1Sa 8:1  And it came to pass, when Samuel was old, that he made his sons judges over Israel………………….And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment. 

Is it not an incredible thing that Samuel’s sons turned out to be corrupt? After everything Samuel saw in the family of Eli he now faces much the same issues. It seems that while his sons were under his influence and had no official capacity, they did well. Yet as soon as they get out from under the influence of Samuel and are given positions, their true nature comes forth. The second generation of anyone is never guaranteed. We are told that around 80% of young adults “lose,” their faith when they go to college. Yet, it seems clear that when these young people move away from their parents Godly influence their true nature comes forth. They are corrupted by a world they are drawn to, whatever their vice is. Bonhoeffer tells us in his book “The Cost of Discipleship,” that just one generation removed from the founders of the Lutheran church, cheap grace had taken hold.

Now, rather than dramatic conversions, there was mental assents to abstract truths. If their children could tick boxes one through seven and say yes to these truths, then they were counted as saved. The fire was gone, the glory had departed so to speak. The world had invaded and the “ark,” was captured. Ichabod was on the move. The second generation is often a pale imitation of the first. They are given positions as gatekeepers of the status quo by their parents and the main objective becomes keeping their positions. They create sacraments and traditions that are self-serving. These sacraments and traditions become the pillars that hold aloft the very structures of their denominations and organizations. Men who come along and challenge the status quo and speak the truth become enemies because the truth threatens to tear down the very pillars that hold it all together.

The only solution to all of this is the new birth. The genuine conversion of men and woman. Men and women who actually encounter God and are captivated by the truth that they find in the Scriptures. That truth burns in their veins like molten lava. It courses through every part of them and they are simply compelled to speak the truth no matter the cost. And the cost, for much of the last 2000 years, has been death through martyrdom. Has been rejection by their peers. They have been shunned and ridiculed and scorned by those who have but a mental assent to the truth. Why did Saul hate David so much even although David loved him very much? Jealousy. Jealous of the relationship David had with God. Some things never change. The heart of the merely religious man is fundamentally jealous of the heart of the man who is intimate with God. And just like the flesh wars against the spirit, then the once born man wars and rages against the twice born man. There can be no other way as there is enmity between the two.