1 Samuel 15

WEEK  14                                            1 Samuel 15

FRIDAY  Reflections

Pretend the doctor comes to you and says “The reason you are sick is because of your appendix. I want to remove it immediately.” You may wonder if it is really necessary and when the doctor confirms that if it isn’t removed you will be dead in a week or two at the most. Knowing your doctor isn’t vicious or mean, you allow the surgery to take place.

 

There are people who argue with President Truman's decision that the A-bomb was necessary to save lives.  Even so, there are many people who at disturbed that God ordered a massacre. Unlike the doctor wanting to remove a sick appendix, God has something Truman, doctors, or we will never have, a perfect view of eternity. God knew what would happen if even one person escaped. Let me tell you later we find out in the book of Esther that at least one person and probably many people escaped, and it almost caused the extinction of Israel.

 

Also, why kill everything and take nothing for spoils?  This was a reminder to Israel, this was God’s judgment and not a raiding mission (pirating was common in those times, as it is still today in some places). This wasn’t to be a way to gain wealth. When the people walked away there should have been a sense of dread. This was a reminder of the consequences of fighting against God. This lesson wasn’t taught, and we will never know what might have changed in the hearts of Israel if Saul would have been obedient. 

1Sa 15:1-35
(1)  Samuel also said unto Saul, The LORD sent me to anoint thee to be king over his people, over Israel: now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the words of the LORD.
(2)  Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt.
(3)  Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.
(4)  And Saul gathered the people together, and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Judah.
(5)  And Saul came to a city of Amalek, and laid wait in the valley.
(6)  And Saul said unto the Kenites, Go, depart, get you down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them: for ye shewed kindness to all the children of Israel, when they came up out of Egypt. So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites.
(7)  And Saul smote the Amalekites from Havilah until thou comest to Shur, that is over against Egypt.
(8)  And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.
(9)  But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.
(10)  Then came the word of the LORD unto Samuel, saying,
(11)  It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments. And it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the LORD all night.
(12)  And when Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning, it was told Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel, and, behold, he set him up a place, and is gone about, and passed on, and gone down to Gilgal.
(13)  And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the LORD: I have performed the commandment of the LORD.
(14)  And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?
(15)  And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.
(16)  Then Samuel said unto Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what the LORD hath said to me this night. And he said unto him, Say on.
(17)  And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel?
(18)  And the LORD sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed.
(19)  Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the LORD, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the LORD?
(20)  And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.
(21)  But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal.
(22)  And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.
(23)  For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.
(24)  And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.
(25)  Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD.
(26)  And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD hath rejected thee from being king over Israel.
(27)  And as Samuel turned about to go away, he laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent.
(28)  And Samuel said unto him, The LORD hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, that is better than thou.
(29)  And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent.
(30)  Then he said, I have sinned: yet honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD thy God.
(31)  So Samuel turned again after Saul; and Saul worshipped the LORD.
(32)  Then said Samuel, Bring ye hither to me Agag the king of the Amalekites. And Agag came unto him delicately. And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past.
(33)  And Samuel said, As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the LORD in Gilgal.
(34)  Then Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his house to Gibeah of Saul.
(35)  And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death: nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul: and the LORD repented that he had made Saul king over Israel.

Photo by Federico Sironi on Unsplash

Romans 4

WEEK  14                                             Romans 4  

THURSDAY  Reflections

Jews looked to Abraham as their father and the Father of the Faithful. Paul uses this idea but goes on to show how even Abraham was saved not by works he did, but by the faith he had in God. This shows even in the past it was faith which brought salvation and not the law.

 

James doesn’t contradict Paul when he points out Abraham’s works. However, Paul is dealing with the problem of people thinking the law and works could save them, where James is dealing with the opposite, a claimed faith which brings no change or actions. As Paul goes on, it is clear that faith in Christ not only brings change but a new way of living and walking in the Spirit. 

Rom 4:1-25
(1)  What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found?
(2)  For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.
(3)  For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.
(4)  Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.
(5)  But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
(6)  Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works,
(7)  Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.
(8)  Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.
(9)  Cometh this blessedness then upon the circumcision only, or upon the uncircumcision also? for we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness.
(10)  How was it then reckoned? when he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision.
(11)  And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also:
(12)  And the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being yet uncircumcised.
(13)  For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.
(14)  For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect:
(15)  Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression.
(16)  Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all,
(17)  (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.
(18)  Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.
(19)  And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara's womb:
(20)  He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;
(21)  And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.
(22)  And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.
(23)  Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him;
(24)  But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;
(25)  Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

Photo by Clem Onojeghuo on Unsplash

Psalm 81

WEEK  14                                          Psalm 81     

WEDNESDAY  Reflections

This psalm tries to capture the heart of God. The God who rescued Israel and brought her into the promised land. God is heartbroken because all He wants to do is to protect Israel but her people won’t obey. They will not stay where He can bless them.

