Bible Calendar
  • Home
  • Calendar 2021
  • Start today!
  • Blog
  • Videos
  • Español
  • Contact us

1 Samuel 23 - 25 and Psalm 142

3/30/2012

0 Comments

 
         In these chapters we continue our reading of Yahweh’s protection of His anointed one: “Saul sought him every day, but God did not give him into his hand” (1 Samuel 23:14).
         Among his deliverances, we notice two surprises.  First, David does not take vengeance on Saul in the cave in 1 Samuel 24.  According to many, it seems like he has every reason to kill him in the darkness of the cave: “Here is the day of which the LORD said to you, ‘Behold, I will give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it shall seem good to you’” (1 Samuel 24:4).  Yahweh has told you precisely about this day, and He has given you permission to kill him!  And we can
conjure up many more reasons to justify that action: “Saul’s reign has become
diabolical.”  “He reigns in pride and for his own benefit; he doesn’t think about Israel’s good.”  “Here you can avenge the destruction of the priestly city of Nob.”  “Hasn’t Yahweh anointed you?”  “Hasn’t He abandoned Saul?”  “Look here, David; Yahweh has handed him over to you!”
         But there is one inconvenience.  More than an inconvenience, it is sin, an act of rebellion against Yahweh: “The LORD forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, the LORD’s anointed, to put out my hand against him, seeing he is the LORD’s anointed” (1 Samuel 24:6).  He says Yahweh’s name three times in one verse because he recognizes against whom he would commit that action.
         Although most of us never will have to decide between killing or not killing another person, I cannot help but think of how many times this same kind of temptation presents itself to Christians.  An impressive “opportunity” appears (or
rather, “temptation”) to take advantage of some benefit, refund or favor from the government, to earn money quickly and easily, to get an unexpected reimbursement, to enjoy an illicit pleasure secretly, to take a decisive step forward in our careers or in our studies. And it has fallen into our hands so easily that we are convinced that it is God’s plan for us!
         But it requires only one inconvenience… or rather, act of rebellion. You must
present a false document (or bear false witness); or you must tell a lie (just one!); or you must take something that is not yours; or you must pretend something is true when it really isn’t; you must deceive another; you must cover up a key part of the truth…  And while we consider doing it, we can make a long list of people – even
Christians!– who will tell us, “Do it!  Everyone does it.  Don’t you see that God is rewarding you for your patience and faithfulness to Him?  Look at how God wants to bless you…”
         Thanks be to God for those who, like David, recognize Yahweh’s dominion even despite having to relate to unjust leaders, governors, supervisors and teachers, those who see against whom they really rebel when they follow the path of unrighteousness solely to promote their own interests. David will not be a king
like Saul; he values the just dominion of Yahweh more than he values his own
interests. Therefore he is satisfied in sparing Saul’s life and saying, “May the LORD judge between me and you, may the LORD avenge me against you, but my hand shall not be against you” (1 Samuel 24:12).
         And therefore it is so surprising to see David’s reaction in 1 Samuel 25.  It is as if David has forgotten righteousness from the previous chapter.  He is going to make Nabal and all his hacienda pay for his offense: “Who is David?  Who is the son of Jesse?  There are many servants these days who are breaking away from their
masters.  Shall I take my bread and my water and my meat that I have killed for my shearers and give it to men who come from I don’t know where?” (1 Samuel 25:10-11)  Praise God for His protection of His anointed one again, this time in the
form of Abigail, Nabal’s wife: “When the LORD has done to my lord according to
all the good that he has spoken concerning you and has appointed you prince over
Israel, my lord shall have no cause for grief or pangs of conscience for having shed blood without cause or for my lord taking vengeance himself” (1 Samuel 25:30-31).  May David esteem Yahweh’s just dominion more than vengeance, more than unjust violence, more than the fulfillment of his own interests.  May Nabal’s hacienda not become David’s version of the city of Nob.
         Thank you, Heavenly Father, for the times you have protected us from our own propensity to sin.
0 Comments

