Read Through the Bible in a Year 2018 Day 95: David Becomes King

Good morning, everyone!

Today I read 2 Samuel 1-3.

And if you read the title, you'll know that in today's reading, David becomes king. Finally. 

But that means that Saul is dead. Unfortunately, so is Jonathan. They were both killed in battle with the Amalekites.

David is very upset when he hears the news, naturally.

But something strange happens in the first chapter.

So, in 1 Samuel 31, Saul has lost the battle, all of his sons who went out to battle with him are dead, and he does not want to be taken by the Amalekites. So, he asks his armor bearer to kill him. But his armor bearer cannot do that. So, Saul falls on his own sword and dies.

In 2 Samuel 1, however, the Amalekite who "escaped" to bring the news to David, says that he killed Saul at Saul's request.

Well, he really shouldn't have lied, because David thinks that stretching out your hand against the Lord's anointed is a really bad thing. And so he has the Amalekite killed.

Whoops.

Don't lie. Don't brag about something that isn't true.

While it might not get you killed today, it can still have awful consequences.

Now, David's transition to king in Judah is very smooth. The people receive him, anoint him, and he becomes king.

However, Abner, the commander of Saul's army, makes Ish-bosheth, Saul's son, king over Israel. Whoops.

Are you asking the same question I did: Didn't he know that God anointed David king after Saul?

Yes. Yes, he did know that.

But he made Saul's son king anyway.

So, now Israel and Judah are divided. Still divided.

And civil war breaks out. Again.

So, Joab, the commander of David's armies, and Abner, the commander of Saul's armies, agree to let their men have a "contest." David's armies beat Ish-bosheth's armies. Badly.

But it doesn't end there. Naturally, Saul's son won't just give up his throne.

Now, during this war, in chapter 3, it says that the house of David grew continually stronger, but the house of Saul grew continually weaker.

This is because David is God's anointed king.

Now, something happens to really turn the tide of the war.

Abner is accused by Ish-bosheth of going in to one of Saul's concubines. I have no idea why he thought this, as the Bible isn't clear on that point, but the accusation makes Abner angry.

And he defects to David's side. David agrees to let him join, but only if he brings Michal, David's first wife, Saul's daughter. Abner does, but her husband...remember Saul gave her to another man...follows behind her, crying.

He eventually goes away, and she returns to David.

Now, something that irritates me about David is how many wives he has (I may get into this more later). Without Michal, I think he has six at this point. But Michal was his first wife, and just because Saul was suspicious of David, who was always completely loyal to Saul, didn't give him the right to give David's wife to someone else.

I know that man's rules were sometimes a bit different back then, but God's rules never change. Michal was David's wife. And so he gets her back.

So, David keeps winning the war. Abner has defected to David's side.

But then Joab does something he wasn't supposed to.

First, he tries to convince David that Abner is spying on him, but David doesn't believe it.

So, he and his brother murder Abner because he had killed one of their brothers in battle.

David is naturally angry, and declares that he and his kingdom are innocent before God of Abner's blood. Only Joab and his brother are guilty of it.

And David has favor with all his people.

So, it seems that despite the fighting, David's reign is off to a good start.

I hope you'll join me tomorrow when I read 2 Samuel 4-7.

Read Through the Bible in a Year 2018 Day 94: The End of 1 Samuel

Good afternoon, everyone!

Today I read 1 Samuel 28-31.

And I'll be honest, while there were some interesting things happening, I really don't have any thoughts, insights, reflections, or musings about it.

Sorry.

Maybe I'll understand it better when I read it next year.

I think this is going to be a new yearly goal for me: read the whole Bible each year, even if I read it in a different order each time.

I hope you'll join me tomorrow when I read 2 Samuel 1-3.

Read Through the Bible in a Year 2018 Day 93: When Fear Overtakes Faith

Good afternoon, everyone!

Today I read 1 Samuel 25-27.

And I'm going to skip a lot of things, and dive right in to part of David's story that interests me.

So, up to this point, he's been pretty good about trusting God to protect him and take care of him.

But it seems that his faith wavers a bit in chapter 27. After being pursued by Saul a lot, and escaping him every time...after holding Saul's life in his hands not once, but twice, David's faith finally begins to waver.

1 Samuel 27:1 - Then David said to himself, "Now I will perish one day by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than to escape into the land of the Philistines. Saul will then despair of searching for me anymore in all the territory of Israel, and I will escape from his hand."

So, David takes his future into his own hands instead of trusting that God will continue to deliver him.

