I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Samuel 16-17.

If you read today’s passage as a single narrative told in chronological order (which is how we would do this today) there seems to be a contradiction about David’s introduction to King Saul’s court.  However, if you read these thinking of chapter 16 as an account about David from one person and chapter 17 as an account from another person.  The first person is telling about how David was anointed by Samuel and entered into King Saul’s court.  The second person is telling about how David defeated Goliath and thus became a warrior in King Saul’s army.

Each of these stories contain a valuable lesson for us.  In the account of Samuel anointing David when Samuel first saw David’s oldest brother Eliab, he thought him the very image of what a king should be, much as Saul had been the very image of what a king should be.  Eliab almost certainly had the command presence that many oldest sons have.  He expected people to do as he said, and as a result they usually did.  But God looks for more than that, and after King Saul Israel needed more than that.  In the second story we see what God saw in David.  In David’s confrontation with Goliath, Goliath began by trying to intimidate David.  Goliath was arrogant and sure of himself.  David was confident and sure of God.  In his reply to Goliath, David says, “You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies…” which is a precursor to what the prophet Zechariah says in Zechariah 4:6, “Not by force, nor by strength, buy by My Spirit says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.”  David recognized two important truths.  First, Goliath was defying God, not merely David.  Second, David knew he would not defeat Goliath by his own strength or skill.  Let us also face our enemies in the name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, and trust Him to defeat them.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Samuel 14-15.

The New Living Translation, which I primarily use for these studies, uses the Septuagint to translate 1 Samuel 14:18 as “Then Saul shouted to Ahijah, ‘Bring the ephod here!’ For at that time Ahijah was wearing the ephod in front of the Israelites.”  However, in the notes they mention that the Hebrew reads “Then Saul shouted to Ahijah, ‘Bring the Ark of God.’ For at that time the Ark of God was with the Israelites.”  Now you may ask why that is significant.  It shows us that Saul sought to make God the center of his kingship.  Here, and again at the end of the battle when he had this soldiers bring the beasts they were going to butcher to eat to be ritually killed so as to meet God’s dietary commands, Saul turned to God.  Yet, here we also see the root of Saul’s failure.  When he saw how things were going with the Philistine army, he decided that he did not have time to wait for the Ark to be brought, he did not have time to wait for God.  This follows what happened in yesterday’s passage where Saul became impatient waiting for Samuel to come to offer the sacrifices and did so himself.  We need to wait for God, even when it seems that we do not have time to do so.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Samuel 11-13.

Yesterday’s passage indicated that not all of the Israelites agreed with the idea of making Saul king.  In light of the thoughts I expressed about the government, or lack thereof, of Israel before they had a king, I suspect they disagreed with the idea of appointing a king, of establishing a government.  Also, in Samuel’s address to Israel after Saul’s victory Samuel puts the Israelites request for a king in a different light than yesterday’s account of it.  Samuel says that the Israelites requested a king because they were afraid of Nahash, king of the Ammon.  Samuel spells out for them what their request for a king really meant.  Previously, when oppressors threatened the people of Israel, God raised up someone to lead them through the crisis.  This time they did not wish to wait for God to act  They wanted someone to take charge and rescue them immediately.  We too are often like that when we are frightened about the future we often seek someone, or something, to rescue us rather than waiting for God to deliver us in His time.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Samuel 8-10.

Usually when I read this passage I think about what it says about Saul.  However, today I felt compelled to write about the warning Samuel gave the Israelites about their desire for a king.  When we read what Samuel said that a king would do it reads very much like what every government does.  I realized today that until Saul was anointed king, Israel had no government.  When the Israelites asked Samuel to give them a king, they were asking him to give them a formalized government.  They asked for a king because that was the only type of government they knew.  God’s response to Samuel’s request for guidance gives us a clear insight into God’s preferred form of governance.  By seeking a king, seeking a government, the Israelites admitted that they were unwilling, or unable, to obey God without the threat of force.  They were unwilling to wait for God to deal with those who chose to violate His commands and thus disrupted the peace of the land.  The Israelites wanted a king who could “do something” about the problems they faced instead of needing to put their faith in God.  In the same way, many people today want the government to “do something” about the problems we face rather than put their trust in God.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Samuel 4-7.

This passage shows us that it is not sufficient to call on God in our times of trouble.  We must also stop calling on other gods and serve only the Lord.  At the beginning of this passage the Israelites called on God and thought that by bringing the Ark of the Covenant into the battle God would have to give them victory.  However, it does not work that way.  We cannot force God to act according to our desires, we must act according to His will.  The Philistines learned a lesson we need to learn as well: just because we are successful does not mean we are doing the right thing.  The Philistines thought that capturing the Ark of the Covenant meant that their god(s) were more powerful than God.  God quickly disabused them of this notion.  After the return of the Ark to Israel, Samuel called on them to give up their idols and worship only the Lord.  The Israelites followed Samuel’s direction and he led them to victory over the Philistines.  We should note that while Samuel united the Israelites to follow God and to fight against the Philistines, he does not appear to have been their military leader.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Samuel 1-3.

When I am doing these daily Bible studies I don’t usually get much out of the various songs recorded in what are otherwise prose passages (I’m not sure why).  However, today, in light of what is going on in the world, Hannah’s prayer of praise jumped out to me.  I want to focus on Hannah’s praise of God and her gratefulness to Him.  First, Hannah acknowledges that her strength comes from God.  In these trying times let us turn to God for the strength to get through them.  If we attempt to rely on our own strength, we will fail.  God will shelter us in ways that no one and nothing else can.  God will be our rock, our shelter, if we trust in Him.  We need to stop acting proud and haughty.  Instead, we need to put our faith in God, for it is He who gives both life and death.  We cannot defeat the trials we face by strength alone and if we fight against God we will be destroyed no matter what we bring to the fight.  If you are experiencing desperation, reach out to God as Hannah did in this passage and dedicate yourself to serving Him.