In the opening chapters of 1 Samuel we are introduced to Israel’s negligent High Priest, Eli. He is an interesting and enigmatic character – at least in some ways. He misidentified Hannah’s prayer for drunken speech (1 Sam 1:14), but then he prophetically blessed her (vs.17). He raised Samuel and appears to have treated him kindly; yet, he didn’t care enough about his sons to discipline them as he should have. He humbly acknowledged God’s sovereignty when God spoke to him through “a man of God” (2:27) and through Samuel (3:18); yet, He didn’t repent of the sin that caused the confrontation.