So, he goes to the land of the Philistines, Israel's enemy (remember, his most memorable fight was against Goliath, a Philistine warrior). There, he manages to do some good for Israel by continuing to fight their enemies, while telling the king of the Philistines that he was fighting against his own people.

So, I have a couple issues with this:

First, David's faith in God wavers, where before it had been very strong.

Second, he lies, not for the first time, in order to keep himself from trouble. Probably because his faith wavered and he lacked trust in God.

Now, while I have issues with this, I can totally understand.

How many of us have tried to help God by doing things our own way for a while? How many of us have felt so overwhelmed by a situation that we felt it would be better if we handled it ourselves because clearly God wasn't doing anything?

No one else?

Just me?

Okay, then I'll speak from my own experiences.

This happens to me way more often than it should. Apparently I have trust issues.

It is so tempting to try to do things my own way sometimes, especially when it seems like God isn't doing anything.

It is so tempting to give up and run away, especially when I feel overwhelmed.

It is so tempting to feel like I know what is best for me, despite my past track record saying otherwise.

But I'm working on it.

I know that God has a plan for me, and I know His plans are always good. That He wants to take care of me, to prosper me, to give me both hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11).

But it can still be hard to trust Him with every situation, especially when I want to say "But if you just did this, Lord, it would get done really fast."

Impatience. Fear. Doubt.

Patience. Faith. Trust.

Sometimes it's difficult to choose the correct path. But I learn and grow every single day. And even when I have to say "I trust You, Lord," several times before I can make it true, it's worth it.

I'm really glad David's story took him down this path today, even if it's not a very good example of faith. It was a good moment for me to learn. Plus, it makes David more relate-able. He wasn't perfect, just like I'm not perfect.

When fear overtakes faith, it can seem like the road ahead is worse than it actually will be. But when your faith finally overtakes your fear, no matter how rough the road, it will be as easy as a breezy morning stroll.

Or so I've heard. I'm still working on this. And if you are too, I hope David's story and my words have encouraged you today.

I hope you'll join me tomorrow when I read 1 Samuel 28-31.

Read Through the Bible in a Year 2018 Day 92: God Delivers Saul into David's Hand

Good afternoon, everyone!

I just gave my cat a bath, which was tons of fun...

Actually, it's not too bad. He's very calm, and even though he doesn't like it, he doesn't try to claw his way up my face like my other cat does.

The reason for the bath is this: He's been licking all his belly fur off, and the vet said it might be allergies or stress, so he got blood tests and a steroid shot, and when nothing was wrong with him and the shot didn't work, he got a prescription for some other medicine that also didn't work. And even though I know he's not stressed (because this cat has always been much more zen than any animal I have ever met) I got the Feliway brand plug in, which emits a mother's scent to calm cats down. Nothing helped.

So, I finally remembered that last year, when this first started happening and the steroid shot didn't help, I gave him a bath. I know. Some of you are finally going: "You bathe your cat!?"

Yes. I do. He can keep himself pretty clean, but he can't get all the dirt off his skin. So, baths help.

And last year, the bath helped with the licking about 3 months. So, I'm going to bathe him every 3 months this year, at least while it's warm. And hopefully that'll help.

Anyway, I digress. On to the biblical reflections!

Today I read 1 Samuel 21-24.

And Saul is still trying to kill David. As such, David is on the run. First, he finds refuge with the priests of Nob, which was the city of the priests. There, he eats consecrated bread (which actually wasn't that big of a deal), and gets Goliath's sword, which was kept there. Ahimilech, the priest, gave it to David gladly, knowing he was the one who slew Goliath.

Then Saul does something truly awful. 

Someone loyal to him was there when David sought refuge in Nob. Doeg.

Saul goes to the priests and commands them to give David up, wanting to know why they are conspiring against him. He is also angry that they inquired of God for David, to help him on his way.

Ahimilech says this: Who among all your servants is as faithful as David, even the king's son-in-law, who is captain over your guard and is honored in your house? Did I just being to inquire of God for him today? Far be it from me! Do not let the king impute anything to his servant or to any of the household of my father, for your servant knows nothing of this whole affair" (1 Samuel 22:14-15).

But Saul won't listen. He commands his servants to kill all the priests. Priests of God, I might add.

The servants refuse, clearly uncomfortable with this command.

All except for Doeg. Doeg has no problem at all killing God's anointed priests. He turns around and slays them all. Not only that, he sacks the city. The city of the priests.

One man escaped and fled to where David was, and chose to follow him.

Now, I'm going to skip a whole chapter because I don't really have anything to say about it...

