And it came to pass at that time, while Eli was lying down in his place, and when his eyes had begun to grow so dim that he could not see. 1 Samuel 3:2
Eli’s sin was that being in position of God’s authority, he failed to correct the wrongdoings of his sons and God’s house. Being in a position of authority/responsibility and failing to correct the wrongdoings in God’s house caused Eli to lose his spiritual sight. Eli did not lose his spiritual sight because of his physical age, but because he failed to correct the wrongdoings in the church while being in a position of God's authority. God was willing to wait for a few more years until Samuel grows up(in the Lord), but was reluctant to use an experienced Eli. God was even fine with not having a priest or prophet for a few years (until Samuel grows up), but he was reluctant to use Eli.
Eli was experienced in hearing God's voice and understanding God's ways, but God was not willing to use him. God chose to share his burden with a naive and inexperienced Samuel rather than the experienced Eli. Samuel was inexperienced and lacked understanding of God's methods and ways. He was hearing God’s voice for the first time. He might not have realised how powerful and intense God's words are. God was retraining an entirely new person (Samuel) rather than using the experienced Eli, whom God had trained for a few years. All the years that God invested on Eli to train and prepare him might be wasted. What a sad situation Eli was in. God bypassed Eli and came to a kid.
Our experiences make us familiar with God's ways, but not with His plan or move for this season. Eli quickly recognised that God was speaking to Samuel (after Samuel approached him three times). Eli understood God's ways and methods, but God was not speaking to him. In this generation, there are many Eli’s on whom God’s judgement is about to come. They got adjusted to their church's sins/wrongdoings in terms of finances, social issues, pet sins, etc. They being in a position of God's authority, they failed to correct/rebuke their church's wrongdoings, causing them (Eli’s) to lose their spiritual eyesight. They might have a big congregation, but God is not speaking to these Eli’s.
God is rising a lot of inexperienced Samuel’s to take their place. God is waiting for these Samuel’s to grow, even if it takes 10-15 years, but he is reluctant to use the Eli’s who are already present now. What Samuel heard from God was way beyond his age and understanding. God was sharing grown up stuff to a child who was not even in his teens. Maybe God did not find anyone other than this kid in the land of Israel to share his burden. Maybe Eli took on a leadership role among Israel's priests, so the other priests kept silent and no one opposed him. God went to a kid to share his burdens.
The state of our hearts is more important than our age for God to speak to us. God can effortlessly communicate with infants, children, teenagers, and adults. Sometimes God’s ability to communicate to us is dependent on our heart’s condition. Maybe Samuel's heart was not having anything wicked(wicked things) and was empty, so God spoke to him. He was in God's house, but he was not polluted by the evil(wicked things) that were happening on around him (Eli’s sons wicked deeds).
Maybe Samuel was wondering why God was telling him so much about the wickedness in God’s house and how does it affect him. Eli might have understood the gravity/intensity of God's words, but how will Samuel understand it?
When a person shares his burden/ secrets at his first meeting to an individual, it indicates that he trusts and knows the individual. In that person’s eyes, that individual is close, trustworthy and faithful. Here in this case, God is sharing his secrets to Samuel. God saw Samuel as trustworthy, faithful, as a close aide, capable of sharing his burden and understanding the secrets.
God shared the wickedness of the land with a child. Eli knew God spoke to Samuel, and so the next day he found out exactly what God said. We see Samuel's innocence; he told everything the Lord said without hiding anything.
Instead of repenting and correcting the wrongdoings (of his sons), Eli accepted the situation as it was. His heart has become so hard that he refuses to repent and correct the wrongdoings even after God points out the mistakes through a prophet and Samuel. His heart became very hard, and he stopped repenting and obeying God. If you stop repenting, you stopped obeying God. Repentance is directly related to obedience to God.
Eli was in an extremely horrible spiritual state. His spiritual eyes are closed, lost his spiritual sensitivity and God has not spoken to him for many days or years. Eli did not recognise the deeper anguish of Hannah and he assumed she was drunk. Eli might have lost his spiritual sight even before Samuel was born. Eli was passing time in God’s house, accepting his sons' sins and becoming wealthy/fat through the sacrifices of God's house. Failure to obey God's correction is equal to rebellion against God.
If you are in Eli's situation, it is still not too late. Repent and return to God. When was the last time God corrected you? Remember and align yourself to it. Your loss of spiritual sight began ( at the time)when you refused to accept and align with God's correction. For example - If God corrected you three months ago and you did not align to it, from that time you have gradually lost your spiritual sight and entered spiritual stagnation. If you do not accept God's correction, it will hinder God to speak with you the next time and may bypass you in God's plan. Come back to the place of God’s last correction and align will it, and you will see God speaking to you again.
God's corrections are very important to his people. They are steps towards growing in the Lord, and if you do not obey them, you may lose your spiritual sight. Accept God's correction and return to God; he will restore you. Even if your ministry fails after you repent and fix the wrongdoings in the church, God will begin speaking to you again and include you in God's new move.
