1 Samuel 15-16
Just a note here on the passage of time. We don't have a lot
of detail as to how old Saul was when certain things happened to him. We're not
sure how old he was when he began to reign nor do we know when the following
events happened. Here is a suggestion
working backwards the beginning of David's rule as king of Judah in Hebron. David was 30 years old when he became king
of Judah, also meaning that Saul had just died after 40 years of service. If
Saul began to rule when he was 30 or 40, he died when he was 80. So at that
point David was 30 and Saul was 80.
When David killed Goliath he was not in the army meaning he
was younger than 20. He had three brothers in the army and four brothers who
were not in the army (younger than 20) who were still older than David. If that
oldest brother not in the army was 19 and if David's mother had had one child a
year, David would have been about 15 when he killed Goliath. David was probably
anointed when he was 12 or 13 years old. At this point then, if Saul was 50
years older than David, Saul would have been about 62 years old and this would
have been the 22nd year of his reign.
1 Samuel 15
Vs. 1-2
These words should have been ringing in Saul's ears, listen to the words of the Lord.
Vs. 3-9
Admittedly, this would have been hard for us too, not to get caught up with an
easy victory, feeling good and listening to the wishes of the people.
V. 6 The
Kenites have links to the family of Moses and Judah, and are good people. Just
don't hide in their tents or you're likely to get a tent stake in the head like
in the book of Judges.
Vs. 10-11
This was not a good night. It is interesting to me that Samuel cried out to the
Lord. Remember Moses crying out like this in the wilderness. It was never good
for the people when God was moved to anger. Samuel, like Moses before him, knew
that this would cause Israel to suffer.
It should be noted that God's regret is not
like our regret. God saw this coming, therefore the test. At this point when
Saul did what God knew he would do, God was saddened because of Saul's
disobedience. This makes me think about the verse in Romans 9:22, What if God, desiring to
show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience
vessels of wrath prepared for destruction. Knowing that people will only
scorn Him in their lives on earth is not easy for God.
In Saul
making this monument to/for himself, it also shows why he kept Agag alive and
saved the best stuff. It was for his self esteem and popularity. This stuff
would have been a kind of victory parade. It should be noted that Saul was
probably imitating Samuel from 1 Samuel 7:12 when Samuel made a monument and
called it Ebenezer. It is clear from what follows that Saul was more concerned
with his glory than with God's glory. This Carmel is not the one up by the Mediterranean
Sea where Elijah had it out with the priests of Baal. This Carmel is in Judah.
Vs. 12-23
There is a lot in this section. Notice how Saul tries to schmooze Samuel in v.
15, your God.
Notice how
Saul keeps putting blame on the people and trying to spin all this as
obedience. In v. 20, Saul tried to twist reality into some kind of obedience.
Vs. 22-23
These are amazing verses and the force of them really slammed Saul. The issue
is always our relationship first and then it is seen in a heartfelt obedience
to His Word.
Vs. 24-35
Saul was finally honest, and yet in v. 25 he was only thinking about himself
and how to save face with the people. He needed them to see Samuel return with
him. What a powerful image of confused spirituality. I have seen this and it is
something you can't fight. Its irrationality defies logic and argument. When a
person's ego is placed before honesty with the Lord, everything becomes stained
and confused.
Samuel
relented and went with Saul, but this also seems like the beginning of Saul
becoming dangerous and seriously defensive of his kingship.
1 Samuel
16
Vs. 1-5 I don't think that the Lord waited a long time
before He spoke to Samuel. We know that God doesn't change His mind, but works
according to His foreknowledge, election and purpose. Therefore, choosing a
king, and particularly David as king, was not a new plan. If there had been no
Saul, and if the people had patiently waited and sought God, David would have
been king anyway.
It is
another lesson in waiting. The people didn't wait, and God gave them what they
wanted. Saul didn't wait at Gilgal, and the people stayed; but had he waited,
God would have blessed him. As disciples, we don't want God to work in and
around us in spite of ourselves. We want to follow Him, and that often means
seeking Him continually over time and waiting for His clear leading.
V. 2
Notice that God took Samuel's concern seriously and gave Samuel a plan. Saul
had become a dangerously insecure man.
