1 Timothy 1:15-17 - Forgiven sinners

Paul expands on the example of Christ's work in his life. Christ came into the world to save sinners, and Paul was the worst. We must never forget this fact, for we so easily start to think that we are chosen because of our abilities, goodness or some other feature of ourselves. Nothing could be further from the truth. 

So Paul was chosen so that God's mercy could be displayed in him. Now we need to recognise that this mercy is not just a matter of "letting us off" our sins. Rather it is about forgiveness and transformation. God forgives us so that we can receive eternal life. Eternal life is not just a matter of living forever, but is about the nature of the life we live. So Paul is an example of the forgiving and transforming work of God through Christ, and this a model of the effect of the gospel.

So all the glory goes to God. It is all about Christ, not about Paul.

1 Timothy 1:12-14 - Equipped

Paul now mentions a few things about himself. Why does he do this? It is in order to encourage Timothy. He has just commanded Timothy to take firm action against false teachers and false teachings. This is good, but when we do this we are engaging in spiritual warfare. There will be opposition, and we will feel vulnerable. So Paul encourages Timothy. 

First, it is Christ who gave Paul strength. This means there is no reason why Timothy cannot accomplish the same things that Paul did. We tend to look at the man or woman and think "I could never be like them". This is missing the point, it is Jesus who is the key. 

Secondly, Paul delights in the fact that Jesus considered him trustworthy and appointed him to service. Our reaction can often be "why me?". Why do I have to be lumbered with this task? This is the wrong way to look at things. Instead we should rejoice in the fact that the king of kings has called us into His service.

Next we might think only certain people are good enough to receive blessings and strength from God. Again, this is wrong thinking. Paul was "blasphemer and a violent man", yet God chose him. God showed him mercy, and poured out His grace, faith and love on him with abundance. We should look to God expecting to receive grace, faith and love. Then we will be equipped for the service to which He has called us.

1 Timothy 1:5-11 - False behaviour

Paul's command to Timothy to put a stop to false teachings is not doctrinaire, but is motivated by love. False teachings do matter, they are not just matters of opinion, they affect people's lives. What we need is a pure heart, a good conscience and a sincere faith. The man of God does not harbour impure motives, he or she is not wracked with guilt, and has a sincere faith in Christ. False teachers have turned away from these things, they are no longer motivated by God. They may sound confident, but in reality they know nothing and do not know what they are talking about.

The place and role of the Law was a key issue in Paul's day, right from the beginning of the church. The problem was not with the Law, but with the use to which people were putting it. The Law was good, but is designed for lawbreakers. Ie it is designed to show us what sin is, and to restrain the ungodly.

We then get a list of various categories of "rebels" or "lawbreakers". This is not meant to be read as an exhaustive list, but does show clearly what some of the sins are, and there are some interesting entries. Given today's debates, those who practice homosexuality are listed. The Bible is clear that homosexual acts are sinful, and those who argue otherwise "have turned to meaningless talk", to use Paul's phrase from v6. "Slave traders" is also in there, which rather counters the oft heard claim that the Bible condones slavery.

Overall, notice that behaviour clearly matters. The notion that the fact that the gospel is about forgiveness clearly does not mean it does not matter how we live. Wrong actions are contrary to sound doctrine. This also shows that "doctrinal soundness" requires "godly lives", not just saying the right thing.

1 Timothy 1:1-4 - Countering false teachers

Paul writes as an apostle of Christ, sent by the command of God. God here is cited as our saviour. Salvation is the work of God, through Jesus Christ. And Christ is our hope. What does it mean to say Christ is our hope? He is the grounds for our hope, because He paid for our sins, and He was raised from the dead. So we know that we are forgiven, and that death is not the end. But He is our hope. Jesus is the first born. We will be raised like Him, and are being transformed to become like Him.

Paul writes to Timothy not just as a teacher, and certainly not as his "boss", but as a spiritual father. But while there is a relationship between Paul and Timothy, grace, mercy and peace come from God the Father and Christ Jesus. 

Timothy had been left in Ephesus by Paul in order to counter false teachers and false teachings. These false teachings may have later developed in Gnosticism. Timothy was also to counter those who devoted themselves to myths and genealogies. Ie "proving" all sorts of silly things, supposedly from the OT. We have lots of this sort of nonsense around today as well, and I believe we should be very wary of people who seek to prove all sorts of things by seemingly clever numerology, or similar misuse of Scripture. If a teaching is weird and esoteric then it is a fair bet that it is nonsense.