In chapter 24, however, Saul is still pursuing David. This time, he comes really close. But not in the way he'd expected. Rather, Saul comes close to losing his own life.

Saul went into this cave to "relieve himself" and David was hiding in the cave with his men. His men urged him to kill Saul, and he was tempted, knowing all the times Saul had tried to kill him. He stretched out his hand and cut off a piece of Saul's robe, but then felt immediately guilty for stretching out his hand against God's current anointed king. For Saul was still anointed for as long as he lived.

So, David goes out after Saul when he leaves, and holds up the piece of his robe and shows how close he was and how he could have killed Saul, but didn't. He also inquires as to why Saul is trying to kill him, knowing David to be a loyal servant of the king.

Saul declares David more righteous than himself, and vows to stop hunting him. He asks David to look favorably on his descendants, which David does, having already sworn to Jonathan. David had declared God to be the judge between them, and Saul adds to that, asking that God repay David good for the good he did in sparing Saul's life, knowing that God had delivered him into David's hand that day.

Overall, this was a pretty interesting part of David's story. There is so much I could cover, but I feel like I would need to break it down more.

If you're more interested in reading about David's life, and a more thorough look into his time running from Saul, I recommend A Heart Like His: Intimate Reflections on the Life of David, by Beth Moore.

I hope you'll join me tomorrow when I read 1 Samuel 25-27.

Read Through the Bible in a Year 2018 Day 91: A Jonathan Friend

Happy Resurrection Sunday, everyone!

Today I read 1 Samuel 18-20.

And in today's reading, Saul got so angry with David, that he tried to kill him...repeatedly. But Jonathan, Saul's son, loved David like a brother. Actually, better than a brother. Jonathan and David loved each other like their own selves.

Which, by the way, is what Jesus tells us we should do with our neighbors (everyone is our neighbor). 

Matthew 22:37-39 - And He said to him, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'"

So, before Jesus instructed it, David and Jonathan were already doing this. Even though Jonathan had every reason to hate David - he was God's next anointed king, and the man who would take the throne away from his father, and by extension, himself - he didn't. Rather, his friendship with David was so great that he risked his own life, and his father's anger, to warn David of Saul's plots against his life.

Now, that's a friend. No jealousy. No hatred. Absolute loyalty.

To be that kind of a friend, someone has to have completely surrendered to God's will. Jonathan knew that his father had messed up, but he could still have ranted about how he would be a better king than his father, about how he might make a better king than David. But he didn't. He submitted entirely to God's will, and became David's closest friend.

Now, I know I'm not nearly the kind of friend I need to be. I should try to follow Jonathan's example better.

Even though I love my friends, and even though I would never let anyone hurt them if I could help it, I am far from surrendering so completely to God's will that I never get upset with them, or jealous of them.

I haven't quite reached the place of loving them as I love myself. But it's something I strive for.

Personally, I need to take a lesson from Jonathan.

David was going to take the throne, the birthright that Jonathan had expected until his father lost it. And still Jonathan submitted to God's will, and became David's best friend.

And the only thing he asked of David, when he was warning him of one of Saul's plots, was that David remember his household when he became king, so that their friendship would last long after his death.

Isn't that beautiful?

We should all strive to be a Jonathan friend.

I hope you'll join me tomorrow when I read 1 Samuel 21-24.

Read Through the Bible in a Year 2018 Day 90: David and Goliath

Good afternoon, everyone!

Today I read 1 Samuel 15-17.

I'm going to skip over the next thing Saul does wrong, and get right into Goliath's story.

So, Goliath is a giant Philistine warrior, who challenges anyone in Israel to come and fight him. But none can stand against him.

Now, Samuel has just anointed Jesse's youngest son, David, as the next king over Israel. David is just a young shepherd boy, but he has already killed both a lion and a bear that stole lambs from his flock, through God's help.

So, as per his father's wishes, David goes to see how the battle is going and to bring his brothers some food.

There, he hears Goliath's challenge.

And David says "who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should taunt the armies of the living God?" - 1 Samuel 17:26

David goes to Saul, who has promised his daughter's hand in marriage to the man who can slay the giant, and tells him that he will go out against the Philistine warrior.

Saul tries to give David his own armor and sword (in those days not everyone would have their own), but they don't fit, and David refuses them.

He says that he only needs God, who has already delivered him from the hand of the bear and the lion.

He takes his sling, and five smooth stones, and goes out against Goliath.

And when Goliath taunts him, David says this:

1 Samuel 17:45 - Then David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted. This day the LORD will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you..."