1 Samuel 19 - 22 and Psalm 52

3/29/2012

0 Comments

 
         Yesterday we read in 1 Samuel 18 how Saul’s envy and anger against David was born: “The women sang to one another as they celebrated, ‘Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands.’  And Saul was very angry, and this saying displeased him.  He said, ‘They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed thousands, and what more can he have but the kingdom?’  And Saul eyed David from that day on” (1 Samuel 18:7-9).
         But notice that Saul’s reaction to David is more than a personal envy; it is another manifestation of his distance from Yahweh: “David had success in all his undertakings, for the LORD was with him.  And when Saul saw that he had great success, he stood in fearful awe of him” (1 Samuel 18:14-15).  Ironically, as he gives more military opportunities to David so that he can be killed, David gains more fame through Yahweh’s power: “All Israel and Judah loved David, for he went out and came in before them” (1 Samuel 18:16).  “When Saul saw and knew that the LORD was with David, and that Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved him, Saul was even more afraid of David.  So Saul was David’s enemy continually” (1 Samuel 18:28-29).
         In today’s reading we see just how far Saul has distanced himself from Yahweh.  Despite being convinced in 1 Samuel 19:6 that he should never harm David, he tries to kill him again.  He reveals the motive of his hatred: “For as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, neither you nor your kingdom shall be established” (1 Samuel 20:31).  Once again he trusts only in himself and in his own capabilities to manage the affairs of the kingdom.  For Saul, his reign over Israel is not something granted and sustained by Yahweh but a right that he must grasp hold of, a dominion which he himself must secure.  But, isn’t that exactly what Israel asked for?  “Appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations” (1 Samuel 8:5).  Now they have a king just like the other nations, one who reigns in pride, who governs through his personal interests, who resorts to violence to fulfill his desires and who pays more attention to the preservation of his privileges over the generations rather than righteousness.
         May Yahweh save us from this kind of leader!
         And it reaches a point that would never have been imagined even in the darkest hours of the judges when Saul has 85 priests killed in 1 Samuel 22:18.  Even his most loyal servants know better: “The servants of the king would not put out their hand to strike the priests of the LORD” (1 Samuel 22:17).  Therefore he commands a foreigner to do it, an Edomite. And as if that is not enough, he destroys the entire city of Nob, the city of the priests, as if they were Canaanites (1 Samuel 22:19).  That is how Saul has elevated his own justice and the preservation of his privileges above Yahweh’s law.
         Considering Saul’s diabolical reign, Yahweh’s preservation of His anointed one is impressive.  He makes three groups of soldiers abandon their mission of capturing David when they prophesy before Samuel (1 Samuel 19:19-21).  When Saul himself tries to hunt him down, suddenly we feel like we are in 1 Samuel 9 – 10 again, with Saul looking for the donkeys and discovering that Yahweh has orchestrated each detail of the trip… but this time for David’s protection.  Saul himself has to abandon his search because he strips himself of his clothes and prophesies before Samuel all day and all night long (1 Samuel 19:24).  Jonathan makes a covenant with David, and when David is at the lowest point of his desperation, he finds protection for his parents with the king of Moab (1 Samuel 22:3-4) and receives a prophetic word to direct his next steps (1 Samuel 22:5).  Therefore, when we see that one of the priests escapes the destruction of Nob to join with David (1 Samuel 22:20-23), we realize that Yahweh’s will admits no obstacle.  Even in the deepest desperation, He will protect His anointed one and
will act so that His just dominion eventually will manifest itself.
0 Comments

