Engaging Scripture

The deception of worship services (and a bonus topic: Does God command genocide???) – 1st Samuel 15, Part 1

Did Jesus ask us to hold worship services? Did he ask us to build church buildings? Did he want us to have pews? Did Jesus teach us to gather here on Sundays for singing and sermons?

In the book Jim & Casper Go To Church, Jim is an evangelical Christian and Casper is Matt Casper, an atheist. Together they visit 15-20 churches of all shapes and sizes across the US. At nearly every worship service, Casper, the atheist asks Jim the Christian, “Did Jesus really ask you to do this?”

The answer is no. Jesus never asked us to hold worship services, in buildings, with pews, in which we would sit and sing songs and listen to sermons. I am not suggesting that all those things are wrong. I’m just saying, “Let’s be honest. Jesus never said that we should do any of it.”

While I am not suggesting that worship services, in buildings, with songs and sermons are wrong, I am suggesting that they can very easily deceive us. Worship services can deceive us? Sermons can deceive us? I preach sermons almost every week, and I have been doing so for years. This blog is nearly entirely my sermons broken up into five parts each week. Am I involved in this deception? Maybe! How so? We find out this week in the next story in our study of 1^st Samuel.

Turn with me to 1^st Samuel chapter 15. Over the past few weeks we learned that Saul’s reign as king started off pretty well, but then he made some missteps. Get ready for more missteps.

In verses 1 through 3, the prophet Samuel comes to King Saul with a message from the Lord. Saul is to lead the Israelite army in an attack against the Amalekites and totally destroy them. Why the Amalekites? And what does “totally destroy” mean?

The Amalekites, we learn in verse 2 had ambushed the nation of Israel when Israel was on its Exodus journey out of slavery in Egypt hundreds of years earlier. There are two times the Amalekites attacked Israel, one in Exodus 17, and one in Numbers 14.

Then in Deuteronomy 25, just as Israel is about to cross the Jordan and enter the Promised Land, God says to the people, “Remember what the Amalekites did to you along the way when you came out of Egypt. When you were weary and worn out, they met you on your journey and attacked all who were lagging behind; they had no fear of God. When the Lord your God gives you rest from all the enemies around you in the land he is giving you to possess as an inheritance, you shall blot out the name of Amalek from under heaven. Do not forget!”

In the book of Judges, there are numerous times when the Israel and the Amalekites clash, but the result is never conclusive. Now in 1^st Samuel chapter 15 God calls his people to fulfill the promise he made in Deuteronomy. Destroy the Amalekites.

Destroy? Actually, the word is “totally destroy.” This is the very controversial Hebrew term, “haram,” which, when used in warfare in the OT, means to devote to God by total destruction.

This reminds me of college soccer. One of the teams we played had a spectator who brought out one of those long cone megaphones that cheerleaders use, and he declared haram over us, literally. He stood on the sideline and yelled into the megaphone all game long, “Totally destroy them, annihilate them, decimate them!” He rarely stopped to catch his breathe. It was a pretty awesome display of rooting for your team. I would love to see that in local high school sports. Could you image a row of students or parents with megaphones declaring haram over the opposing team for the whole game? The problem, in the case of the guy declaring haram over my college soccer team, was that my team was far better than his, and the opposite happened. We destroyed them.

What would happen when Israel declared haram over the Amalekites? God’s power would help Israel totally destroy the enemy. But why would God want that? Lots of speculation has gone into answering this question. How could a God of love tell his people to commit what amounts to genocide? There are numerous ways to answer that question.

The first way some people explain haram is that the Amalekites were such evil people that this was God’s just judgment against them. In other words, God was being loving in wiping them off the face of the earth. I believe that God is just in his judgement, but I don’t believe genocide is in line with that. Consider the evil of the Nazis during World War 2. The Allies were right in eradicating them through battle, but that does not mean the Allies committed genocide. Allied forces did not kill all Nazis soldiers, and they did not kill all Nazi men, women, children and animals. Instead, the Allies utilized a justice system to truthfully and fairly respond to war crimes. So why wouldn’t God implement a justice approach?

Another way some people explain haram is by pointing out that the people of Israel were slaves for 450 years. As such they had a deeply ingrained slave mentality and thus were susceptible to being enslaved again by powerful people groups. So to preserve the freedom of his people, God commands them to entirely wipe out the enemy. Again, I believe God’s loves his people, but why would that necessitate genocide?

The third way people explain haram is to say that we will not understand everything in Scriptures, and God’s ways are higher than our ways. So we just need to trust in him. Maybe, but that is deeply unsatisfying. How could something as evil as genocide be something we say “I trust you God”?

