Chapter 31: verse 1-3... Saul's lineage and following is now destroyed verse 4... interesting... study notes refer us to 2 Samuel 1:14 to explain why the armor bearer was afraid to kill Saul... basically because he was the 'Lords annointed' and thus killing Saul would be a defiant act against God.... if we follow that line of thinking and say that we are all children of God (Romans 8-9), and thus, His 'annointed'(2 Corinthians 1:21-22), then a euthanasia killing where we 'help' someone die, would probably be considered a defiant act against God, too, huh... verse 5... wonder what the thinking about suicide is in conjunction with all this?... I would suppose it might be considered wrong based on the same reasoning for not killing the Lord's anointed (see verse thoughts above)... or since we did not make ourselves, it would be a sin to play "God" and thus destroy ourselves... how is is right for the created to go against the desires of the Creator?... study notes also make reference to Deuteronomy 5:17, and Proverbs 3:5-6, both of which uphold the thoughts that suicide is not the way to go, and is not right. verse 6-7... funny how we sometimes put more weight in the protection of man or institutions than we do in God... yet that might be the very reason for all the events that are taking place in this chapter? verse 8-13... study notes mention that the Philestines probably cut off Saul's head and stuff because that is what David did to Goliath (see 1 Samuel 17:51, etc)... probably a good thing that David was not allowed to join the Philestines in this battle (see Chapter 29... also study notes mention that all of this is going on with Saul's death, while David is out destroying the Amalekites, and 'replacing Saul as Gods anointed'-Chapter 15:2-3)... God really does know what is best for us, even if we don't understand everything at the time... study notes make note that the reason the 'people of Jabesh Gilead risk harm to retrieve the bodies of Saul and his sons' is becuase Saul rescued them just prior to being confirmed as king (see Chapter 11)
The study notes on this chapter end on a hard question, that I do not wish to tackle at this point, but that I do think we should all make a point in meditating on in our quiet time, at least in some fashion: "Where do you think Saul is spending eternity and why?"... "Samuel and David took to heart the words of the Lord; Saul took to heart his own sword. What will you take to heart...?" 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. Will comment soon.
ReplyDeletesandJ
Chapter 31: verse 1-3... Saul's lineage and following is now destroyed
ReplyDeleteverse 4... interesting... study notes refer us to 2 Samuel 1:14 to explain why the armor bearer was afraid to kill Saul... basically because he was the 'Lords annointed' and thus killing Saul would be a defiant act against God.... if we follow that line of thinking and say that we are all children of God (Romans 8-9), and thus, His 'annointed'(2 Corinthians 1:21-22), then a euthanasia killing where we 'help' someone die, would probably be considered a defiant act against God, too, huh...
verse 5... wonder what the thinking about suicide is in conjunction with all this?... I would suppose it might be considered wrong based on the same reasoning for not killing the Lord's anointed (see verse thoughts above)... or since we did not make ourselves, it would be a sin to play "God" and thus destroy ourselves... how is is right for the created to go against the desires of the Creator?... study notes also make reference to Deuteronomy 5:17, and Proverbs 3:5-6, both of which uphold the thoughts that suicide is not the way to go, and is not right.
verse 6-7... funny how we sometimes put more weight in the protection of man or institutions than we do in God... yet that might be the very reason for all the events that are taking place in this chapter?
verse 8-13... study notes mention that the Philestines probably cut off Saul's head and stuff because that is what David did to Goliath (see 1 Samuel 17:51, etc)... probably a good thing that David was not allowed to join the Philestines in this battle (see Chapter 29... also study notes mention that all of this is going on with Saul's death, while David is out destroying the Amalekites, and 'replacing Saul as Gods anointed'-Chapter 15:2-3)... God really does know what is best for us, even if we don't understand everything at the time... study notes make note that the reason the 'people of Jabesh Gilead risk harm to retrieve the bodies of Saul and his sons' is becuase Saul rescued them just prior to being confirmed as king (see Chapter 11)
The study notes on this chapter end on a hard question, that I do not wish to tackle at this point, but that I do think we should all make a point in meditating on in our quiet time, at least in some fashion: "Where do you think Saul is spending eternity and why?"... "Samuel and David took to heart the words of the Lord; Saul took to heart his own sword. What will you take to heart...?"
sandJ