Restraining Behavior: Eli's Sons.

1Sa 3:13 "For I have told him that I will judge his house for ever for the iniquity which he knoweth; because
his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not."

1Timothy 5:21-22  "I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels, that thou
observe these things without preferring one before another, doing nothing by partiality. Lay hands suddenly
on no man, neither be partaker of other men’s sins: keep thyself pure."

Eli had two very foul sons that committed fornication at the tabernacle where Israel went to worship the
Lord. they also strong-armed the worshipers, taking from them the chief of the sacrifices for their own use.
The word "vile" means to curse or to make disgusting or foul.

Because of this, people despised the worship of the Lord. Being high priest, it was the duty of Eli not to
tolerate the evil of his sons. He could do nothing about their moral character  but he did have authority to
keep the worship of the Lord free from their rottenness. His whole house came to ruin because he honored
his sons above the Lord. God sent the lad Samuel to tell Eli: 1Sa 2:29 "Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice
and at mine offering, which I have commanded in my habitation; and honorest thy sons above me, to make
yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people?"

Paul tells Timothy how to minister to the elders in the church. He was not to become partakers of their sins,
but only to ordain qualified men [to lay hands on no man suddenly], and to rebuke openly those who sinned. 
But he was to treat them fairly and not even to receive accusations against them except in the presence of
two or three witnesses.

The lesson is clear: Those in authority are responsible for the actions of those under their rule. Fathers are
responsible for the sins of their wives and their children, especially as it relates to the worship of the Lord. 
Those who close their eyes and connive at sins will be held responsible for those sins that corrupt the church.
To connive at the sins of those under your rule is to be partakers of them.

I have been a minister of the Gospel for more than 50 years. I took the above seriously. I was and am proud
of my six sons, but they did not always behave as angels. None of them ever did anything that compares to
the behavior of Eli's sons, for they did have respect for the worship of the Lord. They still do, and three of
them are gospel ministers. But it was necessary for me to restrain them in ways that the children of others in
the congregation did not experience. It comes with the territory, and I accepted it. I am not sure that they
always did understand.

A man who connives at the wickedness of his family, his wife, or those in his employ is responsible if they
behave abominably. They cannot turn their eye aside and pretend nothing is wrong. They become partakers
of their evil actions.