These sort of teachings have a superficial veneer of wisdom, but are actually nonsense, and they seek to put our confidence in something other than faith in Jesus Christ.

1 Timothy - Introduction

1 and 2 Timothy, along with Titus, form what are called the "pastoral" epistles. 1 and 2 Timothy, as the name implies, were written by Paul to Timothy. Timothy was a companion of Paul and had been along with him on several of his missionary trips. Timothy had now been given responsibility for some churches. The letters were written to guide and encourage Timothy. 

The early church always regarded these letters as written by Paul, and they clearly claim to be written by him. However, some modern scholars have cast doubt on their authorship, saying that they were written by someone else who just claimed to be Paul to add credibility to what he was saying. I will assume that the Bible means what it says when it says they were written by Paul.

They were letters were written at the time of Paul's imprisonment in Rome, ie in the mid-sixties. They contain much advice on how to deal with false teachers and false teachings. The key elements are to have sound Biblical teaching along with a godly lifestyle. There is also significant advice on choosing Christian leaders.

These are all things that we need much instruction on today.

1 Samuel 31 - Death of Saul

This marks the end of a key stage of proceedings with Saul's death, so the king "after God's own heart" can take over.

The Philistines attached Israel, going after Saul and his family, believing that if they killed the leader then the nation would collapse. Saul's sons were all killed, including Jonathan. Now, remember that Jonathan was a good man, who trusted God and acted honourably towards David, yet he still died. Sometimes bad things happen to good people. 

Saul knew his end was near and told his armour bearer to kill him, preferring to die at the hand of an Israeli rather than a Philistine. The armour bearer refused, so Saul fell on his own sword.

Israel saw what had happened and they all fled.

The Philistines considered this a great victory, and put Saul's armour on display in their temple.

The men of Jabesh Gilead sought to restore some honour to Saul, remembering how Saul had saved them.

So the Philistines think they have won, but in reality it marked the beginning of the end for them. There is a parallel here with death of Jesus. Many thought they had won that day, but in reality it was Jesus who had won.

1 Samuel 30 - David defeats the Amalekites

While David and his men had been away the Amalekites had attacked Ziklag, destroyed it and taken off the women and children. The men mourned bitterly. The men were angry against David and were considering stoning him. Moses experienced the same reaction on occasions. When you are in leadership there will be times when people blame you because they are "bitter in spirit". This will happen. We will be tempted to give anger for anger, but this is not the right way. David adopted the right approach in seeking the Lord and finding strength in Him.

David then asked the priest for the ephod and sought wisdom from God, and God told him to pursue the Amalekites. Note the difference between David and Saul here, for Saul also used the ephod, but he got no answer. Why the difference? It was because of the heart of the man. David was committed to God in his heart, his whole life was geared around relying on God. Saul, on the other hand, did not really know the Lord. 

So they pursued the Amalekites. Along the way some of the men became exhausted, but the rest continued the pursuit. They found an Egyptian who could help them. Then they found the Amalekites and defeated them after a long battle.

After the battle some of the men did not want to give a full share of the plunder to the two hundred who had not continued all the way, but David insisted that everyone gets the same. David knew that it was the Lord who had given them victory. When we are dependent upon the Lord and know it, it changes our attitude and approach to many things. David also send some of the plunder back to Judah.

1 Samuel 29 - David returns to Ziklag

Remember that David and his men were having to march with the Philistine army. David was at the rear. Some of the Philistines were understandably wary of David as he was a Hebrew. Achish is confident in David's loyalty, based on the experience of the last year. However, the army was adamant that David should not be with them. 

Achish finally agrees to send David and his men back to Ziklag, but makes it clear to David that he has nothing against him. 

David keeps up the deception, pleading to be allowed to attack Saul. One tends to think that David is pushing his luck here and should just up! Or maybe David was hoping to use the battle as an opportunity to attack and defeat the Philistines. However, David and his men had to return from whence they came.

1 Samuel 28 - Saul and Medium

The Philistines planned to attack Israel and enlisted David to help them. David promises his allegiance. The enlisting of David's men followed normal middle-eastern customs, and would be a test of David's loyalty. 