Goliath rushes David, but he stands firm.

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh, goes his sling.

And then he lets one stone fly. It hits Goliath between the eyes, and he falls to the ground. 

And so David won the battle against the Philistine who had struck such terror into the hearts of the Israelites, without even a sword in his hand.

Then, David cuts off Goliath's head, and the Israelite army rushes to fight the remaining Philistines.

It doesn't matter how big you are, or how much experience you have. It doesn't matter how big your enemy is or how much experience they have. Remember how big your God is, and that when He fights for you, no one can stand against you. That doesn't mean there will never be challenges. Only that He will see us through them.

Remember David's story when you're in the midst of trouble. Remember that he only believed that his God was bigger than the giant he faced, that his God could, and would see him through the challenge and give him what he needed.

I hope you'll join me tomorrow when I read 1 Samuel 18-20.

Read Through the Bible in a Year 2018 Day 89: Saul's Foolishness

Good evening, everyone.

Today I read 1 Samuel 13-14.

I feel like I might have been "hating on" Saul a little too much yesterday, and I wanted to tone it down today.

So, Saul is God's chosen king. He is a mighty warrior. And he fights a lot of Philistines.

Which is a good thing.

But then Saul messes up. Big time.

See, Saul is a people-pleaser. He and his armies are about to go out against the Philistines, and Samuel is late. The people are freaking out and running away. So, Saul takes it upon himself to offer the burnt offerings to God.

And that's a big no-no. Only the priest was allowed to make offerings to God on behalf of the people. If a person brought their offerings, a priest had to be present.

This was a big deal.

Saul cared more about pleasing the people, than pleasing God. He was moved by the number of people he could see running away, rather than by the might of God.

And when Samuel arrives, he has to tell Saul that what he did was foolish, and because of it, his kingdom will not endure, but God will appoint a new king, "a man after His own heart."

But it gets worse.

So, Saul is fighting the Philistines, and his son Jonathan is with him. Jonathan and his servant go off on their own for a bit, and, with God's help, win a great victory over the Philistines. 

And Saul says this: "Cursed be the man who eats food before evening, and until I have avenged myself on my enemies" (1 Samuel 14:24).

Oh, Saul. What's wrong with you?

So, Jonathan doesn't hear this command, and eats honey from the land (the spoils of war). And the Bible says his "eyes were brightened" because he ate some of the food from the land they'd won from their enemies.

I think this means that not only did the honey nourish him, but it also solidified his victory and gave him more hope and courage.

But then, Saul finds out that Jonathan ate the honey. And he says that Jonathan must surely die, because of the oath Saul made.

But the people intervened because they did not want to see their beloved prince die.

Now, this brings me back to something I talked about in one of my previous posts: we must be very careful with our words; even more so with our vows, and the kinds of curses we can put on ourselves or other people.

Saul almost lost his son Jonathan because he made a reckless and foolish declaration in the heat of the moment.

Okay, so maybe I was a little harsh on Saul again today, but sometimes it's hard not to be. So many people in the Bible are great role models, even though they are flawed. I feel like there's a lot we can learn from Saul, but I wouldn't personally call him a great role model.

Do you have any thoughts about Saul? Do you see something that I'm missing? Let me know in the comments.

I hope you'll join me tomorrow when I read 1 Samuel 15-17!

Read Through the Bible in a Year 2018 Day 88: Israel Gets a King

Good morning, everyone!

Today I read 1 Samuel 9-12.

In today's reading, a young man named Saul, from the tribe of Benjamin, goes in search of his lost donkeys. When Saul is ready to give up and go home, his servant suggests going to seek wisdom from Samuel, the prophet.

When Saul arrives, God tells Samuel that he is the king God has chosen to reign over His people. So, Samuel invites Saul to join the feast, and to eat with him. He anoints Saul king, and he sends Saul on his way with a word from God, telling him that he will find his lost donkeys.

A little while later, Samuel has to publicly choose Saul as king. So, first he picks the tribe of Benjamin. Then, the Matrite family. Then Saul, the son of Kish is chosen.

But Saul cannot be found anywhere, because he is hiding among the baggage.

Now, my question is "Why?" Why was Saul hiding? And my best guess right now, is that it's a foreshadowing of his character. Deep down, I think he's a coward.

And there's something that happens that sort of confirms this.

So, Saul has been chosen king of Israel. Now, this wasn't random. God chose Saul as king for a reason, but Israel demanded the king.

So, most of Israel worships God and reveres Samuel. And they also pay homage to Saul, by giving him gifts.

