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 different in 10:1, with the ESV adding two prophetic sentences that the NASB omits: And you shall reign over the people of the Lord and you will save them from the hand of their surrounding enemies. And this shall be the sign to you that the Lord has anointed you to be prince over His heritage. (ESV, v. 10:1b)

I have occasionally heard of people “reinventing” themselves. Today we have God reinventing Saul: When he turned his back to leave Samuel, God gave him another heart. (v. 10:9a) I’m putting myself into the story here. When specifically did God choose me to do what He called me to do? How did He equip me? No doubt He changed my heart, but when did He do that? There was nothing instantaneous, but I know that I am not the same person that I was 50+ years ago, before I accepted Him as Lord. No doubt, bit by bit I am a changed person. How about you? Same questions…

Blessings!

Fred

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’ request had Samuel’s age and his sons’ behavior as reasons for their request, but in fact they just wanted to be like the nations around them: …“Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.” (v. 8:5) Samuel is displeased at this request, but it’s the Lord who shows Samuel what’s really going on: And the LORD said to Samuel, “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them.” (v. 8:7) Samuel tells them what having a king will mean for them, but they are persistent: But the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel. And they said, “No! But there shall be a king over us, 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.” (vv. 8:19-20) Although the elders appear to be requesting a king, in truth they are rejecting the Lord’s leadership and kingship over them. God grants their request and the rest of I and II Samuel, I and II Kings, and I and II Chronicles are all about Israel’s monarchy. A new period in Israel’s history…!

Blessings!

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See also: March 23 (2023) / I Samuel 8-10

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 god, Dagon had been responsible for their victory over Israel (i.e., over the Israeli God) and were showing off the ark as a representation of that victory, a sort of “trophy case”, if you will: Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon and set it up beside Dagon. (v. 5:2) Sadly for them, Dagon was a false god and had no special powers, whereas the God of Israel, the true God could easily topple Dagon in the middle of the night with no one else around. Long story short – the Philistine leaders needed to send the ark back to where it belonged.

An interesting bit of farm detail here – the Philistine priests and diviners ordered a cart and two milk cows to haul the cart, but to take the calves away from the cows: Now then, take and prepare a new cart and two milk cows on which there has never come a yoke, and yoke the cows to the cart, but take their calves home, away from them. (v. 6:7) This was a wise move on the part of the priests and diviners; they set up the ultimate test for the powers of the God of Israel and His influence over the ark and the animals. Have you ever seen a cow when she is first separated from her calf? She will move to be as close to the calf as possible and will moo (low) almost nonstop as she mourns that separation. So, in spite of being yoked to the cart, the cows’ natural inclination would be to turn back toward their calves. The fact that they went straight toward Beth-shemesh proved the power of the God of Israel: And the cows went straight in the direction of Beth-shemesh along one highway, lowing as they went. They turned neither to the right nor to the left… (v. 6:12a). Yes, the God of Israel is Lord over ALL the earth, cows included!!

So now we have the ark back in Israeli hands, And the men of Kiriath-jearim came and took up the ark of the LORD and brought it to the house of Abinadab on the hill. (v. 7:1a) Note that it did not go back to Shiloh, from where it originally came (see I Samuel 4:4.), so it’s not really where it belongs. Where will it end up? Looking ahead, And they carried the ark of God on a new cart and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. And Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were driving the new cart, with the ark of God, and Ahio went before the ark. (II Samuel 6:3-4) Tickler alert: these two verses do not tell the whole story. Go to those verses and read on! You’ll enjoy the rest of that story!

Blessings!

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 where God “resides”, but the Ark is not God. So now Israel is defeated again, Eli’s sons are killed, and the Ark is captured by the Philistines. A messenger brings this news to Shiloh, to Eli, and Eli falls over dead.