Samuel had died and was mourned by the nation. Saul had done some good things, such as expelling the mediums and spiritists from the land. However, his heart was not right. Doing the right things is not enough, it is what is in our heart that determines what the end result will be. 

When the Philistines came to attack Saul inquired of the Lord, but the Lord did not answer. Saul then sought out a medium to provide guidance. Now our first reaction might be that God is making it difficult for Saul, and Saul can not really be blamed for all that happened. However, what should Saul's response have been? He should have repented of his sins, then the Lord would have turned to him.

There were reports of one at Endor, so Saul disguised himself and went off to seek her.

The woman brought up the spirit of Samuel. Now this immediately presents us with problems. We know that the Bible forbids the consulting of spirits, so what is going on here? It could genuinely have been the spirit of Samuel and God was working through the woman. Or it could have been an evil spirit pretending to be Samuel.  Or maybe there is some other explanation. 

Whatever the case, Saul receives words of judgement. Saul was doing all he could to escape the judgement of God, but he would not do the one thing that would have worked, repenting of his actions and attitudes.

1 Samuel 27 - David in exile

David seems to be losing heart. When a problem goes on and on, even though we manage to get through and survive, the relentlessness of it all can wear us down. This may be what was happening to David, and he thought Saul was bound to get him eventually. So he decides to flee to the land of the Philistines, the enemies of Israel. He reasoned that there he would at least be safe from Saul.

So David and his men and their families went to Gath. Saul did indeed stop following him, and David's plan seemed to be working. After a while David looked for a degree of independence in the land. So Achish gave him Ziklag, and this has belonged to Israel ever since. It is located in southern Judah.

Though in exile, David continued to go on raids against the enemies of Israel. These raids were very violent, for David did not want to leave anyone to inform on what he was doing. David also lied to Achish about what he was doing, and Achish came to believe that David was an enemy of Israel.

1 Samuel 26 - David spares Saul again

Saul's remorse did not last long and he was soon chasing David again, this time the Ziphites gave him guidance on where to find David.

David had help from Hittites and Abishai went with him to Saul's camp. When they got there Saul and his men were all asleep and Abishai saw this as another opportunity to kill Saul, and Abishai offered to do the job for David. David would not let him, saying that the Lord would get rid of Saul in good time.

Instead David took Saul's spear and water jug. The Lord had put the camp into a deep sleep. David was demonstrating that he had power to kill Saul, but no wish to do so.

David then taunted Abner, the commander of Saul's army.

Saul gets involved, and again acts all contrite and declares a blessing on David.

1 Samuel 25 - A foolish man and a wise woman

Samuel the prophet died and all the nation mourned for him.

David moved to an area occupied by a wealthy man, Nabal, and his wife Abigail. Nabel was mean and head-strong, conversely his wife was intelligent and beautiful. In the Bible women are often painted as having better character than men. 

David sent his men to approach Nabal in a very reasonable manner. Nabal, true to character, just hurled insults at David's men. In various training courses we are often given the impression that if you only approach someone, or deal with them, in the right way then all problems will be overcome. This is simply nonsense. We should use common sense and grace and wisdom, and often this will help move things towards a good solution. However, there are some people, and some situations, where it doesn't matter what we do, we will make no progress. Nabal was such a person. The servants recognised what an idiot Nabal was being, and they spoke to Abigail about to, hoping to avert trouble.

Abigail took steps to provide for David's men, but did not tell Nabal.

David was all ready to exact vengeance on Nabal, but Abigail stopped him. She gave them provisions and spoke wisdom. Actions and words should go together, it is not one or the other.

Nabal the idiot was drunk, so Abigail told him what she had done in the morning. He had a heart-attack and died.

David rejoiced because he had been stopped from killing Nabal himself, and so taking a wrong responsibility upon himself. So we see another example of leaving judgement to God. God does not need us to do everything, there are matters that He gives us responsibility for, and things that He will take care of Himself. We need to do what He gives us to do, but to have the faith and wisdom to let Him take care of the other matters.

David took Abigail as his wife. So David is building quite a collection of wives. Note that this does not mean that it was a good thing. In taking Abigail as a wife he was in one way helping her, because otherwise she would be a widow. However, no doubt the fact that she was beautiful played a part! On the other hand, having more than one wife usually leads to strife of some sort. God's perfect plan is one man one woman. It is also of note that Saul had taken one of his daughters, a wife of David, and given her to someone else. Social customs were different in those days!

