Psalms 50:3 Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him. 4 He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he may judge his people. 5 Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice. 6 And the heavens shall declare his righteousness: for God is judge himself.
This passage reminds us that there is a day coming, in which God will act in His capacity of Judge, to bring justice and recompenses to all who have done good, and to all who have persisted in doing evil. God is merciful and takes no pleasure in the death of the sinner, and therefore His arms are stretched forth wide in loving overtures, bidding us turn to Him, who is the source and center of our joy. This is what was done with Eli and his sons, Hophni and Phineas, while they had deliberately walked contrary to the plainest admonitions of the Lord for very many years. But after there was found no remedy or excuse for their willful, blatant disobedience, then God was left no choice but to withdraw His mercy and protection from them, and they were all slain by their enemies in one day.
However, a disturbing situation arose, after the knowledge of their deaths came to Phineas' wife, who was in labor with their only child. As the news of their deaths came to her whilst she was about to deliver her baby, it was too much for her to endure at this time, and so she consequently went into shock, and she died as a result. Let's read:
1st Samuel 4:19 And his daughter in law, Phinehas' wife, was with child, near to be delivered: and when she heard the tidings that the ark of God was taken, and that her father in law and her husband were dead, she bowed herself and travailed; for her pains came upon her. 20 And about the time of her death the women that stood by her said unto her, Fear not; for thou hast born a son. But she answered not, neither did she regard it. 21 And she named the child Ichabod, saying, The glory is departed from Israel: because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father in law and her husband. 22 And she said, The glory is departed from Israel: for the ark of God is taken.
What will be the eternal destiny of Phineas' wife and her son Ichabod is any one's guess, but it seems from the record, that she had a very deep concern for the kingdom of God, for in her dying statements, she never once mentioned her husband or her father-in law, but rather, the ark of God, which contained His law and His statutes. In instances like these where the Bible does not state clearly what will become of such persons in the future, we should trust the righteous judgment of God, who delights in mercy, and from the scriptures, we can get some idea of how He may rule in such cases. Let's read:
Ezekiel 18:20 The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.
During the years of slavery, when many people were torn from their homes and families to be brought into servile bondage here in America and across the Caribbean, many slaves were prevented from exercising their freedom of choice because of their task masters, and as a result, many of them went down into Christ-less graves, even though, if given the opportunity to choose, they might have chosen Jesus as their Lord and Savior. We do not know all of the intricate facts, nor the extenuating circumstances in such matters, but what we do know is that God The righteous Judge will do everything that can possibly be done to save as many as He can. This fact we have received from the scriptures. Let's read:
1st Timothy 2:3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; 4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; 6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.
We who are still alive, and have the liberty to choose between good and evil, should therefore treasure the golden opportunity to choose life as it is in Jesus, for it is God's steadfast purpose to save as many as desire to be saved in His soon coming Kingdom. If by the grace of God we choose Christ as our Lord and Savior, we are given the assurance that God the righteous Judge will vindicate us when He comes to claim His own. We therefore end with a passage of scripture which reminds us that the day of Judgment is coming, and thus it behooves every intelligent, rational thinking person, to avail ourselves of the salvation so freely bestowed on all who come to Jesus in faith. Let's read:
John 5:26 For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; 27 And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. 28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, 29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.
May the grace of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, move upon us to make the right choices today, so that we will be glorified when Christ puts in His appearing. God bless!