1 Samuel 12:1-13:22
“Israel
Under Saul,” Bible Knowledge Commentary-OT, p. 444. (There is a copy of
this map at the end of this document.)
1 Samuel
12
After this
victory over the Ammonites, Israel gathered at Gilgal, near the Jordan, and celebrated.
Samuel used this occasion to confront the people with the choice they had made
and to help them understand that a king was not the answer to all of their
problems. They, together with their king, would still need to follow and obey
the Lord.
Vs. 1-5
This sounds like Samuel revisiting their demand to him to give them a king. He
mentions that he obeyed their voice and that he is old. The thing he does here,
asking anyone to name a way he used his office for his own advantage, sounds
like what Moses did when he gave his final address to the nation. I guess
pastors should do this too.
Vs. 6-18
This address tells the people that they didn't need to demand a king. God had
always looked out for them, even when they had disobeyed. When they had cried
out, God had answered them, sent a judge whom the people had followed and
obeyed. Demanding a king now, without the due diligence of seeking the Lord and
asking for His favor, was a major break in God’s working with them. In a way,
it was showing that sin was so powerful that a “theocracy,” that is, God ruling
over His people without a king, would not work. The people themselves were to
have looked to the tabernacle, to the Levites and to their elders and men (who
were all to have appeared at the tabernacle three times a year) to guide the
people. Seeking the Lord as individuals and as a nation would have been all
they needed, because God was present and caring for them. It hadn’t worked, and
it wasn’t God’s fault. Compare this to what the Lord is doing today through His
church. So, 300 years after Joshua and Moses, what is happening here is a major
change. Now the people’s devotion and hope will be directed toward a king.
And to
boot, having a king wouldn't relieve them of their personal responsibility to
follow and love the Lord. The thunder was the Lord’s "amen" to
Samuel's words. This confirmed that their actions were very wrong.
Vs. 19-25
Samuel confirmed that God would always remain faithful to His people. We know
that God would be faithful, because of the promise to Abraham, not because of
their obedience to God through the law. Samuel continued ministering in Israel
for the next (?) years, almost up to the time Saul died.
1 Samuel
13
V. 1 This
verse is a mess. A scribe might have spilled his coffee on the original
manuscript here. In Acts 13:21, Paul says that Saul reigned for 40 years. That
is a help, but not here. The real question is how old Saul was when he began.
The best guess is that Saul was 40 when he became king. All of this is
discussed in the Bible Knowledge Commentary-OT, pp. 443-445. This would
explain Jonathan being old enough now to be a soldier (v. 3). If Saul had a son
at 17, which was common in that culture, Jonathan would be 23.
The
reference to two years could mean the
time frame when this particular situation arose, in other words, "and
after he reigned for two years, this happened."
Actually,
the entire time frame takes some careful thought. Later when David is anointed,
he appears to be a pre- teen; and he is still young (15-16?) when he kills
Goliath. Saul will die when David is 30 years old. If Saul reigned for 40 years
and was eighty when he died, it means that Saul reigned for 10 years before
David was born.
Vs. 2-4
There was a lot of fighting with the Philistines with a substantial victory by
Jonathan. Apparently Samuel told Saul to call the people together at Gilgal.
This would be a sacrifice and consecration of the kingship of Saul. In the
meantime, Israel had made some problems for the Philistines. Saul called the
people there, but the Philistines are amassing an army.
Just for a
comparison, remember in 1 Samuel 7:10 that on the eve of Samuel’s first battle
with the Philistines, they were ganging up on him as he was getting ready to
sacrifice. Samuel was totally unprepared and leading the people in worship, but
God honored him and completely routed the Philistines with noise.
Vs. 8-15
This was the event that Samuel had spoken of earlier, where Saul was to wait
for Samuel for seven days. Waiting, when waiting is easy, is easy; but waiting
when it stretches your faith to the breaking point is what makes real faith.
The people were already afraid and Saul had no faith to bind them to the Lord.