1 Samuel 24 - Judgement belongs to the Lord

Saul chased after David, but when Saul went into a cave to "relieve" himself David had a chance to kill him. His men saw this as David's great chance, and a God given opportunity. David did not, and only cut off a piece of Saul's garment. He was even grief stricken after doing this, for he saw Saul as the Lord's anointed and it was not his place to harm him.

There are parallels here with Jesus, and general lessons on how the kingdom advances. Jesus rebuked his disciples and was wary of the crowds for their man-focussed way of looking at things. Peter rebuked Jesus for talking of going to the cross, the crowds wanted to make him king. Jesus knew that the way of the cross was God's chosen plan for the coming of the kingdom. Likewise, David trusted God to give him the kingdom at the right time.

David then let Saul know what had happened, letting Saul know that David had no intention of killing Saul and was not a threat to him. Note that while David was not willing to kill Saul himself, he was not oblivious to Saul's sin and the fact that the Lord would bring judgement. The key thing is that he would let the Lord be the judge, he would not assume that place himself. This too is a lesson in how we should act as individuals and as a church. 

Saul seems to be repentant again. All in all he is a very tragic figure.David makes an oath to look after Saul's family when he does become king.

1 Samuel 23 - Cat and Mouse

The Philistines were fighting against Keilah,a town about three miles from where David was. David was looking for opportunities to go on the attack, but at the same time he inquired of the Lord. There were times, which we will read of later, when David got into trouble. These occurred when he followed his own instincts and did not inquire of the Lord. 

The Lord told David to attack. However, his men were very wary of doing this. It is normal to find that the people will not be keen to do what God wants. Now this does not mean that we should just rush headlong into anything regardless, or ignore the thoughts and feelings of the people, but we do need to be prepared. David inquired of the Lord again. So he did not adopt a proud "I have heard from God therefore we are doing this attitude", but he sought to check that he had heard correctly from God. God confirmed the instruction to attack. David then implements this and they were successful.

Saul heard about this and thought it was an opportunity to capture and kill David. David sought the Lord. So we see Saul relying on the wisdom of men, while David seeks the wisdom of the Lord. So David left Keilah with his men. Note that God's advice was "sensible". A God given instruction is not always the wackiest idea you can think of!

Saul continued to seek out David, but without success. Jonathan did find David and he encouraged him, assuring him that he would one day be king.

The Ziphites were ready to betray David to Saul. Saul was close to catching David, but then the Philistines attacked Israel and Saul had to break off.

1 Samuel 22 - Saul kills the priests

David took refuge in the cave of Adullam. He was joined by his family, and by all who were "in distress, debt or discontented". Things don't look promising, but there is a parallel here to God not choosing many who were wise or influential, but taking the foolish things of the world (1 Cor 1:26,27). David took care of his parents, finding them lodgings with the King of Moab. The prophet Gad then told David to go to the land of Judah.

Saul learnt that David had been discovered and seeks to get the men of Benjamin on his side. Doeg the Edomite is the one who gave Saul information on where David was.

The priest is then killed by Saul. The priest had not been disloyal, serving only someone whom he thought was there on the king's business. Saul was not acting rationally nor righteously, and so ordered the priests to be killed. Women and children were also killed. However, Ahimelek's son escaped and joined David. David felt responsible for the deaths.

1 Samuel 21 - Going mad

David went to Nob, a town north east of Jerusalem and south east of Gibeah. David meets the priest Ahimelek, and spins him a yarn about being on a secret mission from the king. It is not clear if he uses lies to protect himself, or for some other reason. 

David asks for bread, but the only bread they have is the consecrated bread. However, the priest is prepared to let them have bread as long as they have abstained from sexual relations. Jesus (Matt 12:1-3) referred to this incident to show that the Bible itself does not insist on a strict legalistic interpretation of the ceremonial law.

Doeg was and Edomite and Saul's chief shepherd. He would betray David and his men. 

David asks for a sword, and takes up the sword of Goliath.

David then went to Achish, king of Gath. The king was very wary of David, and David thought his life was in danger. So David pretended to be mad, so that the king would want nothing to do with him.

So we see David acting in a rather irrational manner, certainly not the manner we would expect of a warrior.

1 Samuel 20 - Jonathan warns David

David meets with Jonathan and asks why Saul is trying to kill him. Jonathan is reluctant to believe that his father will really kill David, or at least that David will die. 

