The Ark, The Priest, and The People - E-book - ePub

Although the prophet Eli must have been a priest originally worthy of the office which God bestowed on him, the tragedy of his life was that he lost spiritual control over his children. As you are aware from bible records, he and his two sons died painful deaths and the priesthood was taken away from his household forever. The man of God and his entire household must know that they are in the limelight, and their conduct must therefore outshine that of others before whom their lights must continually shine so that their followers could navigate the stormy waters of this world safely.
How did the young Samuel escape the contagion of the wilderness of Eli's children? How, as the bible says, was Samuel able to escape the corruption that is in this world? Did Eli, for instance, dwell more on the training of Samuel to the exclusion of that of his children? Do we sometimes unwittingly invest in the training of children put under our ward while neglecting our own children as they lapse into spiritual lethargy and all sorts of shortcomings that could make God take away the priesthood from us? This question should be the concern of the priest as he reads and digests this book.
It was the same Samuel who wrote that unquestioning obedience to God was far more valuable and acceptable to God than whatever other sacrifices anyone might offer to the Almighty. We can conclude from this book that no amount of works, including even awesome healings, priestly positions, the presence of the ark of God in any sanctuary, or other embellishments in God's House can replace repentance and the reverent fear of God.
Indeed, without repentance, salvation is impossible. If a man experienced awesome healing, this in itself cannot confer eternal life on that person, unless he had fully submitted his life to Jesus Christ and had committed himself to walk with Him in holiness, righteousness, and truth. Bamidele comes from a line of pastors and pastors' wives. His father and grand-father were ordained pastors at the Methodist Church Nigeria for decades after they had both reached the commanding heights of their professional teaching career.
His mother, a veritable pastor's wife, was a tremendous woman of God. Bamidele, no doubt, grew under the high and thorough influence of both parents, thus making his life a huge departure from that of Hophni and Phinehas, Eli's children. This book is written from the perspective of a honest watcher of events in these end-times. The book is recommended, therefore, for reading by all types of people whose lives transcend those who carry out special functions and responsibilities in God's sanctuary.