As the people were scattering and it was the seventh day, Saul offered the
sacrifice. No non-Levite was allowed to sacrifice. Also, Saul was given a
direct command. And wouldn't you know it, no sooner had he burned the bull,
than Samuel showed up.
V. 14 This
will burn in Saul’s mind and blaze into an irrational hatred of David. This is
the first mention of a man after His own
heart. It is good to begin trying to understand what that means. David will
be that man, but he will test our understanding of what it means to be a man
after God's own heart.
My
question for us as disciples is what did Saul teach or fail to teach the people
by doing this? Saul did the thing anyone would have done. It seems excusable,
reasonable, and human. This would be a good point to stop and ponder this
story. It is easy to follow when everything is good, but waiting in faith
separates the men from the boys. Also, it is easy to lead when everything is
good; but in a situation like this, it shows what you really believe. If we are
to be disciples, who make disciples, we ourselves need to be proven in the fire
and found faithful.
Also, when
you think of Saul, worried about the army coming against him and his people
scattering, what stories of the recent past would you have used to remind him
that he could still depend on God? Oh, by the way, do you remember that there
was a command for what the king was supposed to do regarding the Word? I wonder
if Saul ever did that.
Vs. 16-22
This is just setting us up for the adventures of Jonathan tomorrow. Although I
have to say, if I had been a king, I would have been working to get my merry
men armed.
John 7:1-29
This
section of John, from 7:1 to 10:21, is during the two-week festival around the
Day of Atonement and the Feast of Booths
(or Feast of Tabernacles). This took place six months before Jesus died and it
is His presentation of Himself to the nation as their Messiah. John concludes
chapter 10 with a situation that took place two months later during Hanukkah,
in December, as Jesus' final teaching about Himself in Jerusalem, completing
the presentation. These are very important chapters.
Vs. 1-2
The passage of time here is about six months. If the feeding of the 5000 was
just before the Passover in April, this would be October. This was one of those
three times of the year (Passover, Pentecost, Day of Atonement/ Feast of Tabernacles)
when all males had to appear before the Lord.
Vs. 3-9
Jesus was being taunted by His half-brothers.
V. 8 has
the word "yet" in some manuscripts, but not in others. Jesus
obviously didn't lie to them, so there are three theories as to what He meant
here. First, there was a time element in the original language that was
inherent to the words that we don't see in the English. Second, there was a
"yet" in the original manuscript, or the time element was very plain
in the original and some scribe added the "yet" to make it clearer.
Or, third, at this moment, Jesus had been told not to go to the feast and after
the brothers left, the Father told him to go to the feast. Jesus wasn’t lying
here regarding attending the feast, and it gives us a look at how He abided in
and followed the Father.
Vs. 10-13
I can't imagine the intensity of being in Jerusalem during that time. In some
respects, this visit to Jerusalem was the time of their visitation and they
didn't realize it. In the next chapters we'll see how bold Jesus became. He
made them an offer they couldn't refuse, but they did.
Vs. 14-19
Isn’t it ironic that the leaders were amazed at Jesus’ teaching but hated Him
all the same. It is interesting that Jesus said that whoever wanted God’s will
would recognize the source of His teaching. Later, Jesus will tell the
Pharisees that their will was to obey their father the devil.
Vs. 20-24
Apparently most of the visitors to Jerusalem were not familiar with the effort
on the leaders’ part to kill Jesus. Jesus is referring here to His healing of
the man at the pool in John 5. Even a year and a half after that event, that
confrontation was still stuck in the throats of the leaders.
Vs. 25-27
I like this. Suddenly some of the people from Jerusalem must have pushed forward
and begun saying they knew about the plot of the leaders to kill Jesus. Their
objection was that they thought the coming Messiah would be more mysterious and
shrouded in mystery.
Vs. 28-29
Jesus will talk more and more about His being sent from the Father, and their
problem of not knowing God at all. They knew Jesus was from Nazareth, but
didn't grasp that He was the Son sent from the Father.