David and Jonathan agree a signal that will confirm whether or not Saul really does intend to kill David, and make a covenant with each other.

Jonathan discovers that Saul really does intend to kill David. Jonathan remonstrated with his father, but Saul then threw his spear at his own son. Spear throwing seemed to be Saul's default act of rage.

Jonathan then goes to warn David and David flees.

As an aside there are some who would see evidence of a homosexual relationship between David and Jonathan. This is complete nonsense and is an example of reading onto the text what you want to read. It also betrays an impoverished view of the depth of relationship there can be between men (or women) without any sexual content. Our society is sex obsessed. It is rather ironic that the church is often accused of being obsessed with sex.

1 Samuel 19 - Saul tries to kill David

Having in the previous chapter tried to kill David in a fit of rage, Saul now embarks on a determined campaign to kill David. Jonathan warns David of what is happening. So we see that in the midst of the evil one's plans, God had made provision to protect David. Evil people make many plans, but we should not fear for the Lord has also made plans!
Jonathan first of all tried to persuade Saul to take a favourable attitude towards David, reminding Saul of the all the good actions that David had taken. 
Saul is one of the most unstable and mixed up men in the Bible. One moment he is all out to get David, then a  moment later he is full of remorse, as he is here. 
So for a time David is reprieved and once again goes out with the armies and inflicts more defeats upon the Philistines. The reprieve was short-lived. Saul was again possessed by an evil spirit threw a spear at David. David escaped. Saul sent men round to David's house, but Michal warned him and he fled.
David ran to Samuel. Saul heard about this and sent men to capture him. However, the spirit came upon them and they started prophesying instead. This happened twice more. 
Finally Saul himself went, but he too was overcome and started prophesying, lay naked all day. Just as well we don't have that sort of prophet today!

1 Samuel 18 - Saul's fear of David

Jonathan became a close friend of David. Saul kept David at the palace, but this was out of fear.

Saul gave David many tasks to do and they were all fulfilled successfully. So David's popularity grew, and Saul promoted him in the army. The crowds started to sing songs about David, crucially they compared his victories to those of Saul, highlighting the fact that they were even greater. This provoked anger, envy and fear in Saul. Similarly, when the crowds shouted hosanna when Jesus entered Jerusalem the religious leaders' envy and fear was provoked.

Verse 10 upsets some of our theology, for Saul has an evil spirit, the evil spirit is sent by God, and while the evil spirit is around Saul is prophesying! This should make us wary of any "neat" teaching on how spirits work! David was playing the harp, but Saul suddenly decided to try and kill David, but David escaped.

Saul had promised his daughter to whoever killed Goliath, but the promise had not been fulfilled, and was now made conditional on David winning more victories. Note that David does not "demand his rights", but acts with humility.

Saul then offered David another daughter, but only condition that he captured one hundred Philistine foreskins! Saul's plan was that David would be killed in the attempt. But the Lord was with David and so he succeeded, and he was given Michal as his wife. David continued to enjoy success.

The way that David handles being anointed by the Lord and being opposed, utterly unreasonably, by Saul is instructive for us.

1 Samuel 17 - David and Goliath

This is undoubtedly one of the most famous and preached upon events in the Old Testament. The Philistines were gathered for war against the Israelites, and they had a champion, Goliath, who was genuinely a giant of a man. Goliath challenged the Israelites. This raises a few questions. First, why did neither nation engage in a proper battle? Ie send the whole army against the other army? For Israel the answer is probably that they had few weapons. We read earlier that the Philistines had disarmed Israel. No doubt they had gathered a few weapons since then following their various victories, but they would probably still be very inferior to Philistine. But what about the Philistines? What were they afraid of? Maybe they feared the God of Israel, but had confidence in their champion , Goliath, and thought they could then defeat Israel in a dual.

This stand off went on for forty days, and is a most ridiculous "battle", if one can call it that. Yet that is what the enemy often does to the church and to individual Christians today. He uses fear to paralyse the church. Jesse sends David with supplies for his brothers who are fighting, or rather not fighting, the battle.

David arrived at the battlefield and heard that Saul had offered a great reward for whoever would take on and defeat Goliath. David's brothers rebuke David and falsely accuse him. David, then goes to Saul and offers to fight. If we are to fulfil all that God has for us we will need to resist mockery and go against it.

