“Now this shall be a sign to you that will come upon your two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas: in one day they shall die, both of them. Then I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who shall do according to what is in My heart and in My mind. I will build him a sure house, and he shall walk before My anointed forever. And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left in your house will come and bow down to him for a piece of silver and a morsel of bread, and say, ‘Please, put me in one of the priestly positions, that I may eat a piece of bread.’” (vv.34-36)
Now this shall be a sign to you: Since the fulfillment of the judgment would be many years away (in the days of Solomon), God gave Eli an immediate sign to demonstrate His truthfulness. Eli’s sons will die in one day; Eli will see this and know the judgment of God has come against his house.
Then I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest: Who is the faithful priest predicted here? He was a great priest, because he did according to what is in [God’s] heart and in [God’s] mind. He was a blessed priest because God said of him, I will build him a sure house, and he will walk before My anointed forever. The promise was ultimately fulfilled in Jesus Christ because He is a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek (Hebrews 7:12-17).
The chapter ends with the prophetic statement by the man of God to Eli, "Everyone who is left in your house will come and bow down to him for a piece of silver." This is a fitting judgment since much of the sin of Eli’s sons was greed and stealing from God’s people. Instead of receiving the priestly portions that were rightfully theirs, Eli’s family would one day be reduced to begging. The house of Eli would be left powerless and without strength, and the priestly line would pass to another line of descendants from Aaron.
