1 Samuel 2:13 Commentary and Bible Study

The law prescribed what was to be done with the various types of sacrifice that God appointed to be offered. The burnt offering was to be entirely consumed and so no part of it was eaten by anyone (Leviticus 1:9). The sin offering and the trespass offering could only be eaten by the priests (Leviticus 7:6-7). It was the meat (or grain) offering and the peace offering, parts of which were to be given to the priests, and since the grain offering was not an animal sacrifice, this passage has the peace offering in view. Certain parts must be offered up to the Lord by fire, and other portions were given to the priests (Exodus 29:27-28; Leviticus 7:29-35). The rest was allowed to be eaten by the one making the offering and his family. It was from this part that Eli’s sons, not content with what was given to them under the law, were taking additional meat for themselves. This was their habitual practice, so that the people had come to expect this treatment. A further malpractice was to insist on receiving their portion before it had been boiled. They preferred to roast it, and so demanded it be given to them as raw flesh. This raise in the minds of the worshippers the possibility that a further contravention of the law hight occur: the fat must not be eaten but had to form part of the Lord’s portion. By taking raw flesh, the sons of Eli were likely to ignore this requirement. That troubled the consciences of the offerors, but their qualms were brushed aside, and they were threatened with violence if they resisted. They bought the worship at the house of God at Shiloh into great disrepute by their theft and their altering of the very ordinances of God.