I’m intrigued by Eli’s position in all this. First, the elders from the battlefield request the Ark. Eli probably had serious misgivings about moving the Ark away from the Tabernacle, but he must have given his consent – very likely due to pressure from his sons, who then accompanied the Ark to the battlefield. Eli is troubled all the while that the Ark is gone from Shiloh: Eli was sitting on his seat by the road watching, for his heart trembled for the ark of God. (v. 13b) No mention of his sons’ safety, only for the Ark…! Then when he gets the news from the messenger, As soon as he mentioned the Ark of God, Eli fell over backward from his seat by the side of the gate, and his neck was broken and he died… (v. 18a) News of the Ark’s capture brings about Eli’s death, not the news of his sons’ deaths.

I’m wondering if there is any “redemption” in Eli’s final thoughts? I can hear him moaning, “Oh God, oh God…” at the mention of the Ark as he falls over. His last thoughts are of God, of God’s “residence”, not of his family. Is that redemptive? I wonder.

So, how about us? I’ve often heard some variant of “Make plans for a long life, but live as if you’ll die tomorrow – or later today.” Is God truly first for me? For you…? Later today…? Really…??!! Quite the sobering thought…!

Blessings!

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See also: March 22 (2023) / I Samuel 4-7

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 Eli and his house, confirming what we already know from yesterday.

To me the important words in today’s reading are in verse 19: And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. With these words Samuel is confirmed as a prophet of the Lord. We need to go back to Deuteronomy to see the origin of this claim. Here is the full passage, first with the Lord speaking to Moses: “I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. … But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in My name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die.” [Then Moses speaks to the people.] And if you say in your heart, ‘How may we know the word that the LORD has not spoken?’— when a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously. (Dt. 18:18-22a)

So, as we move forward, we know that none of Samuel’s words will “fall to the ground.” He is a prophet, and this is known universally in Israel: And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established as a prophet of the LORD. (v. 20) Dan is in the far north and Beersheba is in the far south. So whenever we read “from Dan to Beersheba”, we know that the author is speaking of the entire nation of Israel. Samuel – more than a judge, a true prophet!

Blessings!

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See also: March 21 (2023) / I Samuel 1-3

I Samuel 2:12-36, 3:11-14

Dear RTB’ers,

We met Samuel yesterday, but he has not yet risen to the place where he will become Israel’s “leader”, the last of the judges, if you will. So we are still dealing with “Every man did what was right in his own eyes.” Hophni and Phineas are certainly doing what they wish, although I daresay that they do not imagine that what they are doing is “right”. Their sleeping with the tabernacle servants is bad enough, but their greater sin is abusing the Lord’s offering: Thus the sin of the young men was very great in the sight of the LORD, for the men treated the offering of the LORD with contempt. (v. 2:17) In the one bright spot for Eli, he responds to their activities with a serious condemnation: If someone sins against a man, God will mediate for him, but if someone sins against the LORD, who can intercede for him? (v. 2:25a) God indeed will bring about His justice on Eli’s family (the Lord speaking): And this that shall come upon your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, … both of them shall die on the same day. (v. 2:34) Down the road we will see that Eli will have a descendent, Abiathar, God fulfilling His promise of verse 2:33.

With all that we read of Eli, Hophni, and Phineas, the author still keeps us appraised of Samuel: And the boy Samuel grew in the presence of the LORD. Now the boy Samuel continued to grow both in stature and in favor with the LORD and also with man. (vv. 21b, 26 ) Looking forward to tomorrow…!

Blessings!

I Samuel 2:1-11

Dear RTB’ers,

I suspect that many Bible readers are familiar with “Hannah’s prayer” primarily because of it being cited in relation to Mary’s prayer, “the Magnificat” in Luke 1:46-55 (as our STS note mentions). That result is not unexpected, in that most of us spend more time in the New Testament than in the Old Testament, so we would be reading Mary’s prayer more often, especially around Christmas-time.

That said, however, Hannah’s prayer/song is itself worthy of serious reflection. The one item that strikes me most in this prayer is that there is no mention of Samuel’s birth. This is not a typical prayer of thanksgiving, because his birth is never mentioned. Her prayer is straightforward praise to God for who He is and what He has done. Just now I read Mary’s “Magnificat” and saw parallels between her prayer and Hannah’s prayer. Mary’s prayer is also straightforward praise to God. I encourage you to read it, Luke 1:45-55, then come back and read Hannah’s prayer. A good morning activity…!

