Author: SFJ Bible

1 Samuel 9:1-27

Saul Chosen to Be King

9:1 There was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Becorath, son of Aphiah, a Benjaminite, a man of wealth. 2 And he had a son whose name was Saul, a handsome young man. There was not a man among the people of Israel more handsome than he. From his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people.

3 Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul’s father, were lost. So Kish said to Saul his son, “Take one of the young men with you, and arise, go and look for the donkeys.” 4 And he passed through the hill country of Ephraim and passed through the land of Shalishah, but they did not find them. And they passed through the land of Shaalim, but they were not there. Then they passed through the land of Benjamin, but did not find them.

5 When they came to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant¹ who was with him, “Come, let us go back, lest my father cease to care about the donkeys and become anxious about us.” 6 But he said to him, “Behold, there is a man of God in this city, and he is a man who is held in honor; all that he says comes true. So now let us go there. Perhaps he can tell us the way we should go.” 7 Then Saul said to his servant, “But if we go, what can we bring the man? For the bread in our sacks is gone, and there is no present to bring to the man of God. What do we have?” 8 The servant answered Saul again, “Here, I have with me a quarter of a shekel² of silver, and I will give it to the man of God to tell us our way.” 9 (Formerly in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he said, “Come, let us go to the seer,” for today’s “prophet” was formerly called a seer.) 10 And Saul said to his servant, “Well said; come, let us go.” So they went to the city where the man of God was.

11 As they went up the hill to the city, they met young women coming out to draw water and said to them, “Is the seer here?” 12 They answered, “He is; behold, he is just ahead of you. Hurry. He has come just now to the city, because the people have a sacrifice today on the high place. 13 As soon as you enter the city you will find him, before he goes up to the high place to eat. For the people will not eat till he comes, since he must bless the sacrifice; afterward those who are invited will eat. Now go up, for you will meet him immediately.” 14 So they went up to the city. As they were entering the city, they saw Samuel coming out toward them on his way up to the high place.

15 Now the day before Saul came, the LORD had revealed to Samuel: 16 “Tomorrow about this time I will send to you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him to be prince³ over my people Israel. He shall save my people from the hand of the Philistines. For I have seen⁴ my people, because their cry has come to me.” 17 When Samuel saw Saul, the LORD told him, “Here is the man of whom I spoke to you! He it is who shall restrain my people.” 18 Then Saul approached Samuel in the gate and said, “Tell me where is the house of the seer?” 19 Samuel answered Saul, “I am the seer. Go up before me to the high place, for today you shall eat with me, and in the morning I will let you go and will tell you all that is on your mind. 20 As for your donkeys that were lost three days ago, do not set your mind on them, for they have been found. And for whom is all that is desirable in Israel? Is it not for you and for all your father’s house?” 21 Saul answered, “Am I not a Benjaminite, from the least of the tribes of Israel? And is not my clan the humblest of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then have you spoken to me in this way?”

22 Then Samuel took Saul and his young man and brought them into the hall and gave them a place at the head of those who had been invited, who were about thirty persons. 23 And Samuel said to the cook, “Bring the portion I gave you, of which I said to you, ‘Put it aside.’” 24 So the cook took up the leg and what was on it and set them before Saul. And Samuel said, “See, what was kept is set before you. Eat, because it was kept for you until the hour appointed, that you might eat with the guests.”⁵

So Saul ate with Samuel that day. 25 And when they came down from the high place into the city, a bed was spread for Saul on the roof, and he lay down to sleep.⁶ 26 Then at the break of dawn⁷ Samuel called to Saul on the roof, “Up, that I may send you on your way.” So Saul arose, and both he and Samuel went out into the street.

27 As they were going down to the outskirts of the city, Samuel said to Saul, “Tell the servant to pass on before us, and when he has passed on, stop here yourself for a while, that I may make known to you the word of God.”

Footnotes

[1] 9:5 Hebrew young man; also verses 7, 8, 10, 27

[2] 9:8 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams

[3] 9:16 Or leader

[4] 9:16 Septuagint adds the affliction of

[5] 9:24 Hebrew appointed, saying, ‘I have invited the people’

[6] 9:25 Septuagint; Hebrew city, he spoke with Saul on the roof

[7] 9:26 Septuagint; Hebrew And they arose early, and at the break of dawn

(ESV)

Going Deeper

Samuel (3-19-16)

Grab your Bibles and let’s go deeper into the testimony of Samuel.

