CbC Sep. 7-13

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September 7, Sunday

Reading A250 — 1 Samuel 9 — Saul Meets Samuel            Audio: 1 Samuel 9 (ESV)

An audio recording of the following comments is available below:

Led by God — Saul had a good start.  God had made him unusually handsome and tall, he was from a wealthy family (vv. 1-2), and he was humble (v. 21).  He would change later.  The hand of God is so evident in this chapter as Saul was brought to meet Samuel.  He used lost donkeys to get Saul from Benjamin to Ephraim.  He used the knowledge of Saul’s servant about where Samuel lived.  He told the prophet, Samuel, in advance about Saul’s coming.  He used the timing of the special sacrifice for Saul to be given high honor.  He told Samuel about the lost donkeys and that they had been found.  That is pretty amazing, but God is guiding us as well.  Much of it we do not recognize, but He is directing us to where we ought to be, what we need to learn, and how we are to serve.  He has more good designed for us than we know.

September 8, Monday

Reading A251 — 1 Samuel 10 — Saul’s Anointing              Audio: 1 Samuel 10 (ESV)

An audio recording of the following comments is available below:

Choosing a King — Israel had rejected God from being king over them and He was giving them what they wanted, a human king.  He went about it in a way that might seem strange to us.  He had Samuel anoint Saul as God’s chosen king in a very private way (v. 1), perhaps to give Saul some time to think about it.  Then, God gave Saul four miraculous signs to convince him of God’s will.  First, Samuel prophesied that Saul would meet two men with a message about the donkeys (v. 2).  Next, he was told that he would meet three men carrying carefully described burdens (v. 3).  Third, he would meet a group of prophets with specific instruments (v. 5).  Finally, he would unexpectedly and miraculously prophesy with them when “the Spirit of the LORD will rush upon you, and you will … be turned into another man” (v. 6).  After Saul was privately anointed and personally convinced, the nation needed to be informed in a miraculous and public way through choosing their king by lot.  Benjamin was chosen from the 12 tribes, the Matrites were chosen out of all the Benjamite clans, and Saul was chosen from all of Kish’s sons (vv. 20-21).  Samuel made Yahweh’s choice clear by saying, “Do you see him whom the LORD has chosen?”  The people agreed by shouting, “Long live the king!” (v. 24).

September 9, Tuesday

Reading A252 — 1 Samuel 11 — War at Jabesh-gilead    Audio: 1 Samuel 11 (ESV)

An audio recording of the following comments is available below:

Recognizing the King — Saul was Israel’s first king.  He had been anointed and declared king, but it seemed like nothing changed.  Saul was still plowing in the field (v. 5).  The messengers from Jabesh-gilead (see map) were not sent just to Saul but “through all the territory of Israel” (v. 3).  He was not a functioning king.  But then, “the Spirit of God rushed upon Saul” (v. 6) and things changed.  Saul assumed leadership, calling all Israel to “come out after Saul and Samuel” to fight (v. 7).  God stepped in again, and “the dread of the LORD fell upon the people” (v. 7), with 330,000 men showing up for war.  After that significant victory, Samuel said, “let us go to Gilgal and there renew the kingdom” (v. 14), where “they made Saul king before the LORD” (v. 15).  This was more of a religious anointing at Israel’s primary place of worship.  That gradual recognition process is somewhat like what happens in most of our lives.  Part of the reason is that God is gradually changing us for the better.  Another reason is that character is somewhat accumulative.  It is at memorial services where we tend to recognize the full impact of a person’s life on others.  We are building character today.

September 10, Wednesday

Reading A253 — 1 Samuel 12 — Samuel’s Sermon         Audio: 1 Samuel 12 (ESV)

An audio recording of the following comments is available below:

Praying for the Hopeless — Samuel made Israel very aware that they had sinned in their demand for a king.  He prayed for thunder and rain during their dry season that “you shall know … that your wickedness is great … in asking for a king” (v. 17).  The solution, however, was not to get rid of King Saul but to do these four things: “…fear the LORD … serve him … obey his voice and … follow the LORD” (v. 14).  How would it be possible for these repeatedly sinful people to do that?  Samuel would pray for them.  He said, “far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by ceasing to pray for you” (v. 23).  Samuel said that he would be sinning by not praying for them to turn from their sins to follow God.  Do you have a prayer list of people who are not following the Lord?  Do you take praying for them as seriously as Samuel did?  As hopeless as it might seem to us, God is willing to work in their minds, hearts, and circumstances to turn them in repentance to obedience.  Don’t give up!

