Bible in 90 Days – Day 20 – 1 Samuel 3-15
A prophet to Eli, the priest, declaring God’s word:
“And I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who shall do according to what is in my heart and in my mind. And I will build him a sure house, and he shall go in and out before my anointed forever.” 1 Samuel 2:35 ESV
By John Singleton Copley, Public Domain, Link
A prophet approaches the fat, lazy, abdicating, priest Eli, whose out-of-control sons have desecrated the priesthood. He declares the word of the Lord to Eli: “You’re done. Your faithlessness got you fired.” The prophet sees past the human lineage of flawed priests to The Faithful Priest who “will go in and out before God’s chosen/anointed/Messiah forever.” A similar promise is coming about an eternal king (that same chosen/anointed/Messiah).
God is beginning the business of solving the problem made apparent in Judges. The next chapter of this narrative (David’s rule as king) is going to draw the problem further out and make it clear that we need not only an extraordinary kind of priest but also an extraordinary kind of king.
And as it turns out, this coming priest and coming anointed/chosen/Messiah king are one in the same: Jesus.