2 Samuel 13-23
Amnon fakes an illness to draw his half-sister in. Amnon raped Tamar. Her full-brother, Absalom, takes her into his house to protect her. In telling her not to take it to heart, he seems to be saying that she should not seek her own vengeance. Absalom will dirty his own hands by murdering Amnon. Absalom gets Amnon drunk and isolated, and Absalom orders his servants to kill Amnon. This is an instance where we need to be careful about interpreting another’s actions, and how evil begets evil. Clearly, Amnon was a wicked man who sinned grievously. Tamar is clearly innocent. This story harkens back to a couple of others. Judah, in Genesis 38, slept with his daughter-in-law, who was also named Tamar. He was the instigator there. And when Dinah was raped, her brothers avenged that sin. The fact remains that we don’t know why David did not intervene and do something, at least reactively. Theories about, but they are still theories. David had his own sexual sin in his past, which might both make him take it more seriously and still have him struggle with addressing it with Amnon. Either way, Absalom did not think David did enough and took matters in to his own hands. We’re not hold the exact reason why Absalom fled afterward, but he did. He hid from David for three years. Joab acts in a similar way to the prophet Nathan and sends a woman to tell a tall-tale about a servant who harmed another. The point is that David should seek out Absalom and make peace. David does that, but he does not permit Absalom to live in the palace. After two more years, to get Joab’s attention after being ignored, Absalom sets Joab’s field on fire. Absalom wants to see his father but knows he can’t barge in to the throne room. Joab relents, asks for an audience with David, and David and Absalom make amends. We start to see who Absalom really is. He’s a schemer. He starts building a coup against his father, trying to make himself king. His followers grow in number, even some high officials and priests. He wins the hearts of the people by making it appear his father is uncaring and does not offer judges for the people. Once word gets back to David, he knows that he must act swiftly. It’s not that he’s doing it for his own glory, but he knows that there is a divine plan in place. Most of the time, when the king left the city, the ark went with him. But he hopes for a quick battle and sends the ark back to Jerusalem. God will decide between David and Absalom. David does have his detractors. One of Saul’s living sons, Shimei, hates David, presumably for believing David took the throne without God’s blessing and plan. Even as Shimei is throwing rocks at David and his men while hurling curses and insults, David does not care for his own safety or reputation. If God sent Shimei, then let him curse. David’s own son hates him and wants him dead, so what is one more man? Absalom’s main goal is to humiliate his father before killing him and becoming king. While David is out of the palace, Absalom sleeps with his father’s concubines in public, all at the behest of one of David’s most trusted advisors. But when it comes to doing battle with his father, Absalom gets some conflicting advice. We’re told in chapter 17 that God has brought this about to destroy Absalom. Double cross! David is told through some messengers about Absalom’s new plan, at the advice of his treacherous advisor Hushai, to gather all of Israel against David and his mighty men. The fight is about to begin. David organizes his army and orders them to take it easy on Absalom for his sake. While Absalom is riding toward the battle through the forest, he basically gets clotheslined by a tree. He’s hanging there in the tree, suspended in some manner by his head or his neck. He’s helpless. One good soldier sees him and refuses to kill him because of David’s order. But once Joab finds out about Absalom’s helpless condition, he finds ten men who will help him kill Absalom. They then hide Absalom’s body in the forest. When David receives the news of Absalom’s death, he is broken. Joab feels somewhat betrayed by David, because he saved David’s life from Absalom. He tells David that if everyone else was dead except Absalom, David would be happy. He needs to go out and address the people to calm their concerns. But the struggle never ends for David. People always need something from him, or they think David has wronged them in some way. He tries to appease several people, but still a man named Sheba tries to undermine David’s divine right to kingship. He may have had may faults, but Joab is as loyal as they come. He regularly stands up for David and is willing to get his hands dirty to protect him. A wise woman stops Joab and confronts him about his behavior. Once he explains that he’s looking for Sheba, she promises that she’ll throw his head over the wall to Joab. Leave to a wise, old woman to take care of business and put an end to things. In a blast to the past, the Gibeonites reappear. They were the people who tricked the Israelites as they entered the promised land. The Israelites made a covenant with the Gibeonites that they would not destroy them if they Gibeonites served the Israelites. That arrangement had worked well, but Saul wanted to destroy the Gibeonites and remove them from Israel. David receives a word from God that the current famine was because of Saul’s breaking of that promise. David approaches the Gibeonites to ask how he can make things right. They don’t want money, but they will take seven of Saul’s sons to hang them in public. David obliged, and seven of Saul’s sons died, except Mephibosheth, whom David had promised to protect. This is another instance of description, not prescription. There was no command from God to kill seven of Saul’s sons. What are we to make of the relent of the famine because of David’s actions? The slaughtering of some of the Gibeonites is not mentioned in Scripture. It could be that the killing of Saul’s sons was permitted because of Saul doing something similar to innocent children in 1 Samuel 22, where he killed men, women, children, and infants. Even if it is hated on today, corporate responsibility is reality. And in all likelihood, Saul’s sons were active soldiers in Saul’s army. Their innocence is questionable to begin with. Another war breaks out between Israel and Philistia. David is again fighting the giants of Gath. Gath was also the hometown of Goliath, and we’re told that many giants lived there. Not only were they giants, but they had 12 fingers and 12 toes. But even for all their supernumerary digits, they were no match for David and his mighty men. 2 Samuel 22 is a beautiful song of David’s love for God. He recounts much of his own history and the goodness of God to David. David is not an innocent man, but he has been pardoned of his sin by a good and gracious God. While David has not yet died, we are given his parting words in chapter 23. John 11-13 The only sign that Jesus will give the people that he is the Son of God is his own resurrection. It is proper to call what Jesus did for Lazarus more of a resuscitation, because Lazarus would of course die again. It will be this moment that finally sets the religious leaders against Jesus (John 11:53). Why