1 Samuel 16 - 18 and Psalm 59

3/28/2012

0 Comments

 
         Today Samuel, Yahweh’s prophet, almost makes a serious mistake. When Jesse’s sons are presented to him to anoint one of them as king: “He looked on Eliab and thought, ‘Surely the LORD’s anointed is before him’” (1 Samuel 16:6).  Yahweh corrects him: “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him.  For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).
         We also are in danger of committing the same error, but in a different way.  We aren’t called upon to identify and anoint the next king of Israel like Samuel was, but when we read the Bible, we must be able to recognize Yahweh’s perspective and message.  Sometimes we are so impressed by the accomplishments of Bible figures that we glorify these men and women and miss Yahweh’s brilliant glory that the reading attempts to highlight.  That’s the danger that many fall into when they read about David and Goliath.
         The battle between David and Goliath, although it is the center of the action, is not the central message of 1 Samuel 17.  Neither did Yahweh include this chapter in His word to teach us “how to identify the Goliaths in our lives” or encourage us “to pick up the five stones of victory against our enemies”.  Those are the kinds of
conclusions reached by people who read the story of David and Goliath like Samuel looked at Eliab: centered on the appearances and actions of men.
         What is the purpose of 1 Samuel 17, then?
         To find it, we must first look for God’s name.  Notice that it doesn’t appear until verse 26 when it says, “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?” (1 Samuel 17:26)  Up to this point, 25 verses and 40 days have passed by… with no mention of Yahweh’s name!
         This silence is strange when we remember another recent battle against the Philistines: “When the Philistines heard that the people of Israel had gathered at Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the people of Israel heard it, they were afraid of the Philistines” (1 Samuel 7:7).  It’s a similar
situation.  How do the Israelites immediately respond?  “And the people of Israel said to Samuel, ‘Do not cease to cry out to the LORD our God for us, that he may save us from the hand of the Philistines’” (1 Samuel 7:8).  What happened next?  “Samuel cried out to the LORD for Israel, and the LORD answered him…  The LORD thundered with a mighty sound that day against the Philistines and threw them into confusion, and they were routed before Israel” (1 Samuel 7:9, 10).  Yahweh was the center of Israel’s hope in this battle against the Philistines.
         But remember too how Saul has distanced himself from Yahweh in the conflict with the Philistines at Gilgal in 1 Samuel 13 and in 1 Samuel 14 when Yahweh defeats the Philistines through Jonathan in spite of Saul.  We attributed his
distance from Yahweh as being the result of his pride, his conviction that Israelite redemption depended on him.  Now we see in 1 Samuel 17 that the divide between Saul and Yahweh has grown wider. Samuel isn’t in Socoh.  Nor is there mention of any priest.  The Ark of the Covenant has not appeared; there is no mention of any prayer, sacrifice or petition to Yahweh.  His name isn’t even mentioned.  The only one whom Saul and the Israelite army can see is this Philistine soldier.  And for 40 days with no reference to Yahweh, Israel’s army is paralyzed in fear.
         Enter David.  He speaks for the first time in the Bible.  He makes the first
reference to God in the entire chapter.  And he calls Him by a title that appears rarely in the Old Testament, a significant title: The living God (1 Samuel 17:26). 
Why does he call Him that?
         Up to this point in the Bible, the title has appeared only once. When Joshua
gave the Israelites instructions on crossing the Jordan River, he said, “Here is how you shall know that the living God is among you and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Hivites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, and the Jebusites” (Joshua 3:10).  By the miracle of crossing the Jordan River on dry land, the Israelites will see that their God lives while the gods of the pagan nations are only sticks and stones.  We also see a reference to Yahweh as living in 2 Samuel 22:47 (and Psalm 18:46) when King David glorifies God near the end of his life because the nations have submitted to him.  Centuries later, the prophet Jeremiah will declare, “The LORD is the true God; he is the living God and the everlasting King.  At his wrath the earth quakes, and the nations cannot endure his indignation” (Jeremiah 10:10).  Notice that the truth of Yahweh as the living God is declared in situations: 1) in relation to pagan nations, and 2) when they are judged for their idolatry and must submit themselves to Yahweh.  It is a title born of the conflict between the nations who are committed
to idolatry and Yahweh who is unique and exalted above their false gods, a title that looks to Yahweh’s victory over them.  And as the entire Israelite army in Socoh trembles on seeing: “a champion… a man of war from his youth” (1 Samuel 17:4, 33), David sees the living God, the God who makes the nations tremble before Him.
         Notice also that Yahweh’s name has a central role in the rest of the chapter. 
David is convinced that this uncircumcised Philistine will end up like the lions and the bears that he has killed because:“he has defied the armies of the living God” (1 Samuel 17:36).  He testifies, not about his military prowess but about Yahweh’s
salvation: “The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw
of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine” (1 Samuel 17:37).  Saul tries to convince David to depend on his own strength and armor, but David approaches the Philistine: “in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied” (1 Samuel 17:45). Goliath: “cursed David by his gods” (1 Samuel 17:43); David declares, "This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head.  And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel” (1 Samuel 17:46).  And the lesson is not only for Goliath and the Philistines but also for Israel who has forgotten Yahweh for 40 days: “And that all this assembly may
know that the LORD saves not with sword and spear.  For the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give you into our hand” (1 Samuel 17:47).
         If we finish reading this chapter impressed with David, with Goliath, with the Goliaths that torment us and the five spiritual stones that we need to throw against them, we have not gone beyond Samuel’s erroneous reading of Eliab when he saw him and said, “Surely the LORD’s anointed is before him” (1 Samuel 16:6).  But if we look at the real Warrior in this chapter, at Yahweh the living God, we will be impressed by the God that makes His glory shine in brilliance through His humble and despised anointed one, even when His people have neglected His name.  Salvation still comes through Yahweh by grace.
0 Comments

