Painting of a sad looking Old Man

Introduction

It’s Father’s Day once again and I want to consider the life of Eli for my sermon. Here’s why? In the Bible 1 Samuel 4:21-22 perhaps records the saddest words we will ever get to read. ‘Israel’s Glory is Gone!’ (NLT) These last words of a dying woman were a precise description of the plight of an entire nation. As tragic as it is, the word of God shows this was a disaster that could have been prevented if not for a man who failed as a father. Eli was the name of that man.