did Jesus wait to go to Bethany to save Lazarus? Because seeing Jesus do this great miracle would certainly have a lasting impact on the faith of the disciples. Jesus arrives four days after Lazarus’s death. In speaking to his sisters, Martha makes clear that the resurrection was a key component of the Jewish faith. It was not something that the church invented. Most importantly, when Martha confirms her belief in the resurrection, Jesus says that he himself is the resurrection. Jesus does not just offer eternal life; he is the essence of life. There is no life without Jesus Christ as your redeemer. Mary, along with some others, bemoan that Jesus waited so long. Jesus made the blind see; couldn’t he have prevented this man’s death? Of course he could have. No matter what you do, there will always be those who don’t think it’s enough. No matter how many people Jesus healed, because he didn’t heal this particular person, he couldn’t possibly be doing the right thing. There is a way of approaching Jesus that only wants things from him, that only wants Jesus to make things better. But Jesus comes to offer himself (“I am the resurrection and the life”), not just your earthly desires. Soon after, Jesus is preparing for the Passover and having a meal with Lazarus, Mary, and Martha. Mary, the same one who rebuked Jesus for not arriving earlier, now anoints Jesus’s feet with expensive oil. She used about a half liter, which is a big amount for just about anything. But she does not withhold anything she finds precious. Besides, while John records Mary anointing Jesus’s feet, Matthew and Mark record her anointing his head. So if she did both, and the various gospels simply summarize the event, then the amount no longer seems so strange. Judas, of course, thinks this is a waste. John clearly calls him a thief (12:6). He stole directly from the money bag the disciples shared. A little halfway through John’s gospel, he records the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, which is significantly earlier than the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke). Each gospel shows Jesus as the victorious king, returning peacefully to his city. John even records the fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9, as the other gospels do. While there are considerable differences in the chronologies of the gospels, there share the same events is fantastic agreement. As Jesus goes up into Jerusalem, Greeks, or Gentiles, are there, as well. This looks forward to Jesus being the savior of all men, both Jews and Gentiles. Jesus will not have the ministry directly to the Gentiles that the apostles will, but his death and resurrection will make it possible. These Gentiles approach the disciples because they want to see Jesus. Jesus is fully God and fully man. He does not have a special third nature, and he does not behave as God or man at different times. He is always the portrayal of two natures existing side-by-side. So when Jesus says that his soul is troubled, we see his humanity simultaneously existing beside his divinity when he says that he will draw all people to himself. Chapters 13-17 are a single unit where Jesus directly addresses the disciples intimately, culminating in the high priestly prayer of John 17. He begins by doing the lowliest act of all, that of washing another’s feet. He never receives that kindness in return. He says he did this to serve as an example (13:15). Christianity is a race to the bottom. Immediately after the most humiliating act of service done before his crucifixion, he announces that he knows that one of his closest disciples will betray him. The disciple “whom Jesus loved” is nearly unanimously understood to be John. Peter, James, and John are known to be the “inner circle” of the disciples, or those who received the deepest instruction. The disciple whom Jesus loved cannot identify Peter since this disciple and Peter are together often. No one has really ever tried to Identify this disciple with James. In keeping with the humiliation of the washing of feet, Jesus also tells his disciples that they love love each other as he has loved them. Others come before themselves. We serve God by serving others. In contrast to that command, Jesus also identifies Peter as one who would deny ever knowing him before the morning comes. Even the most devout of followers can have great falls. But great falls, great weaknesses, make room for the power of the great God to shine through. Psalm 106-110 Psalm 106: It is God’s provision that draws us to worship him. Psalm 107: Wherever we find ourselves, the love of God finds us there. Psalm 108: God will lead us to salvation. Psalm 109: God will avenge his people from wicked men. Psalm 110: The Messiah sits at the Father’s right hand.
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1 Samuel 29-31
David is hiding out among the Philistines to protect himself again from Saul. The Philistines are about to attack Saul and his troops. But Achish, one of the military leaders, trusts David and his men. However, the commander of the Philistine troop does not. He fearss that David will turn tail and fight against the Philistines instead. David has won the admiration of Achish, but the commander pulls rank. David gets to flex his kingly muscles. He comes upon the town of Ziklag, but it’s been raided by the Amalekites. Even David’s wives have been taken captive. After seeking the Lord’s confirmation, David and his men pursue the Amalekites. They come across a kindly Egyptian whose master is an Amalekite. We’re not told why, but he’s starving after being in the elements for several days. Because of David’s kindness, he promises to take David to where the Amalekites are. David rescues his wives and saves everyone who the Amalekites had taken. It’s clear that David is not a passive man but one who will take action and do the hard thing. He’s motivated by love for his God and his people. The final note of 1 Samuel is of Saul’s death. Saul is struck by an archer, but he is not killed. He tries to convince his armor bearer to kill him with his sword, but the armor bear would not. So, we’re told here that Saul killed himself. It’s a total slaughter, and all of his sons are killed, as well. 2 Samuel 1-12 Because they were initially one book, 2 Samuel picks up where 1 Samuel leaves off. David now hears about Saul’s death. How do we reconcile the narrator of 1 Samuel 31 telling us that Saul killed himself and the a random man telling David in 2 Samuel 1 that he killed Saul. Everything this man says reeks of butt-kissing. He’s not telling the truth, and he’s trying to gain favor with David. This liar looted the crown and armlet from Saul and brought them to David, trying to get in good with him. Unfortunately for him, it doesn’t work. David has him executed. Contrast that with David himself. Two times that we know of, David spared Saul’s life and refused to kill him. But this son of an Amalekite killed Saul at the first chance he got (or at least said he did). After David mourns the death of Saul and Jonathan, he is anointed, or coronated, in Judah. But not all is well in the kingdom. The commander of Saul’s army makes one of Saul’s sons who did not fight in his battles the king of