V. 4 Who
were they afraid of? Samuel or Saul? If it was Samuel, his judgeship must have
been a very "Obey God and no fooling around" kind of ministry to the
people. After all, he had just recently slashed Agag to pieces in 1 Samuel
15:33. On the other hand, you wonder if the people understood how deeply dangerous
and insecure Saul was and that Saul was keeping his eye on Samuel.
Vs. 6-13
Even Samuel looked at the outward appearance when thinking about a king. Verse
7 is the great global equalizer. It may be that right now, the greatest
disciple of Christ, following Him in the harvest, reaching the lost and making
disciples, works in the shadows of oppression and will die in obscurity,
poverty and injustice. The Lord looks upon the heart and Jesus told His Twelve
in Matthew 10:26, So have no fear of
them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not
be known.
2 Chronicles 16:9 For
the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth to give strong
support to those whose heart is blameless toward him.
V. 13
Notice again that the Spirit rushed upon
David. It was probably after this that David had his run-in with the lion
and bear. In a way, it is weird to think that if the Spirit in us wanted to
show His stuff, we could do almost anything. I think we see more of the Spirit
when we are abiding in Christ and following Him in the harvest. And to think,
our work in the harvest hardly ever involves hand-to-hand combat with wild
animals.
Vs. 14-23
This was in fact an evil spirit sent
to afflict Saul. To be fair, Saul still had recourse to go to God and ask for
healing. The problem was that Saul had departed from God. We can't see yet how
deeply dark Saul's heart was, but when we see it, it will be shocking.
Apparently
God does this to all of His servants named Saul. The outcome depends on the
heart of that particular Saul. The following Saul was in love with the Lord and
had the burning heart of a disciple.
2 Corinthians 12:7-10
So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of
the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to
harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the
Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is
sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will
boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may
rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses,
insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am
strong.
V. 23 I have to admit that this is confusing,
unless Saul had some sort of dementia. When David comes to fight Goliath, Saul
seems to have forgotten who David is. It could be that some of this is a
summary editorial note, referring to David's entire service to Saul. Still, it
makes sense to me that Saul was so brooding about his life and insecurity that
he didn't take much notice of the young teen playing the music, upon whom the
Spirit and the kingship rested. Interestingly, the Spirit working in David was
soothing Saul.
A possible
timeline here is that David is about 12-13 here. Saul will reign for about
another 17 years. David served Saul off and on, returning to his home. Saul
will get better and not need David as much. There will be some years of calm.
The situation with Goliath will happen when David is about 15. By the time
David is 20 he will begin running from Saul. David will become king over Judah
in Hebron when he is 30, and it is another 7.5 years before he becomes king of
the entire nation. This means that David will have 10 years of running from
Saul and living in Ziklag (16 months) to cry out to God, learn of God's
constant faithfulness and steadfast love, and see God deliver him many, many
times. And he'll write some great psalms.
For us as
disciples we learn from Saul to obey the Word and love the Lord. Once the
mission or a church or an outreach becomes about us, we begin to become like
Saul. Loving the Lord keeps us safe and balanced.
As we see
the story move on to David, we learn, as we have before, that God often trains
His chosen servants through hardship and waiting as they follow.
John 7:53-8:20
Now you
probably see the note in your Bible that this well beloved story of Jesus is
not included in the oldest and best manuscripts.
There is a
time in seminary when you realize that there is another level of maturity that
has to be reached in order not to lose your mind, because you understand,
begrudgingly, that knowing the Greek and Hebrew doesn't really answer all the
questions. In fact, studying the Bible, sometimes, creates more questions and
contradicts some of a person's long held beliefs. This is an example thereof.
According
to the Bible Knowledge Commentary-NT, pp. 346-347, and everyone else,
these verses (7:53-8:11, the story of the woman caught in adultery) are an
interruption in the text from John 7:52 to John 8:12. They differ in the
quality of the Greek, meaning John didn't write these verses, and the oldest
and most reliable manuscripts don't have this story. Apparently it was a story
that John told, but never included in his writing. It means that as this story
circulated among churches, some copyist, years later, decided to insert this
story here. What does this mean for us?
