May 21st One Year Bible Readings

1 Samuel 29:1-31:13 ~ John 11:55-12:19 ~ Psalm 118:1-18 ~ Proverbs 15:24-26
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Old Testament - We finish the book of First Samuel today!  Second Samuel is up tomorrow!  First Samuel chapter 29 verse 8 read a bit strange to me: ""What have I done to deserve this treatment?" David demanded. "Why can't I fight the enemies of my lord, the king?""  It seemed odd, at first read, that David would say this to King Achish of the Philistines.  Commentaries suggest that David may have purposefully made an ambiguous statement here, such that Achish (and maybe us) would think he was referring to Achish - when perhaps he was referring to God or Saul as David's "lord, the king."  With David's madman acting and wisdom, this ambiguous type statement with another meaning would not be surprising...

In First Samuel 31 today we read about the death of Saul.  At the very end Saul did what he always did - took things into his own hands.  Relied on himself.  Fell on his own sword.   Perhaps sometimes in our lives today we are not so different from Saul.  Maybe we try to take things into our own hands.  Rely on ourselves.  But hopefully never fall on our own swords...   We should instead be leaving things in God's hands and relying fully on God.

Bible.org's commentary on today's First Samuel readings titled "From “Playing Both Ends Against the Middle” to “Caught Between a Rock and a Hard Place”" is at this link and "From Tragedy to Triumph" is at this link and "Saul's Death Wish" is at this link.

New Testament - John 12 verse 10 stood out to me today - somehow I hadn't really noticed this verse before - "Then the leading priests decided to kill Lazarus, too, for it was because of him that many of the people had deserted them and believed in Jesus."   Lazarus was raised from the dead and they wanted him dead again...  sad...  The miracle had caused many to believe in Jesus as the Messiah.  Not surprising that those in that day who were against Jesus would also be against those close to Jesus.  Think there might be some correlation in this regard in our world today?  Is it possible that the closer we get to Jesus, the more the Enemy might come up against us in various ways?  It cannot defeat us with God on our side.  But it may come after us.  I'm a day late in our readings on this painting below from the year 1630 of "The Raising of Lazarus" by Rembrandt:

I like verse 19 today!   "Then the Pharisees said to each other, "We've lost. Look, the whole world has gone after Jesus!""  Unfortunately it was a bit of an exaggeration at that time and the 2,000 years following.  But maybe in the future?  How are you part of the Great Commission today?  An image is below for verse 15 (originally from Zechariah 9:9) - ""Don't be afraid, people of Israel. Look, your King is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt."

Bible.org's commentary on our John readings today titled "The Sweet Smell of Love and the Stench of Greed" is at this link and "The Un-Triumphal Entry" is at this link.

Psalms - I came across a wonderful speculation on Psalm 118!  Zondervan's commentary suggested that Jesus and the disciples sung this psalm/hymn at the end of the Last Supper.  Matthew chapter 26 verse 30 tells us - "When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives."   Adds a bit of a new dimension to this Psalm, no?  The reason for this speculation is because this is the final Psalm in the Egyptian Hallel of Psalms 113 through 118.  These Psalms were used in Jewish liturgy at the great religious festivals of Passover, Tabernacles, Dedication, Weeks, New Moon.  At Passover Psalm 113 & 114 were sung before the meal and Psalms 115 - 118 were sung after the meal.  Perhaps, even after the Last Supper by Jesus and the disciples?  Below is Russian artist Simon Ushakov's "The Last Supper" from the year 1685 -

Verse 8 in this Psalm stands out to me big time: "It is better to trust the LORD than to put confidence in people." Kind of strong words I know...  but what do you think?   Might people, on occasion, let you down?  Obviously, we know the answer to this one.  People will let us down.  Even our closest friends and family at some point will let us down.  However - I don't think this means we give up on investing and loving friends and family!  It just means we should not be surprised when someone let's us down.  That's human nature.  None of us is perfect this side of heaven - you will obviously let people down too.  Realizing this, I think all of us should be prepared to forgive others and to ask for forgiveness of others.  However, what do you think on this question:  Will God ever let you down?  Will Jesus ever let you down?  Please know He won't!  In fact, I believe that He's holding you up right this very moment...

Proverbs - Proverbs 15 verse 24 is a beautiful meditation - "The path of the wise leads to life above; they leave the grave behind."  Are you on the path of the wise?

Worship God: Today's readings in John about Jesus remind me of the Chris Tomlin & Christy Nockels song "Glorious:"

Comments from You & Questions of the Day:  What verses or insights stand out to you in today's readings?  Please post up by clicking on the "Comments" link below!

God bless,
Mike

Comments

[Ramona]

1 Samuel 29:1-31:13

Even when we have made alliances with the “enemy” for what we think is self-preservation; even when our actions cause pain and grief to others as well as ourselves—the city of Ziklag being taken, burned to the ground and everything that was in it carried off, God stills fights our “other” enemies and restores everything that has been stolen. Interestingly enough the town/city of Ziklag was not a town that should have been possessed by the Philistines, that city was part of Judah’s inheritance that had been taken from them during the time of the Judges. (See Joshua 15:21-31 for Judah’s inheritance) Therefore, God will restore all things lost by previous generations.