Fourth, some scholars explain haram is to suggest that the author of Samuel was actually writing historical fiction to make the Israelites look more powerful than they really were. Those scholars believe that the author of Samuel was writing centuries later during Israel’s exile in Babylon, to Jews who were doubting God’s promise to rescue them. The scholars believe the haram passages are meant to inspire the exiles to trust in God. In my view, this may be the best option because, if correct, it means that God never commanded haram.

I will let you wrestle with what you would like to believe about the haram passages in the Bible like this one.

What happens in the story? Does Saul lead the army to commit haram against the Amalekites? We’ll find out in the next post.

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Should we just skip difficult chapters of the Bible? – 1st Samuel 15, Preview

Every now and then in our study through books of the Bible we come to sections that feel strange or even if off-putting. For example, a couple years ago I blogged through Ezekiel. I called Ezekiel “The SNL Prophet” because he did so many skits (like the TV show Saturday Night Live), and some Ezekiel’s skits were bizarre, like the one involving excrement, and his famous Prophetic Stare. Ezekiel also regularly had fantastical dreams.

But there was one chapter in Ezekiel that was so extreme, I skipped it. I simply could not preach Ezekiel chapter 23. Not in church. Even on the blog I only summarized it briefly. As I type this, I wonder how many other preachers through the centuries have attempted to preach Ezekiel 23, and I wonder how it went for them! Do you remember Ezekiel 23? I bet you’re interested now! Look it up. It is amazing to me that that chapter is in the Bible.

I mention the difficulty of some chapters of the Bible because this week we have another difficult one. It’s not as sketchy as Ezekiel 23, so I’m going to cover it, but I will admit that there are portions of 1^st Samuel 15 that make me very uncomfortable. I wonder how you will feel when you read 1^st Samuel 15.

Some portions of Scripture make us uncomfortable because through them the Spirit of God speaks to us about ways that we can be more faithful to him. Some portions of Scripture make us uncomfortable because they involve practices in ancient cultures that are very different from our culture and way of thinking. Some portions of Scripture involve theology that is controversial.

1^st Samuel chapter 15 includes all of the above.

So prior to Monday, take a few moments and read 1^st Samuel chapter 15. See if you find it as confusing, troubling, and interesting as I do.

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How to have a heart like God’s heart – 1st Samuel 13 & 14, Part 5

Saul, through a priest, has beseeched the Lord for his blessing on attacking the fleeing Philistines. God, however, is not answering. How will Saul respond to God’s silence? Will he be impatient again, unable to wait on the Lord?

Actually, no. We read in 1st Samuel 14, verse 38, Saul believes that God’s silence is the result of sin in the camp, which is a throwback to a situation in Israel’s conquest of the Promised Land of Canaan about 350 years prior. A man named Achan had kept plunder from battle that was forbidden by God, and as a result Israel lost a battle. God revealed what happened, Achan was put to death, and Israel had victory. Perhaps now, Saul wonders, God is not speaking because something like Achan’s sin happened again.

Notice in verses 38-39, Saul is giving God glory, and he boldly declares that this sin needs to be dealt with by capital punishment, even if it is his son, Jonathan. Saul likely believes there is no way it could be his own son, especially as we read in verse 40, because he separates himself and Jonathan from the rest of the army. Saul is thinking it has to be some soldier in the army who has sinned.

So in verses 41-42, Saul prays to God asking God to reveal the truth through the use of the Urim and Thummin. The Urim and Thummin are two stones that were given by God to the priests of ancient Israel to reveal God’s will. It was the same as casting lots. The priest would reach into the pocket of the priestly ephod, and the stone chosen was believed to be God revealing his choice.

Saul thinks for sure the soldiers will be chosen, but no, the stone chosen was the Urim, meaning it was either Saul or Jonathan who had sinned. This must have astounded Saul. So they cast the lot again, this time deciding between Saul or Jonathan. Jonathan was revealed to be the sinner. Jonathan then explains that he had eaten honey, breaking the oath his father had imposed on all the soldiers. As a result, Jonathan must now die.

Saul boldly says in verse 44, “May God deal with me, be it ever so severely, if you do not die, Jonathan.” On the one hand, I give Saul credit for standing firm on his oath. On the other hand, Saul seems to be ludicrous here, allowing his own son to die for something so stupid, a ridiculous oath that Saul himself instituted. It’s bonkers. This situation is super intense. Is Jonathan scared? Is Saul feeling any regret? Is God okay with this? Interestingly, the people who speak up are not who you’d expect to speak up.

The soldiers know it is ridiculous. Look how they respond in verse 45,

“But the men said to Saul, ‘Should Jonathan die—he who has brought about this great deliverance in Israel? Never! As surely as the Lord lives, not a hair of his head will fall to the ground, for he did this today with God’s help.’ So the men rescued Jonathan, and he was not put to death.”

