Let’s talk about the will of the Lord. The Bible says His plans cannot be thwarted. The Bible says we were predestined to adoption as the children of God. The Bible also says that God desires that all men might be saved.

I talked about God hardening Pharoah’s heart in Lesson 73, Of Sons and Hearts.

We have a similar verse here in 1 Samuel 2. It says that Eli’s sons didn’t listen to their father’s warning because “it was the will of the Lord to put them to death.”

We have to always read and think about these things in light of what we know is true about God and His character.

God doesn’t want to put anyone to death. His will is life. His heart is that everyone follows His ways of life and be saved. He didn’t want Eli’s sons to die. They had to die. God’s law had been violated. They should have been cut off from the people.

God has to protect His children. It’s who He is.

God has to be holy. It’s who He is.

God has to be just. It’s who He is.

God has to love. It’s who He is. Just like a parent requiring the discipline, the punishment, the hard work, whatever it is, in the name of loving their child and wanting what’s best for them, God does what’s best for His children.

He’s always good, always wise. He doesn’t make parenting mistakes.

Eli’s sons didn’t repent because that’s not what was in their hearts. God didn’t change their hearts so that He could put them to death. They had already shown what was in their hearts. They lived for the desires of their flesh.

They stole from those bringing peace offerings to God, and they stole God’s portion of the offering as well, taking the fat.

That wasn’t the end of their sin. They weren’t seeking the Lord; they were seeking after the pleasures of the flesh. They chose death. It wasn’t God’s choice for their lives. They made their choice, and they died for it.