For us as
disciples, it is instructional and motivating to see how much conflict Jesus
was willing to endure to make sure that everyone had the opportunity to hear
and respond to His message. We have been given that same Spirit for our work in
the harvest.
Psalm 108
I would
guess that David is in his early years as king. The beginning of the psalm is
in remembrance of what God had done. Based on that past faithfulness of God
comes the dire request in vs. 10-12.
Vs. 1-4
This is David’s personal devotion to God in gratefulness for all of His
deliverance. We’ll meet David in a few chapters in 1 Samuel and then we’ll
witness David’s long, God-given education in crying to God for help and rescue.
As a result, Israel was given a great king and the Spirit gave us some great
psalms.
Notice the
witness to the nations.
Vs. 5-6
David’s prayer for God’s exaltation means that He would be exalted in defeating
Israel’s enemies.
Vs. 7-9
God had shown His strength in defeating these countries because He promised to
protect His people.
Vs. 10-13
Apparently Israel had suffered some minor attack from Edom, and David was
asking the Lord to show His faithfulness and fulfill His promise again by
defeating Edom.
By this
time David was an experienced warrior-king and knew that real victory only came
from the Lord.
As we work
in the harvest, whether the work is hard or easy at any particular time, we
always need to remember that our successes only come through the Lord; and in
our difficulties, He is present and teaching us. Our strength comes as we abide
in Him.
Proverbs 15:4
It is easy
to be hard and biting, but Jesus said in Matthew 12:34, out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. I think I'm
more interested in my "abundance" being truthful, healing and
encouraging, than truthful, correct and biting. I think this is something the
Lord has worked on to change in me.
I remember
a time I was preparing for a church interview, making notes, praying about what
questions to ask. I know that all of us are under the weight of this life, the
weight of sin, trying to go forward for Christ. I know that nothing is easy.
Church isn't easy. I had a feeling about the situation, but wrote under all of
my notes, "Be an encouragement." It was the world's shortest
telephone interview; but for my part, even in the few words I was actually able
to say, I did try to follow this verse.
If you’re reading along and don’t have a One Year
Bible, click on this link http://www.esvbible.org/devotions/every-day-in-the-word/. If that doesn't
work, go to http://www.esvbible.org/devotions/
and click on “Every
Day in the Word.”
I'm writing these comments to and for those who are
following a One Year Bible and interested in growing deeper as a disciple,
following Jesus in the harvest. My hope is to see the growth of a discipleship
culture in the church. Groups of 3-4 disciples, meeting weekly, encouraging
each other to follow Christ and work to reach out and make disciples who make
disciples. The Bible itself is the most universal manual we have and key to our
growth and service in Christ. Nothing keeps us more focused on why we are here
or what we are to be doing. My comments are only meant to provide some
explanation of the events or to show the flow of God's plan of redemption. My
comments are in no way exhaustive, but are designed to keep us focused on
Christ and our role in His harvest. My hope is that the people in these groups
will grow in Christ and be willing, after a year, to find 3 others to meet with
and encourage in their growth as disciples, disciples making disciples in the
harvest.
If you would like a complete description of this model
of being and making disciples you can find it in my book: Simply
Disciples*Making Disciples. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B011WJIDQA?*Version*=1&*entries*=0
If you would like a more descriptive commentary that is
still readable and concise, I'd recommend the Bible Knowledge Commentary. It's
keyed to the NIV, so the result is the commentators are constantly telling you
what the Greek or Hebrew is. That never hurts.
I am not endorsing any particular One Year Bible; in
fact, I read something you don't, die revidierte Lutherbibel 1984.
Anyone reading along with us is welcome to do so and is
encouraged to take their own notes and make their own observations. If the
comments made do not agree with your particular tradition or understanding,
that's OK. Nothing I've written is meant to criticize any point of view, but
only to express the truth of what God has written to us, as I understand it.
Send comments or feedback to dgkachikis@gmail.com.
If you would like documents containing an entire month
of the Reading Notes, go to https://sites.google.com/site/dlkachikis/reading-notes. You can download
these to use on your computer or to print.
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