God Chooses Samuel

In 1 Samuel 3:1-10, we read the testimony of the call of the Lord on Samuel’s life and the beginning of Samuel’s prophetic ministry.  While the narrative is simple, the take away is profound.  The Lord is calling to Samuel and yet Samuel doesn’t discern his voice thinking it is his elder, Eli.    It says in 1 Samuel 3:7 “Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.”   This is another reminder that it is the Lord who must reveal himself to us for in our sin we are not spiritually discerned. (1 Corinthians 2:14). 

Therefore, we are desperate for God to awaken our dead heart and call us to himself. 1 Peter 1:3 “According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”

When we understand that it is God who saves and sends us, this is a solid rock under our feet.  WHY?  Because if it was our own doing, our own inclination to follow and obey God, what security or lasting hope do we have if it is simply up to me to unravel it at any time.  No, instead, it is God who saves his elect and sets us on his path of righteousness and obedience for him.  It is God who will endure us to the end and lose none of his chosen people.  So, Samuel is called by God and commissioned to be a prophetic voice to the people.

Honest in Love With Those Above You

In 1 Samuel 3:11-18, Samuel is immediately faced with hearing God’s righteous judgment for an elder in his life.

Not only does he have to hear God’s judgment on someone he loves, but Samuel is the one God instructs to bring God’s word to Eli.  How hard is it when God uses us to bring admonishment to someone who ranks above us in life- a parent or a boss or teacher or an older brother or sister?

In his interaction with Eli, Samuel didn’t hold back in speaking honestly.  We need to love each other enough to speak honestly with each other and not hold back if that person needs to hear something, even if it’s hard to hear.  We don’t help them grow or change or improve if we simply leave it alone.

In 1 Samuel 3:19-20 we read, “Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. 20 And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established as a prophet of the Lord.”

Samuel is now established in all of Israel as God’s mouth piece and his chosen prophet.

1 Samuel 7:3 “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.’”   

Samuel makes it clear to the people that they are to honor God and worship him alone. Put away your false idols and worship and serve God only and he will lead you and deliver you.  This is surely the command of God on us.  We too must hear and act on these words.

Confession and Repentance

1 Samuel 7:4-6 “So the people of Israel put away the Baals and the Ashtaroth, and they served the Lord only. Then Samuel said, ‘Gather all Israel at Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord for you.’ 6 So they gathered at Mizpah and drew water and poured it out before the Lord and fasted on that day and said there, ‘We have sinned against the Lord.’ And Samuel judged the people of Israel at Mizpah.”

The people were obedient and did as they were told. They practiced confession and repentance.

This is what we are called to do in Christ when we see our sin or are called on our sin- confess and repent.

Let’s look at these closer…

1. Confess:

(Confession) –from the root word meaning “to agree together with”.

God understands and knows all our sin but it is key that we fully confess and understand our sin before him.  Confession sets the heart up for true repentance.    Confession is simply acknowledging I have sinned…

“This was sin… you call it sin… I am calling it sin.   I am saying out loud to you, God…  I sinned!”

1 John 1:8-9 If we say we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and refusing to accept the truth. ⁹But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong.

Now there is much we know we have done in sin, but there is much we are not tuned into also.

One of the important things we must practice is being still and quiet before God. Why? 

Because the Holy Spirit will reveal to us the sin that maybe we haven’t seen or acknowledged yet.

Psalm 19:12-13 ¹² How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart? Cleanse me from these hidden faults.  ¹³Keep me from deliberate sins! Don’t let them control me.  Then I will be free of guilt and innocent of great sin.

2. Repent:

Confession leads to repentance. So, what is repentance exactly?

It is commonly used in church circles, but do we really understand what it really is?

Repentance is:  Taking up a new course in light of God’s will.   It is turning from sin and turning to obedience and honoring God.

If confession is admittance!  –to agree together with God who knows already what really happened-

repentance is new direction!  It is surrendering your current wrong path to get on the right one.

We must practice regularly confession and repentance. It is not enough to say we sinned in confession. We must turn from that sin and practice righteousness. We must turn in repentance and take up a new course or practice that honors God.

Repentance is not something you do one time to be saved. Martin Luther said famously: “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said “Repent,” he intended that the entire life of believers should be repentance.”

God’s Deliverance

In 1 Samuel 7:7-17, we read about God delivering the Israelites from the hand of the encroaching Philistines. He helped drive them back and brought the Israelites to great victory.  Here, we also see that God endured Samuel to rule over and be a faithful judge of Israel all the days of his life (1 Samuel 7:15).

The Demand For a King

In 1 Samuel 8, Samuel has become old and he has made his sons judges over Israel. The problem is, his sons did not walk in his ways, but took bribes and perverted justice.