There is something here that I always considered just part of the narrative, the finding of the Egyptian in the desert as David and his men chased after the Amalekites. Now I see that it points to Jesus’ Parable of the Good Samaritan. They army, like the Samaritan, was on a mission. In the King James Translations the use of the words, “by chance” describes how the priest and the Levite happened upon the man left half-dead; however, the Samaritan was on a “journey.” When we are on a journey, we will meet up with the people we are called to minister to; however, when we are traveling “by chance” we will pass folk by. Meeting up with those people and ministering to them will send us down the correct road that leads to complete restoration.

Some of the men of David’s army showed mercy to this Egyptian they found in the desert. They brought him back to David, they fed him and gave him something to drink, and they restored him. That act of kindness led them to the men they were seeking. Usually armies, especially back then, were ruthless in their pursuit. If you happened to be in there way while they were on the move, their feet, horses and chariots would crush you. What happened to the Egyptian is a clear “type” of Christ’s mercy, or the Mercy of God.

The second thing I observed, and am rethinking in a different way is Saul’s suicide. I had come to think that Saul was a coward and didn’t want to suffer the pain of a lingering death, but now I’m wondering if what he did was a continuation of his rebellion to the Word of God. Samuel had told him, the night before:

Since you did not obey the LORD and did not carry out his fierce anger against the Amalekites, the LORD has done this thing to you today. The LORD will hand you and Israel over to the Philistines! Tomorrow both you and your sons will be with me. The LORD will also hand the army of Israel over to the Philistines!" (1 Samuel 28:18-19 NET.)

My thinking is this: Did Saul fall on his sword thinking that in so doing he would place his dying, and how he died, in his own hands and defy the words spoken by the prophet Samuel. Hmmm.

[Luch]

With reference to proverb of the day, andy stanley has a very useful book called The Principle of the Path. Bottom line is that direction, not intention, determines destination. This is evident in the tragic life of Saul who may have wanted to be on a direction to be a noble king but the direction he was on, not his good intention, led him to his destination, a sad, tragic destiny of poor choices, jealousy, anger and resentment.

[Pat]

Mike, I have a whole different take on 1 Samuel 29. Let’s look at the background up to this point. Saul was searching out David and his men wherever they went. They could not put down permanent roots because Saul was determined to kill David and when he did he would have killed his men also. The Israelites and the Philistines were enemies and constantly at war with each other. However, it was the Philistines that gave David and his band of 600 men shelter. Achish, king of Gath, not only gave them shelter, he even gave them their own land in Ziklag so that they could raise their families and flocks in peace. I’m of the opinion that David would have fought with King Achish and the Philistines against the Israelites that had been trying to kill him out of gratitude to Achish for all that he had done for David and his men.

However, God knew that David and his men were needed back in Ziklag immediately because in Chapter 30 we learn the Amalekites had raided Ziklag in their absence and burned the town and taken captive the women and all who were in it both young and old. If David had not returned immediately the women would have been defiled and the children disbursed among the Amalekites as slaves. As it was, Achish made him return home and with God’s blessings he and his men rescued not only the women and children, all who were young and old, but also the plunder the Amalekites had stolen from David and his men. In addition, they also took for themselves property that belonged originally to the Amalekites.

I am of the opinion that this is another case where God sometimes closes one door in our life and opens another door in its place. I feel that as Christians we will all face a door that shuts in our lives and experience a door opened in its place, which will lead us in a different direction. I think this was God’s way of using David where he was most needed at that time and using us where we are most needed today. Praise the Lord for being the doorkeeper of all that believe in Him!

God Bless!
Pat

[TimberWolf]

God can use the unbeliever to help the godly, as had happened with David and his men... David has shown his loyal character once again - like he has to Saul, even though he would have David killed, and to Jonathan, his friend. David has been in the midst of constantly conflicting loyalties, yet has broken truce with none! He is the king-to-be (even though he is truly the king God wants) on the run!

Achish speaks respectfully of and to David and of the LORD, so obviously David has conducted himself well and was a good witness for the LORD. Certainly Achish does not want rebellion or trouble with his nobles and is making a wise move here - no matter what happens, David can't cause trouble nor can the nobles bring any complaint against Achish. It is a brilliant maneuver!

I wonder if God isn't using this exact moment to extricate David from that situation and free him for the kingship just ahead. Achish was used of God, but we are not to be dependent upon the unbeliever. This is yet another example of how God works His purposes in human affairs!

David shows he can be trusted by all.. rescues his people... Saul will soon be dead... the stage is set for David to soon rule. The road to this point has been rocky and David has had to use his wits all along. His integrity & character have given him favor in the eyes of Achish, David's followers and most importantly, in the sight of God!