Israel (the northern tribes). So after Saul dies, there is a power struggle right away. For seven years, these divisions caused battle after battle. Without recounting these battles individually, suffice it to say that David comes out on top. By chapter 5, David is recognized as the king of Israel, as well. The nation is united again, at least by recognizing who is on the throne. Under king David, Jerusalem will become the capital city of Israel. It will remain the capital of Judah after the kingdom splits into north and south under king Rehoboam. David, though, brings the ark of the covenant from Baale-judah to Jerusalem. On the road, David and the crew moving the ark were celebrating. The oxen carrying the ark stumbled, making the ark fall. A man named Uzzah tried to catch it, but God struck him down. One great teacher has remarked that Uzzah’s mistake was that he thought his hands were cleaner than the dirt on the ground. Touching the ark was a violation of Numbers 4:15. Once there is peace in the land, David decides its time to build a proper temple for God. Keep in mind that God has never commanded the building of a temple for himself. God does not tell David that a temple is a bad thing, but instead God does two things: he promises that David’s son will build the temple, and David will have an eternal throne. God does not need anything from anyone; that’s the point of his speech to David. God is the one who took David out of the pasture and his people from Egypt. In case anyone thinks that God is served by human hands, David will simply enjoy his rest as king. Let another build the temple. David is a military powerhouse in his day. He has victory after victory. But that doesn’t turn him into a heartless killer. For all of Saul’s faults, David does not just say good riddance to his family. One of Saul’s sons, Mephibosheth, is somehow physically disabled. David takes him into the palace and cares for him the rest of his life, keeping his promise to Saul and Jonathan that he would not slaughter their family. David’s primary character flaw seems to be how he deals with the women in his life. Instead of practicing the same self-control he did when he refused to kill Saul, he gives in to his own temptation. David already has multiple wives, but he needs one more. Instead of going out to another sure military victory, he stays behind in his palace. He sees Bathsheba on the roof, and he sleeps with her and impregnates her. Instead of confessing his sin, he concocts a plan to kill her husband, one of his own soldiers. David’s plan to have Uriah killed is successful. But God sees it all. He sends the prophet Nathan to rebuke David. After being confronted with the truth, David confesses. At times, we are blind to our sin because it admitting our faults stings. But a simple but firm confrontation brought about repentance and forgiveness. There were consequences, however. The son would die after he was born. In no way should anyone think that if they have had a child die in infancy that it is the result of some unconfessed sin. This was a specific instance in world history. Once David and Bathsheba heal from that loss, they conceive again. Solomon is the second son born from this marriage. John 7-9 The feast of booths is when the people constructed booths, or tents, on their property. They would live in those tents as a reminder of the time spend in the wilderness. They would also gather together for celebrations and meals. His disciples want him to show off his power to the people. Jesus says that he is not going, but then he does end up going. What’s going on here? It’s a translation issue. John 7:8 has the Greek present tense, which can also be translated as “I am not now going up to the feast.” Many of the oldest copies of this section of John that he have do include “not yet” instead of just “not”. Either way, it’s not a contradiction. When Jesus arrives, he begins to teach in the temple. As was common, there are those who think he’s wonderful and those who think he’s possessed by a demon. The theme of two radically different responses to Jesus runs throughout John’s gospel. Jesus responds to this crowd by a call to judge with right judgment. In context, Jesus is telling the people to return to Scripture; that is how you will judge with right judgment. The crowds are aware that the religious leaders want Jesus dead. Because the leaders are refusing to act, the people are somewhat turning against the leaders. Do they think he’s the Christ? They must, if they’re afraid of him. The leaders are trying to arrest Jesus even this early in his ministry, but they are too worried about what the people might do in response. So Jesus continues to teach in the temple. At the end of the feast of booths, Jesus promises to the people that God will one day send the Spirit among them, showing how Isaiah 58:11 will be fulfilled, which says, “And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.” There is the interesting note in some translations that the earliest manuscripts do not have the last verse of chapter 7 or the first 11 verses of chapter 8. A brief history helps us see why that is. There are two primary traditions of the work of those who copied the Bible: Byzantine and Alexandrian (there are more than these, but all the rest add up to small percentages of these two). We have far more copies of the Byzantine text-type, but the Alexandrian text-type is older by about a hundred years. And even when it comes to fragments of books of the Bible that date back even closer to the originals, they are overwhelmingly Alexandrian. The Byzantine text-type was used to create what is called the Textus Receptus, a Greek manuscript of the whole Bible made from combining some of the best copies of the Byzantine text-type. The King James Bible is translated directly from the Textus Receptus, as are some of the revisions of the KJV. The KJV is a solid translation, worthy of the honor it’s been given. Many of the modern-day translations have opted to use the Alexandrian text-type because they are nearer in time to the original manuscripts. These text-types do not include John 7:53-8:11, but the Byzantine text-types do. But most translations these-a-days include this section, even if it’s separated somehow, because it’s so well-known. But in all likelihood, it’s not original. The “I am” statements of Jesus continues. Jesus is “the light of the world.” Here, Jesus clearly ties himself to the work he shares with the Father. Both he and the Father testify to who he is. The Pharisees reject the Father because they reject the Son, and vice versa. The Jews will realize when they crucify the Son of Man that he is truly who he has said he is. In this whole section, the Jews are boasting in their Jewish-ness. But Jesus corrects them and says that if they truly were Jews, those who are Abraham’s offspring, they would see Jesus for who he is: the seed of Abraham. He existed before Abraham ever did, but he is the promised seed of Abraham. Being born to an Israelite does not make you a Jew inwardly. They are not God’s children; they are children of the devil. Why is this? Because Jesus will be killed by the Jews, and the devil is himself a murderer. Essentially, we are like our