I Samuel 15 Dear RTB’ers, Happy Father’s Day – to the few fathers on this list! Sorry about yesterday’s post; I was using my phone instead of my computer, with spotty signal all along our travel route. Today I’m home-based, a much better situation! Continuing with Saul (and Samuel)… Today we have Saul’s third misdeed. God …
Monthly Archives: June 2025
June 14 / I Samuel 14
I Samuel 14 Dear RTB’ers, Travel day, delayed post… Yes, travel, with very little signal along the way. Headed to Outer Banks, NC for some family time with our kids and grandkids. Not much to say today, the text is pretty straightforward: Saul makes a rash vow, his second major mistake. Did he not learn anything …
June 13 / I Samuel 13
I Samuel 13 Dear RTB’ers, It seems that a fair amount of time has passed since we first met Saul. A few chapters back he was tending his father’s livestock, even going off with a servant searching for some donkeys. Now he has a son, Jonathan, who is old enough to lead an army (vv. …
June 12 / I Samuel 12
I Samuel 12 Dear RTB’ers, Samuel spends five verses defending himself in today’s reading, then seven verses reflecting the Lord’s deliverance of His people – all of this leading up to his condemnation of the people in asking for a king. All is not lost, however: And now … behold, the LORD has set a …
June 11 / I Samuel 10:17-11:15
I Samuel 10:17-11:15 Dear RTB’ers, First, a couple of small items… Today we have the first mention of Saul being named “king”: And Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see him whom the LORD has chosen?…” And all the people shouted, “Long live the king!” (v. 10:24) Earlier the title had been only …
June 10 / I Samuel 9:1-10:16
I Samuel 9:1-10:16 Dear RTB’ers, Israel wanted a king and now they’ve got Saul – anointed, but not yet proclaimed. [NOTE: The word “king” does not appear until later. For now the word “prince” is used in the ESV (vv. 9:16, 10:1), with “ruler” and “leader” in the NASB.] Strangely the two translations are substantially …
June 9 / I Samuel 7:3-8:22
I Samuel 7:3-8:22 Dear RTB’ers, The ark is back, the Philistines are routed, Samuel is Israel’s judge (and prophet), and his sons are scoundrels! Sounds like a continuation of the book of Judges!! But it’s chapter 8 where we begin a really new period in Israel – the people ask for a king. The elders’ …
June 8 / I Samuel 5:1-7:2
I Samuel 5:1-7:2 Dear RTB’ers, The Israeli elders in yesterday’s battle with the Philistines had presumed that the ark had “magical” powers – that simply having the ark beside them in battle would bring victory. Just as they were wrong in their presumption, the leaders in the Philistine city of Ashdod had imagined that their …
June 7 / I Samuel 4:1b-22
I Samuel 4:1b-22 Dear RTB’ers, Israel goes to battle with the Philistines and is defeated, so they figure that they need to bring the Ark of the Covenant from Shiloh to the battlefield so that they will gain an advantage – not recognizing that the Ark and God are not the same. The Ark is …
June 6 / I Samuel 3:1-4:1a
I Samuel 3:1-4:1a Dear RTB’ers, Today we meet Samuel, beyond what we have already read of his birth. It’s an interesting story of the Lord calling three times and Samuel going to Eli each time, with Eli recognizing on the third call that it must be the Lord. So then the Lord speaks words regarding …