Eli was a good man, pure in morals; but he was too indulgent. He incurred the displeasure of God because he did not strengthen the weak points in his character. He did not want to hurt the feelings of anyone and had not the moral courage to rebuke and reprove sin. His sons were vile men; yet he did not remove them from their position of trust. These sons profaned the house of God. He knew this, and felt sad in consequence of it, for he loved purity and righteousness; but he had not sufficient moral force to suppress the evil. He loved peace and harmony, and became more and more insensible to impurity and crime. But the great God takes the matter in hand Himself. When the rebuke falls upon him, through the instrumentality of a child, he accepts it, feeling that it is what he deserves. He does not show any resentment toward Samuel, the messenger of God; he loves him as he has done, but condemns himself. {4T 516.1}

Eli var et godt menneske, med ren moral; men han var for eftergivende. Han pådrog sig Guds mishag fordi han ikke styrkede de svage punkter i sin karakter. Han ville ikke såre nogen og havde ikke moralsk mod til at irettesætte synd. Hans sønner var modbydelige mænd; alligevel fjernede han dem ikke fra deres betroede stillinger. Disse sønner vanhelligede Guds hus. Dette vidste han og blev bedrøvet af det, for han elskede renhed og retfærdighed; men han havde ikke tilstrækkelig moralsk styrke til at standse det onde. Han elskede fred og harmoni og blev mere og mere ufølsom overfor urenhed og forbrydelser. Men så tog den store Gud sagen i sin egen hånd. Selvom irettesættelsen falder på ham, ved hjælp af et barn, så accepterer han den. Han føler at det er hvad han fortjener. Han viser ingen bitterhed overfor Samuel, Guds budbringer; han elsker ham, men fordømmer sig selv.