1 Samuel 13 - 15

3/28/2012

0 Comments

 
         First Samuel 13 – 15 gives us a summary of Saul’s reign.  On the positive side it tells us, “When Saul had taken the kingship over Israel, he fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, against the Ammonites, against Edom, against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines.  Wherever he turned he routed them.  And he did valiantly and struck the Amalekites and delivered Israel out of the hands of those who plundered them” (1 Samuel 14:47-48).  Saul fought hard and opened the way for Israel to live in liberty in the midst of their neighbors.
         But on the negative side there are many reasons for concern in Saul’s reign.
         First, when he sees that the people are deserting him in Gilgal in 1 Samuel 13, he hurries and offers the burnt offering before Samuel’s arrival (1 Samuel 13:8-10).  Samuel tells him, “You have done foolishly.  You have not kept the command of the LORD your God, with which he commanded you” (1 Samuel 13:13).  When Saul felt the danger of the situation, what should he have done?
         We can find many examples from Moses and Joshua, but we’ll content ourselves with a more recent example, with Samuel’s guidance of Israel in 1 Samuel 7: “Gather all Israel at Mizpah, and I will pray to the LORD for you” (1 Samuel 7:5).  On that occasion they feared just as Saul will in 1 Samuel 13, but
everyone’s reaction was different: “The lords of the Philistines went up against
Israel.  And when the people of Israel heard it, they were afraid of the Philistines. 
And the people of Israel said to Samuel, ‘Do not cease to cry out to the LORD our God for us, that he may save us from the hand of the Philistines’…  And Samuel cried out to the LORD for Israel, and the LORD answered him…  The LORD thundered with a mighty sound that day against the Philistines and threw them into confusion, and they were routed before Israel” (1 Samuel 7:7-9, 10).
         Instead of conforming to this pattern and depending on Yahweh and Samuel, Saul places himself in the middle, as if everything depended on him. Pay close attention to his justification of his actions: “When I saw that the people were scattering from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines has mustered at Michmash, I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the favor of the LORD.’  So I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering” (1 Samuel 13:11-12).  According to his answer, all movement depends on Saul.  The others didn’t fulfill their responsibilities… Yahweh will not move until somebody petitions Him… therefore Israel’s salvation from Philistine hands depends on someone who sees the situation more clearly than everyone else, someone who can take charge in the midst of everyone else’s inactivity. Salvation depends on Saul.  And with that pride and self-centeredness, Saul justifies his disobedience.
         The consequences of his rebellion are heavy: “You have not kept the command of the LORD your God, with which he commanded you.  For then the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever.  But now your kingdom shall not continue.  The LORD has sought out a man after his own heart, and the LORD has commanded him to be prince over his people” (1 Samuel 13:13-14).  Moses lost the privilege of entering the Promised Land for not sanctifying Yahweh in Numbers 20, but his descendants could enter.  Saul has lost much more!  All of his descendants will suffer for his rebellion.
         And for now, his consequences put Israel under enormous pressure.  Instead
of a decisive victory against the Philistines like in 1 Samuel 7, the one that led Samuel to set up the memorial stone Ebenezer, this time the prophet goes up from Gilgal to Gibeah of Benjamin without praying (1 Samuel 13:15).  There is no Ebenezer raised along the way.  The Philistines send out three raiding parties to devastate Israel, and there is no way to stop them.
         When Yahweh gives them victory in 1 Samuel 14, it is striking to see how Saul remains separate from Yahweh’s saving work.  He is sitting under a
pomegranate tree, not with Samuel but with a descendant of the cursed priestly
house of Eli (1 Samuel 17:2-3).  (What a sad gathering of Israel’s leadership!)  He doesn’t know that Jonathan and his servant have left (1 Samuel 14:3, 17).  When the panic starts that will end in Israel’s victory, he doesn’t know what’s happening. 
He asks for the ark of God; then he decides there is no time for that (1 Samuel 14:18-19).  He declares an oath that hinders the victory and motivates the soldiers to sin (1 Samuel 14:24, 29-32).  He is ready to kill his own son, the young man through whom Yahweh won a great victory that day (1 Samuel 14:44-45).  When the Bible says, “So the LORD saved Israel that day” (1 Samuel 14:23), we realize that He did it despite the king, not through him.
         But instead of recognizing his distance from Yahweh’s work in order to repent and seek him again, Saul sinks further into pride.  He disobeys Yahweh’s word
again in 1 Samuel 15 and elaborates an even bolder justification to cover it.  When Samuel denounces his disobedience, Saul reveals what truly motivates him.  He fears the people more than he fears Yahweh (1 Samuel 15:24).  But instead of repenting of his sin, he’d rather preserve it! “I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.  Now therefore, please pardon my sin and return with me that I may worship the LORD” (1 Samuel 15:24-25).  His concern is that he wants to be appear before the people with Samuel and Yahweh’s approval: “I have sinned; yet honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, that I may bow before the LORD your God” (1 Samuel 15:30).  He’s willing to
admit his sin in private, as long as he can remain everybody’s center of attention.
         Samuel tolerates the king’s pride with amazing compassion: “So Samuel turned back after Saul, and Saul bowed before the LORD” (1 Samuel 15:31). But we recognize that this supposed approval covers a grave spiritual reality: “And Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, but Samuel grieved over Saul.  And the LORD regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel” (1 Samuel
15:35).  How long will Yahweh tolerate this pride?
0 Comments

