Wednesday, May 31, 2023
Tuesday, May 30, 2023
Monday, May 29, 2023
Sunday, May 28, 2023
Saturday, May 27, 2023
Friday, May 26, 2023
Thursday, May 25, 2023
1Samuel chapter 9 brief comments
1Samuel 9:1 ¶ Now there was a man of
Benjamin, whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the
son of Bechorath, the son of Aphiah, a Benjamite, a mighty man of power. 2 And he had a son, whose name was Saul,
a choice young man, and a goodly: and there was not among the children
of Israel a goodlier person than he: from his shoulders and upward he was
higher than any of the people.
Here is introduced Saul, future first official king of Israel. He
was a handsome and very tall man. He may be referenced in a variant spelling of
his father’s name as Cush, in Psalm 7:1.
Psalm 7:1 ¶ «Shiggaion of
David, which he sang unto the LORD, concerning the words of Cush the
Benjamite.» O LORD my God, in thee do I put my trust: save me from all them
that persecute me, and deliver me:
1Samuel 9:3 ¶ And the asses
of Kish Saul’s father were lost. And Kish said to Saul his son, Take now one of
the servants with thee, and arise, go seek the asses. 4 And he passed through mount Ephraim, and
passed through the land of Shalisha, but they found them not: then they
passed through the land of Shalim, and there they were not: and he
passed through the land of the Benjamites, but they found them not.
5 And when they were come to the
land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant that was with him, Come, and let
us return; lest my father leave caring for the asses, and take thought
for us. 6 And he said unto him, Behold
now, there is in this city a man of God, and he is an honourable
man; all that he saith cometh surely to pass: now let us go thither;
peradventure he can shew us our way that we should go. 7 Then said Saul to his servant, But, behold, if
we go, what shall we bring the man? for the bread is spent in our vessels, and there
is not a present to bring to the man of God: what have we? 8 And the servant answered Saul again, and
said, Behold, I have here at hand the fourth part of a shekel of silver: that
will I give to the man of God, to tell us our way. 9 (Beforetime in Israel, when a man went to
enquire of God, thus he spake, Come, and let us go to the seer: for he that
is now called a Prophet was beforetime called a Seer.) 10 Then said Saul to his servant, Well said;
come, let us go. So they went unto the city where the man of God was.
Kish’s father loses some valuable animals. Agricultural wealth was
the primary determinant of wealth in this ancient world.
Job 1:3 His substance also
was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of
oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this man
was the greatest of all the men of the east.
Failing in his quest to find his father’s animals Saul will choose
to seek help, as we will learn, from Samuel, called a Seer and a Prophet.
1Samuel 9:11 ¶ And
as they went up the hill to the city, they found young maidens going out to
draw water, and said unto them, Is the seer here? 12 And they answered them, and said, He is;
behold, he is before you: make haste now, for he came to day to the
city; for there is a sacrifice of the people to day in the high place:
13 As soon as ye be come into the city,
ye shall straightway find him, before he go up to the high place to eat: for
the people will not eat until he come, because he doth bless the sacrifice; and
afterwards they eat that be bidden. Now therefore get you up; for about this
time ye shall find him. 14 And they went
up into the city: and when they were come into the city, behold, Samuel
came out against them, for to go up to the high place. 15 Now the LORD had told Samuel in his ear a day
before Saul came, saying, 16 To morrow
about this time I will send thee a man out of the land of Benjamin, and thou
shalt anoint him to be captain over my people Israel, that he may save
my people out of the hand of the Philistines: for I have looked upon my people,
because their cry is come unto me. 17
And when Samuel saw Saul, the LORD said unto him, Behold the man whom I
spake to thee of! this same shall reign over my people.
Saul is raised up for a specific purpose, to save Israel from the
Philistines. He has been chosen by God. He is, as David will say when Saul is
trying to kill him, the LORD’s anointed.
