I was then referred to the case of Eli. He restrained not his children, and they became wicked and vile, and by their wickedness led Israel astray. When God had made known to Samuel their sins, and the heavy curse that was to follow because Eli restrained them not, He said that their sins should not be purged with sacrifice nor offering forever. When told by Samuel what the Lord had shown him, Eli submitted, saying: “It is the Lord: let Him do what seemeth Him good.” The curse of God soon followed. Those wicked priests were slain, and thirty thousand of Israel were also slain, and the ark of God was taken by their enemies. And when Eli heard that the ark of God was taken, he fell backward and died. All this evil resulted from Eli’s neglect to restrain his sons. I saw that if God was so particular as to notice such things anciently, He will be no less particular in these last days. {1T 119.1}

(119) Derpå blev jeg henvist til Eli. Han optugtede ikke sine børn og de blev onde og slette og førte Israel på vildspor ved deres ugudelighed. Da Herren havde fortalt Samuel om deres synder og om den forbandelse, der ville følge, fordi Eli ikke holdt den i ave, sagde han, at deres synder aldrig i evighed skulle sones ved slagtoffer eller afgrødeoffer. Da Samuel fortalte, hvad Herren havde vist ham, føjede Eli sig deri og sagde: »Han er Herren; han gøre, hvad han tykkes bedst!« Guds forbandelse fulgte snart. Disse ugudelige præster blev ihjelslået og tredive tusind israelitter faldt og Guds ark blev taget af fjenden. Da Eli hørte, at Guds ark var taget, faldt ham baglæns ned og døde. Alt dette onde var en følge af, at Eli undlod at holde sine sønner i ave. Jeg så, at dersom Gud var så nøje med at lægge mærke til sådanne ting fordum, vil han ikke være mindre nøje i disse sidste dage.