Blessings!

I Samuel 1

Dear RTB’ers,

Today as we begin I Samuel, we are beginning that period of Israeli history known as the monarchy. We’ll meet Israel’s first kings, Saul and David; Solomon and others will come later. But first, the books known as I and II Samuel naturally begin with Samuel.

I’m impressed with Hannah. She was barren; she wanted children and was doubly tormented by taunts from Elkanah’s other wife, Peninnah. The author offers one sentence that reflects her feelings for her situation: She was deeply distressed and prayed to the LORD and wept bitterly. (v. 10) Distress (especially Peninnah’s taunting) could easily lead to bitterness, but Hannah’s first response is weeping and prayer. Her second response is unexpected: And she made a vow and said, “LORD of armies, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your bond-servant and remember me, and not forget Your bond-servant, but will give Your bond-servant a son, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and a razor shall never come on his head.” (v. 11) A vow, and not just a simple vow, but an extended vow covering her situation and her son’s entire life! Praying for a son with a willingness to give him to the Lord all the days of his life. Impressive! And she does just that, after his weaning period. …then I will bring him, so that he may appear before the LORD and stay there for life. … So I have also dedicated him to the LORD; as long as he lives he is dedicated to the LORD. (vv. 22b, 28)

A good introduction to I Samuel! Makes us want to read on…!

Blessings!

Ruth 3-4

Dear RTB’ers,

Today we finish Ruth, only one day after we began. We had a great discussion of Ruth at yesterday’s RTB gathering. The clear, central topic in Ruth is redemption – Boaz’s redemption of Naomi’s land and his taking Ruth as his wife, all of which led to King David as Boaz’s great-grandson and, eventually, for us, to Jesus. We see God’s hand at work in all these events, both the sad and the happy – in Naomi’s loss of her husband and her two sons; in Ruth and Orpah choosing different paths; in Boaz’s kindness to Ruth; in the nearest kinsman’s rejection of the redemption opportunity; and in Boaz’s generosity in continuing Elimelech’s and Mahlon’s name.

For me the glory in the book of Ruth is God’s work in time and space to bring about His end results. He is not limited by days or years or miles or politics. We might not be happy in current situations that we are facing, but God is aware of all of our ups and downs. He has brought us to where we are now and He will take us further to where He wants us. We need to thank Him for the trials as well as the joys.

Now, on to I Samuel, to read about this king whose ancestors we have met in these last two days!

Blessings!

Ruth 1-2

Dear RTB’ers,

If this is your first time reading the book of Ruth, I would not be surprised to learn that you continued on to read the last two chapters also. It would be hard not to go on and to see the final, complete redemption of the tragedies that fell on Naomi. But today we have only the first two chapters, each with it’s own story line – Naomi and Ruth in the first chapter, with Ruth and Boaz in the second chapter.

The first chapter has a couple of beloved lines, often read or sung at weddings: But Ruth said, “Do not plead with me to leave you or to turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you sleep, I will sleep. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD do so to me, and worse, if anything but death separates me from you.” (vv. 1:16-17) Precious words.

Boaz’s words in the second chapter are no less redemptive: “All that you have done for your mother-in-law after the death of your husband has been fully reported to me, and how you left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and came to a people that you did not previously know. May the LORD reward your work, and may your wages be full from the LORD, the God of Israel, under Whose wings you have come to take refuge.” (vv. 2:11b-12) What Boaz says to Ruth is only half the story. He speaks further to his servants to make sure that she is protected and successful in her gleanings: “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not insult her. Also you are to purposely slip out for her some grain from the bundles and leave it so that she may glean, and do not rebuke her.” (vv. 2:15b-16)

If this book had ended here, we would have seen the Lord’s hand in Naomi’s redemption. But it goes on (tomorrow) and His hand looking forward is even more powerful than what we have read today!! Come join us for our RTB gathering after coffee hour!! GLORY!!

Blessings!

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See also: March 20 (2023) / Ruth 1-4