I love it that the rescue here comes from the common people, the regular military foot soldiers speak up. When there is an injustice, even if we think we are nobodies, we should speak up. We have a voice. These guys see the insanity of Saul’s decision, they speak up, and they avert a terrible injustice. People with God’s heart speak up. They are not silent. They speak up on behalf of the oppressed, the marginalized, the hurting, the poor.

Saul’s pride must have been wounded that his oath was not respected by his son. Saul’s pride must have been wounded that he, the king, was overruled by the men. But I wonder if Saul was also breathing a sigh of relief because he knew his oath was ridiculous and he didn’t want to lose his son over it. I wonder if Saul knew that his son had a heart after God’s own heart, and Saul didn’t?

1^st Samuel chapter 14 concludes in verses 46-52 with a summary of Saul’s military history and family tree. The summary is generally positive about Saul. Throughout his reign, Israel was always at war with the Philistines, yet he won many battles, delivering Israel. But in this chapter we learned something about Saul, he is not the man after God’s own heart that God is looking for.

You can grow a heart that is after God’s own heart. Paul writes an amazing prayer about this in Ephesians 3:14-19. Hear this prayer.

“For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”

Filled to the measure of the fullness of God. Strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being. Christ dwelling in your hearts through faith. Rooted and established in love.

These are all wonderful descriptions of a person with a heart after God’s own heart because God himself lives in our hearts. Yes, “God lives in our hearts” is a figurative saying. What it means is that genuine followers of Jesus have union with Christ through his Spirit who lives in us. Our bodies are the temple of the Spirit. As we walk in step with the Spirit, God transforms our whole person so that his fruit flows from our lives. Walk with him. Get to know him. Invite him into your life. Ask him to fill you and empower you to live for him.

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When (and why) God turned two men into real superheroes – 1st Samuel 13 & 14, Part 4

In my family, I would venture a guess that Batman is the favorite superhero. We’ve watched loads of Batman films and TV shows, and played Batman video games. One of Batman’s signature abilities is a hand-to-hand fighting technique and speed that allows him to fight, successfully, large groups of assailants. Did you know that in the Bible, God empowers two men to fight like that?

In our study this week through 1st Samuel chapters 13 & 14, the Israelite army and their King Saul are in a very, very bad position. The much larger and much better equipped Philistine army is bearing down on them. It’s shaping up to be a terrible defeat.

In the previous post, Saul’s son, Jonathan, proposes a radical plan to his armor bearer. But Jonathan keeps this plan a secret. He suggests that the two of them trust in God, come out of hiding, and reveal themselves, just the two of them, to the enemy Philistines, who have an outpost on the high ground just above them. Jonathan’s plan, however, is not total madness. He is not suggesting that he and his armor bearer try to attack a much larger military force above them. Instead, Jonathan, as we read in the previous post, devises a method for determining if God is with them. If the Philistines say, “We’ll come down to you,” that means God is not in favor of this plan. But if the Philistines say, “Come up here,” that means God is with Jonathan and the armor bearer. And if God is with them, everything changes. Here’s what happens, reading from 1st Samuel chapter 14, verse 11,

“So both of them showed themselves to the Philistine outpost. ‘Look!’ said the Philistines. ‘The Hebrews are crawling out of the holes they were hiding in.’ The men of the outpost shouted to Jonathan and his armor-bearer, ‘Come up to us and we’ll teach you a lesson.’ So Jonathan said to his armor-bearer, ‘Climb up after me; the Lord has given them into the hand of Israel.’ Jonathan climbed up, using his hands and feet, with his armor-bearer right behind him.”

The Philistines are not in the least bit worried about two measly Israelites who must climb up a cliff wall to get to the Philistine encampment. The Philistines reveal their arrogance. They think, “We don’t need to pick you off the cliff wall. We’ll let you come the whole way up here, and then we’ll fight you face to face.” The Philistines in other words, give up the high ground without a fight, because they think they are so superior to these two Israelite soldiers that they, the Philistines, don’t need the high ground. From a human perspective, they are right. What the Philistines do not and cannot see, in their arrogance, is that it is not just the two Israelites who they will have to fight.

Jonathan and his armor bearer reach the top, battle ensues, and what happens in battle is wild. Here’s how verse 14 describes it, “The Philistines fell before Jonathan, and his armor-bearer followed and killed behind him. In that first attack Jonathan and his armor-bearer killed some twenty men in an area of about half an acre.”

Two men kill twenty men? That’s superhero level success. That’s impossible odds in any other battle. But this is not any other battle. God is with Jonathan and his armor bearer, and God empowers them to have victory over 20 men.