parents. Many Jews had a particular understanding of suffering as a consequence of sin. It’s not totally unfounded, because they themselves had experienced exile and captivity because of their own faithlessness. But nowhere in Scripture is there an argument to be made that anyone would be born blind, or suffer any physical or mental disability, because of the sins of his or her parents. Jesus heals such a man, and the Jews have a difficult time understanding exactly what took place. The Pharisees believe Jesus is a wretched sinner, but the man who has been healed believes Jesus to be a prophet. But the Jews (meaning religious leaders like the Pharisees) had a hold on the people. When the man’s parents are questioned, they ride the fence like professionals. The Pharisees need to justify eventually arresting Jesus, so they try to fill the man’s mouth with their words. They mock this man, claiming that he has nothing that he could teach them. Jesus uses this situation to teach about spiritual sight. He again approaches this now-healed man and asks if he believes in the Son of Man (apparently if he believes that the Son of Man is truly mentioned in the book of Daniel and is still yet to come). When he replies in the affirmative, Jesus declares clearly that he is the Son of Man, which causes the man to worship Jesus. Because the Pharisees claim to have spiritual sight yet reject Jesus, they are guilty of condemning the Son of Man to death. Only through spiritual eyes, only through the heart of stone turned heart of flesh, do we see Jesus for who he truly is. Psalm 101-105 Psalm 101: God preserves those who live with integrity before him. Psalm 102: The great and mighty God hears the prayers of his people. Psalm 103: God’s love for those who love lasts forever. Psalm 104: God providentially controls every part of creation. Psalm 105: God’s people must teach the next generation of his goodness. 1 Samuel 16-28
Saul knows that his time as king is short because of his disobedience. God sends Samuel out to anoint Saul’s replacement. As a priest, he would offer sacrifices regularly, so having a sacrifice as his cover to avoid Saul’s reaction is legitimate. He is sent to a man named Jesse, knowing that one of his sons will be anointed. Eliab is the oldest son, but he will not be king. God sees beneath the exterior, unlike man. Seven sons pass by Samuel, and God rejects them all. He has chosen the youngest, David. The Holy Spirit did in fact reside in Old Testament Israelites. There is debate whether the Spirit indwelled all believers as he does in the church. Psalm 51:11 asks God to not take his Holy Spirit away from him. Granted, the author is David, but it is put on the lips of every Israelite during his day. And yet, there is an Old Testament promise that the Spirit would fall in a special way upon all believers. I think it is sufficient to say that the Spirit is always the agent of redemption, even if the indwelling nature was different under different covenants. All that to say, the Spirit is removed from Saul, which is something that does not happen under the new covenant. In fact, an evil spirit fills him at various times. But David’s worship of God soothes Saul’s condition. Goliath is not a metaphor for the standard-fare troubles of this world, or trials and temptations. The Philistines were in Israel because of Israel’s sin. God did not send David to teach the Israelites how to defeat their own little Goliaths. He sent David to do what the Israelites could not do for themselves—saves themselves from the judgment of God. After David defeats Goliath, he becomes friends with Saul’s son, Jonathan. There have been attempts to make their relationship out to be homosexual in nature, which is complete garbage. Perhaps we need more friendships in this world like David and Jonathan. There should have been great jealousy on Jonathan’s part, because he’ll never be king. But it’s Saul who becomes jealous of David. Saul decides to keep his enemies close and tries to marry one of his daughters off to David. Instead, David marries another of Saul’s daughters, Michal. Saul hopes David’s interests will be divided and the Philistines will overtake him. The only dowry Saul required was, well, the circumcision of 100 Philistines. David went above and beyond and brought 200…trophies…from the Philistines to Saul. David’s willingness to do great things and the love he had from the people made Saul furious. He only saw David as his enemy. Up until now, Saul had tried to have David’s death look like a consequence of battle. David will try the same tactic to do away with Uriah later in life. But now, knowing that David will always succeed in battle, Saul knows he must be more direct in taking down David. To protect her husband, Michal pulled the ol’ “make a pillow statue of the person and pull the blanket over them and use a tape recorder to make snoring sounds” tactic to trick the messengers that Saul sends to kill David. It gave David time enough to escape. David land in Naioth for a short time. Eventually he finds his way back to Gibeah and meets Jonathan. Jonathan will find out exactly what Saul intends to do and will get a secret message to David. The plan includes shooting three arrows, something quite normal, much like Samuel and his sacrificing a heifer to go meet Jesse. If the arrows land beyond the servant who will pick up the arrows for Jonathan, David will know that he must flee. Saul intends to harm him again. Jonathan and David part ways. David is now a fugitive until he becomes the king of Israel. He comes across Ahimelech the priest and asks for food. He lies to Ahimelech and says he’s on official business of the king, and his comrades are on their way. So Ahimelech gives David the show bread, which was reserved for the priests. But in an act of mercy, he gives David the bread. In Mark 2, Jesus commends Ahimelech for giving David the bread. David even tricks Ahimelech into giving him a sword for self-protection through deceit. David heads off to Adullam and builds himself an army of misfits (his brothers, the anxious, the indebted, and the bitter). Saul catches wind of where David has been, so he heads out to find him. Saul is so enraged that he can’t find David that he has Doeg, his compatriot, kill 85 priests. Ahimelech’s son, Abiathar, is the lone survivor. David promises to protect him. Saul continues to pursue David, and David proves himself to be a man of higher character than Saul. After fighting some Philistines in battle, Saul finds a cave in order to relieve himself. Lo and behold, David and his men are also hiding out in that cave. This is the perfect chance for David to end Saul’s outrageous behavior. David’s men even think it’s a good idea. However, David still understands that Saul is the man God has appointed a king. To remove him from the throne before God’s time would be a sin against God, not just Saul. David cuts off a corner of Saul’s robe to show how close he was but also how trustworthy he is. When Saul leaves the cave, David gets his attention. David shows Saul the piece of the robe he has cut off and proved how he had spared Saul’s life. Knowing that this interaction could have gone either way, David is a courageous man. It seems to