1 Samuel 8

Crown a king.

WEEK 11                                       1 Samuel 8   

FRIDAY  Reflections

Thomas Paine wrote that "Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one." God offered Israel a covenant without a king but they could not do it without falling into disobedience. Now Israel is looking to find a king to solve their problems.

 

God's plan was to be their king and in Jesus, He is that king. God here is allowing Israel to make a choice for the wrong reason. God will use their choice for His ultimate plan. Here God is allowing them to have free will but it will lead them to where God wants to take them. God isn't deceitful. God warns them what will come with the human kings but they refuse to see the warnings. God, however, is not thwarted in His plans even as Israel chooses a human king. 

 

Side note: Thomas Paine used this scripture in his pamphlet, Common Sense.

 

1Sa 8:1-22
(1)  And it came to pass, when Samuel was old, that he made his sons judges over Israel.
(2)  Now the name of his firstborn was Joel; and the name of his second, Abiah: they were judges in Beersheba.
(3)  And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment.
(4)  Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah,
(5)  And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.
(6)  But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the LORD.
(7)  And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.
(8)  According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee.
(9)  Now therefore hearken unto their voice: howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them, and shew them the manner of the king that shall reign over them.
(10)  And Samuel told all the words of the LORD unto the people that asked of him a king.
(11)  And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots.
(12)  And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots.
(13)  And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers.
(14)  And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants.
(15)  And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants.
(16)  And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work.
(17)  He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants.
(18)  And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the LORD will not hear you in that day.
(19)  Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us;
(20)  That we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles.
(21)  And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he rehearsed them in the ears of the LORD.
(22)  And the LORD said to Samuel, Hearken unto their voice, and make them a king. And Samuel said unto the men of Israel, Go ye every man unto his city.

Romans 1

WEEK  11                                        Romans 1      

THURSDAY  Reflections

The Book of Romans is despised by many people because of Paul's very clear rejection of the gay lifestyle in chapter one. Some have tried to say Paul was talking about the forced sexual relations that took place in the temples and not the modern gay relationship. The problem is Paul isn't making a treatise on sex but on the condition of humanity.

 

Paul though isn't pointing out the gay lifestyle as the only example of people who have rejected the knowledge of God (verse 28).  He goes on and lists other examples, "being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same but also give hearty approval to those who practice them" (verses 29-32). Paul isn't picking on those in the gay lifestyle but all versions of sin. For Paul (and God) being unmerciful is just as much a sign of rejection of God as any sexual sin or murder.

 

Paul goes on and points out that we would like to point out the sins of others but in truth, we are doing the same thing, rejecting God's authority. I would argue that some sins have a greater impact (though the list in God's mind is different from ours, I am sure), the problem is that they all end in the same place, rebellion against God. Dying from being poisoned by a sleeping drug might be less traumatic than murder by being thrown to the lions but in the end, you're still dead. This is the point Paul is trying to make. Some people were thinking they were better than others but the truth was they were all dead spiritually.

Rom 1:1-32
(1)  Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,
(2)  (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,)
(3)  Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh;
(4)  And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:
(5)  By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name:
(6)  Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ:
(7)  To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.
(8)  First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.
(9)  For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers;
(10)  Making request, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you.
(11)  For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established;
(12)  That is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.
(13)  Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, (but was let hitherto,) that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles.
(14)  I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise.
(15)  So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also.
(16)  For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
(17)  For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
(18)  For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
(19)  Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
(20)  For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
(21)  Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
(22)  Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
(23)  And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
(24)  Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
(25)  Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
(26)  For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:
(27)  And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.
(28)  And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
(29)  Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
(30)  Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
(31)  Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:
(32)  Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

Proverbs 17

WEEK   11                                    Proverbs 17

WEDNESDAY  Reflections

Great bits of wisdom here but the first part of verse 27 grabs my attention. Paraphrased: If you're smart you will keep silent. So on that I will end, today. 

