1 Samuel 8:1-9:27 ~ John 6:22-42 ~ Psalm 106:32-48 ~ Proverbs 14:34-35
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Old Testament - We have some great dramatic reading today in First Samuel! Tyndale's One Year Bible Companion today has some good food for thought to the question of Why did Israel want a king? - "1. Samuel's sons were not fit to lead Israel 2. The 12 tribes of Israel continually had problems working together because each tribe had its own leader and territory. It was hoped that a king would unite the tribes into one nation and one army. 3. The people wanted to be like the neighboring nations. This is exactly what God didn't want. Having a king would make it easy for them to forget that God was their read leader." In First Samuel Chapter 8 we hear Samuel passing on God's warning to how the king will treat the people...
Can you imagine hearing these words of Samuel if you were Saul in First Samuel 9:20 today: "And I am here to tell you that you and your family are the focus of all Israel's hopes." All you are doing is looking for your dad's lost donkeys and all of the sudden you hear this from the seer! Whew... You know though - I will say this. Being in relationship with God is always an adventure. I think oftentimes we will start out on a journey to do one thing and God ends up taking us some place completely different. Saul is about to embark on an adventure. You and I have the opportunity to embark on an adventure with God each and every day. I know that there are many times that God sends me into places & situations I would have never thought imaginable. That's the adventure of faith. It truly is not boring! I honestly think that life apart from God is truly boring. The secular life is boring. The materialistic life is boring. If you are feeling bored these days, will you break free and wholeheartedly pursue an adventurous relationship with the Lord?
An image is below for 1 Samuel 9:11 today - "As they were climbing a hill toward the town, they met some young women coming out to draw water. So Saul and his servant asked, "Is the seer here today?"
Bible.org's commentary on 1 Samuel's readings today titled "Give us a King!" is at this link and commentary titled "The making of Israel's first king" is at this link.
New Testament - Wow... verses 28 & 29 in John chapter 6 are so beautiful and simple that I think it is easy to miss the strong meaning behind this conversation between the crowd & Jesus - "They replied, "What does God want us to do?" Jesus told them, "This is what God wants you to do: Believe in the one he has sent."" Check out that very last sentence. This is what God wants you to do. Believe. That's it. It's that simple. Believe. Not give away all your money to the poor. Not do thousands of good deeds. Not become a perfect person over night. Just believe. Believe. Yeah, okay, maybe God will ask you to give away some money and do good and become better person after you believe... :) But the key is first and foremost to Believe. Do you Believe in Jesus, the One whom God sent?
And verse 35 is so powerful as well - "Jesus replied, "I am the bread of life. No one who comes to me will ever be hungry again. Those who believe in me will never thirst." Jesus saying he is the bread of life is similar to him saying he is the Door or the Vine. Bread is a beautiful metaphor that Jesus supplies divine nourishment to us spiritually. For me, this verse also reminds me of The Lord's Supper in our churches today.
Bible.org's commentary on our John chapter 6 readings today titled "The Bread of Life" is at this link.
Psalms - Psalm 106 verse 39 stood out to me today, speaking about the Israelites: "They defiled themselves by their evil deeds, and their love of idols was adultery in the LORD's sight." I think this Psalm verse stands the test of time with our modern world today. Do you believe that we still defile ourselves with our evil deeds today? Do you believe that our love of idols is adultery in God's sight? How can we stop defiling ourselves with evil deeds and stop loving idols in our modern world today? Who can save us from ourselves?
Proverbs - Proverbs chapter 14 verse 34 today teaches us today: "Godliness makes a nation great, but sin is a disgrace to any people." This is a great reminder that godliness is not just an individual issue, but a community and even national issue.
Worship God: The first half of Proverbs 14:34 today reminded me of the great Matt Maher song "Hold us Together:"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SHXQNfib_M
Do you believe love will hold us together? Click here for Love!
Please join us in memorizing and meditating on a verse of Scripture today: "Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty." John 6:35 TNIV
Prayer Point: Pray that Jesus is your bread of life. Pray that through faith in Jesus you will never be spiritually hungry or thirsty. Pray you will withstand hunger or thirst in this fallen world, knowing that Jesus is your bread of life.
