Month: September 2019

September 29, 2019: Day 15 – I Samuel 15

We have a problem Houston.  We might want to think of Saul as having compassion in this chapter, which is why he killed all the women and children but saved the king and the sheep of the king.  I’m not sure I would go that route.  So God commands Saul to go and kill the Amalekites and to make sure that no individual and no livestock is kept alive.  Saul slaughters them but keeps the king and some of the best livestock.  The reason he gives Samuel, who still happens to be the high priest, is that he wanted to sacrifice these perfect animals to the Lord and present the king of the Amalekites to the Lord.  He tries to who that his intentions were good.

The response he gets, and it is a great response, is do you think that God prefers sacrifices over obedience?  You disobeyed thinking you would please the Lord.  It is not okay to disobey just because you think you have a better idea than the commandments of the Lord.  It is not okay to second guess God and come up with a better plan than the plan that God has.  It is never okay to do that.  

Then something interesting happens.  Saul is sorry for what he has done.  He apologizes, he recognizes his sin, but he is not forgiven and he is not given a second chance.  Samuel says it is fine for you to be sorry but the Lord will remove the kingship from you and give it to someone else.  Remember he has already told Saul this news a number of chapters earlier.  But as we said yesterday it seems almost forgotten and I wonder if it was simply not going to be enforced until this new event, this new disobedience takes place.  

Almost as a display of the anger of the Lord, Samuel, again who is the high priest, takes the king of the Amalekites and hews him into pieces to show that this was not what the Lord wanted.  A bit gory here.  And this chapter ends with the Lord being sorry for making Saul king. So, if you are God and you know how things are going to turn out, how can you be sorry.  What would you expect.  But that is how we are seen to God, He is sorry every time that we sin and turn our back on him.  But the difference between us and Saul is that we have an eternal sacrifice which cleanses us from our sins.  That sacrifice is God himself found in Jesus who allows us to when we say like Saul: we are sorry, to actually make a difference and wash us clean from our sin.  

September 28, 2019: Day 14 – I Samuel 14

A lot of battles are recounted in this chapter, primarily against the Philistines.  Remember the Philistines?  They were the ones who were after Samson and didn’t let up on his wife Delilah, who was also a Philistine, until she told them and found out what made him weak.  So the Philistines were historic enemies to the Israelites.  We once again see Jonathan, although this time he is described as Saul’s son.  We don’t know how old he is, but we do see that he has a mind of his own and definitely wants to kill Philistines, the enemies of Israel.

So he leaves the camp where there are hundreds of soldiers and and sets out with his armor bearer to see if he can scare up any Philistines.  He does and he kills over a dozen and Saul sees the commotion in the camp of the Philistines and wonders what is going on.  We see that Saul was quite a stern commander.  He reminds me a lot of my basketball coach in college.  A great guy, but pretty stern in some ways.  He told the troops not to touch any food until they had completely annihilated the Philistines.  Of course, his son Jonathan was busy sneaking behind enemy lines to hear this command and so missed out.

Jonathan eats and encourages others to eat until everyone is doing the opposite of what the king said and he has no clue how this started.  He says the person who started this will die, even if it is my own son.  It is his own son, he decides he should die, but the people tell him: You do know that he is a mighty warrior.  It would be a huge mistake to kill him.  So, he ends up not killing him.  That pretty much sums up the stories that take place in this chapter.  The stories of Saul and his son Jonathan.  We haven’t seen David yet, but we are close.  We know that there will be a new king because Samuel had said that the disobedience of Saul was going to make that happen.  That seems like a long time ago and it could easily be forgotten because of the intensity and the success of Saul at this point.

September 27, 2019: Day 13 – I Samuel 13

What do you see as you read the first verse of this chapter?  Do you see the big hole that is there?  The literal translation of the Hebrew is: “Saul was…years old when he began to reign, and he reigned…and two years over Israel.”  You do know that we do not own the original manuscript of any of these texts.  We do not own the original document that John wrote when he wrote his Gospel or when he wrote Revelation.  We do not have the original letter to the church in Philippi.   We do not have the original text of whomever wrote Genesis.  What we have is a compilation of documents some of which go back to the 10th century, a few go back to the 1st century as a result of the finding of the Dead Sea Scrolls, but most go back to the 14th or 15th century.  That is well over a thousand years from the time the document was originally written and to where we are today.  Think of how many times that document was written and rewritten.

It is no wonder then that there may be places in Scripture that we simply do not know and do not have the Hebrew that originally went in this place.  We can make really smart guesses as to what should be there.  For example we hear in Acts 13:21 that Saul reigned 40 years, but again, that is just a really good educated guess that in this place the number 40  should be added.

I don’t  want this original document reality to shake you up.  The Spirit of God has been present and has been evident in the rewriting of these text through the ages.  Before the Dead Sea Scrolls were found the next oldest text was from the 10th century.  When the scroll of Isaiah was found and it was written nearly 1,000 years earlier, the document was virtually identical.  I say virtually because there were some differences but none of significance.  This is why Scripture continues to be the ultimate authority for me in how I live my life and how I make decisions.