The Rejection of God as King and the Problem with a Human King

In I Samuel 8:7-18, we see the problem with the people’s desire for a human king and the consequences that will come if they choose to have a human king.  When we read narratives like this, it is often too easy for us to declare that they were stupid to choose to deny God as King and long for a human ruler in his place.  But is this not what we do often in our everyday lives? We must be oh so careful to not ever think that a human ruler is our hope or refuge.  God alone is our King and we are members of his kingdom in Christ.  In this we must carefully navigate the politics of the temporary land we find ourselves living in.

We must remember that we don’t live for politics. We don’t base our confidence about the future on who gets elected.

Pastor John Piper said this well when he said,

“Let those who vote or do politics do it as though they were not doing it [1 Cor 7:29-31] which means there’s a kind of     engagement that is not all consuming. There is a kind of voting, a kind of doing politics a kind of advocacy which is not   investing out whole selves in it because we are not here fully. We have a foot in heaven and a foot on the earth, we are   citizens of two kingdoms, and this is not our main home. This world is passing away…”

1 John 2:17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

We know this system is disappearing. We shouldn’t be so worked up about our opponent getting elected that it will undo our life.  What we ought to be saying is:  “I am God’s child.  Jesus Christ is my KING. I will trust in and serve Him all the days of my life”.

Daniel 2:21 tells us that God is the one who ultimately removes kings and sets up kings.  So we vote and engage in all that is before us trusting that God can and will use the upcoming season in the life of our country for his glory and our good no matter who gets elected president.   May we avoid doing what the Israelites did which was to put their hope into human kings and instead be sure our priorities and thoughts and hope is for HIS kingdom first and foremost.

The Faithfulness of God Despite Our Rebellion and Sin.

In 1 Samuel 12:20-25, Samuel remained faithful until the end of his life.  God used him in major ways despite the ups and downs of the people he led.  We can learn a lot from Samuel in that the fact that he remained faithful to God and those he led despite how hard they made it.  We must remember we serve the Lord at the end of the day.  We must remember he is sovereign over all things.  We are not led or swayed by our circumstances.  We are led by the Lord of hosts.

By His grace and for His glory,

-Shepherd

Soldiers for Jesus MC

1 Samuel 15:10-35

10 The word of the LORD came to Samuel: 11 “I regret¹ that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me and has not performed my commandments.” And Samuel was angry, and he cried to the LORD all night. 12 And Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning. And it was told Samuel, “Saul came to Carmel, and behold, he set up a monument for himself and turned and passed on and went down to Gilgal.” 13 And Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, “Blessed be you to the LORD. I have performed the commandment of the LORD.” 14 And Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears and the lowing of the oxen that I hear?” 15 Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites, for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen to sacrifice to the LORD your God, and the rest we have devoted to destruction.” 16 Then Samuel said to Saul, “Stop! I will tell you what the LORD said to me this night.” And he said to him, “Speak.”

17 And Samuel said, “Though you are little in your own eyes, are you not the head of the tribes of Israel? The LORD anointed you king over Israel. 18 And the LORD sent you on a mission and said, ‘Go, devote to destruction the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.’ 19 Why then did you not obey the voice of the LORD? Why did you pounce on the spoil and do what was evil in the sight of the LORD?” 20 And Saul said to Samuel, “I have obeyed the voice of the LORD. I have gone on the mission on which the LORD sent me. I have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and I have devoted the Amalekites to destruction. 21 But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the LORD your God in Gilgal.” 22 And Samuel said,

  “Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
    as in obeying the voice of the LORD?
  Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
    and to listen than the fat of rams.
23   For rebellion is as the sin of divination,
    and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry.
  Because you have rejected the word of the LORD,
    he has also rejected you from being king.”

24 Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice. 25 Now therefore, please pardon my sin and return with me that I may bow before the LORD.” 26 And Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you. For you have rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD has rejected you from being king over Israel.” 27 As Samuel turned to go away, Saul seized the skirt of his robe, and it tore. 28 And Samuel said to him, “The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you. 29 And also the Glory of Israel will not lie or have regret, for he is not a man, that he should have regret.” 30 Then he said, “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.” 31 So Samuel turned back after Saul, and Saul bowed before the LORD.

32 Then Samuel said, “Bring here to me Agag the king of the Amalekites.” And Agag came to him cheerfully.² Agag said, “Surely the bitterness of death is past.” 33 And Samuel said, “As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women.” And Samuel hacked Agag to pieces before the LORD in Gilgal.

34 Then Samuel went to Ramah, and Saul went up to his house in Gibeah of Saul. 35 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.