God wants to do so much God for Israel and bless them with the sweet things in life. This is where the Psalm ends, God waiting for Israel to come and be blessed.


Psa 81:1-16
(1)  To the chief Musician upon Gittith, A Psalm of Asaph. Sing aloud unto God our strength: make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob.
(2)  Take a psalm, and bring hither the timbrel, the pleasant harp with the psaltery.
(3)  Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day.
(4)  For this was a statute for Israel, and a law of the God of Jacob.
(5)  This he ordained in Joseph for a testimony, when he went out through the land of Egypt: where I heard a language that I understood not.
(6)  I removed his shoulder from the burden: his hands were delivered from the pots.
(7)  Thou calledst in trouble, and I delivered thee; I answered thee in the secret place of thunder: I proved thee at the waters of Meribah. Selah.
(8)  Hear, O my people, and I will testify unto thee: O Israel, if thou wilt hearken unto me;
(9)  There shall no strange god be in thee; neither shalt thou worship any strange god.
(10)  I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.
(11)  But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me.
(12)  So I gave them up unto their own hearts' lust: and they walked in their own counsels.
(13)  Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways!
(14)  I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries.
(15)  The haters of the LORD should have submitted themselves unto him: but their time should have endured for ever.
(16)  He should have fed them also with the finest of the wheat: and with honey out of the rock should I have satisfied thee.

Photo by Karim MANJRA on Unsplash

1 Samuel 14

WEEK  14                                           1 Samuel 14

TUESDAY  Reflections

Jonathan was used by God and then it seems betrayed by God. God caused the lot to fall on Jonathan because he had disobeyed Saul's command, as foolish as it was. The commentaries I reviewed agreed with what I was thinking.  God wasn't saying that Jonathan deserved to die but the lot should have caused Saul to realize the foolishness of his ways. Jonathan did right and the people did right in protecting Jonathan from Saul's rashness.

 

Saul, as we will see, was beginning to trust his own plans. He tried to manipulate God. First by calling for a fast and second by calling for the ark of God, perhaps thinking it would save them. When we come near to the end of the chapter it is the people who save the man God used (Jonathan). There is no indication Saul understood his own mistakes. Saul ends up taking charge of Israel, drafting any strong men, and in an interesting wording went out and fought his (Saul's) enemies. It seems to me at the end of the chapter Saul is looking to Saul and not God. 

