1 Samuel 2:17

17 The sin of Eli's sons was a serious matter to the LORD, because these men were treating the offerings made to the LORD with contempt.

1 Samuel 2:17 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 2:17

Wherefore the sin of the young men was very great before the
Lord
That is, the sons of Eli; for they were the ringleaders who set these bad examples, which other priests followed, and therefore the sin is ascribed to them; and which was sadly aggravated by taking what was not their own, and by taking it in a forcible manner, and before the Lord had his part in the offering, and all this done in the tabernacle, in the presence of God; which plainly showed that they had not the fear of God before their eyes, nor any sense of his omniscience and omnipresence, any more than of his holiness and justice:

for men abhorred the offering of the Lord;
it was irksome and disagreeable to them to bring their sacrifices, when they saw the law of God was not attended to, and the rules of sacrificing were not observed; such contempt of God, such abuse of sacrifices, such injury done to the sacrificers, and such covetousness and sensuality in the priests, that it even set the people against sacrifices, and made them loath them, and neglect to bring them. And this aggravated the sin of the young men, though the sacrificers were not excused hereby, ( 1 Samuel 2:24 ) .

1 Samuel 2:17 In-Context

15 But [in the case of Eli's sons,] even before the people burned the fat, their servants would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, "Give the meat to the priest to roast. He doesn't want boiled meat from you. He wants it raw."

16 If the man said to the servant, "First let the fat be burned, then take as much as you want," the servant would say to him, "Give it to me now, or I'll take it by force."

17 The sin of Eli's sons was a serious matter to the LORD, because these men were treating the offerings made to the LORD with contempt.

18 Meanwhile, Samuel continued to serve in front of the LORD. As a boy he was [already] wearing a linen ephod.

19 His mother would make him a robe and bring it to him every year when she went with her husband to offer the annual sacrifice.