Footnotes

[1] 15:11 See also verses 29, 35

[2] 15:32 Or haltingly (compare Septuagint); the Hebrew is uncertain

(ESV)

1 Samuel 12

Samuel’s Farewell Address

12:1 And Samuel said to all Israel, “Behold, I have obeyed your voice in all that you have said to me and have made a king over you. 2 And now, behold, the king walks before you, and I am old and gray; and behold, my sons are with you. I have walked before you from my youth until this day. 3 Here I am; testify against me before the LORD and before his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Or whose donkey have I taken? Or whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed? Or from whose hand have I taken a bribe to blind my eyes with it? Testify against me¹ and I will restore it to you.” 4 They said, “You have not defrauded us or oppressed us or taken anything from any man’s hand.” 5 And he said to them, “The LORD is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything in my hand.” And they said, “He is witness.”

6 And Samuel said to the people, “The LORD is witness,² who appointed Moses and Aaron and brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt. 7 Now therefore stand still that I may plead with you before the LORD concerning all the righteous deeds of the LORD that he performed for you and for your fathers. 8 When Jacob went into Egypt, and the Egyptians oppressed them,³ then your fathers cried out to the LORD and the LORD sent Moses and Aaron, who brought your fathers out of Egypt and made them dwell in this place. 9 But they forgot the LORD their God. And he sold them into the hand of Sisera, commander of the army of Hazor,⁴ and into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab. And they fought against them. 10 And they cried out to the LORD and said, ‘We have sinned, because we have forsaken the LORD and have served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. But now deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, that we may serve you.’ 11 And the LORD sent Jerubbaal and Barak⁵ and Jephthah and Samuel and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side, and you lived in safety. 12 And when you saw that Nahash the king of the Ammonites came against you, you said to me, ‘No, but a king shall reign over us,’ when the LORD your God was your king. 13 And now behold the king whom you have chosen, for whom you have asked; behold, the LORD has set a king over you. 14 If you will fear the LORD and serve him and obey his voice and not rebel against the commandment of the LORD, and if both you and the king who reigns over you will follow the LORD your God, it will be well. 15 But if you will not obey the voice of the LORD, but rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then the hand of the LORD will be against you and your king.⁶ 16 Now therefore stand still and see this great thing that the LORD will do before your eyes. 17 Is it not wheat harvest today? I will call upon the LORD, that he may send thunder and rain. And you shall know and see that your wickedness is great, which you have done in the sight of the LORD, in asking for yourselves a king.” 18 So Samuel called upon the LORD, and the LORD sent thunder and rain that day, and all the people greatly feared the LORD and Samuel.

19 And all the people said to Samuel, “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.” 20 And Samuel said to the people, “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. 21 And do not turn aside after empty things that cannot profit or deliver, for they are empty. 22 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. 23 Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by ceasing to pray for you, and I will instruct you in the good and the right way. 24 Only fear the LORD and serve him faithfully with all your heart. For consider what great things he has done for you. 25 But if you still do wickedly, you shall be swept away, both you and your king.”

Footnotes

[1] 12:3 Septuagint; Hebrew lacks Testify against me

[2] 12:6 Septuagint; Hebrew lacks is witness

[3] 12:8 Septuagint; Hebrew lacks and the Egyptians oppressed them

[4] 12:9 Septuagint the army of Jabin king of Hazor

[5] 12:11 Septuagint, Syriac; Hebrew Bedan

[6] 12:15 Septuagint; Hebrew fathers

(ESV)

1 Samuel 8

Israel Demands a King

8:1 When Samuel became old, he made his sons judges over Israel. 2 The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beersheba. 3 Yet his sons did not walk in his ways but turned aside after gain. They took bribes and perverted justice.

4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah 5 and said to him, “Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.” 6 But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And Samuel prayed to the LORD. 7 And the LORD said to Samuel, “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them. 8 According to all the deeds that they have done, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are also doing to you. 9 Now then, obey their voice; only you shall solemnly warn them and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.”

Samuel’s Warning Against Kings

10 So Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who were asking for a king from him. 11 He said, “These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen and to run before his chariots. 12 And he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots. 13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14 He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his servants. 15 He will take the tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and to his servants. 16 He will take your male servants and female servants and the best of your young men¹ and your donkeys, and put them to his work. 17 He will take the tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves. 18 And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the LORD will not answer you in that day.”

The Lord Grants Israel’s Request

19 But the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel. And they said, “No! But there shall be a king over us, 20 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.” 21 And when Samuel had heard all the words of the people, he repeated them in the ears of the LORD. 22 And the LORD said to Samuel, “Obey their voice and make them a king.” Samuel then said to the men of Israel, “Go every man to his city.”

Footnotes

[1] 8:16 Septuagint cattle

(ESV)