1 Samuel 1:17 “Then Eli answered, ‘Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition that you have made to him.’”

Sounds like a solid response coming from a priest to a woman pleading with her Lord. But if you think about it… it’s an interesting response. If only Eli knew.

Imagine the scene. Hannah is heart broken, pouring her herself out, begging God to grant her a child. Eli walks up and accuses her of being drunk. I understand why Eli would jump to that conclusion. But that’s a completely different post. Eli’s response to Hannah is what leaps out to me. He blesses her request for a child. Sounds noble. Sounds like the very thing a priest should do. But little did he know the prayer he blessed was for the child that (one day) would replace him as priest.

We know little about Eli. What we do know does not reflect well on his skills as a priest. There’s a lot we could assume. I’m not spending time on that here. But I find the irony amazing. Let’s pretend Eli’s response was just a rote response that he made to the many people that filtered through that temple at Shiloh. “Shalom. Go in peace. May your request be granted. blah, blah, blah.” Is there a hint of boredom in his reply?

Once again, we have little information about how Eli treated his ministry as priest of Shiloh. We only receive glimpses. If we delve deeply enough will it reveal a man with a passive attitude toward his role? Just going through the motions with no focus, no intensity and no passion.

Can’t last long. Eventually God replaces you. He replaces you with someone that has a passion for His Presence, for His Word, for His Glory. And he just may do it with a little irony.

You read it. What do you see?