This supernatural-enabled warrior duo must have been a sight to behold. You and I are familiar with this kind of scene in the movies. The Philistines were seeing it in real life. They had likely never witnessed anything like it before. Jonathan and his armor bearer were moving so fast, so skillfully, with such deadly accuracy and force, that Philistines realize they have made a huge mistake. Look at verse 15,

“Then panic struck the whole army—those in the camp and field, and those in the outposts and raiding parties—and the ground shook. It was a panic sent by God.”

Not only did God empower Jonathan and his armor bearer to fight, God now sends a mysterious panic into the Philistine military, and what once was a mighty Philistine fighting force is scrambling.

But remember, this is all happening in the distance away from where King Saul and his 600 men were. With the Philistines in full flight mode, it was now obvious to Saul that something was up. In verses 16-23, Saul musters his men, and they discover the Philistines are so rattled by God’s mysterious panic that they are striking each other with swords. The Israelites are emboldened, come out of hiding and pursue the Philistines. We read in verse 23, “That day the Lord saved Israel.”

Just as we saw last week in chapters 11 & 12 when God helped Israel defeat the Ammonites, now in chapters 13 & 14, despite Saul’s impatience, and because of Jonathan’s faith in God, God helps Israel defeat the Philistines.

The story should stop right there with a wonderful victory and celebration. But Saul’s early God-honoring track record is starting to slip, and now Saul slips again. How? In verse 24 we learn that Saul had forbidden the soldiers to eat until evening and until they had victory over their enemies in battle. A very strange command, when you consider that anyone doing hard work, like fighting in hand-to-hand combat, needs calories for energy.

The troops are famished.

Can they eat now? Nope. Though the battle was won, the oath had two stipulations. The battle had to be won, and evening had to come. So we read in verses 25-26, that even though they found honey, and even though they are very hungry after fighting in battle, they keep the oath and do not eat, because it wasn’t evening yet.

Except one person.

“But Jonathan had not heard that his father had bound the people with the oath, so he reached out the end of the staff that was in his hand and dipped it into the honeycomb. He raised his hand to his mouth, and his eyes brightened. Then one of the soldiers told him, ‘Your father bound the army under a strict oath, saying, “Cursed be anyone who eats food today!” That is why the men are faint.’ Jonathan said, ‘My father has made trouble for the country. See how my eyes brightened when I tasted a little of this honey. How much better it would have been if the men had eaten today some of the plunder they took from their enemies. Would not the slaughter of the Philistines have been even greater?’”

Jonathan, the prince, publicly disagrees with his father, the King! Jonathan, of course, is correct. Saul had made a poor decision, a rash oath, barring the men from eating. The military victory for Israel would have been so much more decisive than it already was, if Saul had allowed his men to eat.

Obviously Saul put his men in a terrible position, having to fast while expending lots of energy, and some men simply couldn’t handle it. In verses 31-33, some of the soldiers plunder the Philistines’ livestock and eat uncooked meat. They are so hungry that they break the Mosaic Law which said that meat can only be consumed after the blood drains and cooks out. Israelites were not to consume blood, period, because that was what the pagan people around then did in their pagan worship rituals. The soldiers were sinning.

But some of the blame has to be placed on Saul who put his soldiers in a difficult position with his ridiculous oath. Saul seems to realize this. In verses 34-35, Saul commands that all the Philistine livestock be slaughtered and properly cooked and eaten. There Saul built his first altar to the Lord. Is this a proper breaking of the fast? It seems so. Maybe Saul, without admitting it out loud, is backtracking on the fast, admitting his fault without admitting it, and now allowing the soldiers to feast, as well as honoring God for the victory over the Philistines.

In verses 36-37, Saul wants to capitalize on the victory and further attack the Philistines. Don’t let them get away. Smart idea on Saul’s part. But a priest says, rightly, that they should inquire of God. Saul inquires of God, but God doesn’t answer. Why is God silent?

And how will Saul respond? Will he be impatient again, unable to wait on the Lord? We find out in the next post.

A person with a heart after God’s heart is willing to step out of their comfort zone – 1st Samuel 13 & 14, Part 3

The Philistines have Israel outmanned and outgunned. In the previous two posts here and here, we read in 1st Samuel 13 that a battle is brewing and it is shaping up to be a slaughter.

That brings us to 1st Samuel chapter 14. We read in verse 1, “One day Jonathan son of Saul said to his young armor-bearer, ‘Come, let’s go over to the Philistine outpost on the other side.’ But he did not tell his father.”

