1 Samuel 13:23-14:52
1 Samuel 14
Vs. 1-5 From the introduction you can see that the
tabernacle had been rebuilt in some measure and was still at Shiloh. The priest
was there, wearing the ephod with the Urim and Thummim (U&T). It doesn't
appear that Saul was seeking direction from the Lord, but apparently he was
ready for battle.
Notice that Ichabod is mentioned, not as being there, but as
a relative of the priest. This gives us a sense for the passage of time and
locating the time historically. Ichabod was named the day the ark was taken in
battle and Eli and his sons died.
Vs. 6-15 Jonathan was apparently "ready" too, but
because of his faith. Jonathan has already been introduced in 13:3. Now we see
him for the great, unsung hero of faith and man of God that he was. He is sort
of like a "Barnabas" to David. Here we see his faith and courage and
how God provided a victory for Israel through him.
V. 15 God even provided some "music" to go with
Jonathan's victory.
Vs. 16-23 There is a problem in the text as to whether or
not this was the ark, or the priest’s ephod which held the U&T. In the
Greek translation of the OT and in the Luther translation, it says
"ephod," instead of "ark." I'm not sure what Hebrew
manuscript the Greek translators had, but they apparently were using a
manuscript that said "ephod," and ephod is very different than ark.
In the context, Saul asks for the "ark" to be brought to him so he
can ask a question and receive an answer. Normally he would have asked for the
ephod with the U&T. In v. 19 when Saul tells the priest to withdraw his
hand, it sounds like Saul is saying not to use the U&T, in light of the
fact that there is enough action going on and everyone knows what to do. It
makes sense to me that it was the ephod, not the ark, which was always being
brought with Saul. It would have made sense to always have a priest with the
ephod on hand who could ask questions of the Lord. My feeling, however, is that
they didn't want to lose the ark again. They regarded the ark as valuable and
holy and dangerous. I think that the Septuagint has it right and this was the
ephod, not the ark. If the ark was there, it had been brought from
Kiriath-jearim and was returned there.
It is interesting that until this point, Saul didn’t seek
guidance from the Lord. The result of this victory is that everybody became
highly motivated and courageous.
Vs. 24-30 Why do you think the writer included this story?
What does it tell you about the difference between Saul and Jonathan? Jonathan
motivated the people by trusting the Lord and leading the battle. Saul
motivated them by invoking a curse and personalizing this battle as having to
do with his enemies, not the Lord’s. Saul didn’t seek the Lord first or even
have the courage to lead the first attack.
Vs. 31-35 A picture of Saul's leadership? Good intensions,
emotion, ego and "god words" lead people to dishonor the Lord. Since
the priests were there I understand that they did the sacrificing.
Vs. 36-46 They were using the U&T. What is interesting
to me is that either we're missing some of the input by the priests, or Saul
did have some perception into the Lord and the Lord's silence. He knew enough
to know that if the Lord wasn't answering, it was because someone had violated
the vow.
What I don't understand is how Jonathan violated the vow
when he hadn't heard it being made.
The people saved Jonathan simply by overpowering Saul's
resolve, which wasn't hard. The word used is that the people ransomed Jonathan. This means they
delivered or rescued him, not that they paid something for him or someone took
his place like Christ took our place and was Himself our ransom and ransom
price.
In the Greek translation of the OT, it says they prayed for
Jonathan that he might not die.
Vs. 47-52 This summary describes Saul as a successful king
over many years. He wasn’t a failure as a king, but his failure at Gilgal
showed that his heart didn't belong to the Lord. The Lord would seek a man
after his own heart. We'll meet him tomorrow.
John 7:30-52
V. 30 Jerusalem was not a large city. There were a lot of
people there for this feast, but it wasn't impossible to find Jesus. The only
explanation to them not arresting Jesus was that His time had not yet come. In a way, as disciples, that should give us a
perspective of God's presence and sovereignty in our lives too. We don't have
to be silly and run with the bulls, but if God calls us to do something,
including running with the bulls, we know nothing can happen to us that isn't
in God's plan and timing.
Interestingly, when Jesus’ hour does come on the Tuesday
before His death, the Father brings it to His awareness by a visit from some
Greeks. When Jesus realizes this official notice from the Father, He is
emotionally taken aback. If you’re interested, it’s in John 12.
V. 31 It is hard to understand what this "belief"
meant. I'm sure some of it was saving faith, but the crowds turned pretty
quickly. We'll see some of this in chapter 8, in a couple of days. It is
interesting to see how one group would say Jesus couldn’t be the Messiah, using
some “biblical” knowledge, while the other group used the logic the Father
wanted them to see. Jesus was doing the works of the Father.