1Samuel 9:18 ¶ Then Saul
drew near to Samuel in the gate, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, where the
seer’s house is. 19 And Samuel
answered Saul, and said, I am the seer: go up before me unto the high place;
for ye shall eat with me to day, and to morrow I will let thee go, and will
tell thee all that is in thine heart. 20
And as for thine asses that were lost three days ago, set not thy mind
on them; for they are found. And on whom is all the desire of Israel? Is
it not on thee, and on all thy father’s house? 21 And Saul answered and said, Am not I a
Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? and my family the least of
all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? wherefore then speakest thou so to
me? 22 And Samuel took Saul and his
servant, and brought them into the parlour, and made them sit in the chiefest
place among them that were bidden, which were about thirty persons.
23 And Samuel said unto the cook, Bring
the portion which I gave thee, of which I said unto thee, Set it by thee.
24 And the cook took up the shoulder, and
that which was upon it, and set it before Saul. And Samuel
said, Behold that which is left! set it before thee, and eat: for
unto this time hath it been kept for thee since I said, I have invited the
people. So Saul did eat with Samuel that day. 25 And when they were come down from the high
place into the city, Samuel communed with Saul upon the top of the
house. 26 And they arose early: and it
came to pass about the spring of the day, that Samuel called Saul to the top of
the house, saying, Up, that I may send thee away. And Saul arose, and they went
out both of them, he and Samuel, abroad. 27
And as they were going down to the end of the city, Samuel said
to Saul, Bid the servant pass on before us, (and he passed on,) but stand thou
still a
while, that I may shew thee the word of God.
Saul lived within twenty miles of Samuel and didn’t recognize him.
This suggests that Saul had probably heard of him but never saw him in person. Samuel
will commune with Saul on the roof of the house which I have talked about in
previous commentaries.
Roofs were flat and used
for storage and other activities. A battlement would be a low wall at the edge
of a roof, on medieval castles containing openings to shoot from at various
intervals.
Joshua 2:6 But she had
brought them up to the roof of the house, and hid them with the stalks of flax,
which she had laid in order upon the roof…8
And before they were laid down, she came up unto them upon the roof;
Judges 16:27 Now the house
was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and
there were upon the roof about three thousand men and women, that beheld while
Samson made sport.
2Samuel 11:2 And it came to
pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the
roof of the king’s house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and
the woman was very beautiful to look upon.
Nehemiah 8:16 So the people
went forth, and brought them, and made themselves booths, every one upon the
roof of his house, and in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God,
and in the street of the water gate, and in the street of the gate of Ephraim.
Here is one
website’s explanation of the usage of flat roofs in Egypt from whence the
Israelites came.
Egyptians developed
sun-dried mud bricks that could resist the flooding from the Nile and rain for
much longer than undried mud bricks. These new dried bricks also proved useful
for constructing flat roofs, which virtually all Egyptian homes had. In order
to bear the weight of people, the roof was supported by palm trunks. The roof
wasn’t just a convenient covering for the home. Instead, it was often used as a
secondary living area and the primary sleeping area. These early homes couldn’t
ventilate heat easily and would even retain uncomfortable amounts of heat
during the night. Rooftops were cooler, especially at night or when equipped
with reed canopies for shade, so people naturally preferred to spend time on
them. Rooms in the home were used for storage, cooking or other activities.[1]
This chapter finishes with Samuel having some private instructions
for Saul from God.
[1] IKO Industries, LTD. “The Roofs of
Ancient Cultures,” https://www.iko.com/na/blog/ancient-roofs/.
(accessed on 4.26.2021.)
Wednesday, May 24, 2023
Tuesday, May 23, 2023
Monday, May 22, 2023
Sunday, May 21, 2023
Saturday, May 20, 2023
Friday, May 19, 2023
Psalm chapter 31 comments
Psalm 31:1 ¶ «To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.» In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust; let me never be ashamed: deliver me in thy righteousness. 2 Bow down thine ear to me; deliver me speedily: be thou my strong rock, for an house of defence to save me. 3 For thou art my rock and my fortress; therefore for thy name’s sake lead me, and guide me. 4 Pull me out of the net that they have laid privily for me: for thou art my strength. 5 Into thine hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O LORD God of truth. 6 I have hated them that regard lying vanities: but I trust in the LORD. 7 I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy: for thou hast considered my trouble; thou hast known my soul in adversities; 8 And hast not shut me up into the hand of the enemy: thou hast set my feet in a large room.