1 Samuel 9 - 12

3/27/2012

0 Comments

 
         In today’s reading we follow the Lord’s hand through two chapters to find the first king of Israel.  Then Saul demonstrates his capabilities in 1 Samuel 11 by directing Yahweh’s people in his first battle against the Ammonites, and in 1 Samuel 12 the prophet Samuel closes his ministry as judge in Israel and officially inaugurates Saul’s reign and a whole new age in Israel’s history: the monarchy.
         Since this is a momentous occasion, it’s appropriate for Samuel to follow the examples of Moses and Joshua by preaching to the people at the close of his ministry and reconfirming their faithfulness to Yahweh. Imitating the concerns of these two great men of God, Samuel gives a summary of Yahweh’s past faithfulness in Israel’s history (1 Samuel 12:6-12) to portray two possible future paths the Israelites may take, one of obedience and the other of disobedience (1 Samuel 12:14-15), and he insists on a present decision to confirm their reception of the promised blessings (1 Samuel 12:13, 16-21).
         Previously, the Israelites responded to Moses and Joshua by expressing confident obedience and a secure commitment to Yahweh.  This time, they respond
with repentance: “Pray for your servants to the LORD your God, that we may not
die, for we have added to all our sins this evil, to ask for ourselves a king” (1 Samuel 12:19).    Can it be that the experience of their spiritual decline over the generations has made them more sensitive to their sinful nature and their inability to obey Yahweh with all their heart?  At least they recognize that the thunder and rain testify of their sins against Yahweh (1 Samuel 12:17-18).  Saul commands them to obey: “Do not be afraid; you have done all this evil.  Yet do not turn aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart” (1 Samuel 12:20).  And he directs them to Yahweh’s grace through His covenant with Abraham as a solid foundation for their obedience: “For the LORD will not forsake His people, for his great name’s sake, because it has pleased the LORD to make you a people for himself” (1 Samuel 12:22).
         Samuel points out one more risk: the false sense of security in a mere human being for the redemption that only God can give: “But if you still do wickedly, you shall be swept away, both you and your king” (1 Samuel 12:25).  If they don’t fear and serve Yahweh with all their heart, not even their new king will be able to save
them.  Instead, he’ll be swept away in condemnation right along with them!  Even with a new king, salvation only comes from Yahweh.
0 Comments

