Single lesson
Eli's Sons and the Warning to Eli
1 Samuel 2:12–36
This lesson follows a sharp contrast at Israel’s worship place. Students will trace what Eli’s sons did, notice the repeated details about Samuel and Hannah, and hear the warning God sent to Eli.
Before you teach
In 1 Samuel 2:12–36, Eli’s sons are described as wicked and as despising Yahweh’s offering. The passage places Samuel’s ministry and Hannah’s yearly visits among those reports. Eli rebukes his sons, but they do not listen. Then a man of God speaks Yahweh’s judgement on Eli’s house and Yahweh’s word about honouring him.
Students will be able to sequence 1 Samuel 2:12–36 and explain from the passage that Yahweh sees dishonouring worship, rebukes it, and says, ‘those who honor me I will honor’.
Welcome: notice the contrast
5 minWrite two headings where everyone can see: ‘Eli’s sons’ and ‘Samuel’. Explain that the passage moves back and forth between these two lines of description. Students will listen for actions, words, and outcomes, then sort what belongs under each heading before sequencing the account.
1 Samuel 2:12, 1 Samuel 2:18, 1 Samuel 2:26
Read and explain: the sons’ actions and Eli’s rebuke
10 minRead 1 Samuel 2:12–17 and 22–25 aloud. Explain that the sons took meat before the fat was burned, demanded it raw, and threatened force, so the text says they despised Yahweh’s offering. Teacher note: mention 1 Samuel 2:22 soberly and briefly, without inviting personal disclosures or discussing explicit details. Eli rebuked them, but they did not listen.
1 Samuel 2:12, 1 Samuel 2:15, 1 Samuel 2:16, 1 Samuel 2:17, 1 Samuel 2:22, 1 Samuel 2:23, 1 Samuel 2:24, 1 Samuel 2:25
Discuss: the Samuel and Hannah details in the middle
8 minRead 1 Samuel 2:18–21 and 26. Ask students what the passage actually says in these verses. It says Samuel ministered before Yahweh, Hannah brought him a little robe year by year, Eli blessed Elkanah and Hannah, Yahweh gave Hannah more children, and Samuel grew before Yahweh and in favour with people.
1 Samuel 2:18, 1 Samuel 2:19, 1 Samuel 2:20, 1 Samuel 2:21, 1 Samuel 2:26
Make and respond: sequence cards with passage order
10 minStudents make eight cards: sons called wicked, meat taken with fork, demand before fat is burned, Samuel ministers, Hannah brings robe yearly, Eli hears and rebukes, Samuel grows in favour, man of God speaks. In pairs, place them in order and label each as action, report, rebuke, growth, or warning. Finish by circling the sentence in verse 30 that best sums up the passage.
1 Samuel 2:12, 1 Samuel 2:13, 1 Samuel 2:15, 1 Samuel 2:18, 1 Samuel 2:19, 1 Samuel 2:22, 1 Samuel 2:26, 1 Samuel 2:27, 1 Samuel 2:30
Closing: hear Yahweh’s warning to Eli
7 minRead 1 Samuel 2:27–36, pausing at verses 28–30. Summarise with the passage’s own details: Yahweh had chosen Eli’s priestly house, given them the altar, incense, an ephod, and offerings, yet Eli honoured his sons above Yahweh. Yahweh then announced judgement on Eli’s house and said he would raise up a faithful priest.
1 Samuel 2:27, 1 Samuel 2:28, 1 Samuel 2:29, 1 Samuel 2:30, 1 Samuel 2:34, 1 Samuel 2:35, 1 Samuel 2:36
Questions to explore
What exact actions in the passage show that Eli’s sons despised Yahweh’s offering?
Look for the details about taking meat before the fat was burned, asking for raw meat, and threatening to take it by force, then connect those actions to the summary in verse 17.
1 Samuel 2:15, 1 Samuel 2:16, 1 Samuel 2:17
What repeated details about Samuel and Hannah are placed between the reports about Eli’s sons?
List only what these verses state directly: Samuel ministered, Hannah brought a robe yearly, Eli blessed the family, Yahweh gave Hannah more children, and Samuel grew.
1 Samuel 2:18, 1 Samuel 2:19, 1 Samuel 2:20, 1 Samuel 2:21, 1 Samuel 2:26
Why does the man of God rebuke Eli himself?
Notice that Yahweh says Eli honoured his sons above him, even after reminding Eli about the priestly role and gifts given to his house.