Saul did not find David a convincing figure. David had faith because he had seen off bears and lions in protecting the flock. We build up our faith by putting what faith we have into action in the circumstances in which we find ourselves. When we do this our faith grows. 

Saul agrees to let David go, but tries to put armour on David. David in the end takes all this armour off, knowing that he cannot fight in it. We need to understand the way that God works in our life.

David then goes against Goliath, making declarations of faith. And as we know, David killed Goliath.

1 Samuel 16 - David is anointed

Samuel had anointed Saul, and so he had an emotional connection to him. He had fearlessly and plainly rebuked Saul, and declared God's judgement upon him. Even so, he still had regrets in his heart. This was now starting to effect the development of God's plan, for the time had come to anoint a new king, one who would be after God's own heart. 

Although Saul had been rejected by God, he still held the title of king, he was still in charge. So Samuel was both mourning over Saul, and had an element of fear as well, for Saul was unlikely to take kindly to a new king being anointed.

The Lord gives Samuel something to do, and then says He will reveal the rest of the plan later. There is a good practical point here. Often we have no idea how to go about a task, or cannot see how it can possibly work. In such cases it is often helpful to take some small steps towards fulfilling the task, to start moving us in the right direction. We may then find that as we take these small steps it starts to become clearer how we can fulfil the complete task.

While Samuel had a degree of fear, the towns people also had fear of Samuel. For Samuel was no English country vicar, but a prophet who killed kings. Saul had stood tall and handsome, and Samuel was inclined to choose Eliab. God tells him that different criteria will be used this time, for God looks at the heart of a man. Samuel too was having to learn new things, even at this advanced stage of his life.

Jesse brought all his sons, except David, but none of them were God's choice. David was out in the field, and Samuel told Jesse to send for him. Note that David too was good looking. So outward appearance is not to be a deciding factor, but neither is it something that is of no relevance at all. The Lord told Samuel to anoint David.

The Lord's Spirit had left Saul and he was tormented by an evil spirit. David was known as a good harp player, and so he was sent for to play for Saul. Music can have a powerful effect on people. David played and this brought relief to Saul. So God was using circumstances to bring David into the king's presence.

1 Samuel 15 - Obedience is better than sacrifice

Saul's reign as king was not a happy one. He was reluctant to become king in the first place, then he quickly failed when he offered the sacrifices that were the preserve of the priest. Then he showed lack of leadership when he introduced his unwise fast. Now he is rejected by God.

Samuel gives Saul clear instructions from the Lord to destroy the Amalekites. Saul is not king on his own behalf, but on behalf of the Lord. He is there to carry out the Lord's instructions.

Saul sets out to attack the Amalekites. On the way he spares the Kenites. Saul attacked the Amalekites, but spared the king, and the best of the sheep and cattle. This was in direct contravention of God's instructions.

The Lord told Samuel that He rejected making Saul king. So Samuel went to Saul. Saul seemed to be feeling rather pleased with himself. Samuel questions the sound of bleating sheep. Saul claims he did this so they could be sacrificed to the Lord. Now either this is just an excuse, or he genuinely was doing it for God. Either way he was disobeying the Lord. Today some think they are "doing good" when they approve of various sexual practices that are directly forbidden by the Bible. They claim to be doing this from good motives, and may genuinely have such motives, but it is still against God's word.

Samuel rebukes Saul, but Saul objects, claiming he has obeyed the Lord. People can be easily deceived. Samuel reminds Saul that obedience is better than sacrifice. We first of all need to do what the Lord says.

Saul then admits his guilt and pleads for mercy, but Samuel tells him he has been rejected, and that the kingdom has been taken from him. Finally Samuel puts the Amalekite king to death.

1 Samuel 14 - Unwise fasts

Jonathan was acting independently of his father. Saul was on the outskirts of Gibeah, and had a priest, Abijah, with him.

Jonathan went on his escapade with his armour-bearer. He was acting in faith, so his armour-bearer was committed to him. When we truly act in faith (not made up pretend faith) people will recognise something of God in us. There will be those who oppose us, but also those who will support us.

Jonathan looked for a sign that God wanted him to attack and duly received the sign. So he killed twenty Philistines.

The Philistine army was then thrown into panic by the Lord and started to melt away. When we take small actions in faith the Lord Himself will turn these into bigger actions, but we need to take the steps of faith. Our steps of faith are essential, but they are only the start.

