1 Samuel 2

1 Samuel 2

William MacDonald points out that "The Lord's rebuke of Eli was as harsh as Eli's rebuke of his sons had been soft." (Borrow Believer's Bible Commentary) A man of God - This man of God will serve as God's "mouthpiece" (synonymous with prophet), to speak God's Word to the high priest Eli. Eli should have been hearing from Yahweh directly, but the priesthood had become so corrupt by this time that God had to send a man of God. This man of God remains unnamed as did most of the uses of this description in the OT, Moses being one exception (see Dt. 33:1; Josh 14:6, 1Chr 23:14). Man of God - 76x in 71v in the OT (and 2 verses in the NT 1Ti 6:11; 2Ti 3:17) - Deut. 33:1; Jos. 14:6; Jdg. 13:6; Jdg. 13:8; 1 Sa 2:27; 1Sa. 9:6-8; 1Sa 9:10; 1 Ki. 12:22; 1 Ki. 13:1; 1 Ki. 13:4; 1 Ki. 13:5; 1 Ki. 13:6; 1 Ki. 13:7; 1 Ki. 13:8; 1 Ki. 13:11; 1 Ki. 13:12; 1 Ki. 13:14; 1 Ki. 13:21; 1 Ki. 13:26; 1 Ki. 13:29; 1 Ki. 13:31; 1 Ki. 17:18; 1 Ki. 17:24; 1 Ki. 20:28; 2 Ki. 1:9; 2 Ki. 1:10; 2 Ki. 1:11; 2 Ki. 1:12; 2 Ki. 1:13; 2 Ki. 4:7; 2 Ki. 4:9; 2 Ki. 4:16; 2 Ki. 4:21; 2 Ki. 4:22; 2 Ki. 4:25; 2 Ki. 4:27; 2 Ki. 4:40; 2 Ki. 4:42; 2 Ki. 5:8; 2 Ki. 5:14; 2 Ki. 5:15; 2 Ki. 5:20; 2 Ki. 6:6; 2 Ki. 6:9; 2 Ki. 6:10; 2 Ki. 6:15; 2 Ki. 7:2; 2 Ki. 7:17; 2 Ki. 7:18; 2 Ki. 7:19; 2 Ki. 8:2; 2 Ki. 8:4; 2 Ki. 8:7; 2 Ki. 8:8; 2 Ki. 8:11; 2 Ki. 13:19; 2 Ki. 23:16; 2 Ki. 23:17; 1 Chr. 23:14; 2 Chr. 8:14; 2 Chr. 11:2; 2 Chr. 25:7; 2 Chr. 25:9; 2 Chr. 30:16; Ezr. 3:2; Neh. 12:24; Neh. 12:36; Ps. 90:1; Jer. 35:4; Came to Eli and said to him, "Thus says the LORD - So clearly this man of God is declaring the words he speaks are God's Words, not his words. One wonders why Eli readily accepted him and did not suspect a false prophet. The phrase "man of God" was used in the Old Testament to refer to a person who was chosen by God to fulfill a specific role or purpose and spoke especially of prophets who were representatives of God on Earth. In fact man of God was the second most common designation of prophets (after of course "prophet) in the Old Testament (see uses above). In some cases, the phrase may also be used more generally to refer to any devout and righteous person who seeks to follow God's will, which would be the case in the use in 2Ti 3:17. His opening words validate the message that follows. Thus says the LORD occurs 419x in 417 verses in the Bible and is only found in the Old Testament. God had a lot to tell His people! 'Did I not indeed reveal Myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt in bondage to Pharaoh's house? - He begins with a rhetorical question, a reminder of His great works in the past when Israel was in bondage in Israel. His question is a history lesson for Eli. From the following context, it is clear the man of God is referring to the priestly line, the first "father" of which would be Aaron, who was present when Israel was in bondage.