1 Samuel 5 - 8

3/25/2012

0 Comments

 
         Yahweh’s Presence manifests His holiness again in today’s reading.  Yesterday in 1 Samuel 4 Yahweh showed that He would not be Israel’s puppet, that He would not be manipulated to give them victory whenever they wanted.  Today in chapter 5 He shows that He will not be a Philistine trophy, but instead even in the midst of
Dagon’s temple, Yahweh is exalted and worthy of exclusive praise and honor.  In 1 Samuel 6, after the arrival of the ark at Beth-shemesh, He teaches that He will not be an object of curiosity, either.
         So if He is not a puppet or a trophy or an object of curiosity, how should Israel respond to Yahweh’s holy Presence?  Exactly as they respond in 1 Samuel 7:
         In repentance by faith: “And Samuel said to all the house of Israel, ‘If you are
returning to the LORD with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you and direct your heart to the LORD and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.’  So the people of Israel put away the Baals and the Ashtaroth, and they served the LORD only” (1 Samuel 7:3-4).
         In prayer: “And the people of Israel said to Samuel, ‘Do not cease to cry out to the LORD our God for us, that he may save us from the hand of the Philistines…’  And Samuel cried out to the LORD for Israel, and the LORD answered him” (1 Samuel 7:8, 9).
         With continual thankfulness for His redemption: “Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen and called its name Ebenezer; for he said, ‘Till now the LORD has helped us’” (1 Samuel 7:12).
         Notice that these elements were absent in the battle against the Philistines in 1 Samuel 4 when they lost the ark of the testimony.  Yahweh’s Presence is the same; Israel’s reaction to Him has changed.  And this change in reaction in part is
due to the change in spiritual leadership, from the corrupt house of Eli to Yahweh’s prophet, Samuel.
         But according to the behavior of his sons in 1 Samuel 8:1-3, the resolution of Israel’s long term spiritual problems will not happen through raising up a prophetic dynasty.  What should the Israelites do?  They have suffered under corrupt priests and self-promoting judges.  Maybe they need another kind of government: “Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations” (1 Samuel 8:5).
         Notice that Yahweh is not opposed to a monarchy as a system of government.  The law includes instructions for the behavior of a king over Israel.  What is important here is the kind of king that the Israelites want.  For example among the laws described in Deuteronomy 17:14-20, Moses told the Israelites, “He must not acquire many horses for himself…  He shall not acquire many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away, nor shall he acquire for himself excessive silver and gold.  And when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself
in a book a copy of this law, approved by the Levitical priests.  And it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the LORD his God by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes” (Deuteronomy 17:16, 17-19).  But now in 1 Samuel 8, they don’t ask for a king who lives in concert with Yahweh’s heart; they ask for: “a king to judge us like all the nations” (1 Samuel 8:5).  Therefore, Yahweh recognizes: “They have rejected me from being king over them” (1 Samuel 8:7).  And although they are
informed of the high cost they will suffer to support a king, the Israelites still say, “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” (1 Samuel 8:19-20).  Although Yahweh commands them to be holy as He is holy, they respond that they don’t want to; instead, they want to be like all the rest of the nations around them.
         Therefore, there is a big step forward in Israel’s repentance under Samuel’s leadership… and at the same time, a refusal to take another step forward when they reject a national government in line with Yahweh’s holiness. The attraction of a pagan lifestyle is very strong…
0 Comments

1 Samuel 3 - 4

3/25/2012

0 Comments

 
         One of the most scandalous events in our reading of the Bible up to this point must be the loss of the ark of the testimony.  Who would have imagined that the ark, so holy that the high priest can enter the room where it is held only once a year and with blood for his own sins and the sins of the people, could fall into the hands of the Philistines?  How can the throne of Yahweh’s Presence that defeated Jericho and overcame all its enemies in the conquest of the Promised Land leave behind 30,000 dead Israelites while it is carried into the enemy camp?  It is so shocking that the event is mentioned five times in only 12 verses.  It seems unbelievable.
         But as we think more about it, isn’t the robbery that Eli’s sons committed regularly at the tabernacle before the Presence of the Lord more scandalous? (1 Samuel 2:13-16)  Doesn’t it seem more incredible that they converted the tabernacle into their private harem? (1 Samuel 2:22)  Isn’t the judgment declared against the priestly house of Israel more shameful? (1 Samuel 2:27-36; 3:11-14) 
How could they have dared to blaspheme Yahweh’s holiness for so long? The loss of the ark is simply a reality made manifest: the house of Eli has despised Yahweh’s Presence.  Eli, Hophni and Phinehas abandoned Him much earlier than He abandoned them on the battlefield.
         But Yahweh has not abandoned His people.  Although His ark is in the hands of the Philistines, He has given ample evidence that He is alive, not captive and in
regular communication with His young prophet, Samuel.  As if to protect the nation for the shock that was coming, He demonstrated clearly: “Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground.  And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established as a prophet of the LORD” (1 Samuel 3:19-20).
         It is scandalous and shameful when Yahweh’s judgment falls. May His people tremble before its appearance and repent of its sin while there is still time.
0 Comments