So about this chapter.  It doesn’t take long for Saul to lose favor with the Lord.  He gets restless and doesn’t wait for Samuel to show up to offer the sacrifices as he is about to go against the Philistines.  He was getting restless because his troops were seeing the size of the Philistines and they were getting nervous and because it was taking so much time for Samuel to get there and for them to be ready for battle, Saul decides to wait no longer and to make the sacrifice himself.  When Samuel sees what he did he says: “What have you done?”  “You have done foolishly.”  As a result he is stripped of his throne.  That didn’t take long.  But it does take a while for him to give up his throne.

We also see Jonathan, his son, for the first time in this Scripture.  He is a grown man and he is not identified as his son until a bit later on.  Keep your eye on the relationship that Jonathan and David have.  It is pretty interesting.

September 26, 2019: Day 12 – I Samuel 12

We have a summary statement of Samuel and in some ways also a clearing of his name.  He calls the people together and says that he is in their presence as is his children.  Look at vs.2 where he says that he is old, but his kids are there.  But remember what it was that caused the people of Israel to ask for a king?  The corruption of the sons of Samuel caused the people to lose faith in the efficacy of the priestly class.  He calls the people out and asks them, have I ever been corrupt?  Have I ever stolen anything from any of you?  They all answer together that they are witnesses that Samuel has not been corrupt.  He doesn’t ask if his children were corrupt, but he just wants to clear his name.

As a result he gives the people the history of the judges, of which he considers himself one.  He tells the people of Israel this is the end of an era.  You asked for a king, now you will get a king.  But, this king will serve you no purpose if you do not obey the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and strength.  A king is not going to solve your problems.  In fact, Samuel expresses disappointment that the people couldn’t just view God as king and carry on with life as he, Samuel, judges the nation of Israel.  But you asked for a king, now you have one.  Saul is your king.  Just to prove my point I’m going to make it rain and thunder in the middle of the most important time of year for you, your wheat harvest.  Not the nicest thing to do, but he does prove his point.  

September 25, 2019: Day 11 – I Samuel 11

We find Saul’s first battle as king.  Do you notice that he hears about the potential of an invading and cruel nation while he is returning from the fields with his oxen.  We are not to think that when Saul is made king that somehow he is living in a castle on a hill far away and that people are serving him.  No, it actually seems like nothing in his life had changed.  Actually, what has changed can be seen in vs.6 where we read that the Spirit of God fell upon him in power.  That is a great change and that has to be the direct result of the change of heart that he had in the last chapter.

Things get a bit confusing at the end of the chapter.  We have Saul lead an armed force against the Ammonites and he takes them by surprise.  The battle is complete and “no two of them were left together.”  It was a rout by the Israelites like they had never experienced before.   As a result the people wanted to single out the naysayers from within Israel when Paul took over.  Their hope was to eradicate the naysayers from among them and actually kill them.  Fortunately Samuel steps in and says, hey, instead of that, let’s just have another service of confirmation for Saul’s reign.  Let’s just have a party instead.

Starting at vs.15 we find the actual coronation of Saul.  All the people go up and offer sacrifices to the Lord.  Everyone rejoiced greatly.  It just takes a massacre in order for the people to support Saul.  

September 24, 2019: Day 10 – I Samuel 10

We find the anointing of Saul take place at the very beginning of this chapter.  Stacy and I have watched both seasons of the show The Crown.  It is something we have never done before, watched a show consistently.  It was fascinating and I am somewhat looking forward to the next season starting in November.  The pomp that went into the crowning of Queen Elizabeth was amazing.  The weaving of the political and the religious is evident in that the Queen is said to have been chosen and anointed by God.  In front of everyone the choosing of the queen becomes evident and becomes front and center.

That really wasn’t the case with Saul.  There was only Samuel and Saul and he gives him directions on what to do in order to make his anointing a public affair, which up to this point it has not been.  Samuel gives him a whole list of things that he is going to see and how he is supposed to act.  As king he is told that he is to prophesy, and so there is a very real intersecting between the religious and the political.  Now that is something that we do not have within our governing system, but many countries do, especially those that have monarchies.

Don’t  overlook vs.9 where you see that  God gave Saul a new heart.  That is what we are given when we receive Jesus as our Savior, as we sign onto the new covenant and our lives are recorded in the book of life, we are given a new heart.  But like anything new, it can get used and abused, as we see later on with Saul and his heart.  

Do you see how Saul embraces his new responsibilities?  I love this quote in vs.22 which reflects how he was feeling about becoming king: “See, he has hidden himself among the baggage.”  Yeah, not really embracing his new role.  But all the people call out to him: “Long live the king.”  When we are called to a new role or to a responsibility within the church our first reaction might be to hide among the baggage.   But I pray that we would extricate ourselves from our suitcases and start to feel more comfortable as we lead people and as we lead the church to a future where our hearts would be changed for the Lord.

