1-22 Israel Demands a King
- As an old man, Samuel makes his sons - Joel and Abijah - judges, but (like Eli's sons before them) they are corrupt
- Elders of Israel come to Samuel and ask him to appoint a king, seeing his sons don't follow his ways.
- Samuel prays to God, and God tells him to listen to the people: they haven't rejected Samuel, they have rejected God, as they have always done. Do what they ask, but warn them of the consequences of having a king.
- Samuel's warning - a king will:
- take your sons and daughters and make them his servants
- raise up an army and require servants to make instruments of war
- take the best of your agricultural land
- take a tenth of your produce to feed his army officers
- make you his slaves
- Be warned. When you cry out because of the king, God will not listen.
- The people: That's okay -- we want a king like the other nations have, to fight our battles for us. (Something like Americans today who want the government to do everything for us, and then complain about our tax burden.)
1-27 Saul Chosen to Be King
- Introducing Saul -- tall and handsome -- son of Kish, a wealthy Benjamite
- Kish tells Saul to take a boy with him and look for stray donkeys, and they look all over the countryside.
- In the land of Zuph, when Saul is deciding to give up and go home, the boy suggests inquiring of the man of God there. He has a quarter shekel of silver to offer him for his advice.
- They meet some girls on the road who tell them they can find the seer (as he is called now) at the shrine, blessing the sacrifice.
- Going into town, Saul and the boy meet Samuel on his way to the shrine.
- God has told Samuel that Saul will be coming, and that he is to appoint him as king, so when Samuel meets him, he invites him to eat and stay the night and also tells him his donkeys have been found.
- Also tells him that "all Israel's desire" is fixed on Saul and his house. Saul doesn't understand, because his tribe is the least of all the tribes.
- When they get to the hall where they will eat, Saul's food has already been prepared for him, and his bed has already been prepared at Samuel's house.
- At dawn, Samuel calls Saul him to send him on his way, accompanies him out of town, then tells him to send the boy on ahead.
1-9 Samuel Anoints Saul as King
- Samuel anoints Saul's head with oil and tells him that God has anointed him to reign over his people and save them from their enemies.
- He tells Saul of three signs that will confirm his appointment as king. On his way home:
- 2 men at Rachel's tomb will tell him his donkeys have been found and to return home because his father is concerned about him
- 3 men at Bethel carrying 3 kids, 3 loaves of bread, and a skin of wine, will give Saul two loaves of bread
- A band of prophets will be coming out of Gibeath-elohim playing instruments and in a prophetic frenzy. When Saul meets them he will also go into a prophetic frenzy.
- Samuel's instructions: Go to Gilgal and wait there for 7 days, and I will come down to present burnt offerings and offer sacrifices of well-being.
- Sure enough, when Saul meets the prophets, he also prophesies, and astounds the people around, because they don't know him as a prophet, only the son of Kish.
- "Is Saul also among the prophets?" becomes a proverb.
- When he arrives home, his uncle inquires about what happened, but Saul tells him only about meeting Samuel and finding out about the donkeys.
- Samuel summons all the people to Mizpah, reminds them of their rejection of God in requesting a king.
- He takes each tribe by lot, finally narrowing it down to Saul, who cannot be found at first. He is found hiding among the baggage.
- Samuel declares that he is king, and that "there is no one like him among all the people." The people shout, "Long live the king!"
- Samuel informs the people of the rights and duties of kingship, writing them down in a book.
- Some warriors follow Saul to his home; others look down on him, saying "How can this man save us?" Saul knows this, but says nothing.
- Nahash, the Ammonite king, has been gouging out the right eyes of all the Gadites and Reubenites, but no one is sent to deliver them.
- 7000 men have escaped from Ammon and gone to Jabesh-Gilead
Verse of note: v. 33 - "O rider in the heavens, the ancient heavens; listen, he sends out his voice, his mighty voice." I like this verse for its imagery. It's not only an unusual way to refer to the Creator, but it gives me the picture of some mighty warrior on a powerful horse riding back and forth seeing which of our battles he needs to fight for us. The heavens he monitor have been there from before ancient times, and he is not only powerful in physical strength, but in voice. He lets us know by his word that he's there and what he expects of us.
2 Corinthians 10
1-18 Paul Defends His Ministry
- I want to continue to be humble among you, not forced to boldness toward those who accuse us of behaving by human standards.
- We "wage war" by divine power
- against every proud obstacle against the knowledge of God
- taking every thought captive
- ready to punish every disobedience
- Think about it. We belong to Christ, just as you do.
- God gave us authority in order to build you up, not tear you down
- It is foolish to compare ourselves with others like us (like others do) -- we know the limits Christ has set on us.
- He who boasts should boast in God.
- Self-commendation is nothing; we seek God's commendation
- Note: It sounds like others were coming into Corinth and taking credit for the work Paul and his co-workers had done there, then criticizing Paul for interfering with the affairs of the church and throwing around his apostolic weight.
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