1 Samuel 2:28, 1 Samuel 2:29, 1 Samuel 2:30
Make, think or respond
Sequence Cards: Actions, Rebuke, and Warning
What you’ll need
- Plain paper or card
- Pens or pencils
- Scissors
- Bible text
Try it together
- Cut paper into eight cards.
- Write these card titles: sons called wicked, fork takes meat, demand before fat burns, Samuel ministers, Hannah brings robe yearly, Eli hears and rebukes, Samuel grows in favour, man of God speaks.
- Place the cards in the order they appear in the passage.
- Under each card, add one short label such as ‘action’, ‘report’, ‘rebuke’, ‘growth’, or ‘warning’.
- Share which card connects most clearly to 1 Samuel 2:30 and explain your answer from the text.
This activity helps students follow the actual order of 1 Samuel 2:12–36, including the repeated Samuel and Hannah details placed among the reports about Eli’s sons.
Adapt for your group
- For less confident readers, write the eight card titles on the board first and let students copy them before sequencing.
- For older students, ask them to mark which cards describe human actions and which cards report Yahweh’s response or words.
An optional closing prayer
‘God, help us listen carefully to your word and honour you in what we do and say. Amen.’
Read the Bible passage World English Bible Classic
1 Samuel 2
12 Now the sons of Eli were wicked men. They didn’t know Yahweh.
13 The custom of the priests with the people was that when anyone offered a sacrifice, the priest’s servant came while the meat was boiling, with a fork of three teeth in his hand;
14 and he stabbed it into the pan, or kettle, or cauldron, or pot. The priest took all that the fork brought up for himself. They did this to all the Israelites who came there to Shiloh.
15 Yes, before they burned the fat, the priest’s servant came, and said to the man who sacrificed, “Give meat to roast for the priest; for he will not accept boiled meat from you, but raw.”
16 If the man said to him, “Let the fat be burned first, and then take as much as your soul desires;” then he would say, “No, but you shall give it to me now; and if not, I will take it by force.”
17 The sin of the young men was very great before Yahweh; for the men despised Yahweh’s offering.
18 But Samuel ministered before Yahweh, being a child, clothed with a linen ephod.
19 Moreover his mother made him a little robe, and brought it to him from year to year when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.
20 Eli blessed Elkanah and his wife, and said, “May Yahweh give you offspring from this woman for the petition which was asked of Yahweh.” Then they went to their own home.
21 Yahweh visited Hannah, and she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. The child Samuel grew before Yahweh.
22 Now Eli was very old; and he heard all that his sons did to all Israel, and how that they slept with the women who served at the door of the Tent of Meeting.
23 He said to them, “Why do you do such things? For I hear of your evil dealings from all these people.
24 No, my sons; for it is not a good report that I hear! You make Yahweh’s people disobey.
25 If one man sins against another, God will judge him; but if a man sins against Yahweh, who will intercede for him?” Notwithstanding, they didn’t listen to the voice of their father, because Yahweh intended to kill them.
26 The child Samuel grew on, and increased in favor both with Yahweh and also with men.
27 A man of God came to Eli and said to him, “Yahweh says, ‘Did I reveal myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt in bondage to Pharaoh’s house?
28 Didn’t I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up to my altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me? Didn’t I give to the house of your father all the offerings of the children of Israel made by fire?
29 Why do you kick at my sacrifice and at my offering, which I have commanded in my habitation, and honor your sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the best of all the offerings of Israel my people?’
30 “Therefore Yahweh, the God of Israel, says, ‘I said indeed that your house and the house of your father should walk before me forever.’ But now Yahweh says, ‘Far be it from me; for those who honor me I will honor, and those who despise me will be cursed.
31 Behold, the days come that I will cut off your arm and the arm of your father’s house, that there will not be an old man in your house.
32 You will see the affliction of my habitation, in all the wealth which I will give Israel. There shall not be an old man in your house forever.
33 The man of yours whom I don’t cut off from my altar will consume your eyes and grieve your heart. All the increase of your house will die in the flower of their age.
34 This will be the sign to you that will come on your two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas: in one day they will both die.
35 I will raise up a faithful priest for myself who will do according to that which is in my heart and in my mind. I will build him a sure house. He will walk before my anointed forever.
36 It will happen that everyone who is left in your house will come and bow down to him for a piece of silver and a loaf of bread, and will say, “Please put me into one of the priests’ offices, that I may eat a morsel of bread.” ’ ”
World English Bible Classic. Public domain.