MARCH 15 & 16 1 SAMUEL 1-3

1 Samuel 1-3

In one sense, the book of Ruth was an introduction to the story of Israel’s greatest king, David! In it, we learned how David’s great grandmother was grafted into Israel by faith.

Here in 1 Samuel, we begin David’s story in earnest.  We won’t meet him for several days, yet it is important that we back up and tell the story of Samuel.  Samuel was to David what John the Baptist was to Jesus.  As Elizabeth, John’s mother, was childless, so was Hannah, Samuel’s mother.  As John’s parents prayed for a child, so did Hannah.  God answered both parents’ prayers; and sons were born!  Both sons were set apart in a special way for the Lord.  As John was the conscience of Israel and her kings in Jesus’ day, so Samuel was the conscience of Israel in the days of her first kings.  As John prepared the way for Jesus, so Samuel prepared the way for David.

When Samuel was weaned, Hannah took him to Shiloh and the priest, Eli, where he learned to minister to the Lord.    Hannah’s prayer is a great foreshadowing of Mary’s prayer in Luke 1:46-55.  They show the same joy, the same humility and the same awe of God!

The saddest section of today’s reading concerns Eli’s worthless sons.  Though Eli rebukes them, he fails to do anything to back up his rebuke (2:23-25). As a result, the Lord rejects Eli’s house by sending a prophet of doom:  “Your two sons…shall die on the same day.” (2:34)  Sometime later, the boy Samuel is awakened in the night by the voice of the Lord.  Though the story of Samuel’s mistaking God’s voice for Eli’s is precious; the message he is given for Eli confirms the unhappy words of the prophet.

Those words will be fulfilled in 1 Samuel 4.

Until Monday, when the glory departs from Israel!
Pastor Gary

MARCH 14 RUTH 1-4

Ruth 1-4

Reading Ruth after slogging through Judges is like a hot shower after a ten-day wilderness backpacking trip.  Reading Judges, I wondered if I would ever be clean again, but Ruth breathes hope and righteousness into an evil era.  In the midst of lawlessness, God was at work, planting the seeds of righteousness that would sprout four generations later in King David.

This time through Ruth, watch for these things:

• The themes of emptiness and fullness; in chapter 1, Naomi is cursed and empty, stripped of husband, sons and all but one stubbornly faithful daughter-in-law.  In the end, Naomi is blessed and full, bouncing her grandson, Obed, on her knees.
• The role of a kinsman redeemer; Boaz and Ruth’s love affair climaxes in Boaz’ willingness to be the “redeemer” for Naomi’s line, fulfilling the law of levirate marriage (Deuteronomy 25:5-10).
• The humility of each main character; Naomi’s sad name for herself (Mara, bitter), Ruth’s willingness to submit to Naomi’s God and glean in the fields, and Boaz’ humble response to Ruth’s overtures.  God does give grace to the humble!

Tomorrow, we begin the saga of Samuel!

Pastor Gary

MARCH 13 JUDGES 17-21

Judges 17-21

With these chapters, we reach a climax of wretchedness!  This sickeningly sinful stretch begins and ends with the words:  In those days there was no king in Israel.  Everyone did what was right in their own eyes (Judges 17:6; 21:25).  And the main character of each account is from the tribe of Levi; they were commissioned to preserve the law of God.

The Levite Who Launched Mass Idolatry (Judges 17-18)
Micah, an Ephraimite, sets up his own private worship center, counter to the commands of God. When a young Levite from Bethlehem comes by, Micah offers him “Ten Shekels and a Shirt”* to be his personal priest.  The Levite jumps at the chance to be a priest for hire.

But sometime later, people from the tribe of Dan pass through looking for a place to settle (They had been unable to conquer the lands allotted to them). They meet Micah and talk with his Levite “priest.” Later, they return with an army, steal his make-shift temple, and make this pitch to the Levite: Come with us and be to us a father and a priest. Is it better for you to be priest to the house of one man, or to be priest to a tribe and clan in Israel?  The Levite jumps at the chance!  He is moving on up!

In the end, the Levite presides over the most massive and idolatrous worship center in Northern Israel.

The Levite Who Started a Civil War (Judges 19-21)
A Levite follows his unfaithful concubine to coax her home, but he seems far more interested in “letting his heart be merry,” than in her (19:6). On their way, they are given lodging in Gibeah. But, like the men of Sodom and Gomorrah, the men of Gibeah look to “abuse” the visitors. The Levite forces his concubine out the door, and she is “abused” to death all night.

Incensed, he cuts up her poor dead body and sends pieces to the other tribes in Israel as a way to incite them to battle. What follows is an intense and destructive civil war that nearly exterminates the tribe of Benjamin.

Who’s at fault in all this?  Just about everyone; they’re just doing what seemed right in their eyes.