have its intended effect; Saul recognizes his sinful behavior and repents. He promises not to seeks David’s life anymore, because David is more righteous than him. Saul’s promise is about as good as a bottomless watering can. In a passing note, we’re told that Samuel has died. David’s men are currently living in the wilderness with and offering protection for the shepherd/servants of a man named Nabal. David sends a small group to Nabal to mention how they have been a big help to his shepherds and how Nabal should feed them. Not losing any sheep is a really big deal in the wilderness when wild animals are all around. Nabal refuses, which even infuriates his own servants. The servants complain to Nabal’s wife, Abigail, so she sends them food, anyway. This serves to feed David’s men and to assuage David’s anger against Nabal. Ten days later, Nabal dies because of his guilt. David takes Abigail as his wife. David did in fact have multiple wives. Scripture makes no excuse for his sin. Saul’s promise to no longer pursue David does not last long. Much like when David cut off a corner of Saul’s robe to prove his unwillingness to harm Saul, David now takes Saul’s spear while he sleeps. Once Saul realizes that it was David who has spared him, he again promises to spare David. David knows better, so he flies to the Philistines so Saul stops looking for him. Since the Philistines are providing cover for David, they expect him to fight with them against Israel. David of course does not expect to actually fight against his own people, but he will see to that later. Saul fears a great military loss, so he wants spiritual guidance. The urim and thummim were the appointed means by which God made know his will. He seeks the Lord, but he receives no answer. He has long since removed all of the mediums from Israel, for which he should be commended. But in this instance, he thinks he needs to contact one of them to get the answer he needs. What do we make of Saul going to a medium and seemingly hearing from a dead prophet, Samuel? The woman does in fact see Samuel, and once she sees him, she is told who Saul is. The words of the supposed-Samuel do in fact come true. There’s no note from the narrator that this isn’t actually Samuel but a demon instead. It could very well be that God permitted this to happen in order to condemn Saul. God hardened the heart of Pharoah. He gave Judas over to Satan. God does at times act in extraordinary ways. Of course, it would not be impossible to say that this was in fact a demon since it was necromancy to begin with. And, it could be that the demon was planting the seeds of failure in Saul’s mind. And Saul never seems to see Samuel, just hear from him. But context must determine what’s going on. John 4-6 Jesus himself had a baptism ministry. John 4:2 tells us that Jesus is having his disciples do the baptism while he oversees. John the Baptist is also in the wilderness near Jesus. When John’s disciples start to get jealous about Jesus’s disciples baptizing people, which must surely take away some of John’s glory (thereby taking away their glory, as well). John is content to do the work set before him. He even aligns himself with the return of Elijah as the other gospels do. What’s interesting here is that John is completely aware that he is fulfilling this role. John is happy to the friend of the bridegroom and to let the bridegroom have his day. Jesus avoids unnecessary confrontation by leaving town once the Pharisees catch wind of his disciple roster increasing. Jesus is never one to turn and run from a fight, but he’s also not going to fight unnecessary battles. He knows the Pharisees are largely out to trip him up and sully his reputation. If you have to get in the mud, don’t get in the fight. He leaves for Galilee, stops for a break in Samaria, and finds a women getting water at a well. He asks her for a drink, which breaks a long history of hostility between Jews and Samaritans. If the woman knew that it was the Messiah who asked for water, she would have asked him for water that leads to enteral life (he was humble, but Jesus knew how to introduce himself). Earthly water satisfies for a short time, but spiritual water satisfies for eternity. The Samaritans had built their own temple in the area so they would not have to go to Jerusalem. They even had their own revised Books of Moses, permitting them to do so. However, that temple had been destroyed a little over 100 years before this time. This makes sense of why Jesus tells the woman that there will come a time when people don’t worship on this mountain nor the mountain in Jerusalem. Between Jesus saying that there will be no temple worship one day and him saying that he will be the rebuilt temple in John 2, I see no good reason to believe there will be a rebuilt physical-structure temple in the future. True worship is worship in spirit and truth. God is omnipresent, so a temple is unnecessary unless he commands it. And by this time in the gospel of John, Jesus has said multiple times that he is that temple. When the disciples return with food, the catch him in 4K having a conversation with a Samaritan woman. But because of her willingness to hear and believe, many come to believe through her testimony about him. Sharing your testimony is good, but if your testimony is more about yourself than the one who saved you, reconsider how you tell it. Jesus often used the current situation to teach about himself and his work. While they are eating, he says that his real food is to do what the Father has sent him to do. But there is much to be done. Jesus has inaugurated the age to come, and in the meantime, people are being brought into the kingdom. There are those who are sowing and those who are reaping, and they are rejoicing together. We benefit from the work of the prophets and all those who prepared for the way of the Lord. And now that the Lord has come, we rejoice with them. As they arrive in Galilee, he meets an official with an ill son. It’s unclear if the official is a Jew or Gentile, a religious official or a Roman official. The point remains the same. However, I lean toward the official being Jewish since Jesus says he asks for a sign, which is a common problem for the Jews. The argument for the official being a Roman is that Jesus has already spoken with Nicodemus, a Jewish official (Pharisee and teacher). Then he met with a Samaritan woman, and if the official is a Roman, then it seems Jesus’s impact is growing. Regardless, healing the official’s son is called his second sign. The Sabbath is always a bone of contention between Jesus and the religious leaders. The feast mentioned in chapter 5 is unclear, but many feasts take place between chapters 5 and 10. At the pool of Bethesda, a man has been sick for 38 years, among many other sick and paralyzed people. In an unusual event, Jesus approaches the sick man and asks if he wants to be healed. Usually, the sick person approaches Jesus. The man gives excuses for why he can’t get in to the pool, but Jesus just tells him to get up because he has already been healed. The stealthy reader might have noticed that your Bible may or may not have had a verse 4 in chapter 5. The Bibles that include John 5:4 say that an angel