Comments from You & Questions of the Day: Do you agree with this Proverb that godliness makes a nation great? In our recent readings in Judges, was Israel a godly nation? Or was there sin in the nation bringing disgrace? How about today? Do you live in a godly nation? Or is there sin bringing disgrace to the people? Also, 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
1 Samuel 8-9:27
God is going to give Israel what she wants, what has been prophesized she would asked for in the Book of Deuteronomy, God would allow Israel to operate in His Permissive will and not His Perfect will. God is abut to give her the desire of their heart in more ways then one.
A couple of years ago in reading through this book, I looked up in Strong’s Concordance Saul’s name and was surprised. I realized that God loves words and he loves to play on words. The name Saul first appears in this book. In Hebrew it means, “desired.” If you go back and reread this portion of scripture replacing “Saul” with “Desired” you will definitely see Saul and his story from a new perspective.
Remember the saying, “Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it?” Bingo!
My comments about yesterday’s Gospel reading, the crowd wanting to make Jesus king, and Proverbs, “the wicked being crushed by their sin,” can also be dittoed in this passage in the book of Samuel. The “Desire” for a King would cause them to be saddled with a burden that would crush them, but they didn’t care. Kind of like maxing out one’s MasterCard, charge one item and the card becomes your master; however, the interest sin charges is greater than the highest rate the credit card companies will ever charge.
The desire for a king and Samuel’s clearly defined payment plan if they “desire” one other than God shows how we just love Pomp and Circumstance, a king with all the regalia that goes with the job, over substance. We love emotion and sentiment as the king leads his troops and sits on his throne, but we hate the truth that the other King, God brings. We think we have to give to get from God, but we error because we like Saul don’t even know God through his Word, the scriptures nor do we know His power (Mark 12:24).
How do we get out of the merry-go-round of idolatry that causes us to chose men, things, philosophies over the freedom that the King of Kings provides?
John 6:22-42
Just keep my belly filled, Jesus, and I’ll follow you and worship you. It’s all about the stomach. Maybe this is why obesity has become an epidemic in the good ole USA. Jesus offers the crowd something better than they could imagine but they can’t get past their stomachs, and what they thing they know about him. Familiarity leads to contempt. The problem is they are not as familiar with the Master as they think because they are operating on assumption the lowest form of communication.
We too think we know the Master; however, Mike has provided an opportunity for everyone with a mouse to draw closer to Him. Thank you Mike!
Psalm 106:32-48
39 They defiled themselves by their evil deeds,
and their love of idols was adultery in the LORD's sight
Has anyone noticed how God defines idolatry as adultery? I wonder why? Sleeping with someone other than your spouse, even having an emotional adulterous affair, must parallel worshiping “other” gods. How and why that is becomes our job to “seek,” “knock,” and “ask” by searching the scriptures and seeking guidance from the Holy Spirit.
Proverbs 14:34-35
Speaking of kings, the thirty-fifth verse says a lot about how the King looks at us, His servants. I think I need to “desire” to please my King.
A king rejoices in servants who know what they are doing; he is angry with those who cause trouble.
Grace and peace,
Ramona
Posted by: Ramona | May 09, 2012 at 07:16 PM
Unfortunately Mike, I don't think we do live in a righteous nation and I feel we will incur the wrath just like Israel did.
Posted by: Billy | May 10, 2012 at 03:30 AM
Mike I love the bible reading yesterday and today, so happy I am a part of studying the bible this year. Ramona I love you.
Posted by: antonietta dumeng | May 10, 2012 at 10:23 AM
Mike, I, too am afraid we are not living in a righteous nation. The stateI live in just had a marriage admendent up for vote on Tuesday of this week. There were so many comments, arguements and other things said and done before and after the vote that there is no doubt in my mind we are moving further and further away from God. What troubles me more is the sexual sin that seems to be constantly in the news. I try to arm my daughter with the Truth and make her aware of her surrounding without causing alarm but to be honest, I am no longer sure of who the enemy is anymore. It is truly a time of wolves in sheeps' clothing. I pray that God keeps my eyes open and my soul alert to the things that are not true. In another Bible study that I am participating in, we have been going through the book of Acts and the other works of the apostles. Lately we have had alot of discussion about false teachers. So yes, I think this country is corrupt and sadly, I think, if we as christians don't arm ourself with HIS Word, we are going to be deceived. We are just like the Israelites, or even more so like Sodom and Gomorrah. I too fear the wrath of God.
Thanks once again for this blog. And Ramona, reading your posts everyday is wonderful. Thanks for adding.
Posted by: Tammy | May 10, 2012 at 03:31 PM