Did anything wholesome and good happen during the time of the Judges?  Yes!

Until tomorrow, when we read the book of Ruth!
Pastor Gary





*Ten Shekels and a Shirt is the name of a famous sermon on the dangers of ministering for money and fame.

MARCH 12 JUDGES 13-16

Judges 13-16

Samson was bigger than life, like a tarnished super-hero.  His feats were fantastic, but his character flawed. He single-handedly wreaked havoc with the Philistines, who had dominated Israel for forty years. Yet he philandered unashamedly and, in the end, met his match with the infamous and persistent Philistine beauty, Delilah. Humbled and eyeless, he slowly re-grew his hair and rediscovered his strength in a Philistine prison. In his death, which was essentially a suicide, he killed the 3000 partying Philistines who had brought him out to taunt him.

A troubling aspect of this account is the repeated references to Samson as being moved by the Spirit (13:25; 14:6, 19; 15:14).  How could such a flawed fellow be Spirit-filled?

First of all, Samson was promised to childless parents and set apart for the Lord before he was born, not unlike John the Baptist.  He was tapped out by God to deliver God’s people from the Philistines, and was filled with the Spirit for that purpose.

Secondly, his character issues, though real and problematic, do not negate God’s call.  In other words, God can use, and the Spirit can fill, deeply flawed people.  Samson is simply an extreme example.

God purposes in all of this were met: He, through a Spirit-moved Samson, preserved His people!

Until tomorrow,
Pastor Gary

MARCH 11 JUDGES 9-12

Judges 9-12

These four chapters focus on the children of two mighty warriors.

God had made Gideon “a mighty man of valor,” but this was not automatically transmitted to his children, one particularly wicked son especially.  How often godly parents in scripture are not able to pass their virtue along to the next generation (Eli and his sons, David and many of his sons, Hezekiah and his son, Manasseh, for example)!  Of course, part of the problem lay with Gideon’s “many wives.” Moses warned kings that nothing good would come of that.  And sure enough, Abimelech, the son of one of Gideon’s concubine’s organized a mass murder of all but one of his half brothers. He seized control of Israel and ruled for three years, until he got what was coming to him (9:53-54).

Jephthah, the Gileadite, was another mighty warrior and judge.  Though rejected as the child of a prostitute, his people swallowed their prejudice and called for Jephthah’s help. Though he bristles at this, Jephthah agrees to return and lead the army of the Gileadites, if, when all is said and done, they make him their leader (judge). They agree. Jephthah leads them valiantly and defeats the Ammonites.  All’s well except for one thing: Jephthah had made a rash vow when leaving for battle: “Whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites will be the Lord’s, and I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering.” (Judges 11:31)  And what came out the Lord upon his return? His only child, his daughter! I challenge you to google Jephthah’s daughter and see what you think.  Did the rash Jephthah actually sacrifice his daughter to keep his vow (not a good idea!), or did he dedicate her to the service of the Lord essentially keeping her from marriage and denying himself grandchildren?

Throughout the lives of these and the many minor judges, the cycle of sin continues.

Until tomorrow,
Pastor Gary

MARCH 10 JUDGES 6-8

Judges 6-8

Do you ever like a contradiction? God tells you to be strong and courageous, but you know deep down that you’re not.

Gideon was just that sort. We find him cowering from the enemies of Judah, doing his farm work inside a winepress so as not to be seen by the Midianites. How does God turn this fearful farmer into a mighty warrior? Here, as best as I can tell, is God’s to do list:

• God promises to be there. Echoing Jesus’ theme, “Apart from me, you can do nothing,” the Lord’s first words to Gideon are, “The Lord is with you.” (6:12)

• God calls him, “mighty man of valor.” How strange! As yet, he is nothing close to a “mighty man of valor;” but that doesn’t keep God from naming Gideon what He expects him to be! (6:12)

• God gives him signs. In His first sign God receives Gideon’s offering by apparent spontaneous combustion (6:21), and continues, patiently, to give him sign upon sign, as Gideon lays out fleece after fleece (6:36-40).

• God removes his crutches. In the famous “paring down” of Gideon’s fighting force to a mere 300, God is teaching Gideon to rely on Him, rather than on his fighting force. (7:2-8)

• God gives him confirmation. “If you’re still afraid,” God says, “take your servant and go down to the enemy camp!” There Gideon overhears a soldier recount a dream that portends victory for Gideon (7:13-14).

Gideon grows stronger and braver throughout the account, demonstrating a growing zeal for the Lord.  By the end, we know that God found the right man, when, after the battle was won, Gideon rejects all efforts to make him king with these incredible words:  I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the Lord will rule over you! (8:23)

Until tomorrow,

Pastor Gary