1Sa 14:1-52
(1)  Now it came to pass upon a day, that Jonathan the son of Saul said unto the young man that bare his armour, Come, and let us go over to the Philistines' garrison, that is on the other side. But he told not his father.
(2)  And Saul tarried in the uttermost part of Gibeah under a pomegranate tree which is in Migron: and the people that were with him were about six hundred men;
(3)  And Ahiah, the son of Ahitub, Ichabod's brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the LORD'S priest in Shiloh, wearing an ephod. And the people knew not that Jonathan was gone.
(4)  And between the passages, by which Jonathan sought to go over unto the Philistines' garrison, there was a sharp rock on the one side, and a sharp rock on the other side: and the name of the one was Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh.
(5)  The forefront of the one was situate northward over against Michmash, and the other southward over against Gibeah.
(6)  And Jonathan said to the young man that bare his armour, Come, and let us go over unto the garrison of these uncircumcised: it may be that the LORD will work for us: for there is no restraint to the LORD to save by many or by few.
(7)  And his armourbearer said unto him, Do all that is in thine heart: turn thee; behold, I am with thee according to thy heart.
(8)  Then said Jonathan, Behold, we will pass over unto these men, and we will discover ourselves unto them.
(9)  If they say thus unto us, Tarry until we come to you; then we will stand still in our place, and will not go up unto them.
(10)  But if they say thus, Come up unto us; then we will go up: for the LORD hath delivered them into our hand: and this shall be a sign unto us.
(11)  And both of them discovered themselves unto the garrison of the Philistines: and the Philistines said, Behold, the Hebrews come forth out of the holes where they had hid themselves.
(12)  And the men of the garrison answered Jonathan and his armourbearer, and said, Come up to us, and we will shew you a thing. And Jonathan said unto his armourbearer, Come up after me: for the LORD hath delivered them into the hand of Israel.
(13)  And Jonathan climbed up upon his hands and upon his feet, and his armourbearer after him: and they fell before Jonathan; and his armourbearer slew after him.
(14)  And that first slaughter, which Jonathan and his armourbearer made, was about twenty men, within as it were an half acre of land, which a yoke of oxen might plow.
(15)  And there was trembling in the host, in the field, and among all the people: the garrison, and the spoilers, they also trembled, and the earth quaked: so it was a very great trembling.
(16)  And the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin looked; and, behold, the multitude melted away, and they went on beating down one another.
(17)  Then said Saul unto the people that were with him, Number now, and see who is gone from us. And when they had numbered, behold, Jonathan and his armourbearer were not there.
(18)  And Saul said unto Ahiah, Bring hither the ark of God. For the ark of God was at that time with the children of Israel.
(19)  And it came to pass, while Saul talked unto the priest, that the noise that was in the host of the Philistines went on and increased: and Saul said unto the priest, Withdraw thine hand.
(20)  And Saul and all the people that were with him assembled themselves, and they came to the battle: and, behold, every man's sword was against his fellow, and there was a very great discomfiture.
(21)  Moreover the Hebrews that were with the Philistines before that time, which went up with them into the camp from the country round about, even they also turned to be with the Israelites that were with Saul and Jonathan.
(22)  Likewise all the men of Israel which had hid themselves in mount Ephraim, when they heard that the Philistines fled, even they also followed hard after them in the battle.
(23)  So the LORD saved Israel that day: and the battle passed over unto Bethaven.
(24)  And the men of Israel were distressed that day: for Saul had adjured the people, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth any food until evening, that I may be avenged on mine enemies. So none of the people tasted any food.
(25)  And all they of the land came to a wood; and there was honey upon the ground.
(26)  And when the people were come into the wood, behold, the honey dropped; but no man put his hand to his mouth: for the people feared the oath.
(27)  But Jonathan heard not when his father charged the people with the oath: wherefore he put forth the end of the rod that was in his hand, and dipped it in an honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth; and his eyes were enlightened.
(28)  Then answered one of the people, and said, Thy father straitly charged the people with an oath, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth any food this day. And the people were faint.
(29)  Then said Jonathan, My father hath troubled the land: see, I pray you, how mine eyes have been enlightened, because I tasted a little of this honey.
(30)  How much more, if haply the people had eaten freely to day of the spoil of their enemies which they found? for had there not been now a much greater slaughter among the Philistines?
(31)  And they smote the Philistines that day from Michmash to Aijalon: and the people were very faint.
(32)  And the people flew upon the spoil, and took sheep, and oxen, and calves, and slew them on the ground: and the people did eat them with the blood.
(33)  Then they told Saul, saying, Behold, the people sin against the LORD, in that they eat with the blood. And he said, Ye have transgressed: roll a great stone unto me this day.
(34)  And Saul said, Disperse yourselves among the people, and say unto them, Bring me hither every man his ox, and every man his sheep, and slay them here, and eat; and sin not against the LORD in eating with the blood. And all the people brought every man his ox with him that night, and slew them there.
(35)  And Saul built an altar unto the LORD: the same was the first altar that he built unto the LORD.
(36)  And Saul said, Let us go down after the Philistines by night, and spoil them until the morning light, and let us not leave a man of them. And they said, Do whatsoever seemeth good unto thee. Then said the priest, Let us draw near hither unto God.
(37)  And Saul asked counsel of God, Shall I go down after the Philistines? wilt thou deliver them into the hand of Israel? But he answered him not that day.
(38)  And Saul said, Draw ye near hither, all the chief of the people: and know and see wherein this sin hath been this day.
(39)  For, as the LORD liveth, which saveth Israel, though it be in Jonathan my son, he shall surely die. But there was not a man among all the people that answered him.
(40)  Then said he unto all Israel, Be ye on one side, and I and Jonathan my son will be on the other side. And the people said unto Saul, Do what seemeth good unto thee.
(41)  Therefore Saul said unto the LORD God of Israel, Give a perfect lot. And Saul and Jonathan were taken: but the people escaped.
(42)  And Saul said, Cast lots between me and Jonathan my son. And Jonathan was taken.
(43)  Then Saul said to Jonathan, Tell me what thou hast done. And Jonathan told him, and said, I did but taste a little honey with the end of the rod that was in mine hand, and, lo, I must die.
(44)  And Saul answered, God do so and more also: for thou shalt surely die, Jonathan.
(45)  And the people said unto Saul, Shall Jonathan die, who hath wrought this great salvation in Israel? God forbid: as the LORD liveth, there shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground; for he hath wrought with God this day. So the people rescued Jonathan, that he died not.
(46)  Then Saul went up from following the Philistines: and the Philistines went to their own place.
(47)  So Saul took the kingdom over Israel, and fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, and against the children of Ammon, and against Edom, and against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines: and whithersoever he turned himself, he vexed them.
(48)  And he gathered an host, and smote the Amalekites, and delivered Israel out of the hands of them that spoiled them.
(49)  Now the sons of Saul were Jonathan, and Ishui, and Melchishua: and the names of his two daughters were these; the name of the firstborn Merab, and the name of the younger Michal:
(50)  And the name of Saul's wife was Ahinoam, the daughter of Ahimaaz: and the name of the captain of his host was Abner, the son of Ner, Saul's uncle.
(51)  And Kish was the father of Saul; and Ner the father of Abner was the son of Abiel.
(52)  And there was sore war against the Philistines all the days of Saul: and when Saul saw any strong man, or any valiant man, he took him unto him.

