There is much to be learned from the life of Eli. In the first few chapters of 1 Samuel we see the glory of God departing from Israel in part due to Eli's failure as a father. His orthodoxy was good, but it didn't carry over into orthopraxy. He verbally warned his sons that they should not continue to do wickedly, but he failed exercise his God-given authority and physically restrain them from evil. 

Craig Houston gave a message on Eli at our Master's Plan for Fatherhood conference last year in Anchorage, Alaska.  Here is an excript from his message, you can listen to the entire message below:

Eli was a high priest, he was, if I could translate into New Testament venacular, he was a minister, he was the man of God, he was the preacher, and he was more than that in the sense that in the Old Testament, he was the one responsible for bringing the sacrifices before God on behalf of the people. He was a man of the Word, he knew the law and the prophets, he knew what God desired for His people. We have to come to that place becasue it's too easy to look at fathers who fail and say "Well they really just didn't know the Lord." or "They really just didn't know the things of God." And here's Eli who was the high priest, appointed and ordained by almighty God, and yet his desire to please his sons, his desire to have peace with his rebel sons caused him to lose all authority, both as a man of God, and as a father. He loses his authority as being an example to the people of God ...

What was Eli's sin? I believe Eli's sin was not walking in obedience to the Lord. Losing spiritual discernment and discipline in his life, and his walk with God. The Scripture says that (and this is very important) it was specifically in regards to the fact that when it came to his children, he wanted to please them more than pleasing God. He honored his sons more than he honored God, and because of that sin, judgment and the end of the line and liniage of Eli occurred, and the glory of God departed.

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