Saul and his army saw what was happening and joined in the battle.

Now Saul made an oath cursing anyone who ate food before evening. Jonathan had not heard this command, and so quite innocently are honey. The oath caused the people to be weary. When told of his father's oath, Jonathan had contempt for his father.

The men who attacked the Philistines ate sheep with blood still in the meat, directly against the law. So we see here an instance where a "pious"sounding command has caused nothing but trouble, and may even have led the people to sin against the law. We need to be careful about making "extra" commands.

Saul was about to admonish Jonathan for eating honey, but the people stopped him. Saul is not acting as a wise or spiritual man. However, he still achieved a number of victories. 

Romans 8:14-39 - Sermon on being children of God

A sermon on Romans 8:14-39 can be found here.
Full list can be seen here 

1 Samuel 13 - Downfall

It didn't take long for Saul to fall. Now consider what has happened. He has been anointed by Samuel, he has been chosen as king, he has acted in the Spirit to rescue some of the Israelites. Now he falls irretrievably.   This is a warning to us all to always be on our guard, especially after moments of success or triumph.

Saul assembled an army, and led it jointly with his son Jonathan. Jonathan attacked a Philistine outpost. News was sent throughout the land, though Saul seems to be claiming credit for it.

The Philistines assembled an army to fight Israel. The Philistine army was more powerful than the Israelite one, and the Israelites were afraid, some running and hiding in fear.

Saul remained at Gilgal, but his troops were still fearful. Samuel had told him to wait until he arrived, but after seven days Samuel had not appeared. So Saul decided to offer the sacrifice. Immediately after this Samuel arrived. Now Saul's reaction is very understandable. The time seemed to have passed, and the circumstances were serious, no doubt with his men pressuring him to do something. Yet he stepped outside his authority.

Samuel rebukes Saul and announces that Saul's kingdom will not last.

The army was without weapons, for the Philistines had stripped them of their ability to make them. Only Saul and Jonathan had swords.

1 Samuel 12 - The rules remain the same

Samuel now makes a farewell speech. Now that Israel has a king he thinks his work is over. However, we know that he still has an awful lot to do, including rebuking Saul and anointing David. Events do not determine whether or not we are significant, but whether or not we obey the Lord. It is the Lord's will that prevails.

Samuel reminds the people that he acted righteously all the time that he was leading the nation. Some of our leaders would do well to follow this model! The people agree that this is a fair reflection of his time as leader.

Then Samuel reminds the people of their history, of all the things that the Lord has done for them, starting with the rescue from Egypt. He also reminds them of the times that Israel sinned against God and the consequences of this.

The people wanted a king, but Samuel tells them that the basic rules of the game have in fact not changed at all. If they follow the Lord things will go well, if they rebel against the Lord things will not go well. The same applies to our nation. We can reject our Christian heritage if we wish, but we will have to take the consequences. If we adopt laws and practices that go against the Lord's ways then things will not go well for us.

Samuel then demonstrated most dramatically that it is the Lord who has true power.

The people had not escaped an obligation to the Lord by having a king, but notice that neither had they put themselves beyond redemption. If they turned to the Lord and trusted and obeyed Him they would be saved. Likewise, this nation can still be saved if we will only turn to the Lord.

1 Samuel 11 - Saul rescues Jabesh

As Ammonite king besieged the city of Jabesh. The Ammonites were descended from Lot. The people of Jabesh looked to make a treaty with the Ammonites, offering to become their subjects. Nahash the Ammonite agreed, but only on condition that he could gouge out the right eye of all the men. 

Surprisingly the elders of Jabesh do not reject this "offer" outright, but ask for a week to think about it.

News if the siege of Jabesh reached the rest of Israel, and eventually to Saul. Notice that Saul does not seem to be doing particularly "kingly" duties, being out in the field with his oxen.

The Spirit of the Lord came upon Saul when he heard the news. He mustered an army form all of Israel to go and rescue Jabesh. He did this with the threat of severe punishment for any tribe that did not contribute to the relief action. The Spirit of the Lord motivates us to action.

News of the rescue was relayed to Jabesh. They tried to lull the Ammonites into a false sense of security, saying they would surrender the following day.

Saul and his army duly attacked and defeated the Ammonites. The people of Israel then wanted to exact revenge on those who had scorned Saul's leadership. Saul, however, acts magnanimously. Instead there is a celebration before the Lord.