What is Jonathan up to? A two-person sneak attack on a much larger enemy force? A surrender? Trying to make a treaty? I can imagine why he doesn’t tell his father, because his father would probably say, “You’re crazy. No way I am letting you go over there.” Not only does Saul, as father, care for this son, Saul does not want the Philistines getting their hands on the crown prince.

The narrator of the story then shifts focus from Jonathan to Saul. Saul is still near his hometown of Gibeah, with those 600 men. Twice now we are reading the specific number of soldiers in Saul’s army, 600. The first occurence was in 1st Samuel 13, which we looked at in the previous post. The repeated mention of the tiny size of Saul’s army likely means the author really wants to emphasize that Saul’s army is in bad shape when compared to the heavily armed soldiers in the massive Philistine army. In verse 3, we learn that no one is aware Jonathan had left to go over to the Philistine outpost.

In verse 4, the story zooms back to Jonathan, and we learn that to get to the Philistine outpost, he and his armor bearer will have to climb a cliff. Let me remind you of Warfare 101. You want the high ground. You do not want the low ground. If you control the high ground, you have a much better angle to ward off the enemy. If you are on the low ground, you are vulnerable. The primary way an army on the low ground can win the high ground is if they have a slew of soldiers they can keep sending at the enemy to slowly overwhelm them. This is what Lee was hoping to accomplish at Gettysburg through Pickett’s Charge. It didn’t work for Lee, and he had huge amounts of soldiers. But Jonathan? It’s just him and his armor bearer. Is Jonathan thinking the two of them will attack the Philistines?

But actually, there’s someone else with Jonathan. Look at verses 6-10,

“Jonathan said to his young armor-bearer, ‘Come, let’s go over to the outpost of those uncircumcised men. Perhaps the Lord will act in our behalf. Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or by few.’ ‘Do all that you have in mind,’ his armor-bearer said. ‘Go ahead; I am with you heart and soul.’ Jonathan said, ‘Come on, then; we will cross over toward them and let them see us. If they say to us, “Wait there until we come to you,” we will stay where we are and not go up to them. But if they say, “Come up to us,” we will climb up, because that will be our sign that the Lord has given them into our hands.’”

Jonathan knows that his two-man military force is vastly more powerful than it seems because God can give the Philistines into their hands. The narrative contrast here is really vibrant. As we learned in the previous post, Jonathan’s father, King Saul, was revealed as not being a man after God’s own heart. Now we see Jonathan in act of astounding, improbable bravery, display trust in God.

Jonathan is stepping out of his comfort zone into an extreme situation. A dangerous, life-or-death situation. Actually it seems like it is a “certain death” situation. Thus Jonathan is for us an example of a man after God’s own heart. He places his trust in God, knowing that God can do what is impossible for humans.

Also notice the heart of the armor bearer who says, “I am with you heart and soul.” When you have a friend like that, you can feel like you can do anything. The encouragement, the inspiration, the reminder that not only is God with you, but the people of God are also with you. That you are not alone. We need that kind of support and togetherness in this world, and we need to be that kind of encouragement to others.

Jonathan proposes to the armor bearer that the two of them reveal themselves to the Philistines above. How the Philistines respond will be a test of sorts, showing if God is for or against Jonathan’s attack. Jonathan only wants to attack if God is for them. He and his armor bearer are well aware of their own limitations, especially against a far superior enemy force.

So they are demonstrating great humility and trust in God. They are demonstrating hearts like Gods.

What happens when Jonathan and his armor bearer come out of hiding is astounding, and we’ll find out about that in the next post.

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Why King Saul was wrong for sacrificing to God – 1st Samuel 13 & 14, Part 2

Have you ever been caught doing the wrong thing, but just that quickly your mind is spinning a rationale to make yourself appear as thought you were doing the right thing? It’s human nature. We hate getting caught!

In the previous post, we learned in 1st Samuel 13 that King Saul didn’t wait for the prophet Samuel to show up and offer a sacrifice, invoking God’s blessing on the Israelite army as it faced the Philistine army. Saul decided to offer the sacrifice himself, which meant he broke the Mosaic Law, which says that only Levitical priests were to offer sacrifices. Just as Saul finishes the sacrifice, Samuel showed up, and Saul was caught in the act. Why did Saul act so poorly?

Look at verses 11-12, “‘What have you done?’ asked Samuel. Saul replied, ‘When I saw that the men were scattering, and that you did not come at the set time, and that the Philistines were assembling at Mikmash, I thought, “Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the Lord’s favor.” So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering.’”

Saul gives a very spiritual answer, “I just wanted to seek the Lord’s favor.” Was Saul really that pious? Was Saul really motivated with a pure heart? Is Samuel buying it? Look at verse 13,

“‘You have done a foolish thing,’ Samuel said. ‘You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time. But now your kingdom will not endure; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him ruler of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.’”

