1 Samuel / chapter 31 (read the chapter)
So, forty years after Saul became king of Israel, it’s all over. The Philistines killed him and his three sons, thus leaving no direct heirs to the throne. Israel was once more kingless, and the stage set for David to take his anointed place on the throne. Continue Reading »
1 Samuel / chapter 30 (read the chapter)
I love seeing these glimpses of God’s heart flash through in the life of David. From this chapter: “Along the way [David's men] found an Egyptian man in a field and brought him to David. They gave him some bread to eat and water to drink. They also gave him part of a fig cake and two clusters of raisins, for he hadn’t had anything to eat or drink for three days and nights. Before long his strength returned. ‘To whom do you belong, and where do you come from?’ David asked him. ‘I am an Egyptian—the slave of an Amalekite,’ he replied. ‘My master abandoned me three days ago because I was sick. We were on our way back from raiding the Kerethites in the Negev, the territory of Judah, and the land of Caleb, and we had just burned Ziklag.’” (vs 11-14) Continue Reading »
1 Samuel / chapter 29 (read the chapter)
Here’s what I liked about this chapter: Just because we screw it up doesn’t mean that God’s plans have failed. I believe David was in the wrong place doing the wrong things in the events that led up to this chapter. It would seem that he hadn’t consulted the Lord about fleeing to the land of the Philistines and that he was living there out of fear, not because he knew that was part of God’s plan for his life. Continue Reading »
1 Samuel / chapter 28 (read the chapter)
I just finished reading Rob Bell’s new book, Love Wins. It generated a lot of controversy by posing the question of whether or not there is an eternal hell. But the chapter I was most intrigued by was one that asked the question, Does God get what God wants? Bell didn’t provide an absolute answer, but he seemed to insinuate that (since God wants everyone to come to a knowledge of salvation) if everyone wasn’t saved, God wasn’t “great” enough to get what He wants. (At least, that’s what I understood him to be saying.) Continue Reading »
1 Samuel / chapter 27 (read the chapter)
Are you imperfect? Great! You’re a prime candidate to be used by God! He loves to recruit and use imperfect people in His unfolding plan for this Earth. Well, okay, I guess He really doesn’t have much of a choice. If He wants to use humans, He will have to settle for imperfect ones. But I suppose He could have chosen to do things without us . . . or made us so we couldn’t screw up in the first place (i.e. without freedom). I’m glad God chose to do it the way He did. Continue Reading »
1 Samuel / chapter 26 (read the chapter)
David was God’s anointed man for king. The problem? There was already another man in that position. The “logical” thing for David to do would have been to figure out how to get Saul off the throne. After all, as long as Saul was still king, David couldn’t assume his rightful position as God’s anointed. And I wonder what thoughts and emotions must have run through David’s mind as the saga with Saul dragged on and on and on. Continue Reading »
1 Samuel / chapter 25 (read the chapter)
Some people build skyscrapers. Some people build empires. God builds character.
What jumped out to me in this chapter was David’s near-reversal of behavior from the previous chapter. In 1 Samuel 24, David had a chance to kill Saul—someone who was an avowed enemy—and he didn’t do it. He showed incredible maturity and restraint, even trying to reason with Saul about things. Continue Reading »
1 Samuel / chapter 24 (read the chapter)
In this chapter, we see a beautiful picture of God shining through David, the one who was later called “the man after God’s own heart.” David has been on the run from Saul for a very long time. Then, suddenly, in a reversal of fortune, Saul enters a cave where David and his men are hiding. David could have easily ambushed Saul; instead, he cut off the corner of his robe. (And even that got to his conscience later on.) Continue Reading »
1 Samuel / chapter 23 (read the chapter)
So, Saul has pretty much given up the weighty matters of being king and has devoted himself full-time to his new hobby: Trying to kill David. The Philistines were still very much an immediate danger to Israel. In fact, at the beginning of this chapter, it was David who saved the people of Keilah from an invasion of the Philistines. But Saul seemed unconcerned with the Philistines and more worried about making sure David wouldn’t live much longer. Continue Reading »
1 Samuel / chapter 22 (read the chapter)
It is really disheartening to see just how sick and twisted Saul became. How irrational. How unreasonable. And since Ahimelek, the high priest, had helped David (even unwittingly), “the king said, ‘You will surely die, Ahimelek, you and your whole family.’” (vs 16) Wow. This is a far cry from the king who refused to hurt those who spoke against him. This a complete 180—the willingness to destroy not only an innocent man, but his entire family as well. Continue Reading »