Photo by Menglong Bao on Unsplash

1 Samuel 13

WEEK  14                                         1 Samuel 13

MONDAY  Reflections

This chapter begins the downfall of Saul. He has been king for two years and war is now upon Israel. They started out right but Saul faltered when he saw his army start to disintegrate in front of him.

 

Had Saul’s faith been in the Lord, he would have waited on God's timing, but Saul's faith moved from God to his army. The army didn't know if God would defend them, and Samuel the prophet of God was running late. Saul was probably counting on Samuel to offer sacrifice to God so the people wouldn't be afraid. The issue was that Saul was not a priest. Instead of waiting for a priest, he offered the sacrifice himself.

 

This might have been overlooked if Saul was truly wishing to please God. However, the text makes it very clear that the sacrifice was meant as a motivator for the people rather than a sacrifice to God. Saul used the things of God to try and manipulate his army.

 

The other issue that stands out here is he began to offer excuses. Here, and as we will see later, Saul will blame the Israelites for his choices. In modern wording, he said to Samuel, "I had to, they didn't give me a choice." Samuel didn't believe it and neither did God. We are responsible for our own actions, we cannot blame them on anyone else.

 

John Maxwell says, "Everything falls and rises on leadership." Though I do not always agree with this, it is true 99% of the time. Today, leadership comes in many forms, but in ancient Israel, responsibility always falls on the king. Saul was not willing to take responsibility. Yes, David in some ways did far worse than Saul, but nowhere do we see David blaming others for his sin. So at the end of the day, what helped make David the leader God wanted and Saul a reject was a willingness to accept responsibility for his own actions. 

1Sa 13:1-23
(1)  Saul reigned one year; and when he had reigned two years over Israel,
(2)  Saul chose him three thousand men of Israel; whereof two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and in mount Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin: and the rest of the people he sent every man to his tent.
(3)  And Jonathan smote the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geba, and the Philistines heard of it. And Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, Let the Hebrews hear.
(4)  And all Israel heard say that Saul had smitten a garrison of the Philistines, and that Israel also was had in abomination with the Philistines. And the people were called together after Saul to Gilgal.
(5)  And the Philistines gathered themselves together to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the sea shore in multitude: and they came up, and pitched in Michmash, eastward from Bethaven.
(6)  When the men of Israel saw that they were in a strait, (for the people were distressed,) then the people did hide themselves in caves, and in thickets, and in rocks, and in high places, and in pits.
(7)  And some of the Hebrews went over Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. As for Saul, he was yet in Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling.
(8)  And he tarried seven days, according to the set time that Samuel had appointed: but Samuel came not to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him.
(9)  And Saul said, Bring hither a burnt offering to me, and peace offerings. And he offered the burnt offering.
(10)  And it came to pass, that as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might salute him.
(11)  And Samuel said, What hast thou done? And Saul said, Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that thou camest not within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered themselves together at Michmash;
(12)  Therefore said I, The Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication unto the LORD: I forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt offering.
(13)  And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the LORD thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the LORD have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever.
(14)  But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee.
(15)  And Samuel arose, and gat him up from Gilgal unto Gibeah of Benjamin. And Saul numbered the people that were present with him, about six hundred men.
(16)  And Saul, and Jonathan his son, and the people that were present with them, abode in Gibeah of Benjamin: but the Philistines encamped in Michmash.
(17)  And the spoilers came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies: one company turned unto the way that leadeth to Ophrah, unto the land of Shual:
(18)  And another company turned the way to Bethhoron: and another company turned to the way of the border that looketh to the valley of Zeboim toward the wilderness.
(19)  Now there was no smith found throughout all the land of Israel: for the Philistines said, Lest the Hebrews make them swords or spears:
(20)  But all the Israelites went down to the Philistines, to sharpen every man his share, and his coulter, and his axe, and his mattock.
(21)  Yet they had a file for the mattocks, and for the coulters, and for the forks, and for the axes, and to sharpen the goads.
(22)  So it came to pass in the day of battle, that there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people that were with Saul and Jonathan: but with Saul and with Jonathan his son was there found.
(23)  And the garrison of the Philistines went out to the passage of Michmash.

Photo by Shalone Cason on Unsplash