For verse 1 here is a comparable passage;
Psalm 71:1 ¶ In thee, O
LORD, do I put my trust: let me never be put to confusion. 2 Deliver me in thy righteousness, and cause me
to escape: incline thine ear unto me, and save me.
Notice the connection in Psalm 31:1 and Psalm 71:1 the connection
between be ashamed and confusion. Do not let my faith in you be
in vain, he says. Here is another phrasing of that sentiment.
Isaiah 49:23 And kings
shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers: they shall
bow down to thee with their face toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy
feet; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD: for they shall not be ashamed
that wait for me.
Here also in verse 1 is an admission that David can only be
delivered because of God’s righteousness and not David’s own. For us, we are to
trust in Christ’s righteousness to get to Heaven and not our own. Of course,
David often makes a case for his own righteousness so we must be careful in
viewing the difference between what are commonly called dispensations.
Verse 2 suggests these cross-references among others;
Psalm 71:2 Deliver me in
thy righteousness, and cause me to escape: incline thine ear unto me, and save
me.
Psalm 86:1 ¶ «A Prayer of
David.» Bow down thine ear, O LORD, hear me: for I am poor and needy.
Psalm 130:2 Lord, hear my
voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.
Verses 2 and 3 repeat that God is a rock to David, a fortress, a
house of defense. This is an important typology for us to wrap our minds around
as we are totally dependent upon God for protection and are needful of His
mercy every moment of every day if we are to survive.
David asks God to lead him and guide him for His (God’s) name’s
sake. He has pled with God to pardon David’s iniquities not because they are
not many but because of God’s character.
Psalm 25:11 For thy name’s
sake, O LORD, pardon mine iniquity; for it is great.
For deliverance because of who God is.
Psalm 79:9 Help us, O God
of our salvation, for the glory of thy name: and deliver us, and purge away our
sins, for thy name’s sake.
For His mercy because of who God is.
Psalm 109:21 But do thou
for me, O GOD the Lord, for thy name’s sake: because thy mercy is good, deliver
thou me.
Psalm 143:11 Quicken me, O
LORD, for thy name’s sake: for thy righteousness’ sake bring my soul out of
trouble.
Verse 4 reminds me of the following references to being ensnared
by those who oppose you;
Psalm 25:15 ¶ Mine eyes are
ever toward the LORD; for he shall pluck my feet out of the net.
Psalm 35:7 For without
cause have they hid for me their net in a pit, which without cause they have
digged for my soul.
Psalm 57:6 They have
prepared a net for my steps; my soul is bowed down: they have digged a pit
before me, into the midst whereof they are fallen themselves. Selah.
Psalm 124:7 Our soul is
escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: the snare is broken, and we
are escaped.
Psalm 140:5 The proud have
hid a snare for me, and cords; they have spread a net by the wayside; they have
set gins for me. Selah.
Then, I think about Paul’s instruction to Timothy;
2Timothy 2:24 And the
servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach,
patient, 25 In meekness instructing
those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to
the acknowledging of the truth; 26 And
that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken
captive by him at his will.
Jesus seems to allude to verse 5 from the cross. At least the
similarity points us in that direction.
Luke 23:46 And when Jesus
had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my
spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.
David says that God has redeemed him. This is an important thing
to consider as some fundamentalist preachers have insisted that Christ paid a
ransom to Satan for our souls at the Cross, which is a grave error.
The only ransom that can be paid for us is to God Himself.
Exodus 30:12a When thou
takest the sum of the children of Israel after their number, then shall they
give every man a ransom for his soul unto the LORD…
Psalms 49:7 None of them
can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him:
Christ as God Himself in the flesh was the only one capable of
paying that ransom to Himself.
Matthew 20:28 Even as the
Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his
life a ransom for many.
