Read it... caught up on blogging through 1 Samuel 23... will keep working on posting to get fully caught up as soon as possible... thank you for your patience! God Bless, sandJ
Chapter 2: verse 1... when I first read this, I thought, 'wow, that is kind of weird that David inquires of God all the time, and God answers him.'... but then I read a book called "Adventures in Naked Faith" by Ross Tooley, and I started thinking how maybe it's not so weird... maybe it is how we should live our lives more often, asking God for guidance before we proceed with plans in life, and then WAITING for His response, so we know we are being obedient to Him and not just jumping around trying to 'figure' His desires out. verse 2-6... all is starting to seem good again verse 7... this verse makes me wonder if there is some strife yet to come... why else should they be strong and brave still... is David expecting opposition over his becoming king? verse 8-9... this makes sense to have Saul's son king over Saul's kingdom, right? Abner was probably trying to do what he assumed would have been the king's wishes and was customary at the time... yet, that was not God's plan... something we should take note of, I think... just because something seems right, or good, how someone said we should do it, or even 'the way it is done', does not mean that it is the way God wants it done... all the more reason to ASK God HIS will before we proceed... for His ways are not our ways, they are better (see Isaiah 55:8-9) verse 10-11... I guess that I did not really make this distinction between Judah and Isreal when I first read this... I'm still not really sure why they are separated though? Any knowledge here? verse 12-16... this seems kind of odd, but it might have been a custom of the time to help alleviate unnecessary casualties, as this seems to fall in line with how things were proposed when David fought Goliath (1 Samuel 17)... verse 17... so, was that supposed to make David king over both kingdoms? It doesn't appear that they agreed to the terms of why they were fighting... probably would have been good to note what the victor would win? verse 18-19... ok, I don't get this part... why would Asahel be chasing Abner if the 12 men were the ones in the battle and it was now won?... verse 20-22...and one more puzzlement... what kind of person runs up on someone and then stops to talk to them?... sounds like Asahel was caught up in the frenzy and excitement of the battle and was not thinking straight, and Abner was trying to remind him of the reasons not to continue this craziness veres 23... if Abner thrust the 'butt' of his spear into Asahel's stomach, it sounds like Abner was just trying to knock the wind out of him, since the killing side of the spear would be the point, not the butt end... however, Asahel must have been coming with some force, or Abner was striking with some force, for the blunt end to squewer him like that verse 24-27... sounds like Abner is trying to be the voice of reason, yet Joab is not willing to take responsibility for his part in this whole matter (verse 14)... why do we do that sometimes? why do we say we are 'in' on something when it seems good, yet point fingers when it leads to disappointment, disillusionment, or blame? If we are not willing to 'go down' with the ship, we should probably not get on board verse 28-32... finally... enough is enough... wisdom reigns and responsibility is taken... it is usually better when that happens, I think. I am guessing that the numbers here are given to show God's sovereignty and protection over David's house, yet I can't help but feel sad over the fact that all those men (both sides) fell for apparently no reason... if only they had stopped to think about the results of their actions in advance... 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... caught up on blogging through 1 Samuel 23... will keep working on posting to get fully caught up as soon as possible... thank you for your patience!
ReplyDeleteGod Bless,
sandJ
Chapter 2: verse 1... when I first read this, I thought, 'wow, that is kind of weird that David inquires of God all the time, and God answers him.'... but then I read a book called "Adventures in Naked Faith" by Ross Tooley, and I started thinking how maybe it's not so weird... maybe it is how we should live our lives more often, asking God for guidance before we proceed with plans in life, and then WAITING for His response, so we know we are being obedient to Him and not just jumping around trying to 'figure' His desires out.
ReplyDeleteverse 2-6... all is starting to seem good again
verse 7... this verse makes me wonder if there is some strife yet to come... why else should they be strong and brave still... is David expecting opposition over his becoming king?
verse 8-9... this makes sense to have Saul's son king over Saul's kingdom, right? Abner was probably trying to do what he assumed would have been the king's wishes and was customary at the time... yet, that was not God's plan... something we should take note of, I think... just because something seems right, or good, how someone said we should do it, or even 'the way it is done', does not mean that it is the way God wants it done... all the more reason to ASK God HIS will before we proceed... for His ways are not our ways, they are better (see Isaiah 55:8-9)
verse 10-11... I guess that I did not really make this distinction between Judah and Isreal when I first read this... I'm still not really sure why they are separated though? Any knowledge here?
verse 12-16... this seems kind of odd, but it might have been a custom of the time to help alleviate unnecessary casualties, as this seems to fall in line with how things were proposed when David fought Goliath (1 Samuel 17)...
verse 17... so, was that supposed to make David king over both kingdoms? It doesn't appear that they agreed to the terms of why they were fighting... probably would have been good to note what the victor would win?
verse 18-19... ok, I don't get this part... why would Asahel be chasing Abner if the 12 men were the ones in the battle and it was now won?... verse 20-22...and one more puzzlement... what kind of person runs up on someone and then stops to talk to them?... sounds like Asahel was caught up in the frenzy and excitement of the battle and was not thinking straight, and Abner was trying to remind him of the reasons not to continue this craziness
veres 23... if Abner thrust the 'butt' of his spear into Asahel's stomach, it sounds like Abner was just trying to knock the wind out of him, since the killing side of the spear would be the point, not the butt end... however, Asahel must have been coming with some force, or Abner was striking with some force, for the blunt end to squewer him like that
verse 24-27... sounds like Abner is trying to be the voice of reason, yet Joab is not willing to take responsibility for his part in this whole matter (verse 14)... why do we do that sometimes? why do we say we are 'in' on something when it seems good, yet point fingers when it leads to disappointment, disillusionment, or blame? If we are not willing to 'go down' with the ship, we should probably not get on board
verse 28-32... finally... enough is enough... wisdom reigns and responsibility is taken... it is usually better when that happens, I think. I am guessing that the numbers here are given to show God's sovereignty and protection over David's house, yet I can't help but feel sad over the fact that all those men (both sides) fell for apparently no reason... if only they had stopped to think about the results of their actions in advance...
sandJ