1 Samuel 10:27 - But certain worthless men said, "How can this one deliver us?" And they despised him and did not bring him any present. But he kept silent.

But he kept silent.

Saul has trouble confronting people who don't like him. In this respect, he is a coward.

Now, I know this can be hard for everyone. I don't like it either. But bear with me. Saul has just been chosen as king over Israel. The people wanted a king. They begged God for a king. So, He gave them one.

And yet, still some people won't accept Saul, even though he is the Lord's anointed.

Now, I can understand wanting people to like you...to an extent. But these people are not only disrespecting Saul by not giving him gifts. They are disrespecting God.

And the Spirit of God has been with Saul since his anointing. And yet, Saul is still a coward and won't confront these people.

This is only the beginning, however. If you've already read Saul's story, you'll know what I'm talking about.

But I digress.

Saul can be a coward and won't stand up to people. But he's not a coward in battle.

The men of Jabesh-gilead are being set upon by the Ammonites, and they need help. When Saul hears of it, the Spirit of God comes upon him, and he is angry at the treatment of God's people. So, he calls upon Israel to go up and fight. And they defeat the Ammonites, with Saul leading them.

So, in battle, he is a valiant warrior.

And that's the beginning of Saul's story.

I hope you'll join me tomorrow when I read 1 Samuel 13-14. 

Read Through the Bible in a Year 2018 Day 87: All Bow Down

Good afternoon, everyone!

Today I read 1 Samuel 4-8.

And there is a lot I could cover about these chapters, but I want to focus on just one thing today.

So, the Philistines are fighting the Israelites, and they are winning. So the Israelites make the decision to bring the Ark of the Covenant into their camp so they will win.

But it backfires.

The Philistines capture the Ark of the Covenant.

And that's bad for the Israelites. Worse for the Philistines.

They take the Ark and place it in the temple of their god, Dagon. In the morning, when they checked on it, Dagon was face-down on the floor in front of the Ark. The put him in his place again, upright. And the next day, he is again face-down on the floor before the Ark of the Lord. But this time, his head and hands have been broken off.

I find this to be truly amazing.

The Lord God of Israel is the Lord of lords, King of kings, and God over all gods. No one can stand before Him. Not even other gods. Because He is the One and Only.

So, the Philistines are starting to freak out again.

And with good reason. See, God is angry.

And tumors and other horrible things start to happen to the Philistines in Ashod.

When they ask for advice, the adviser tells them to make offerings to God, and return the Ark, all the while remembering Egypt and what happened there.

And then the Philistines make offerings to God. Proper offerings. Guilt offerings. And they return the Ark to its proper place.

No one can make God do anything. No one can steal from Him. Even other gods cannot stand before Him. Even people who don't serve Him, will stand in awe of His might.

I hope you'll join me tomorrow when I read 1 Samuel 9-12.

Read Through the Bible in a Year 2018 Day 86: When God Calls to Us

Good evening, everyone!

Today I read 1 Samuel 1-3.

Let me break down the story for you.

Hannah is barren and wants children. She promises that if God gives her a son, she will dedicate him to the service of God.

She has a son, whom she names Samuel. She dedicates him to God's service, and visits him once a year when she and her husband go to the temple to offer their sacrifices.

Eli is the old priest who is to teach Samuel.

But Eli's sons are wicked, and do not know God or His laws.

Samuel is a young boy in the temple, and one night he hears a voice calling for him.

Thinking it is Eli, he goes to ask what he wants. Eli thinks the boy was dreaming so he sends him back to bed.

Three times.

After that, Eli figures out that it's God calling to Samuel, and tells him what to say the next time he hears the voice.

Samuel obeys, and God speaks to him, telling him prophetic things concerning Eli and his wicked sons.

Eli wants to know what God said, but Samuel doesn't want to upset him. Eli gently insists.

So, Samuel tells him all that God said.

God told Samuel that because of the wickedness of Eli's sons, his family will no longer be priests to God once Eli's sons are dead. In fact, Eli's sons are bringing an early destruction upon themselves.

And so Samuel becomes God's anointed prophet, though he is still a young boy.

And what I learned today is: when God calls, we must answer Him.

Sometimes it's easy to lose God's voice amid all the others that we hear, or to believe it is someone or something else calling to us. But it's important to take time to be still and listen, so that we can discern God's voice. Then, when we've had practice listening for and to Him, it will be easier to hear His voice even amid the voices of Fear, Chaos, Doubt, and others.

So, that's what I learned today.

I hope you'll join me tomorrow when I read 1 Samuel 4-8.