Beginning of the End - Ellen G. White

Eli Loses His Last Chance
Yet Eli did not show true repentance--He did not forsake his
sin. Year after year the Lord delayed His threatened judgments. Eli
might have done a lot to redeem the failures of the past, but the aged
priest did not do anything effective to correct the evils that were
polluting the Lord's sanctuary and leading thousands in Israel to
ruin. The patience of God caused Hophni and Phinehas to harden
their hearts and become still bolder in transgression.
Eli made known to the whole nation the messages of warning
and reproof to his family. By doing this, he hoped to undo the evil
influence of his past carelessness, but the people disregarded the
warnings, as the priests had done. The people of surrounding nations
also became bolder in their idolatry and crime. They felt no sense of
guilt for their sins, as they would have felt if the Israelites had
preserved their integrity. It became necessary for God to intervene,
to maintain the honor of His name.
"Now Israel went out to battle against the Philistines, and
encamped beside Ebenezer; and the Philistines encamped in
Aphek." The Israelites undertook this expedition without counsel
from God, without the agreement of high priest or prophet. "Then
the Philistines put themselves in battle array against Israel. And
when they joined battle, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who
killed about four thousand men of the army in the field." As the
shattered, discouraged force returned to their camp, "the elders of
Israel said, 'Why has the Lord defeated us today before the
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