First, it
means that we have very reliable documents. Why? Because we have so many
manuscripts and so many parts of the New Testament (many more than any other
book from those times) that we can compare and know what the original Bible
looked like. It isn't that we have 87% and have to guess what that missing 13%
is. Rather, we have 120%, and with that, we can compare manuscripts and figure
out not only when, but also where, an error might have come into the lineage of
a text family.
Second,
forgeries, even by the "well-meaning," were never tolerated because
the men of old knew what was at risk in the copying and transmission of the
Bible. The guy who wrote 3rd Corinthians was high up the food chain, but when
he was discovered, he lost his job and pension. He was run out of town, and
rumor has it that he worked at Walmart© as a greeter for the rest of his life.
Third,
without getting too wishy-washy, it might be that God did allow the story to be
included for a reason. The story is true to Jesus' character and doesn't
contradict anything. I wouldn't base the gospel on this story, and knowing
there is doubt about the story, I wouldn't base a lot of argument upon it. I
would recognize in a mature fashion that godly men, and some of the brightest
and best Greek scholars, say that it doesn't fit here. Yet, no one denies that
it fits to Jesus and the conflict He was having in Jerusalem. I would still use
it, but carefully.
Vs. 1-11
Notice that they brought the woman, but not the man. This suggests it was a
trap for the woman so that this situation would become a trap for Jesus.
According to the law, in the case of adultery, there were always two deaths.
The Jews were forbidden by Rome to put anyone to death.
No one
knows what Jesus wrote, but whatever happened here, the older and more mature
responded first.
Vs. 12-20
After the morning session of teaching, Jesus came into the Treasury or the
Court of Women. Jesus' first outburst had come as a procession brought water
for cleansing into the temple. Then, He had screamed out that He was the living
water. The outburst that takes place here was during the lighting of the giant
lamps that hung in this court. Appropriately, Jesus presents Himself to Israel
as the light of the world. Jesus was
very direct. I'll bet His disciples were very embarrassed.
Vs. 13-18
This argument with the Pharisees sounds like what happened back in John 5. The
leaders were still stuck on the same petty arguments. But Jesus' testimony was
based on both His words and on the signs the Father had given Him to do. Both
His word and His signs were clearly from God.
V. 19 You
get the feeling here that the leaders were grasping at any irrational straw
that appeared. Jesus' Father could only be God, but they were in denial.
V. 20
Notice, that even though Jesus was in close quarters where even a ninja would
have had a hard time escaping, no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come.
As
disciples, we can take courage at Jesus' courage. He risked this to present the
truth to save any who would come to Him.
Psalm 110
This is a
prophetic psalm pointing to Jesus and it is quoted in Hebrews. Can you see the
verses that are quoted by Paul (or whoever wrote Hebrews)? David was very
likely the king of the entire nation, having received the promise of his
offspring leading Israel. David may have understood that God's promise meant
that the Messiah, and therefore, the fulfillment of the promise to Abraham and
the promise to Adam and Eve, would come through him. And then, the Holy Spirit
rushed upon David and he wrote.
Vs. 1-3
This king will be the King of kings. You see that v. 1 is quoted of Jesus and
that all of these verses refer to Him.
Notice
here that Jesus was commanded to sit at the right hand of the Father. This had
to happen to fulfill prophecy. Jesus,
the human king, the Son of Man, was to take this position of victory and
authority. I think it was then, and only then, that He could "give gifts
to men," that is, send the Holy Spirit.
V. 4 This
is the Spirit speaking through David. David had shown enthusiasm and power in
leading the people in coming to worship God. When David brought the ark to
Jerusalem, it wasn't just smart politics, but David passionately loved God.
David knew the nation had to be focused and unified in their worship of God.
David had to, and did, lead them to worship, but David couldn't sacrifice.
David did foresee that this "Son," would lead Israel in being both a
king and a priest. This verse is mentioned in Hebrews.
Vs. 5-7 As
both king and priest, the Messiah will execute judgment on the earth.
Proverbs 15:8-10
This sounds like it was written to King Saul,
but it eventually also applied to Solomon. As disciples, we cut to the very
core of the matter when we remember that we have been saved and now are alive
only in Christ. Now as His servants, we serve Him as we pray and pursue Him,
following in this harvest.
Galatians
2:20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no
longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the
flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
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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