1 Samuel 9
God spoke to Samuel, " ..Tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin... Anoint him ruler over my people Israel; he will deliver them from the hand of the Philistines... I have looked on my people, for their cry has reached me". The next day a Benjamite man named Saul arrived in search of some assistance in finding his family's lost donkeys. The Lord spoke to Samuel again, "This is the man I spoke to you about; he will govern my people". Samuel said to Saul, "Today you are to eat with me and in the morning I will send you on your way and will tell you all that is in your heart. As for your donkeys you lost, do not worry about them; they have been found. And to whom is all the desire of Israel turned, if not to you and your family line?" Samuel then brought Saul to the dinning area and seated him at the head of all those who were invited, and Saul was treated with much honor. Before Samuel sent him on his way at daybreak, he told Saul that he had a message for him from God.
Humble thoughts, reflections, and/or summaries from readings of God's word. "For if any one is desirous simply to know those things which it has pleased God to reveal, that is the man who accurately knows what it is to be truly wise. " Calvin
Friday, January 7, 2011
! Samuel 4-8
The Philistines captured the Ark of God and defeated the Israelites on the battlefield, and Eli's son were both killed. Then Eli heard what had happened, he fell off his chair and died. His daughter-in-law gave birth to a son, naming him Ichabod, which means "The Glory has departed from Israel", since the ark of God was captured and taken. The Philistines took the ark of God into their temple, setting it beside their idol, Dagon. Over the next few days, they noticed each morning that the Dagon had fallen on his face before the ark of the Lord. The Lord brought devastation on the Philistines and afflicted them with disease until they finally decided to send the ark of God back to the Israelites. The Israelites received the ark and consecrated Eleazer to guard it and all the people turned back to the Lord and got rid of all their idols and foreign gods. When the Phillistines later came up to attack them again, Samuel cried out to the Lord on Israel's behalf and He answered, thundering against the Phillistines and the Israelites defeated and subdued them so that they stopped invading Israel's territory. Throughout the rest of Samuel's lifetime, the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines and Samuel continued leading Israel as their judge. When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons to serve as leaders of Israel, but they perverted justice and turned aside after dishonest gain. The people and elders of Israel asked Samuel to appoint a King, since his sons had not followed his ways and they wanted to be like the other nations. When Samuel prayed to the Lord for guidance, He told Samuel that the people had rejected Him as their king. The Lord told Samuel to listen to them, but warn them solemnly that their new king will make claims over them and enslave them for his own gain. Samuel warned them that they will cry out to the Lord for relief from their king, but the Lord will not answer. The people refused to listen and persisted in demanding a king to rule over them and to lead them. The Lord said to Samuel, "Listen to them and give them a king."
The Philistines captured the Ark of God and defeated the Israelites on the battlefield, and Eli's son were both killed. Then Eli heard what had happened, he fell off his chair and died. His daughter-in-law gave birth to a son, naming him Ichabod, which means "The Glory has departed from Israel", since the ark of God was captured and taken. The Philistines took the ark of God into their temple, setting it beside their idol, Dagon. Over the next few days, they noticed each morning that the Dagon had fallen on his face before the ark of the Lord. The Lord brought devastation on the Philistines and afflicted them with disease until they finally decided to send the ark of God back to the Israelites. The Israelites received the ark and consecrated Eleazer to guard it and all the people turned back to the Lord and got rid of all their idols and foreign gods. When the Phillistines later came up to attack them again, Samuel cried out to the Lord on Israel's behalf and He answered, thundering against the Phillistines and the Israelites defeated and subdued them so that they stopped invading Israel's territory. Throughout the rest of Samuel's lifetime, the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines and Samuel continued leading Israel as their judge. When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons to serve as leaders of Israel, but they perverted justice and turned aside after dishonest gain. The people and elders of Israel asked Samuel to appoint a King, since his sons had not followed his ways and they wanted to be like the other nations. When Samuel prayed to the Lord for guidance, He told Samuel that the people had rejected Him as their king. The Lord told Samuel to listen to them, but warn them solemnly that their new king will make claims over them and enslave them for his own gain. Samuel warned them that they will cry out to the Lord for relief from their king, but the Lord will not answer. The people refused to listen and persisted in demanding a king to rule over them and to lead them. The Lord said to Samuel, "Listen to them and give them a king."
Monday, January 3, 2011
1 Samuel 3
The Lord spoke to Samuel, saying "Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel at which both ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. I will carry out against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house. I am about to judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knew, because his sons brought a curse on themselves and he did not rebuke them." All Israel knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the Lord. The Lord continued to appear to Samuel and to give him messages and everything Samuel said proved to be reliable.
The Lord spoke to Samuel, saying "Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel at which both ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. I will carry out against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house. I am about to judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knew, because his sons brought a curse on themselves and he did not rebuke them." All Israel knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the Lord. The Lord continued to appear to Samuel and to give him messages and everything Samuel said proved to be reliable.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
1 Samuel 2 records a prayer from Hannah, which boasts in the Lord's provision, faithfulness, and complete sovereignty. She lifts Him up, acknowledging the Lord as the source of all good, rebuking the proud and arrogant. Hannah declares, "it is not by strength that one prevails... for the foundations of the earth are the Lord's and on them He has set the world... the Lord is a God who knows.. He sees the sins of men.. those who oppose the Lord will be broken...the Lord will judge the ends of the earth... but He will guard the feet of His faithful servants." Hannah's son Samuel ministered before the Lord under Eli and "continued to grow in stature and in favor with the Lord and with people". Eli's sons, however, were doing wicked things and disgracing their family. Eli received a prophesy from the Lord, " Did I not clearly reveal myself to your ancestor’s family when they were in Egypt under Pharaoh? I chose your ancestor out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up to my altar, to burn incense, and to wear an ephod in my presence... I promised that members of your family would minister before me forever, but now far be it from me! Those who honor me I will honor, but those who despise me will be disdained. The time is coming when I will cut short your strength and the strength of your priestly house, so that no one in it will reach old age... I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who will do according to what is in my heart and mind. I will firmly establish his priestly house, and they will minister before my anointed one always."
Saturday, January 1, 2011
1 Samuel 1
A man named Elkanah and his household went up from his town for their annual time of worship and sacrifice to the Lord at Shiloh. Elkanah's wife, Hannah, prayed and weeped bitterly in anguish about her closed womb, and she made a vow, "LORD Almighty, if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the LORD for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head." Eli, the priest in Shiloh, blessed Hannah saying, "Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of Him. " After returning to their home town, Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son, whom she named Samuel. Later, after Samuel was weaned, Hannah took her boy and returned to the the house of the Lord at Shiloh where Eli was priest. She said to Eli, "Pardon me, my lord. As surely as you live, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the LORD. I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the LORD. For his whole life he will be given over to the LORD."
A man named Elkanah and his household went up from his town for their annual time of worship and sacrifice to the Lord at Shiloh. Elkanah's wife, Hannah, prayed and weeped bitterly in anguish about her closed womb, and she made a vow, "LORD Almighty, if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the LORD for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head." Eli, the priest in Shiloh, blessed Hannah saying, "Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of Him. " After returning to their home town, Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son, whom she named Samuel. Later, after Samuel was weaned, Hannah took her boy and returned to the the house of the Lord at Shiloh where Eli was priest. She said to Eli, "Pardon me, my lord. As surely as you live, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the LORD. I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the LORD. For his whole life he will be given over to the LORD."
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