Category: Digging in Deeper

Digging in Deeper: 1 Samuel 13:12-13

Leave a comment

“I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the favor of the Lord.’ So I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering.” And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the command of the Lord your God, with which he commanded you. For then the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)‬‬

There’s a lot going on here, but at a glance, this seems like another one of those places where, yes, though Saul didn’t do what the Lord had apparently told him to do, He’s overreacting to his failure to do so rather wildly. But, while that is perhaps the obvious understanding, it misses the bigger and more important picture. Let’s take a look at that one. Read the rest…

Digging in Deeper: 1 Samuel 12:20

Leave a comment

“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.'”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

There are two ways to understand this verse, both of them are important. One of them is contextually anchored, and one takes what Israel would have understood and applies it forward to something that is an encouragement to us. Read the rest…

Digging in Deeper: 1 Samuel 9:2

Leave a comment

“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.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

Saul looked the part of a king. Think about that in light of the initial reception on the part of both Samuel and God to their request to have one. Samuel was hurt and God was disappointed. But then God goes out and finds a king who looks the part in every way. He gives them exactly what they wanted. What gives? Read the rest…

Digging in Deeper: 1 Samuel 8:4-5

Leave a comment

“Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah 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.'”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

These two verses mark the end of the era of the judges in the history of Israel and the beginning of the era of the monarchy. This is both a sad and an interesting transition. It gives us an object lesson in how God can use our failings and still accomplish His plans in spite of them. In fact, He can even incorporate our failures into His plans such that it appears later they were always part of them even though they weren’t. Let’s look at how this is. Read the rest…

Digging in Deeper: Matthew 10:17-18

Leave a comment

“Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

Jesus was nothing if not a realist when it came to the kind of reception His followers should expect when they set out to advance the kingdom by proclaiming the Gospel to the unbelieving world. He made this abundantly clear: We should expect trouble. In these couple of verses He makes clear we should expect three different kinds of persecution. Read the rest…