I Will Honor Those Who Honor Me

Synopsis     1Sam 2:28-35     8/13/2018

A man of God approached Eli with a prophecy from God concerning his family’s ministry. He recounted the history of God’s generosity to Eli’s family. Through this man, God reminded Eli of the special benefits that had been conferred to the house of Aaron.

But, Eli and his sons broke the relationship because of their greed. As a result, his family would be cursed. So, God cursed them with short lives. And, He decreased the size of the family. His present family would die by the sword. And, as a sign of this breach, and the specific truth of the prophecy, Eli’s two sons were prophesied to die on the same day.

I Will Honor Those Who Honor Me

God said, “I will honor those who honor me.” Now, the sons of Eli were priests. And, if they were right in their attitude toward God, they would have feared Him. At the very least, they would have feared his power. And even that fear would have communicated a modicum of honor.

But they didn’t.

On the one hand, honor doesn’t mean to fear. But on the other hand, to not fear God is one way to dishonor Him. So, to act with such blatant evil intent in the overt presence of God was tantamount to denying either God’s moral integrity, His omnipotence or His existence.

Honoring the God Who Created the Other

Honor has a certain connotation. Usually, it’s about celebrating some virtue. So, we honor a great general for his accomplishments. And, we honor a politician for her leadership.

So, honor results from a person’s accomplishments. But the disposition to honor another person can also be motivated by an appreciation simply of who they are. As in, their essence. And so it is said, a person is honorable simply because God has made them. Their being, their essence is enough.

Not everyone will be honored for the actions. And, not every human action deserves to honored. But essence; my essence, your essence, is the creative work of our Father. This part of being a human is always worthy of honor.

Rich and poor have a common bond: the LORD is the maker of them all” Prov 22:2