Mark 10:45 For even the Son
of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a
ransom for many.
1 Timothy 2:5 For there is
one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; 6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified
in due time.
Several times in Exodus God redeeming His people is mentioned
meaning to deliver. Here is an example;
Exodus 6:6 Wherefore say
unto the children of Israel, I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under
the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I
will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments:
And God’s saved redeemed by the blood of Christ in Revelation;
Revelation 5:9 And they
sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the
seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood
out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law;
Galatians 3:13 Christ hath
redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is
written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:
Galatians 4:5 To redeem
them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
Verse 6 is a reference to false gods, called lying vanities.
Jonah 2:8 They that observe
lying vanities forsake their own mercy.
Jeremiah 14:22 Are there
any among the vanities of the Gentiles that can cause rain? or can the heavens
give showers? art not thou he, O LORD our God? therefore we will wait upon
thee: for thou hast made all these things.
For verse 7 see cross-references;
Psalm 9:13 Have mercy upon
me, O LORD; consider my trouble which I suffer of them that hate me, thou that
liftest me up from the gates of death:
Psalm 142:3 When my spirit
was overwhelmed within me, then thou knewest my path. In the way wherein I
walked have they privily laid a snare for me.
The prophetic importance of verse 8 is found in the use of the
phrase a large room because this seems, in my mind, to be linked to
other verses about our place in Heaven where the translated church is delivered
from the wrath to come.
Psalm 18:19 He brought me
forth also into a large place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me.
2Samuel 22:20 He brought me
forth also into a large place: he delivered me, because he delighted in me.
Then, there is that magnificent promise in the Gospel According to
John;
John 14:2 In
my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you.
I go to prepare a place for you.
If you believe that God is preparing an
eighteen-room majestic home to occupy in your resurrected body I will not argue
with you. I’m just going to give you the literal interpretation and you can do
with it what you will. According to the Early Modern English database at http://leme.library.utoronto.ca/menu/menuSearch.cfm the word mansion
at one time meant a dwelling place, a house, or even a large, luxurious
apartment in a mansion house. Look at some of the cross references to verse 2.
2Corinthians
5:1 ¶ For we know that if our earthly
house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house
not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
In God’s house, the verse says, there are many
mansions. My concern is that we are telling people in our excitement about
Heaven and in their unwillingness to read the Bible that we are all going to
have our own version of Buckingham Palace. Wouldn’t it be more likely, based on
the construction of the sentence, that we will all have our own wonderful,
dwelling place in God’s house rather than our own castle next to the golf
course?
Historical evidence teaches us that, and I
quote Michael L. Satlow’s book entitled, Jewish
Marriage in Antiquity, the bride would be brought to the huppah, a private place prepared by the
groom in his father’s house, where the marriage was consummated.[1]
So, Jesus preparing a magnificent room in His Father’s house for His bride has
parallels in Jewish customs of the time. There is a lot of interesting
information, if you are willing to search it out, about those customs but be
careful of copying anyone who doesn’t, at least, provide you with the sources
of his statements.
Here, Jesus promises to His followers that He
is going to prepare a place in His Father’s house and will return to take them
there. This is an amazing promise apparently in keeping with Jewish custom and
tradition for marriage. When Jesus ascended into heaven;
Acts
1:9 And when he had spoken these things,
while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their
sight.
He went to prepare a place for His church, His
bride.
2Corinthians
11:2 For I am jealous over you with
godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you
as a chaste virgin to Christ.
He will return to take His bride to His
Father’s house.
1Thessalonians
4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend
from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump
of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be
caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so
shall we ever be with the Lord.
Where there will be a feast, a marriage
supper, and great rejoicing.
Revelation
19:9 And he saith unto me, Write,
Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he
saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.
We await this greatest of all events in our
lives.
Titus
2:13 Looking for that blessed hope, and
the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
Back to the text of Psalms, though, this is
why I am making the connection. David, in his context, is referring to a safe
place.
