Tag: Sin

Digging in Deeper: 1 Samuel 14:24

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“And the men of Israel had been hard pressed that day, so Saul had laid an oath on the people, saying, “Cursed be the man who eats food until it is evening and I am avenged on my enemies.” So none of the people had tasted food.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)‬‬

This whole episode is just bizarre. Saul makes this tremendously egotistical and foolish oath and everything fairly well falls apart. This is another one of those stories that leaves you wondering why it got included in the Scriptures in the first place. A more contextually important question is this: How did Saul get made king in the first place? Read the rest…

Digging in Deeper: 1 Samuel 13:12-13

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“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

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“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 8:4-5

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“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…

Morning Musing: 1 Samuel 15:20-21

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“And Saul said to Samuel, “I have obeyed the voice of the Lord. I have gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me. I have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and I have devoted the Amalekites to destruction. But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.””
(ESV – Read the chapter) ‬‬

Have you ever tried to confront someone with the truth and they just wouldn’t see it. Saul had been caught not doing what God had commanded. God send Samuel to confront him about not doing what He had commanded. But Saul just wouldn’t see it. And now that Samuel was getting more insistent with his charge, Saul was trying to deflect and point the blame other places. Read the rest…