1 Samuel 1 - 2 and Psalm 138

3/24/2012

0 Comments

 
         We’ve just read about the redemption of a widow in Israel, a redemption that unexpectedly in a few generations will extend throughout the nation and transform the relationship between Yahweh and Israel.  Today in 1 Samuel 1 – 2 we read of another salvation, this time of a sterile woman who by Yahweh’s grace will give birth to a son destined to prepare the way for this change.  Silently, imperceptibly and unexpectedly, Yahweh is working through people like Boaz, Ruth, Naomi, Hannah and Elkanah to redeem His people from the spiral of spiritual degeneration in the book of Judges.
         Today’s reading contrasts those two elements.  Shortly after Hannah praises Yahweh and prophecies, “The LORD will judge the ends of the earth.  He will give strength to his king and exalt the power of his anointed” (1 Samuel 2:10), the reading identifies some of the powerful who will be humbled: the corrupt priestly house of Eli.  In contrast with Hannah’s rejoicing in 1 Samuel 2:1-10, Yahweh’s judgment thunders through His word sent through the anonymous prophet in 1 Samuel 2:27-36.
         The news is clear.  Yahweh’s devastating holiness will not tolerate sin like Eli tolerates it, reproving his sons by his word but without punishment, without banning them from their priestly responsibilities.  And in evidence of Yahweh’s power and sovereignty, He is raising up an important part of the coming salvation right in the midst of the tabernacle that they have corrupted.
0 Comments

Ruth 1 - 1 Kings 10: The seventh unit of the Bible

3/23/2012

0 Comments

 
         The sixth unit of the Bible, the book of Judges, ended with the declaration, “In those days there was no king in Israel.  Everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25).  But Yahweh has not abandoned His people.  With the next book, the tiny book of Ruth, one of the most glorious sections of the entire history of Israel begins: the preparation, establishment and glory of the royal house of David.  It covers Ruth chapter 1 and runs through 1 Kings chapter 10, from March 23 until April 14 in the 2012 calendar. Our reading should take just over three weeks.
         These observations should help us understand the whole unit:
         1)  The main events of the unit: The establishment of the monarchy in Israel, the rise of David to be king over all Israel, Yahweh’s covenant with David, the construction of the temple by his son, Solomon
         2)  Yahweh’s attributes that stand out: Yahweh’s zeal for His anointed one; His mercy
         3)  Yahweh’s main work: Yahweh establishes His anointed one on His holy mount, in Jerusalem
         4)  The main participants: The prophet Samuel and kings Saul, David and
Solomon
         5)  The main reference to Jesus Christ and the gospel: “I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever”(2 Samuel 7:13).
         6)  Key observations: Notice that the kings are anointed to show that, just like the objects in the tabernacle, they are set apart to be instruments exclusively for Yahweh.  The word for “anointed” in Hebrew is “messiah” and in Greek, “Christ”. The anointed king David will be an ancestor and forerunner of Jesus Christ in the New Testament.
          The narratives of this unit are impressive, and sometimes one reads them and forgets the most important Person in the story is Yahweh.  If we remember that He always is the center of Biblical narrative, it will help us evaluate some readings in which it is difficult to find a modern application or determine if someone acted properly.
         With this in mind, we begin today by reading the book of Ruth.
0 Comments

