1 Samuel 2:17

17 That sin of Eli's sons was very great in the LORD's sight. That's because they were making fun of his offering.

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 Even before the fat was burned, the servant of the priest would come over. He would speak to the man who was offering the sacrifice. He would say, "Give the priest some meat to cook. He won't accept boiled meat from you. All he'll accept is raw meat."

16 Sometimes the man would say to him, "Let the fat be burned up first. Then take what you want." But the servant would answer, "No. Hand it over right now. If you don't, I'll take it away from you by force."

17 That sin of Eli's sons was very great in the LORD's sight. That's because they were making fun of his offering.

18 But the boy Samuel served the Lord. He wore a sacred linen apron.

19 Each year his mother made him a little robe. She took it to him when she went up to Shiloh with her husband. She did it when her husband went to offer the yearly sacrifice.