That is a good question, but as we shall see, Samuel and his sons were also punished. We will look at both cases to see exactly what their punishments were. We will begin with Eli and his sons.

“Now the sons Eli were corrupt; they did not know the LORD. And the priests’ custom with the people was that when any man offered a sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come with a three-pronged fleshhook in his hand while the meat was boiling. Then he would thrust it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; and the priest would take for himself all that the fleshhook brought up. So they did in Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there” (1^st Samuel 2:12-14…NKJV). In doing this, Eli’s sons were going against the Law, for priests were told to eat only the breast and right thigh (see Leviticus 7:30-34). To add to their sin, they also forced the worshippers to give them this portion, “No, but you must give it now; and if not, I will take it BY FORCE” (verse 16). Because of this transgression against the Law of Moses, we read “therefore THE SIN of the young men WAS VERY GREAT before the Lord, for men abhorred the offering of the LORD” (verse 17). Besides that, we read in verse 22, “Now Eli was very old; and he heard everything his sons did to all Israel, and how they LAY WITH WOMEN who assembled at the door of the tabernacle of meeting.” Thus, they were guilty of ADULTERY, which the Law also condemned (see Exodus 20:14). As we saw with the offerings, their sin also caused the people to “abhor the offering of the LORD” and their adultery resulted in “making the LORD’S people to transgress” (verse 24). Eli did rebuke them for their sins and told them, “If one man sins against another, God will judge him. But if a man sins against the LORD, who will intercede for him?” (verse 25). Yet we read next, “Nevertheless they did not heed the voice of their father, because the LORD desired to kill them.” Finally, we read that “a man of God came to Eli” (verse 27) to pronounce God’s judgment upon Eli and his sons. In verses 28-33 we read that “Eli and his house” would be cut off from their priestly service. In verse 34 we read, Now this shall be a sign to you that will come upon your two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas: in one day THEY SHALL DIE, BOTH OF THEM” (see 1^st Samuel 4:10-11 for the fulfillment of this prophecy).

Now we will read of Samuel and his two sons. “Now it came to pass when Samuel was old that he made his sons judges over Israel. The name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second Abijah; they were judges in Beersheba. But his sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside after dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice. Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, and said to him, ‘Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.’ But the thing displeased Samuel….so Samuel prayed to the LORD. And the LORD said to Samuel, ‘Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you’” (1^st Samuel 8:1-7). Like Eli’s sons, the sons of Samuel were given a position of authority and yet they too abused their power and greedily took money and perverted justice. Were they judged for it? Yes, they were, for God allowed the people to rise up in rebellion to Samuel and his sons and demand a king. In other words, Samuel and his sons were “set aside and replaced by a king who would rule over them.”

In both cases, the sons of these two men were WICKED MEN and both cases the fathers were unsuccessful in turning their sons from their wicked ways. They had not “disciplined their sons” prior to their becoming priests and judges and this, in turn, led to the sons rebelling against them and God. Thus, when judgment came for the wickedness of the sons the fathers were also judged. God is holy and He must judge sin…and He did judge their sins! In that sense, there is NO DIFFERENCE between the two fathers and their two sons. Now you may be thinking, “But the sons of Eli were actually killed and Eli too died and Samuel and his sons were allowed to live” (see 1^st Samuel 4:19-21). Yes, that is true. But we did read that “their SIN was VERY GREAT” which may be why God dealt DIFFERENTLY with them.  It is important to never question God’s dealings in judgment knowing that He always does what is righteous in His sight. Abraham knew this to be true when in view of God judging Sodom he asked the rhetorical question, “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right” (Genesis 18:25). In 1^st Corinthians chapter 11 we learn that there were those who were not judging sinful acts they were committing when they came together to partake of the Lord’s Supper. God (in love for His failing children) judged them for it as we see in verse 30, “For this reason many are WEAK and SICK among you, and many SLEEP.” Some were judged with PHYSICAL AFFLICTIONS and some DIED. They did not receive the same judgment, yet God judged them according to His perfect knowledge of their actions and the motives of their hearts.  (DO)  (598.1)