Pro 17:1-28
(1)  Better is a dry morsel, and quietness therewith, than an house full of sacrifices with strife.
(2)  A wise servant shall have rule over a son that causeth shame, and shall have part of the inheritance among the brethren.
(3)  The fining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold: but the LORD trieth the hearts.
(4)  A wicked doer giveth heed to false lips; and a liar giveth ear to a naughty tongue.
(5)  Whoso mocketh the poor reproacheth his Maker: and he that is glad at calamities shall not be unpunished.
(6)  Children's children are the crown of old men; and the glory of children are their fathers.
(7)  Excellent speech becometh not a fool: much less do lying lips a prince.
(8)  A gift is as a precious stone in the eyes of him that hath it: whithersoever it turneth, it prospereth.
(9)  He that covereth a transgression seeketh love; but he that repeateth a matter separateth very friends.
(10)  A reproof entereth more into a wise man than an hundred stripes into a fool.
(11)  An evil man seeketh only rebellion: therefore a cruel messenger shall be sent against him.
(12)  Let a bear robbed of her whelps meet a man, rather than a fool in his folly.
(13)  Whoso rewardeth evil for good, evil shall not depart from his house.
(14)  The beginning of strife is as when one letteth out water: therefore leave off contention, before it be meddled with.
(15)  He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the LORD.
(16)  Wherefore is there a price in the hand of a fool to get wisdom, seeing he hath no heart to it?
(17)  A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.
(18)  A man void of understanding striketh hands, and becometh surety in the presence of his friend.
(19)  He loveth transgression that loveth strife: and he that exalteth his gate seeketh destruction.
(20)  He that hath a froward heart findeth no good: and he that hath a perverse tongue falleth into mischief.
(21)  He that begetteth a fool doeth it to his sorrow: and the father of a fool hath no joy.
(22)  A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.
(23)  A wicked man taketh a gift out of the bosom to pervert the ways of judgment.
(24)  Wisdom is before him that hath understanding; but the eyes of a fool are in the ends of the earth.
(25)  A foolish son is a grief to his father, and bitterness to her that bare him.
(26)  Also to punish the just is not good, nor to strike princes for equity.
(27)  He that hath knowledge spareth his words: and a man of understanding is of an excellent spirit.
(28)  Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.

1 Samuel 7

WEEK   11                                         1 Samuel 7

TUESDAY  Reflections

Samuel called the nation into repentance after years of disobedience and running from their enemies, things change. The first step was that Israel had to repent. Repentance (changing, turning from sin or actions) has to take place if they are going to have a right relationship with God. Once the relationship with God is restored then Israel is in a place to receive God's blessings. This is true for any relationship after there has been a break because someone did wrong. Forgiveness can be given but without the wrongdoer repenting (changing), a relationship can’t be restored to what it should be.

 

Israel also realized that it was God who was going to save them from their enemies. Israel, therefore, went to the one person that they know was in a relationship with God, Samuel, and begged him to pray for them.

 

Now that Israel was where it was supposed to be, peace could come to the land.        

1Sa 7:1-17
(1)  And the men of Kirjathjearim came, and fetched up the ark of the LORD, and brought it into the house of Abinadab in the hill, and sanctified Eleazar his son to keep the ark of the LORD.
(2)  And it came to pass, while the ark abode in Kirjathjearim, that the time was long; for it was twenty years: and all the house of Israel lamented after the LORD.
(3)  And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto the LORD with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the LORD, and serve him only: and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.
(4)  Then the children of Israel did put away Baalim and Ashtaroth, and served the LORD only.
(5)  And Samuel said, Gather all Israel to Mizpeh, and I will pray for you unto the LORD.
(6)  And they gathered together to Mizpeh, and drew water, and poured it out before the LORD, and fasted on that day, and said there, We have sinned against the LORD. And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpeh.
(7)  And when the Philistines heard that the children of Israel were gathered together to Mizpeh, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the children of Israel heard it, they were afraid of the Philistines.
(8)  And the children of Israel said to Samuel, Cease not to cry unto the LORD our God for us, that he will save us out of the hand of the Philistines.
(9)  And Samuel took a sucking lamb, and offered it for a burnt offering wholly unto the LORD: and Samuel cried unto the LORD for Israel; and the LORD heard him.
(10)  And as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel: but the LORD thundered with a great thunder on that day upon the Philistines, and discomfited them; and they were smitten before Israel.
(11)  And the men of Israel went out of Mizpeh, and pursued the Philistines, and smote them, until they came under Bethcar.
(12)  Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Ebenezer, saying, Hitherto hath the LORD helped us.
(13)  So the Philistines were subdued, and they came no more into the coast of Israel: and the hand of the LORD was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.
(14)  And the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron even unto Gath; and the coasts thereof did Israel deliver out of the hands of the Philistines. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites.
(15)  And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life.
(16)  And he went from year to year in circuit to Bethel, and Gilgal, and Mizpeh, and judged Israel in all those places.
(17)  And his return was to Ramah; for there was his house; and there he judged Israel; and there he built an altar unto the LORD.