swirled the waters of the pool of Bethesda, which healed anyone in there at that time. That note does not show up until later manuscripts. The earliest copies of the gospel of John do not include it. Most likely, this means that a scribe made a note in the margins or within the text itself. When these things happened, the note was clearly a note and not meant to be intended as equally inspired. However, over time, this note was included as part of a tradition in some Bibles. Jesus heals this man on the Sabbath, attracting the ire of many religious leaders. He even has the nerve to call God his own Father, which the religious leaders clearly understood to mean he was identifying himself as God (5:18). Jesus does not correct the Jews because they’re correct! He simply goes on to explain that the Father and the Son work in tandem. The end result of their work will be the resurrection. Many sources have prepared the Jews for Jesus, including John the Baptist and Moses. If they believed what Moses and John had said, they would see that Jesus is truly God. Some time later, Jesus is teaching a crowd around the time of the Passover. Here Jesus will feed the 5000; it’s just a matter of how. Jesus takes five loaves and two fish, gives thanks to God, and he gave the people all they could stand to eat. In gathering the leftover, they had 12 full baskets. This was the sign that convinced many that Jesus was the prophet promised by Moses. That night, as they went toward Capernaum in a boat, a storm starts. They’re in the middle of the lake and horrified. Jesus, as lord of creation, walks out to them on the water to calm them down. Jesus isn’t said to calm the storm, but he does ensure they land at their destination. As the Jew (religious leaders) approach Jesus about a sign that he is not speaking blasphemy, he again goes into a lesson on his relationship to the Father. Since Moses gave the Israelites bread in the wilderness, if Jesus is a prophet, surely he can do something just as miraculous. He tells them that the bread of eternal life not rye, pumpernickel, or multi-grain wheat, but a man. In fact, he is the bread of life. He has come from heaven to do his Father’s will. Christology is so important to understanding the Trinity. The Father, Son, and Spirit do not do the same things, but they all do their part in effecting redemption. What distinguishes the persons of the Trinity is not where they come from or who they answer to but what they do. When Jesus says that he comes not to do his own will, he is saying that he does not have a will of his own but that he shares a will with the Father, and by extension, the Spirit. Even in Jesus’s own day, when he said that the bread he has come to give is his flesh confused many. This whole time, the metaphor of bread carries through. What do you do with bread? You eat it! So when Jesus says that you must eat his flesh and drink his blood, he is carrying the metaphor through. To eat and drink is to receive into yourself and be satisfied. “Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has enteral life, and I will raise him up on the last day” (6:54) is the language of being satisfied by what Christ has done. We will not be put to shame if we believe in Christ for the forgiveness of our sins in anticipation of the resurrection. Psalm 96-100 Psalm 96: God is king over every inch of creation. Psalm 97: God’s reign lead to rejoicing from his people. Psalm 98: The noise of creation is praise to God’s glory. Psalm 99: God is holier than we can imagine. Psalm 100: Be thankful for God’s goodness. 1 Samuel 1-15
The Books of Samuel comes to us as anonymous, but there is a long, unbroken tradition of Samuel as the author. 1 Chronicles 29 mentions that Samuel left behind many writings, so at least, we can say that Samuel likely had a hand in the writing of these books (which were originally one book). Despite how much input Samuel had in the composition of these books, he is he primary character until his death in 1 Samuel 25. The book itself is a seismic shift in Israel’s history. First, you have the exodus and the entry into the promised land. Once most of the people are settled and Moses and Joshua are dead, the era of the judges commences. That is a few hundred years of mostly wickedness and idolatry. Samuel will begin the era of the kings by the coronations of Saul and David. The book opens with Samuel’s birth. His mother, Hannah, was barren. Her husband, Elkanah, took another wife, Peninah, in order to have children. During the yearly journey to the tabernacle to make sacrifices, she is heavily grieved and begins praying. The priest Eli finds her by herself, sobbing and quietly mouthing her prayers. He thinks she’s drunk, so he wants her to leave. She assures him that she’s simply heartbroken at her condition, and he blesses her. Miraculously, Hannah conceives. She promises that her son would be given to the Lord for all his kindness to her. This likely means that she will dedicate him as a Nazirite (such as was the case with Samson). She is so ecstatic about this blessing to her that she writes her own song, which is included in 1 Samuel 2. We will soon find out that God blessed her with five more children (1 Samuel 2:21). The story shifts focus to Eli and his children. Both of his children are priests, but they are wicked and see the priesthood as means of gain. Instead of following the generous prescriptions of the Mosaic law that took good care of the priests, Eli’s sons were stealing and making demands upon the worshipers to have their meat prepared a certain way. They did not serve as mediator between God and Israel; they saw the priesthood a way to serve themselves. God chooses to remove Eli’s family from the priesthood. Eli has failed to correct his sons. By no means is every case of a child’s disobedience the fault of the parent. But in this case we see that Eli did nothing to correct his sons. He knew what they were doing was evil, but he did not stop them. So Eli’s family is fired. We will even see later that Samuel’s sons do not follow in his ways. They, too, will “[take] bribes and [pervert] justice” (8:3). But God will raise up Samuel as a priest. Much like how the common refrain from book of Judges of “there was no king in Israel, and everyone did what was right in their own eyes,” we’re told here that “the word of the LORD was rare in those days” (3:1). Samuel will be the next prophet and priest of Israel. This likely is a note to explain why Samuel did not know that the voice he heard was God’s. In the word he receives from God, he is told that Eli’s household will be removed from the priesthood, and no sacrifice will be given for their atonement. God charges them with blasphemy. From this point on, Samuel will regularly hear from the Lord. When the Philistines attack Israel, Israel is defeated, the ark is captured, and Eli’s sons are killed. As the special presence of God among the people, having the ark captured is a serious problem for Israel. “The glory has departed from Israel” (4:21). Capturing gods or their corresponding idols was a common ancient practice, representing the greater power of your god. Dagon is well known to be a god from ancient Mesopotamia. But the done, true God will not