Psalm 31:9 ¶ Have mercy
upon me, O LORD, for I am in trouble: mine eye is consumed with grief, yea,
my soul and my belly. 10 For my life is
spent with grief, and my years with sighing: my strength faileth because of
mine iniquity, and my bones are consumed. 11
I was a reproach among all mine enemies, but especially among my
neighbours, and a fear to mine acquaintance: they that did see me without fled
from me. 12 I am forgotten as a dead man
out of mind: I am like a broken vessel. 13
For I have heard the slander of many: fear was on every side:
while they took counsel together against me, they devised to take away my life.
14 But I trusted in thee, O LORD: I
said, Thou art my God. 15 My
times are in thy hand: deliver me from the hand of mine enemies, and
from them that persecute me. 16 Make thy
face to shine upon thy servant: save me for thy mercies’ sake. 17 Let me not be ashamed, O LORD; for I have
called upon thee: let the wicked be ashamed, and let them be silent in
the grave. 18 Let the lying lips be put
to silence; which speak grievous things proudly and contemptuously against the
righteous.
David cries for mercy in heartfelt grief. I have done the same. We
pray to for mercy and deliverance and that we are secure in God’s promises.
Proverbs 18:10 ¶ The name
of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.
Here also is a type of Christ in His betrayal and suffering at the
hands of the people He came to save.
David can’t see for his tears.
Psalm 6:7 Mine eye is
consumed because of grief; it waxeth old because of all mine enemies.
Psalm 88:9 Mine eye
mourneth by reason of affliction: LORD, I have called daily upon thee, I have
stretched out my hands unto thee.
Job 17:7 Mine eye also is
dim by reason of sorrow, and all my members are as a shadow.
David is being crushed under the weight of his sorrow as verse 10
shows. There are too many Psalms to reference here that reflect a depth of
grief and suffering but here in Psalm 102 we see this expressed;
Psalm 102:1 ¶ «A Prayer of
the afflicted, when he is overwhelmed, and poureth out his complaint before the
LORD.» Hear my prayer, O LORD, and let my cry come unto thee. 2 Hide not thy face from me in the day when I
am in trouble; incline thine ear unto me: in the day when I call answer me
speedily. 3 For my days are consumed
like smoke, and my bones are burned as an hearth. 4 My heart is smitten, and withered like grass;
so that I forget to eat my bread. 5 By
reason of the voice of my groaning my bones cleave to my skin. 6 I am like a pelican of the wilderness: I am
like an owl of the desert. 7 I watch,
and am as a sparrow alone upon the house top. 8
Mine enemies reproach me all the day; and they that are mad against me
are sworn against me. 9 For I have eaten
ashes like bread, and mingled my drink with weeping, 10 Because of thine indignation and thy wrath:
for thou hast lifted me up, and cast me down. 11 My days are like a shadow that declineth; and
I am withered like grass.
12 ¶ But thou, O LORD, shalt endure for ever; and
thy remembrance unto all generations. 13
Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion: for the time to favour her,
yea, the set time, is come. 14 For thy
servants take pleasure in her stones, and favour the dust thereof. 15 So the heathen shall fear the name of the
LORD, and all the kings of the earth thy glory. 16 When the LORD shall build up Zion, he shall
appear in his glory. 17 He will regard
the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer. 18 This shall be written for the generation to
come: and the people which shall be created shall praise the LORD. 19 For he hath looked down from the height of
his sanctuary; from heaven did the LORD behold the earth; 20 To hear the groaning of the prisoner; to
loose those that are appointed to death; 21
To declare the name of the LORD in Zion, and his praise in Jerusalem;
22 When the people are gathered
together, and the kingdoms, to serve the LORD.
23 ¶ He weakened my strength in the way; he
shortened my days. 24 I said, O my God,
take me not away in the midst of my days: thy years are throughout all
generations. 25 Of old hast thou laid
the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands. 26 They shall perish, but thou shalt endure:
yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change
them, and they shall be changed: 27 But
thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end. 28 The children of thy servants shall continue,
and their seed shall be established before thee.
David’s lamentation in verse 11 also suggests Christ’s rejection
by His own people.