No doubt it is vital to keep the Lord’s command. But I have to ask you this. After reading what Saul did and Samuel’s response, are you thinking, “Really, God? You’re taking the kingdom from Saul for that one little mistake?” That’s what’s going through my mind.

It doesn’t seem like the punishment fits the crime. Look at the principle in verse 14, though: “The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart.” The importance of that principle cannot be overestimated. That one short sentence is the guiding principle that we will return to again and again throughout the remainder of this sermon series through the books of 1^st and 2^nd Samuel.

God desires a man after his own heart. What does that mean? “After his own heart”? God doesn’t have a heart because God is spirit and spiritual entities don’t have bodies. The word here in Hebrew is often translated “heart,” but linguists tell us this word refers to the organ that pumps our blood, but to the “inner man, mind, will,” what you and I figuratively refer to as heart, that inner central part of our lives, the core of our life where lies our affections.

Samuel is saying to Saul that there is something deeper going on in Saul’s inner being. God desires a person who thinks like God thinks, desires what God desires, and thus makes choices that are in line with God’s heart. Saul, in this seemingly small decision, has shown the reality of his heart, and it is not in line with God’s heart.

The practical application here is vast. God has a particular kind of heart, and he desires his people to have hearts that are like his. You and I as disciples of Jesus are to have hearts like his. Desires like his. Choices like his. Thoughts about life like his.

At this point in the story, verse 15 tells us that the confrontation between Samuel and Saul ends there. But the confrontation with Philistines is not done. Saul goes back to his hometown of Gibeah, and we learn he has only 600 men left. The Israelites are seriously outnumbered.

But what about the Philistines? What are they doing during these past seven days?

We learn in verses 16-18, that the Philistines send out three raiding parties. Battle looms. We also learn in verses 19-22 that the Philistines have controlled weapons production in the region, and thus they outgun Israel entirely. The only Israelites who have weapons are King Saul and Jonathan, whose identity is revealed as Saul’s son.

In other words, the author of the story wants us to see clearly that this is shaping up to be a massive defeat for Israel. The Philistines have them outmanned and outgunned. In the next post, we’ll learn how the battle takes a surprising turn.

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It’s healthy “heart” week on the blog – 1st Samuel 13 & 14, Part 1

In my family over the past few months, we’ve talked a lot about the heart. Our granddaughter has had two open heart surgeries. Here in Lancaster we have The Heart Group. The Heart Group website lists 55 practitioners who are all there to evaluate your heart. My guess is that you have a medical practice near you that specializes in heart health. We get physicals to check out health, and our hearts are a central part of that. Eat heart healthy! Eat Cheerios. How’s your heart?

This week on the blog we’re going to have a heart check-up of sorts. We begin with 1 Samuel 13. The brand new Kingdom of Israel is off to a smashing start. We learned last week that Israel’s first king, Saul, filled with the Spirit, led the people to a decisive victory over the Ammonites. Saul then gives credit to God. When a controversy arises, Saul makes a wise ruling. The prophet Samuel in his retirement speech helps the people repent of their sins and return to the Lord. Things are going so well.

But chapter 12 concluded on a bit of a sour note. Look at chapter 12 verse 25. This is how Samuel concludes his retirement speech, with a dire warning: “Yet if you persist in doing evil, both you and your king will perish.” Mic drop. Samuel leaves the stage and walks off. Quite a dramatic finish.

Samuel, why are you raining on their parade? Why so negative, right in the middle of a celebration. Can’t you just let them enjoy the victory celebration? Well, Samuel gives them a warning for good reason, as we will find out. That brings us to chapter 13.

In chapter 13, verses 1 & 2, we learn that King Saul chose a standing army of 3000 men, of which 1000 were under the leadership of a man named Jonathan. This is the first time we are meeting Jonathan. We will learn more about his identity later in the passage.

In verses 3-10 Jonathan attacks the Philistines. The text tells us next to nothing about Jonathan at this point. But we can infer that, whoever he is, Jonathan is willing to fight.

But Jonathan’s attack makes King Saul nervous. Saul fears that the Philistines will counterattack, and so King Saul summons men from all over Israel to join the army, and they gather at Gilgal. Sure enough, the Philistines amass a huge army in response to Jonathan’s attack. When the Israelites see the Philistine horde, the Israelites quake in fear, many fleeing into hiding.

