Chapter 11: verse 1... did these people not hear about the new king they were already subject to? or maybe, they were not really sure they could count on the new king? verse 2-3... ok, I am in total shock that they are considering that kind of treaty! I feel like there is more I should say on the matter, but I'm kind of "speechless" at this point... oh, one other thing is coming to me... the idea of being "blinded" to the truth... these people were willing to be physically blinded because they were spiritually blinded to all that God could and was doing in their lives... did they so badly want a king that they were willing to give up their eyes for it? did they believe so little in God's selection of a king that they were willing to make a bargain "with the devil" in order to save themselves instead of relying on God's sovereignty and power? some self-examining lessons for us here, I think. Although, maybe the people did have an immense amount of faith and they were just buying time until their messagers brought back the help that they knew would come?... I don't know for sure, but I guess I wasn't so "speechless" after all :)... ok, sorry, moving on... verse 4... when we rely on our own power, things can very often seem hopeless verse 5-7... I find it interesting that God is so faithful to uphold His name and glory even when the instruments He is using are doing things with half-motives of selfishness ('this will be done to the oxen of anyone who does not follow Saul and Samuel'... what about follow God, or at least 'Gods appointed leaders' or something to point to God?)... but still it brought the 'fear of the Lord' on the people, so God can use even our poorly spoken words to bring Himself glory (1 Corinthians 1:26-31)... surely another sign of Gods all-powerful and awesome character! A side note, this passage reminds me of the Levite who sent peices of his concubine to all the tribes of Isreal because of the sin of the Benjamite city (see Judges 19-20)... kind of ironic that Saul, who was a Benjamite utilized this same method of rallying the Isrealites and getting his message out... did that have anything to do with why he chose this type of action? was this a common practice to send peices of flesh in order to assemble people for battle? I guess it did get the message across, but kind of yucky (in so many ways)
verse 8... why were the Isrealites and the men of Judah counted separately? wasn't Judah part of Isreal? weren't the Ruebenites and the Gadites and some of the tribe of Manasseh the ones that stayed on the other side of the Promised Land, not the tribe of Judah (Numbers 32)? so why else might there have been a noted division of them from the rest of the tribes? verse 9... [trumpets blaring] "Do not fear, for we are coming to save you!" verse 10... why even say that? were they trying to be sly or something? why lie? do we ever make the assumption that we have to "do something" in order to give God the "edge"... to add to what God is doing to ensure "success"? why? (Acts 17:24-25)...do we doubt that God will follow through? (Deuteronomy 7:8-9, Hebrews 6:16-19a, Numbers 23:19) do we doubt His ability or His truthfulness? if we truly believed in the faithfulness of God's Word and His all-powerful soveriegnty, then why give unrequested, self-guided assistance, especially the kind that points away from God or is contrary to prior commands or desires He has expressed? (Leviticus 19:1, 11-18) verse 11... the king proves himself verse 12... smiling... ahhh, the humor that comes with the act of humbling verse 13... Good job, Saul! Way to give the glory where it is due... way to let them know that God is their Savior! verse 14-15... finally, Saul is accepted as king... funny how we don't always accept the will of God in our lives right away... why do we sometimes require "signs" of God's power of sovereignty or faithfulness or whatever in our lives (despite past experiences, etc), before we willingly obey Him? sandJ
The IDEA: Romans 1:12-That we may be mutually strengthened, encouraged, and comforted by each others faith. Have you ever read the whole Bible before? We have never done it. We want to share God’s Word, but how can we if we do not know it.
The PLAN: Ecclesiastes 4:12-One person is easily overcome, but two can stand together and conquer. Three is even better, though, as a triple-braided cord is not easily broken. With each others help we can succeed-So, let us team up and read the Bible in a year.
The DATE: We will start Dec 26, 2009 - Dec 26, 2010.
The FYI: We will read 3-4 chapters each day, starting in Genesis, and post thoughts daily. If you do not have a Bible, you can access many translations at www.biblegateway.com. You can also download an audio for each chapter at: http://www.audiotreasure.com/webindex.htm
Read it.
ReplyDeletesandJ
Chapter 11: verse 1... did these people not hear about the new king they were already subject to? or maybe, they were not really sure they could count on the new king?
ReplyDeleteverse 2-3... ok, I am in total shock that they are considering that kind of treaty! I feel like there is more I should say on the matter, but I'm kind of "speechless" at this point... oh, one other thing is coming to me... the idea of being "blinded" to the truth... these people were willing to be physically blinded because they were spiritually blinded to all that God could and was doing in their lives... did they so badly want a king that they were willing to give up their eyes for it? did they believe so little in God's selection of a king that they were willing to make a bargain "with the devil" in order to save themselves instead of relying on God's sovereignty and power? some self-examining lessons for us here, I think. Although, maybe the people did have an immense amount of faith and they were just buying time until their messagers brought back the help that they knew would come?... I don't know for sure, but I guess I wasn't so "speechless" after all :)... ok, sorry, moving on...
verse 4... when we rely on our own power, things can very often seem hopeless
verse 5-7... I find it interesting that God is so faithful to uphold His name and glory even when the instruments He is using are doing things with half-motives of selfishness ('this will be done to the oxen of anyone who does not follow Saul and Samuel'... what about follow God, or at least 'Gods appointed leaders' or something to point to God?)... but still it brought the 'fear of the Lord' on the people, so God can use even our poorly spoken words to bring Himself glory (1 Corinthians 1:26-31)... surely another sign of Gods all-powerful and awesome character! A side note, this passage reminds me of the Levite who sent peices of his concubine to all the tribes of Isreal because of the sin of the Benjamite city (see Judges 19-20)... kind of ironic that Saul, who was a Benjamite utilized this same method of rallying the Isrealites and getting his message out... did that have anything to do with why he chose this type of action? was this a common practice to send peices of flesh in order to assemble people for battle? I guess it did get the message across, but kind of yucky (in so many ways)
verse 8... why were the Isrealites and the men of Judah counted separately? wasn't Judah part of Isreal? weren't the Ruebenites and the Gadites and some of the tribe of Manasseh the ones that stayed on the other side of the Promised Land, not the tribe of Judah (Numbers 32)? so why else might there have been a noted division of them from the rest of the tribes?
ReplyDeleteverse 9... [trumpets blaring] "Do not fear, for we are coming to save you!"
verse 10... why even say that? were they trying to be sly or something? why lie? do we ever make the assumption that we have to "do something" in order to give God the "edge"... to add to what God is doing to ensure "success"? why? (Acts 17:24-25)...do we doubt that God will follow through? (Deuteronomy 7:8-9, Hebrews 6:16-19a, Numbers 23:19) do we doubt His ability or His truthfulness? if we truly believed in the faithfulness of God's Word and His all-powerful soveriegnty, then why give unrequested, self-guided assistance, especially the kind that points away from God or is contrary to prior commands or desires He has expressed? (Leviticus 19:1, 11-18)
verse 11... the king proves himself
verse 12... smiling... ahhh, the humor that comes with the act of humbling
verse 13... Good job, Saul! Way to give the glory where it is due... way to let them know that God is their Savior!
verse 14-15... finally, Saul is accepted as king... funny how we don't always accept the will of God in our lives right away... why do we sometimes require "signs" of God's power of sovereignty or faithfulness or whatever in our lives (despite past experiences, etc), before we willingly obey Him?
sandJ