Ruth 1 - 4 and Psalm 20

3/23/2012

0 Comments

 
         After the declining spiral of Israelite spirituality in the book of Judges, it is a joy to read the book of Ruth.  It shows us that even in the midst of the degeneration that dominated the time of the judges, Yahweh remains faithful to His people and promotes His plan to bless them.
         There is a lot we can say about the book of Ruth.  Several years ago as a
church we spent six Sundays in a detailed study of Ruth verse by verse.  Today we only want to review some of the most important points that will help us understand the book as a whole.
         First, notice Naomi’s desperation.  After losing first her husband and then both of her sons in Moab, she is left without financial support.  At this time, a widow without children had very few options to support herself.  Besides that, she has
grown bitter over her hardship to the point of changing her name to Mara (which
means “bitter”) and puts the blame directly on Yahweh (Ruth 1:20-21).  As the Israelites in the desert came to the bitter waters of Marah (Exodus 15:22-26), they murmured about a truly desperate situation.  Just like in the previous event, the lesson is found in Yahweh’s response, this time not for an entire nation (at least, not just yet) but for only one woman in her desperate need.
         Second, notice the faith of Ruth the Moabite, a woman who by physical descent has no part in the covenant given to Abraham.  Despite her exclusion from Yahweh’s promises (at least physically speaking), she says by faith, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you.  For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge.  Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.  Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried.  May the LORD do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you” (Ruth 1:16-17).  Her
faith in Yahweh is knit together with her devotion to Naomi to the point that her faith manifests itself in love (many centuries later, the apostle Paul will say, “In Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love”; Galatians 5:6).  She presents an impressive testimony of faith in Yahweh to the Israelites, as Boaz observes in his blessing, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told to me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before. The LORD repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!” (Ruth 2:11-12)  Naomi’s desperate situation will be relieved by Ruth, whose faith in Yahweh and obedience to His Word will bring about a resolution.
         Third, notice Yahweh’s laws that apply in this situation.  Naomi, Ruth and Boaz don’t act by their own ideas but are led by Yahweh’s law.  Ruth asks Naomi for permission to glean in Ruth 2:2 because the law tells the Israelites, “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard.  You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner” (Leviticus 19:9-10).  “When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it.  It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands” (Deuteronomy 24:19).  Boaz blesses Ruth and Naomi in the barley field in agreement with and even beyond the Law: “You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I command you to do this” (Deuteronomy 24:22).
         But the most significant laws for understanding the story have to do with the preservation of the family line of Naomi’s husband and the land inheritance that they left behind when they migrated to Moab.  On the preservation of the family line, the Law says, “If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the dead man shall not be married outside the family to a stranger. 
Her husband’s brother shall go in to her and take her as his wife and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her.  And the first son whom she bears shall succeed to the name of his dead brother, that his name may not be blotted out of Israel” (Deuteronomy 25:5-6).  But Ruth’s brother-in-law has died, too.  Therefore, the responsibility of giving a son to preserve the family line falls to the nearest relative, just like in the preservation of a family’s land inheritance: “If your brother becomes poor and sells part of his property, then his nearest redeemer shall come and redeem what his brother has sold” (Leviticus 25:25). As Boaz observes in Ruth
3:12, there is a closer relative to Ruth’s deceased husband than he, and he must
first request that the other fulfill his duty to redeem the land and have a son with Ruth.
         When the other relative refuses to fulfill his responsibility, the Law says, “If the man does not wish to take his brother’s wife, then his brother’s wife shall go up to the gate to the elders and say, ‘My husband’s brother refuses to perpetuate his brother’s name in Israel; he will not perform the duty of a husband’s brother to me…  Then his brother’s wife shall go up to him in the presence of the elders and pull his sandal off his foot and spit in his face.  And she shall answer and say, ‘So shall it be done to the man who does not build up his brother’s house’” (Deuteronomy 25:7, 9).  It doesn’t happen exactly this way in the book of Ruth, but notice the shame on the relative that does not fulfill his part: his name is not preserved in the Biblical account.  Boaz simply says, “Turn aside, friend; sit down here” (Ruth 4:1).
         This brings us to the fourth observation, that all of these laws not only inform us of the actions and motivations of everyone involved but teach us about Yahweh’s grace, the grace of the God who in His glorious dominion provided for these kinds of needs specifically in His law.  When the way is opened for Boaz to take Ruth for his wife, there is no doubt over who ultimately is responsible for Naomi’s redemption: “So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife.  And he went in to her, and the LORD gave her conception, and she bore a son” (Ruth 4:13).  Then the believers (directed by faith in Yahweh, obedient to His law and loving one another) declare praises to His name for His redemption: “Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the LORD, who has not left you this day without a redeemer, and may his name be renowned in Israel!” (Ruth 4:14)
         Fifth, notice that all those who participate in the story and praise Yahweh are not even aware of the depths of His grace through this redemption. While they see and celebrate the redemption of a family, the narrator informs us of the future
genealogy of this newborn: “They named him Obed.  He was the father of Jesse, the father of David” (Ruth 4:17).  In redeeming a widow, Yahweh also has put into place the redemption of the nation from the spiritual decline that dominated the book of Judges.  If the women of Ruth’s hometown celebrate, how much more should the entire nation celebrate David’s genealogy and the arrival of their Redeemer!
0 Comments
<<Previous

    Author

    Ken Kytle serves as pastor of Iglesia bautista La fe en Cristo near Atlanta, Georgia.

    Archives

    June 2014
    March 2013
    January 2013
    November 2012
    July 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011

    Categories

    All
    1 Chronicles
    1 Corinthians
    1 Kings
    1 Samuel
    20 Units
    2 Chronicles
    2 Kings
    2 Samuel
    Deuteronomy
    Esther
    Exodus
    Ezra
    General
    Genesis
    Job
    Joshua
    Judges
    Leviticus
    Nehemiah
    Numbers
    Psalms
    Ruth

    RSS Feed

All Bible quotations from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV)
Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, IL
Imagen
All Bible explanations are under copyright, may be shared freely, but not sold
© 2011-21 www.comoleerlabiblia.org
Contact us at
admin@biblecalendar.org or
923 Heritage Ridge Court

Monroe, GA  30655