Saul waits at Gilgal for seven anxious days. Why wait? The prophet Samuel apparently had told Saul to wait, as Samuel would be arriving in 7 days. If we scan back to 1 Samuel 10:8, we read there that Samuel asks Saul to wait for 7 days when Samuel will arrive and make sacrifices. That episode appears to be potentially years earlier, taking place during the selection of Saul as king. Might they somehow be referring to the same event? Possibly, but that speculation is highly doubtful in my mind.

It seems, instead, that the events of 1 Samuel 13 are different from the events of 1 Samuel 10. Yet the idea of Saul waiting for Samuel for 7 days to make sacrifices occurs in both. It is possible that Samuel, in 1 Samuel 10, is giving Saul a directive that should be applied to all future situations in which Saul would desire a sacrifice. In other words, Saul should not see himself as both king and priest. He was king, but when it came to inquiring of God, Saul should defer to a priest.

The reason for this is not selfish on Samuel’s part, as if he want to keep himself in a job, or in power. The Mosaic Law forbade anyone but a priest from the tribe of Levi to offer sacrifices. Saul was neither, as he was from the tribe of Benjamin. This, however, raises another issue, as 1st Samuel 1 that Samuel’s father was of the tribe of Ephraim. Even though Samuel was trained by the Levite Eli in the rituals of the tabernacle, Samuel is not a Levite. Or is he?

1st Chronicles 6:19-38 lists the Kothahite Levites, including Elkanah and his son, Samuel. So why does 1st Samuel 1 not mention this? We learn in Joshua 21:5 that Kothahite Levites settled in Ephraim. It is possible, then, that 1st Samuel 1 is emphasizing Samuel’s geographical home rather than his genealogical lineage. It seems, therefore, that we have strong evidence for Samuel being judge, prophet and priest, legitimizing his practice of offering sacrifices.

We still need to address the seven days request. While Samuel never specifically explains why he makes this request of Saul, it may be as simple as a geographic reality. Perhaps Samuel lived far enough away from Gilgal that it would require about seven days for Saul to contact him, request his presence, and for Samuel to arrive in Gilgal.

The implication is that Samuel, as prophet of the Lord, would sacrifice an offering to the Lord, thus inviting God to intervene in the battle. With the Philistine force advancing, and with the Israelite army quaking in fear, will Saul be able to wait?

Seven days come and go, and Saul does wait. But Samuel doesn’t show. Saul is desperate at this point because his already fearful men are starting to go AWOL. If Saul and his men have any chance against the Philistines, he needs to do someone fast before his army dwindles to nothing and the Philistines destroy them. So Saul believes he needs to make the sacrifice, he can wait no longer. Just as he is finishing the sacrifice, who shows up? Samuel.

This is one of those scenes that is so common in life. You know the feeling when you get caught. It’s a horrible feeling. Such as when you’re in your office playing solitaire on your computer and someone quietly pops around the corner to say “Hi,” and they see you not working, but playing a game. I might know something about that.

But in this case, even if Samuel didn’t show up right then, even if Saul completed the sacrifice and led his men to battle, even if Samuel showed up days later, Saul had to know that word was going to get back to Samuel that Saul didn’t wait for him. So what was Saul thinking? How is Saul’s heart? We’re about to find out…in the next post.

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Can you have a defective heart and not know it? – 1st Samuel 13 & 14, Preview

This past week I attended my denomination’s, the Evangelical Congregational (EC) Church’s, National Conference at Messiah University. At conference lots of people have asked about my granddaughter, Lily, who was born in January, and who has been on a four-month journey with a heart defect corrected through multiple open heart surgeries. Those conversations have often meandered to those people telling me about other heart stories, including their own.

A missionary told me that he recently had a procedure to fix a nearly one-inch hole in his heart. I was amazed to hear that the hole had likely been there since birth, and he never knew it. He never felt any negative side effects. The outpatient procedure plugged the hole, and heart muscle will grow around the plug. Amazing, isn’t it?

I want to emphasize the part of the missionary’s story of the hole in his heart that he never knew it. If we consider “heart” from a figurative, symbolic perspective, might it be possible that a disciple of Jesus has a problem with their heart for God and doesn’t know it? It is possible.

This coming week on the blog we’re going to study 1^st Samuel chapters 13 and 14 to get a heart check-up. We’ll meet someone who thought their heart for God was doing well, and they are surprised to learn they are wrong about their heart. Read it ahead of time, and I look forward to talking about it further!

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Hope when you are feeling trapped – 1st Samuel 11 & 12, Part 5

In 1st Samuel 11 & 12, we’ve seen numerous references to fear. Unhealthy, ungodly fear, as well as godly fear of the Lord. We Christians can learn much from this.

