“Now the sons of Eli were worthless men; they did not know the LORD and the custom of the priests with the people.” (12) Eli’s sons were worthless because they neither knew God or how to serve His people. In fact, they used the sacrificial offerings to pad their own personal lifestyles. They did not respect God’s instructions [Scripture] or the desire of His people to honor God. They saw offerings as being for their own benefit. Even worse, they engaged their servants to extort portions from the worshipers at inappropriate times. In this way they violated God’s directives and the conscience of the worshipers in the process. “Thus the sin of the young men was very great before the LORD, for the men despised the offering of the LORD.” (17) When we do not know God, His Word, or His ways, we use God given authority in an abusive manner so as to serve ourselves rather than others. This is a horrific form of spiritual abuse.