Albert Barnes Commentary 1 Samuel 2:25

"If one man sin against another, God shall judge him; but if a man sin against Jehovah, who shall entreat for him? Notwithstanding, they hearkened not unto the voice of their father, because Jehovah was minded to slay them." — 1 Samuel 2:25 (ASV)

The meaning seems to be this: If one person sins against another, a judge will impose the proper penalty, and then the matter is settled. But if a person sins against the Lord, who will act as a mediator for him? His guilt must remain until the great day of judgment.

Because the Lord would slay them—In a certain sense, whatever happens is the fulfillment of God’s sovereign will and pleasure. Consequently, all the preceding steps that bring this will to pass—even when they involve moral choices—are also, in this sense, brought about by God. How this truth, which both reason and revelation acknowledge, can be consistent with human free will on the one hand, or with God’s infinite mercy and love on the other, is something that cannot possibly be explained, especially when the evil deeds and punishment of a sinner are part of those preceding steps.

We can only firmly believe both of the following truths:

1. that God has no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies, and that He does not desire the death of a sinner, but rather that the sinner should turn and live;
2. that the sins and the punishments for sin are nevertheless fulfillments of God’s eternal purpose (Mark 4:12; Romans 9:15).

This might be explained by saying that in the case of Hophni and Phinehas, God’s will to slay them was based on His foreknowledge of their impenitence. At the same time, from another perspective in which God’s will is the fixed point, their impenitence can be seen in relation to that will—as dependent upon it and as a necessary step toward its fulfillment.