John 1:11 He came unto his
own, and his own received him not.
And the all too human sorrow at that rejection is spoken of by
Isaiah in the great passage on the Messiah to come. See the context of the
following verse;
Isaiah 53:3 He is despised
and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as
it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Christ’s human body was certainly a broken vessel as David cries
in verse 12 for himself.
Psalm 88:4 I am counted
with them that go down into the pit: I am as a man that hath no strength:
5 Free among the dead, like the slain
that lie in the grave, whom thou rememberest no more: and they are cut off from
thy hand.
Verse 15 is where it deviates from any thought of Christ. Christ,
in His humanity, did ask God the Father to keep the cup of suffering from Him
but then acknowledged that what was important was that God’s will be done.
Matthew 26:42 He went away
again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not
pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.
In some respects, some lamentations of David remind me of Job
although David doesn’t accuse God of being cruel or picking on him.
See this cross-reference that reminds me of verse 18.
Proverbs 12:19 ¶ The lip of
truth shall be established for ever: but a lying tongue is but for a moment.
Psalm 31:19 ¶ Oh how
great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which
thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men! 20 Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy
presence from the pride of man: thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion
from the strife of tongues. 21 Blessed be
the LORD: for he hath shewed me his marvellous kindness in a strong city.
22 For I said in my haste, I am cut off
from before thine eyes: nevertheless thou heardest the voice of my
supplications when I cried unto thee. 23
O love the LORD, all ye his saints: for the LORD preserveth the
faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer. 24 Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen
your heart, all ye that hope in the LORD.
Here David encourages His people to hope in the Lord God, Jehovah.
Verse 19 brings to mind a promise made to faithful Israel that is returned to
their land.
Jeremiah 32:37 Behold, I
will gather them out of all countries, whither I have driven them in mine
anger, and in my fury, and in great wrath; and I will bring them again unto
this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely: 38 And they shall be my people, and I will be
their God:39 And I will give them one
heart, and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them, and
of their children after them: 40 And I
will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from
them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall
not depart from me.
Hosea 3:5 Afterward shall
the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their
king; and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days.
See verse 20 and how God’s faithful are called the hidden ones?
Psalm 83:2 For, lo, thine
enemies make a tumult: and they that hate thee have lifted up the head. 3 They have taken crafty counsel against thy
people, and consulted against thy hidden ones.
Here is perhaps a picture of the Rapture of the Church, which the
Bible calls Translation.
Isaiah 26:20 ¶ Come, my
people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide
thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. 21 For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place
to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall
disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.
In verse 21 we have an expression of the safety David feels that
God has wrapped him in. Here is another similar sentiment.
Psalm 17:7 Shew thy
marvellous lovingkindness, O thou that savest by thy right hand them which put
their trust in thee from those that rise up against them.
Verse 22 is an acknowledgment that David was ready to give up on
God’s help too soon.
Hezekiah also had resigned himself that he would not be saved in
time.
Psalm 38:9 ¶ The writing of
Hezekiah king of Judah, when he had been sick, and was recovered of his
sickness: 10 I said in the cutting off
of my days, I shall go to the gates of the grave: I am deprived of the residue
of my years. 11 I said, I shall not see
the LORD, even the LORD, in the land of the living: I shall behold man no more
with the inhabitants of the world. 12
Mine age is departed, and is removed from me as a shepherd’s tent: I
have cut off like a weaver my life: he will cut me off with pining sickness:
from day even to night wilt thou make an end of me. 13 I reckoned till morning, that, as a lion, so
will he break all my bones: from day even to night wilt thou make an end of me.
14 Like a crane or a swallow, so did I
chatter: I did mourn as a dove: mine eyes fail with looking upward: O LORD, I
am oppressed; undertake for me. 15 What
shall I say? he hath both spoken unto me, and himself hath done it: I shall go
softly all my years in the bitterness of my soul. 16 O Lord, by these things men live, and in all
these things is the life of my spirit: so wilt thou recover me, and make me to
live. 17 Behold, for peace I had great
bitterness: but thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of
corruption: for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back. 18 For the grave cannot praise thee, death can
not celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth.