On the eve of his crucifixion, Jesus had his last supper with his disciples, and he said to them: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me.” (John 14:1)

A few verses later, in John 14:27, he said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

Or consider his words in John 16:33, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

The word overcome here is the Greek word nikao, which has a noun form nike. Same spelling as the shoe brand Nike. Why? Nike is a Greek word that means “victory or overcome or conquer.”

We see this very word and concept very clearly in 1^st Corinthians 15:57. 1^st Corinthians 15 is one of the resurrection chapters in the Bible. There are quite a few others. John 12 is when Jesus raises Lazarus to new life, and Jesus says “I am the resurrection and the life.” Matthew 28, Mark 16, Luke 24 and John 20, are each chapters about Jesus’ resurrection. But in 1^st Corinthians 15, Paul talks about the meaning of Jesus’ resurrection. And he concludes with this statement in verse 57, “thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ”

Victory! Nike!

And then there is what Paul says in Romans 8. Let me read a few verses of this powerful passage. In Romans 8:31-39.

“What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Did you hear that phrase in verse 37? “We are more than conquerors”. Paul is using the word nike there. But he says, “more than”. In the Greek you add the word “hyper” to a word to make it “more than.” So here in Romans 8:37 Paul is using the word Hyper Nike. We are more than overcomers, we are super victors, extra conquerors. Why? How?

Through him who loved us! No matter what is out there making us fear, we are not alone. Jesus loves us. And Paul says that there is nothing in this world that can separate us from his love. He loves you. He Loves you. Therefore you are Hyper Nikes, you are overcomers.

In 1^st Samuel 11 & 12, the people were scared, feeling trapped. Saul, filled with the Spirit, led them to victory, giving the credit to God. Then Samuel, in his retirement speech, reminds the people to fear God, faithfully trusting in him by doing the things that line up with his heart and his ways.

Let’s be like that! Overcomers. Not in our own strength, but by faithfully reaching out to God, walking in step with the Spirit, filled with the Spirit, so the Fruit of the Spirit is flowing from our lives, no matter the turmoil in the world we are walking through.

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Be afraid…but don’t be? – 1st Samuel 11 & 12, Part 4

In the conclusion to his retirement speech, the prophet Samuel reminds the people of Israel how they asked for a king, even though God is their king. Do they care? Are they teachable?

Before they respond, Samuel reminds them of deeply important principles. Here’s what he says in 1st Samuel 12, verses 14-15,

“If you fear the Lord and serve and obey him and do not rebel against his commands, and if both you and the king who reigns over you follow the Lord your God—good! But if you do not obey the Lord, and if you rebel against his commands, his hand will be against you, as it was against your ancestors.”

Notice the phrase, “Fear God.” Fearing God means serving God, obeying him, not rebelling against him, choosing faithfulness to God and his ways. To illustrate his point, Samuel does something amazing in verses 16-19,

“‘Now then, stand still and see this great thing the Lord is about to do before your eyes! Is it not wheat harvest now? I will call on the Lord to send thunder and rain. And you will realize what an evil thing you did in the eyes of the Lord when you asked for a king.’ Then Samuel called on the Lord, and that same day the Lord sent thunder and rain. So all the people stood in awe of the Lord and of Samuel. The people all said to Samuel, ‘Pray to the Lord your God for your servants so that we will not die, for we have added to all our other sins the evil of asking for a king.’”

More talk about awe of the Lord. More fear in God’s presence. But for good reason. The people now see the potentially disastrous ramifications of their request for a king. They finally see their sinful selfishness, and the people beg Samuel to intercede. Are they truly getting right with God? Do they have a healthy fear?

Here is how Samuel concludes his retirement speech:

“‘Do not be afraid,’ Samuel replied. ‘You have done all this evil; yet do not turn away from the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. Do not turn away after useless idols. They can do you no good, nor can they rescue you, because they are useless. For the sake of his great name the Lord will not reject his people, because the Lord was pleased to make you his own. As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right. But be sure to fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you. Yet if you persist in doing evil, both you and your king will perish.”

Clearly, though Saul is now king, Samuel is the one who will continue to serve as God’s prophet, God’s intermediary. Samuel will teach the people what is good and right. And what is good and right is not to be afraid, but to fear.

Let me say that again: what is good and right is not to be afraid, but to fear.

Does that sound contradictory? Be afraid…but don’t be.

Here’s how it is not contradictory: do not have unhealthy fear of the circumstances of the world, but instead have a healthy, proper fear, respect and awe of God, which you show by choosing to serve God faithfully, and resist evil. And that, Samuel says, goes for all the people, king included.

This week at we’ve studied 1st Samuel chapters 11 & 12, we’ve seen numerous references to fear. Unhealthy, ungodly fear, as well as godly fear of the Lord. We Christians can learn much from this. What can we learn? We’ll find out in the next post.

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