September 11, Thursday

Reading A254 — 1 Samuel 13 — Saul’s Disobedience     Audio: 1 Samuel 13 (ESV)

An audio recording of the following comments is available below:

Excuses Instead of Obedience — Saul began his army with 2,000 men under him and 1,000 under Jonathan.  He was now functioning as a king.  This chapter shows us many examples, however, of the crumbling character of Saul.  Although it was Jonathan who “defeated the garrison of the Philistines” (v. 3), Saul apparently took credit for it by announcing throughout Israel “that Saul had defeated the garrison of the Philistines” (v. 4).  When he disobeyed Samuel’s command to wait until he arrived for the sacrifice, Saul began to make excuses for his disobedience.  He blamed his cowardly army who “were scattering from me” (v. 11).  He blamed Samuel for not showing up on time: “…you did not come” (v. 11).  He blamed the threatening strength of the enemy: “the Philistines had mustered” (v. 11).  His disobedience was too much for God, who had already chosen David, a man after His heart, to be the next prince over Israel (v. 14).  We also sometimes try to excuse our sin, but logic cannot cancel out disobedience.  God is our judge, and He must be obeyed.

September 12, Friday

Reading A255 — 1 Samuel 14 — Jonathan Takes a Garrison     Audio: 1 Samuel 14 (ESV)

An audio recording of the following comments is available below:

Acting by Faith — Because of Israel’s fear of the great Philistine army, Saul’s army had dwindled from 3,000 to 600 (v. 2).  In the face of this fear, however, Jonathan’s faith shone bright.  He told his armor bearer, “It may be that the LORD will work for us, for nothing can hinder the LORD from saving by many or by few” (v. 6).  He knew that God was unlimited in power and that He could use either many or few people to accomplish His victories.  Jonathan’s hint of uncertainty (“It may be…”) would be answered by a sign from God through what the garrison soldiers would say to them.  If they said, “Come up to us,” it would be “the sign for us … for the LORD has given them into our hand” (v. 10).  The fact that one man and a boy could kill 20 armed soldiers showed the involvement and power of God, but the following terror demonstrated it even further: “…there was a panic in the camp … it became a very great panic … the tumult in the camp of the Philistines increased more and more … and there was very great confusion” (vv. 15, 19-20).  Saul was acting from human strength and wisdom alone, while Jonathan was acting from faith.  We need to be growing toward Jonathan’s perspective of trusting God.

September 13, Saturday

Reading A256 — 1 Samuel 15 — Saul’s Partial Obedience     Audio: 1 Samuel 15 (ESV)

An audio recording of the following comments is available below:

Honest Confession — This story is a lesson in obedience.  God gave Saul a clear command regarding the Amalekites who lived south of Judah: “Do not spare them” (v. 3).  Saul clearly disobeyed: “Saul and the people spared Agag … and all that was good” (v. 9).  God was grieved because of Saul’s sin, and He exclaimed, “I regret that I have made Saul king” (v. 11).  Saul then made excuses and blamed others: “They have brought … the people spared … the people took…” (vv. 15, 21).  After Samuel’s rebuke and announcement of the consequences, Saul made a full confession: “I have sinned … because I feared the people and obeyed their voice” (v. 24).  We see the same pattern sometimes in our own lives today.  The Bible presents the clear commands of God, but we don’t always want to obey them all or to obey them completely.  We slip into following what other people say instead of what God has said.  We make excuses to continue sinning.  When the conviction of the Holy Spirit bears upon us or we are rebuked by another loving Christian, we get honest with God by admitting our sin, asking for forgiveness, and making a new start to continue a life of obedience to Him.  The penalties for sin are greater than the pleasures of sin.