permit such blasphemy. God gives the Philistines tumors all over their bodies, which makes them want to return the ark. When they ask the priests what they need to do to return the ark, they must fashion either five or ten, depending on the best way to translate the phrase, five golden tumors and five golden mice, as a guilt offering. Because no obvious connections are given between the mice and tumors, it might be as simple as the tumors were shaped like mice. But the meaning of the number is more clear: one tumor for each city of the Philistines (6:17-18). The priests also tell the Philistines to build a cart, attach it to some cows that have never been yoked (trained to plow a field), and put the ark on it. If the cows bring the ark to the people, they will know that God was not behind the ark’s seizure (meaning that they were also not at fault). If the cows take the ark another direction, they will know that God is angry with them. The cows do take the ark back to Israel, so the people know that God was behind it. After this break in the story, Samuel returns to focus. As judge, he calls the people back to faithfulness after what took place with the Philistines. He makes an offering on behalf of the people, and the people beg Samuel to keep praying for them. As they are worshiping, Philistia attacks Israel. However, God intervenes and sends them into confusion. This gives the Israelite men time to prepare and attack. The Philistines are defeated. Even as Samuel proves to be a good and faithful judge, the people are not satisfied. Because of Samuel’s age, the people want a king instead of a short-term judge. But God affirms that the people are actually rejecting him, not Samuel. Samuel warns the people the dangers of a monarchy. A king will make demands of his people in a way a judge would not. That means taxes, slaves, and a standing army. Regardless, the people maintain that they want a king. God tells Samuel, “Obey their voice and make them a king” (8:22). Saul is then introduced, who will of course be the first king of Israel. God has already told Samuel that on the following day, he will send Saul to Samuel to anoint as the first king of Israel. None the wiser, Saul is caring for his father’s donkeys, and one gets loose. As he and a servant are out looking for the donkey, the servant recommends going to a nearby town to ask the local prophet where the donkey might be. As providence would have it, Samuel is that prophet. Samuel entertains Saul and his servant. They lodge with Samuel for the night and leave the next day. Samuel tells Saul’s servant to go on ahead so he can have a private conversation with Saul. Samuel anoints Saul with oil, telling him all that God has already revealed. God will confirm his word to Saul with a sign: on his way home, two strangers will tell him that the donkey has been found and his father is worried about him. Three other men will offer him food for the journey. He will then meet some prophets and begin to prophesy himself. Then, most especially, the Holy Spirit will rush on him. Saul had a good start. We’re even told that “God gave him another heart” (10:9). Samuel convenes the people to announce Saul as the king they had demanded. Samuel reminds the people of how they are rejecting God by demanding a king; and yet, this does not change a thing. He reminds the people of the demands a king will place on them. Saul is spooked; he’s hiding during his own coronation. But once the people find him, they’re glad to see that such a tall, handsome man is called to be their king. Saul’s first duty will be to defeat the Ammonites. Again, the Holy Spirit rushes on Saul, and he is encouraged to stand up to the task before him. To muster an army, he chops some oxen into pieces, sends them to the various tribes, and says that the same will be done to anyone’s oxen who does not fight him with. His mission is successful, and the surviving Ammonites scatter. This victory inspires the people, and they gather at Gilgal to re-establish Saul’s kingship. Samuel’s role will change since there is now a king. Since there’s no real break in the text, it seems like Samuel addresses the people at the same time they are at Gilgal for Saul. He basically calls the people to continued faithfulness, but he has little that’s good to say about them. But regardless of how they obey, “The LORD will not forsake his people, for his great name’s sake” (12:22). 13:1 is a difficult text because of how it describes the timing of Saul’s reign. However, in the ancient Near East, it was common to speak of the early part of a king’s reign as if it was a separate part of the reign (for more on this, see Genesis Unbound by John Sailhammer). Regardless, it has little effect on anything. We do see, though, that Saul has grown up. Jonathan was his son, so since being called a young man in chapter 9, he’s apparently taken a wife and had at least a son. Saul musters another army and fights against the Philistines again. This time, they are completely outnumbered. In fear, many of the Israelites hide. Some even flee in fear. Saul asks Samuel to come and offering a burnt offering to ask for help from the Lord. But Saul gets impatient, and he performs the sacrifice himself. The role of king did not include any priestly duties, so Saul has sinned grievously. Instead of waiting on the Lord, Saul grows more impetuous. Like father, like son. Jonathan gets his armor bearer to go with him to the Philistine garrison without his father’s knowledge of what he was doing. Jonathan somehow knows that there will be a sign from the Philistines about whether or not he will be successful. If the Philistines see Jonathan and tell him to come down to them, he will know that God will make him successful. This is exactly what happens, and he kills about 20 men. That incident caused a panic, presumably because the Philistines expected more Israelites to show up. Saul’s watchmen notice the panic and tell Saul about it. The chaos just increases, so Saul has the priest get the ark to go into battle. By this time, he recognizes that Jonathan is up to something since he and his armor bearer are the only ones gone. The battle is a victory for Israel. The army is exhausted, but food is scarce on the battlefield. Saul has everyone take a vow that no one will eat until everyone can eat. Since Jonathan is not with the army, he has no idea the army-wide vow. He eats some wild honey, breaking the vow. When Saul asks for priestly confirmation about the next military victory, he does not get an answer. He takes it as a evil among the camp; it could be found in his soldiers or in himself and Jonathan. He assumes that someone is guilty of a great sin, and that is why God is not responding. They cast lots to find the offensive party, and the lot falls to Jonathan. Jonathan confesses that he had wild honey while he was ignorant of his father’s rash vow. Because it was a rash vow and would end in an innocent man’s death, he is relieved of his vow. Contrast this incident with Jepthah in Jduges 11. The next kingly mission from the Lord given to Saul is to attack the Amalekites. No one is to be spared, man or animal. However, Saul and his army did not kill the king, and they kept the best of the