Vs. 32-36 Jesus will use this warning on the leaders again;
and then, the night before Jesus dies, He will say this same thing to the
disciples and they won't understand it either. The difference was that the
disciples believed in Him, and they eventually all did join Him, except for
Judas, who wasn't there when Jesus said it later, but had left, selling Him out
to these guys. (And you thought only the apostle Paul could write convoluted
sentences.)
Vs. 37-39 It is interesting that what Jesus did here seems
so small as you read it. This seems like it was just a little event. Jesus
chose the most vital moment of the feast, and, SUDDENLY, did the equivalent of
running on the football field with a loud speaker and stopping the entire game
to get everyone to hear Him. Jesus completely disrupted this sacred day of the
feast at the most crucial moment. Possibly more so than His entrance into
Jerusalem on the donkey (which was a fulfillment of Scripture), this was His
verbal presentation of Himself to Israel. Imagine being at a ballgame and
suddenly having some guy stop everything and say something like this about himself.
Vs. 40-44 Jesus risked a lot by doing this, but He was the
Son of God and He really wanted these people to be saved if possible. Some
people did respond positively, but notice again the “Bible study” group with
the incomplete knowledge of the Scripture. The messianic prophecy of Isaiah
9:1-3 was that a “light” would appear to those who sat in darkness in Zebulun
and Naphtali. This showed that the Messiah would be in Galilee and it should
have spoken to them. Also, according to the messianic prophecy of Isaiah 11:1,
the Messiah would be called “Branch,” which is what “Nazareth” means.
Vs. 45-49 I like the officers. They were the mall cops of
the temple. The Pharisees are just arrogant. The Pharisees referred to the common
people as sinners since, in their minds, common people were born in sin and
were too ignorant to really know the law. I think the Pharisees were now
putting the officers into that category.
Vs. 50-52 Nick tries to go to bat for Jesus but they aim for
his knee caps. This will continue tomorrow.
What speaks to me here is the effort on Jesus’ part to keep
giving people one more chance. I’ll bet the disciples were shocked and
humiliated when Jesus interrupted the ceremony and procession by His outburst.
Later, after the Spirit was given, they would have the boldness of their Master.
We can have that too, but we need to be walking close to Jesus in the harvest
and abiding in Him.
Psalm 109
This psalm might have been written while David was running
from Saul and realized that some close friend of his had betrayed him. The Lord
used that betrayal to inspire David to write these thoughts. What is
interesting is that this psalm is quoted regarding Judas’ betrayal of Jesus.
David is prophetically expressing some of the emotions that Jesus would feel,
knowing that Judas would be one of the Twelve, yet would still betray Him.
Knowing what David did to Uriah, if it were not for the
prophetic nature of this psalm, this would be hard to accept from him. Still,
it is the Spirit using David to show us that God understands our experiences of
betrayal.
Notice that what saved David was his confidence in God's steadfast love. I find that very true
and important for myself these days. I think it's always important, but we
don't always value it as we should.
Vs. 1-5 This is the initial cry for help, the charge against
this person and David’s resolve to give himself to prayer. Great advice.
Vs. 6-15 This all seems hard, but notice the reference to
Judas in v. 8. Jesus told the disciples, referring to Judas, that it would have
been better for him to have never been born. That pretty well sums up what
David says here. The expression here is from God’s Spirit giving us an idea of
what God Himself thinks about betrayal.
Vs. 16-20 This shows that this person also mistreated
others. The way he treated others should be how he is treated. That’s the
golden rule of judgment, I guess. Verse 20 sounds like what Jesus endured on
the cross.
Vs. 21-25 David resolved to rest in God’s steadfast love and leave vengeance to
the Lord. Verse 25 sounds very much like Jesus being railed at by the chief
priests, scribes and Pharisees.
Vs. 26-29 According to what we read in Samuel, David was
honored. Jesus was also honored.
Vs. 30-31 God leads us through dark nights, so that we learn
to rest only in Him and then give testimony to everyone of His amazing
salvation.
It is interesting what the Lord uses to
give us strength and hope in certain seasons of life. As disciples following
Christ in the harvest, it is good to look at how the Lord has "wired"
you and what He's given you that gives you strength and courage and inspires
you to come back to His feet and dare again to do great things.
Proverbs 15:5-7
So, I'm wondering if a wise man, who is spreading the knowledge
of God, gets rich in the treasures of the knowledge of God as a result of
heeding the instruction of his father, who loved the Lord.
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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