1 Samuel 6 One Last Test

WEEK   11                                         1 Samuel 6

MONDAY  Reflections

One last test.

 

Yes, this is what is happening in the middle of 1 Samuel chapter 6. The Philistines have had it with the Ark of God (the symbol of God's presence on earth). The ark has brought nothing but trouble, and yet even as they send it back they are testing God. They take two cows who have calves and have never had a yoke placed on them and let them return the ark of God on a cart. A note here: cows don't like being separated from their young, second a cow or any animal has to be taught (broken) so that they know how to work with a yoke. Finally, there isn't just one untrained cow but two. What should have happened was the cows bolting leaving the cart, the ark, and everything in it to go flying. However, God wasn't through showing his power.

 

God passed this final test. The cows took the Ark straight back to the Israelites, proving to the Philistines that God was greater.

 

The story should have ended in rejoicing, but the Israelites at Bethshemesh disobeyed God. They tried looking on the ark and opening it. God had told Israel not to do this. What should have been a time of rejoicing turned into sorrow. God punished Israel for a crime greater than the Philistines. Why was it greater? They should have known better.

 

In the end, with the cows and with the deaths God proved He was who He said He was.

1Sa 6:1-21
(1)  And the ark of the LORD was in the country of the Philistines seven months.
(2)  And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, What shall we do to the ark of the LORD? tell us wherewith we shall send it to his place.
(3)  And they said, If ye send away the ark of the God of Israel, send it not empty; but in any wise return him a trespass offering: then ye shall be healed, and it shall be known to you why his hand is not removed from you.
(4)  Then said they, What shall be the trespass offering which we shall return to him? They answered, Five golden emerods, and five golden mice, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines: for one plague was on you all, and on your lords.
(5)  Wherefore ye shall make images of your emerods, and images of your mice that mar the land; and ye shall give glory unto the God of Israel: peradventure he will lighten his hand from off you, and from off your gods, and from off your land.
(6)  Wherefore then do ye harden your hearts, as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? when he had wrought wonderfully among them, did they not let the people go, and they departed?
(7)  Now therefore make a new cart, and take two milch kine, on which there hath come no yoke, and tie the kine to the cart, and bring their calves home from them:
(8)  And take the ark of the LORD, and lay it upon the cart; and put the jewels of gold, which ye return him for a trespass offering, in a coffer by the side thereof; and send it away, that it may go.
(9)  And see, if it goeth up by the way of his own coast to Bethshemesh, then he hath done us this great evil: but if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that smote us: it was a chance that happened to us.
(10)  And the men did so; and took two milch kine, and tied them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home:
(11)  And they laid the ark of the LORD upon the cart, and the coffer with the mice of gold and the images of their emerods.
(12)  And the kine took the straight way to the way of Bethshemesh, and went along the highway, lowing as they went, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left; and the lords of the Philistines went after them unto the border of Bethshemesh.
(13)  And they of Bethshemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley: and they lifted up their eyes, and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it.
(14)  And the cart came into the field of Joshua, a Bethshemite, and stood there, where there was a great stone: and they clave the wood of the cart, and offered the kine a burnt offering unto the LORD.
(15)  And the Levites took down the ark of the LORD, and the coffer that was with it, wherein the jewels of gold were, and put them on the great stone: and the men of Bethshemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices the same day unto the LORD.
(16)  And when the five lords of the Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron the same day.
(17)  And these are the golden emerods which the Philistines returned for a trespass offering unto the LORD; for Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Askelon one, for Gath one, for Ekron one;
(18)  And the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both of fenced cities, and of country villages, even unto the great stone of Abel, whereon they set down the ark of the LORD: which stone remaineth unto this day in the field of Joshua, the Bethshemite.
(19)  And he smote the men of Bethshemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the LORD, even he smote of the people fifty thousand and threescore and ten men: and the people lamented, because the LORD had smitten many of the people with a great slaughter.
(20)  And the men of Bethshemesh said, Who is able to stand before this holy LORD God? and to whom shall he go up from us?
(21)  And they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kirjathjearim, saying, The Philistines have brought again the ark of the LORD; come ye down, and fetch it up to you.