animus for themselves. The only things they destroyed were worthless things. We’re then told that God “regretted” making Saul king. Does God change his mind? God does not think his choice of Saul was a mistake, but he does retreat Saul’s sinfulness. There is a charted course in God’s mind that even an unlimited number of evil kings cannot overturn. God sends Samuel to tell Saul that he has rejected Saul as king. After all the ways that Saul has spurned his covenant role as king, disobeying the command to destroy the Amalekites was the final straw. Luke 24 Luke describes the resurrection as taking place “on the first day of the week at early dawn”. Some debate (not very well) that Jesus was actually crucified on Wednesday, not Friday, but all the gospels clearly say that Jesus was raised from the dead on Sunday. “They” is clearly the women from 23:55-56. At first, Luke says that the women met two men at the tomb, but he will later clarify in v.23 that they were angels. It’s not that the women misunderstood who they were and the apostles got it right, because angels/messengers often appeared as real people. The gospels do not so much record different numbers of angels as much as they do record what took place in particular ways. For example, Mark is not saying that only one angel was there, but he is simply recording the words of one angel. Taken as a composite, the four gospels do not contradict themselves. One interesting piece that Luke includes is that most of the apostles did not believe the women’s report. However, Peter believes, so he goes to the tomb. Going to the tomb is not an act of disbelief. His belief is contrasted with the disbelief of the other apostles. His going to the tomb is contrasted with two other disciples going to Emmaus. Interestingly, Peter will not see Jesus at the tomb, but the two disciples will meet Jesus on the road. The two disciples finally understand that the their Scriptures prophesied all that took place to Jesus. However, they have been dissuaded from belief by his death. Famously, Jesus, who they do not yet recognize as the risen Lord, explained all of it again from Moses straight through the whole Scriptures. As they are having dinner with this man, their eyes are opened, and they recognize him. He vanishes, and they begin to connect all of the dots. They inform the other apostles that Jesus has risen indeed. Once he is with all of his disciples, he again explains who he is and what he has done through Moses, the prophets, and the Psalms, which is another way of saying the entire Old Testament. Christ himself had to open their minds for them to understand. He promises the Holy Spirit and describes him as “power from on high.” He is then taken up into heaven. As Luke began with Zechariah and Elizabeth in the temple, the apostles are now proclaiming the Christ in the temple. John 1-3 It has long been understood that the gospel of John is a entirely different way of assembling the life and ministry of Jesus. Matthew begins with a genealogy, Mark begins with John the Baptist, and Luke begins with a priest in the temple. However, John begins with a philosophical treatise about who Jesus is. Moving on to John the Baptist, the apostle John describes the kind of hostility the religious leaders had toward the Baptizer. While not explicitly describing Jesus’s baptism, we are told that the Baptizer saw the Spirit fall on the Son. This all moves along at a quick pace. “The next day” repeats itself a few times. One of John’s favorite titles for Jesus is the Lamb of God. Jesus begins calling the main twelve disciples. Andrew must have been one of the Baptizer’s disciples, but he leaves John to follow Jesus. Andrew brings Peter to see Jesus, who is also called to follow him. Then comes Philip and Nathaniel. Nathaniel famously asks if anything good can come from Nazareth, Jesus’s hometown. Nazareth wasn’t a bad place, but it was such a small town that it seemed unimportant in the grand scheme of things. John describes seven “signs” or miracles that Jesus performs. Hint, the resurrection will be the eighth, being raised on the eighth day, signifying a new creation week. The first sign (2:11) was the turning of water in to wine in Cana. In order to understand much of the gospel of John, we need to understand many little words like these. The signs point somewhere, and John is showing how these miracles point to Jesus as the beginning of the new creation. Another such word is “hour”. When Jesus tells his mother that his hour had not yet come, he’s not going to wantonly identify himself as the Coming One, the Messiah. He must first correct many misconceptions about what the Messiah will do and who he is. Even by seemingly not answering his mother’s question directly, he is turning the tide in Messianic expectation among the people. Jesus did many other signs (2:23, 3:2), but John chooses seven to call out as a way of pointing out who Jesus is and what he did. There is debate on whether Jesus cleansed the temple once or twice. Either interpretation does not change anything of any significance. The difficulty is that John places Jesus’s cleansing of the temple as one of the first things he does and does not record a second one. However, the synoptic gospels (those that share most of the same timeline and details) also only record one cleansing and place it at the end of the life of Jesus. Two possibilities emerge: there were two cleansing of the temple, and each gospel only records one. Or, John is arranging the life of Jesus topically without focusing on a timeline. Both are possible, because 2:13 does not having the language of “the next day”, “immediately”, etc. Nicodemus is interested in what Jesus is saying. Jesus explains that only those who are born a second time can enter the kingdom of God. This stumps Nicodemus, because the imagery is seemingly particular to Jesus. As a Pharisee, though, Nicodemus should be able to grasp this idea. The background to being born of water and Spirit is likely Ezekiel 36, one of the two most important passages about the new covenant (the other being Jeremiah 31). In Ezekiel, God says that he will cleanse his people with clean water and give them a new spirit. John 3:9-15 are incredibly important Christology. When Jesus descended from heaven, he did not leave fellowship with the Father. The Trinity is completely unbroken throughout the time of the incarnation and the Son’s earthly ministry. The Old Testament prefigures Christ in many ways, clearly in the raising up the bronze serpent in the wilderness. In the same way the people looked up the serpent, those who look to Christ will be saved. Because of Greek grammar, it’s hard to tell if John 3:16-21 are the words of Jesus or are John’s explanation of what just took place between Jesus and Nicodemus. It does not change the meaning one bit, because regardless of the source of inspiration, it is wholly inspired and binding on the Christian. Psalms 91-95 Psalm 91: God guards those who make himself their fortress (quoted by Satan in Matthew 4). Psalm 92: The righteous will be guarded by God. Psalm 93: God is the creator and sustainer. Psalm 94: God remembers every one of his people. Psalm 95: God is worthy of praise because of his patience. |