1 Samuel 10:9-27 - Saul made King

God then changed Saul's heart and all that Samuel said would happen did happen. In particular, Saul met a band of prophets and he started prophesying. 
Saul met his uncle and told him all that had happened, except the bit about Samuel anointing him as king!
Samuel came to Mizpah and assembled the people. He rebuked them for rejecting the Lord who had rescued them from Egypt. It is interesting how we are so ready to trust in men, but so reluctant to trust in God. Men are created, and fallen beings. God is the creator of the universe and is completely good. It is actually more logical to trust in God than man.
Samuel had the various tribes come forward and chose the tribe of Benjamin. Then he had the clans of that tribe come forward, and finally Saul, but Saul was hiding. Now why did Samuel go through this rigmarole? He already knew who the king would be, so why not just go straight for Saul? 
They inquired of the Lord, and Saul was found. There is no hiding from God. The people then recognised that Saul stood out from all the people.
Samuel wrote out the rights and duties of the king. Deuteronomy 17:14-20 outlines some of these.
Some supported Saul, but there were also those who despised him. This is normal!

1 Samuel 10:1-8 - Anointed

Despite Saul's reluctance Samuel anointed him as king. There are a couple of things to immediately notice here. One is that Saul was anointed king before he actually became so. David too was anointed long before he actually became king. There can be a significant gap sometimes between receiving the calling of God for a particular task or role, and the realisation of that calling. Secondly he is to "rule over God's inheritance". All positions of authority that we have are actually positions of service.

Samuel then told Saul what would happen to him on the way home. The physical events would confirm the truth of Samuel's words and instil faith in Saul, then when he met the worshipping prophets he would have the faith to receive the Holy Spirit. 

Next Samuel tells him that he is then "to do whatever your hand finds to do, for God is with you". So there is another valuable lesson here. God does not give us the Spirit in order to take over our lives in the sense of controlling us as an automaton. He give us His Spirit so that we are enabled to live a life for Him. We also still have responsibility, and need to make the right choices. 

Finally Saul is given an instruction to wait for Samuel before offering sacrifices.

1 Samuel 9 - Saul anointed

In the previous chapter we read that Samuel was getting old, and that his sons were up to no good. One might think that his active life was coming to an end, but in a sense it was only just beginning. God uses a lot of old people in the Bible. Moses and Abraham were getting on a bit when God called them!

Saul would be the first king. He was handsome and tall. His father's donkeys had gone missing and Saul was sent to look for them. Saul went all over the place looking for these donkeys, but could not find them. 

Saul was about to give up, but his servant knew of Samuel , and suggested they go to seek his wisdom. Wise servants are a valuable asset. 

So Saul and his servant went to seek out the man of God. The Lord had already revealed to Samuel that Saul would come looking for him, and that Samuel should anoint Saul king over Israel. The Lord confirmed this word to Samuel when Saul arrived. 

Saul then got more than he bargained for. The donkeys had already been taken care of, but Samuel tells Saul that he is the hope of Israel. Saul cannot see how this can possibly be true.

1 Samuel 8 - We want a king

Samuel grew older and appointed his sons as leaders. Like Eli's sons, they too turned away from God. There are rather a lot of examples in the Bible of sons not following in their father's footsteps. We have Eli and Samuel's sons here. David's sons were hardly exemplary. One rebelled, Solomon's performance was mixed! These are children of godly men. So what are we to learn from this? When told His family were looking for Him, Jesus said that those who obeyed the Father were His brothers, sisters and mother. 

The elders of Israel reacted against this and came to Samuel. So they asked for a king. Samuel was displeased and prayed to God. God said to Samuel that it was not Samuel they were rejecting, but God. 

Now we need to look at this more closely. For the people's reaction is perfectly understandable, even good. They are rejecting godless leadership, which is a reasonable thing to do. The mistake they are making is looking for a worldly solution, instead of looking to God. Perhaps they should have prayed to God for Him to give them good leadership. So the motives are good, the reaction is wrong. We need to beware of situations where we are half-justified in what we do, for the other half will come back to haunt us (if you'll allow me to use that phrase!).

So the people were allowed to have a king, but God warned them what would happen. The kings would end up being as evil as Samuel's sons. They would exact tribute from the people and send their sons to war. But the people were so consumed by the problems of the current situation that they would go for anything.