? Do you know how light and free and just wonderful the air is how love is able to just function in it, free from lust, free from having to look over your shoulder, free from wondering what the motives are, free from having people think things. You see, even our thoughts are free from evil, or at least they can be. Actually, we can have our minds renewed so that we don't think evil things about other people or other things, we don't think wrong things. We actually dwell on things that are of a higher nature. We can demonstrate, we can live in an environment that is free from evil. In fact, that's what will be attractive. That's what is attractive when outsiders see an atmosphere that's free of evil.
Speaker 1:It's like what is that? Where love is in the midst of it and it's free of evil. You can feel it. You can feel it and you know what you feel sometimes the absence of something. You don't even realize how heavy it is until it's gone. You don't even realize how heavy it is until it's gone. But these people, these priests, they were perpetrating evil, they were keeping evil in the culture, and leadership is what leads the culture. If your leaders are evil, the culture is going to be heavy. The atmosphere is going to be heavy divisive, egotistical, maniacal megalomania, stuck on self, stuck on self. Freedom from that is the freedom to love and demonstrate things, to love one another, to lay down one's life for their brother, sister, friend, hallelujah, their brother, sister, friend, hallelujah. What a warning, what a warning.
Speaker 1:We find out later that Hophni, phineas and Hophni, phineas and Hophni reached the place where there was a critical mass and there was no turning back. Their number came up and they were going to be eliminated. You see, god doesn't play, because there's things that he has that are unfolding and they're going to unfold and we can either get on board, get out of the way or get run over, so to speak. Eli, hophni and Phinehas serve as a warning for leaders. Don't be like that. Repent, change your ways, change your mind, change, change, change and it's available. It's available and it's available. And if you are in a place where you have leaders like that, you need to take that issue to God and ask him what you should do. Stay and confront it, stay and be quiet, or be sent from there, or sometimes you just gotta leave.
Speaker 1:But we are called to be holy, just as God is holy, and we are called, in that respect, to be free from the effects of evil. Let's pray, father, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you that we don't have to do these things on our own. We can't, we can't perform this out. We can't just do something twice as hard and it's going to happen. Lord, you happen more. You know that. You know that.
Speaker 1:Thank you for empowering us by your Spirit, giving us the strength, the grace to be able to conquer these things that are evil and live in an atmosphere that's free from it. Holy Spirit, I ask that you would reveal the wisdom of the knowledge that you give to us concerning this very thing, so that we can have a plan to operate in a way that is not evil, that dispels evil from our midst, and we can function as citizens of the kingdom of God. Jesus, we honor you, we exalt you and we thank you for being our Savior and our Lord, and we submit ourselves to you and we stand here in your name and we say Amen. So be it, amen, all right, folks, we love you. We really do, and if you have any thoughts, questions, concerns, please feel free to drop us a line at lifearoundthefire, at gmailcom. That's our email address, or you can type in lifearoundthefire and look us up on the web. We would love to hear from you In the meantime. God bless you. Adios amigos.