September 23, 2019: Day 9 – I Samuel 9

Today we get introduced to the first king of Israel.  It is interesting how he is described.  Look at vs.2 where he is described as a handsome man.  Then look at I Samuel 16:7, just 7 chapters later where it seems as if God is commanding Samuel to not pay attention to the way he looks.  What a complete reversal this is.  

The story goes that the first king of Israel was out searching for the lost donkeys of his father.  Does this sound at all  like Genesis 37:14 where Joseph goes searching for his brothers and their flocks?  I think there is some similarity, because what happens next changes the course of Israel and the course of the world.  Joseph is captured and sent into Egypt thus saving the nation of Israel from extinction.  Saul searches for the donkeys and is met by Samuel who was told the day before that a man from the Benjaminite tribe was going to meet him, and he would be the next king.  This also changes the course of Israel and eventually the world.

Also, just like the story of Joseph, a meal is presented and Saul is surprised by the attention that he gets, just like the brothers are surprised by the attention that they get from Joseph.  At the end of the meal Samuel says that he wants to see Saul alone.  That is where we leave this chapter.  But next chapter we are going to have the first crowning/anointing of a king.  Can’t wait!

September 22, 2019: Day 8 – I Samuel 8

The problem which brings up the issue of a king is that the children of Samuel are corrupt.  If Samuel had children who were righteous and willing to do the will of the Lord then the people never would have asked for a king.  It seems like both the children of Eli and the children of Samuel were the typical pastor’s kids who were rebellious and unleashed.  It is interesting how the people of Israel gather together and confront Daniel and say nothing about the corruption of his  children, but rather change the subject and think: Well if we can’t have other gods like the other nations have, let’s have the next best thing, a king!

Samuel doesn’t know what to do with this request so he does the best thing, he asks God what he is supposed to do with this request.  God doesn’t get angry, but is somewhat passive aggressive as he reassures Samuel that the people aren’t mad with him but that they always treated God this way, in that they wanted something tangible to take the place of God.  Instead of allowing God to be their king, they wanted to choose their own king.  Yeah, God wasn’t happy, but it isn’t your fault Samuel, the people have always been this way.

Before you give  them an answer remind them of what it means to have a king: he will take your property, he will take your sons, he will take your wives, he will take your daughter, he will make you a slave, you will have no freedom…but if you want a king…go for it!  Samuel relays this information to the people and their main issue is that they want a king for the sake of security.   We need someone to lead us into battle against our enemies.  Isn’t it amazing what freedoms we will be willing to give up in the name of security.  

Wow, this is so applicable to today.  We are willing to give up freedoms, we are willing to give up openness, we are willing to give up our obedience to love the stranger, we are willing to give so much up in order to feel safer, even if we are not safer.  That is what marks our society and our culture today.  It is frustrating as you know that the steps that people take are actually not going to make them safer, but the Lord says, go ahead, give them a king.  Give them what they want to make themselves feel safer, even if they are not safer and are actually disobeying the Lord in what they are doing.  God have mercy.

September 21, 2019: Day 7 – I Samuel 7

It seems as if we have entered once again the season of the the Judges.  Samuel takes on the responsibility of being a Judge as we find in vs.16 of this chapter.  Notice that he is ministering to the people of Israel as the high priest.  During this time the Philistines tried to go against him because they heard that they were all gathered at Mizpah.  As a result they went up against the Israelites, probably to show this new upstart who was in charge, and tried to slaughter them while they were in Mizpah.

It didn’t go so well.  The Lord actually revealed himself in a terrifying loud voice and created confusion among the Philistines as they were attempting to attack the Israelites.  As a result the men of Israel were able to rout the Philistines and they chased them away from their land.  That went well.  Do you know the song that goes: Here I raise my Ebenezer?  This is from where it comes.  Samuel raised an Ebenezer, which means stone of help, in order to show what the Lord had done on that day.  What is our stone of help?   What do we have a signal and a sign to us that the Lord is going to help.

Wouldn’t it be amazing to have somewhere in the church, maybe in the courtyard, a stone of help, an Ebenezer to remind us that the Lord is our help and our strength.  Let’s finish this day with a reminder that we ought to raise an Ebenezer to remember that God has helped us.

September 20, 2019: Day 6 – I Samuel 6

The glory of the Lord returns back to the people of  God.  We find in this chapter that the Philistines had the ark of the covenant for seven months and wanted nothing to do with it.  So they consulted with their religious people and they told the leaders that they should send it back from whence it came with an offering to basically say that we are sorry for taking it from you.

Notice that the pain of the lost battles and the lost men in battle had not dissipated but remained with the people.  Reclaiming the ark was important and it was a reminder to the people around the Israelites that you may defeat the people in battle, but you cannot defeat the God who is behind them and supports them.  You then have this puzzling presence of Jeconiah who wasn’t at all interest in the celebrations that were taking place and killed the folks who were happy about the ark.  We don’t hear about him again.  

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