19 The living, the living, he shall praise
thee, as I do this day: the father to the children shall make known thy truth.
20 The LORD was ready to save me:
therefore we will sing my songs to the stringed instruments all the days of our
life in the house of the LORD.
David calls all people in verse 23 to love the Lord God.
Psalm34:9 O fear the LORD,
ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him.
Psalm 97:10 Ye that love
the LORD, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them
out of the hand of the wicked.
See this from the Law given to Moses;
Deuteronomy 10:12 ¶ And
now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD
thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy
God with all thy heart and with all thy soul,
Which Jesus also reinforces;
Matthew 22:37 Jesus said
unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy
soul, and with all thy mind.
He ends up in verse 24 with commending them to have courage then
God will strengthen them a repeat of what he said previously.
Psalm 27:14 Wait on the
LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on
the LORD.
This chapter, as the rest, is so applicable to our current
situations. It is worth reflection to consider this Psalm with regard to Christ
and to our most personal situations. We desperately desire and depend upon God’s
mercy and deliverance, without which, we are lost.
[1] Michael L. Satlow, Jewish Marriage in Antiquity (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University
Press, 2001), 172.
Thursday, May 18, 2023
Wednesday, May 17, 2023
1Samuel chapter 8 comments
1Samuel 8:1 ¶ And it came to pass, when Samuel was old, that he made his sons judges over Israel. 2 Now the name of his firstborn was Joel; and the name of his second, Abiah: they were judges in Beersheba. 3 And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment.
Even good men can have bad children. Samuel seems to have had no
better experience at parenting than Eli did.
1Samuel 8:4 ¶ Then all the
elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah,
5 And said unto him, Behold, thou art
old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all
the nations. 6 But the thing displeased
Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the
LORD. 7 And the LORD said unto Samuel,
Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they
have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over
them. 8 According to all the works which
they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this
day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also
unto thee. 9 Now therefore hearken unto
their voice: howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them, and shew them the manner
of the king that shall reign over them. 10
And Samuel told all the words of the LORD unto the people that asked of
him a king. 11 And he said, This will be
the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and
appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his
horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots. 12 And he will appoint him captains over
thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to ear his
ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and
instruments of his chariots. 13 And he
will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks,
and to be bakers. 14 And he will
take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best
of them, and give them to his servants. 15 And he will take the tenth of your seed, and
of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants. 16 And he will take your menservants, and your
maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them
to his work. 17 He will take the tenth
of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants. 18
And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall
have chosen you; and the LORD will not hear you in that day. 19 Nevertheless the people refused to obey the
voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us; 20 That we also may be like all the nations; and
that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles.
21 And Samuel heard all the words of the
people, and he rehearsed them in the ears of the LORD. 22 And the LORD said to Samuel, Hearken unto
their voice, and make them a king. And Samuel said unto the men of Israel, Go
ye every man unto his city.
This underscores the lie that kings of old reigned in God’s stead,
called the Divine Right of Kings, which Richard Ely, President Woodrow Wilson’s
mentor at Johns Hopkins University, updated to the Divine Right of the State.
Kings ruling over men, centralized governmental control, and the oppression
that follows was not in God’s perfect will for Israel but He permitted it. They
were warned of the consequences of not accepting God’s rule alone over them. The
way it appears to me was that executive power was to be exercised by the tribal
leaders under the guidance of the priests and ultimately the judges, like
Samuel, who were to administer God’s Law given to Moses. The idea of a kingdom
or even a nation-state as we have today goes against that imperative. Israel
was a loose confederation of 12 tribes, a sort of theocratic republic under
God, if I can stretch the meaning of that term.
In verse 7 God makes it clear that the demand for a monarchy was a
rejection of His singular authority over them and was a direct consequence,
perhaps, of their idolatry. They made the error that many Christians make when
they say they just want to be like everyone else in the world and be
manipulated and dominated just like the rest of the world with their political and
lifestyle choices.