Gadfly's Muse

1 Samuel 13: It Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time.....

Image: "Whatever", 2019, Winterthur Gardens, De

1 Samuel 13:13–14 (NKJV) ¹³ And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which He commanded you. For now the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. ¹⁴ But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.”

Proverbs 14:12 (NKJV) ¹² There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.

Saul found waiting to be hard.  He was nervous.... and he had reason for so being.  He had kicked the bear by attacking the Philistine garrison in Geba.  The Philistines came pouring across the border... in numbers "as the sand which is on the seashore in multitude." (vs. 5)  They had 30,000 chariots and 6,000 horsemen.  You can imagine the total number when you add the infantry to that.  Not only that, they were motivated by hate.  Vs. 4 said that "Israel had also become an abomination to the Philistines."  They were not a pleasant people in the best of times.  When off the deep end in fury they were like rabid animals.

Saul had called all of Israel to the fight but they were pretty timid.  The people were hiding in caves and the assembled "army" under his command "followed him trembling." (vs. 7)  Not a very auspicious sign.  Saul was sweating bullets.

He needed Samuel.  He need Samuel to tell him that God was with him and go kick those Philistines where it hurts, or, for Samuel to say 'back off.'  Saul felt the loneliness of command... the sense that it was all on his shoulders... the waiting was bad for morale, emboldened his enemies and gave plenty of opportunities for his army to just desert and melt away.

So... what to do.  Samuel had told him to wait for him at Gilgal.  He did so but Samuel wasn't to be seen.  Saul couldn't stand it any longer.  He knew that Samuel would offer up burnt offerings to God and that God would then fix things.  God would come and fill him and his army with confidence and would sow discord and confusion in his enemies.  Saul wanted that above all things.  Samuel wasn't here to perform the sacrifice so it seemed like a good idea to just do it himself.  He did... bad call.

Samuel arrives on the scene just as the offerings are being completed.  It reminds us of Moses coming down the mountain to find the Israelites worshiping a golden calf.  He asks Saul "what have you done?" and Saul tells him.

What Samuel says next is very reminiscent of what God told Moses when he foolishly struck the rock and brought forth water for the Israelites.  Samuel says that "you have done foolishly."  You have let your passions take control and you have not had the patience to do what the LORD wanted you to do.... wait.  You took it on yourself to do what God has appointed me to do and therefore you have usurped God's prerogatives and arrogantly assumed them for yourself.  The penalty is severe... your kingdom will end with you.  You will not have a royal house to rule Israel after you die."

Like Moses, Saul would live to see the "promise" fulfilled but he would not be able to rejoice in it.  After him would come one who certainly was "a man after His own heart." (vs. 14)  David would indeed be "commander over His people" though Saul would die as king of Israel. 

David, of course, would do foolishly also.  He was born a sinner and died a sinner and after his son Solomon died the kingdom that he won would split in two.  He, like Saul, would do things that seemed like a good idea at the time ... but laid the foundation for disaster.

It would take centuries to pass before the true Man after God's own heart would rise up in Israel.  The Son of David, Jesus of Nazareth, was also born the Son of God.  In His life and work He proved that everything that He did, in all His doings, were not only a good idea at the time, they perfectly reflected God's will for what He was to do.  He would say that He would not do anything but that which He saw His Father doing before Him.  This was the righteousness of the Perfect Man... Who alone fulfilled all righteousness such that His Father could justly reward Him with the fullness of His reward.

This was the Man who never messed up and therefore became the author and finisher of our salvation.  Unlike Saul, unlike David, there was no hesitation, no willful arrogance.  His prayer was always "not My will but Thy will be done."  Every hope and joy that is given us and every promise yet to be fulfilled which will, in time, come to us, is grounded on this Man's perfect obedience.  He passed the test of living righteously before His God and Father... as such He has inherited His House... which House we are.

Thank you... Jesus. 

1 Samuel 12: What Could Be More Reasonable?

Image: Color Textures, 2019, Lancaster Co., Pa

1 Samuel 12:6–7 (NKJV) ⁶ Then Samuel said to the people, “It is the Lord who raised up Moses and Aaron, and who brought your fathers up from the land of Egypt. ⁷ Now therefore, stand still, that I may reason with you before the Lord concerning all the righteous acts of the Lord which He did to you and your fathers:

1 Samuel 12:20–22 (NKJV) ²⁰ Then Samuel said to the people, “Do not fear. You have done all this wickedness; yet do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. ²¹ And do not turn aside; for then you would go after empty things which cannot profit or deliver, for they are nothing. ²² For the Lord will not forsake His people, for His great name’s sake, because it has pleased the Lord to make you His people.

On various occasions I review a bunch of my images to cull some to clear up disk space or for some other reason.  As I do this I try to rate those the "keepers" and assign them a relative "value" from 1 to 5.  At some point I will group the "5's" together, look at each individually and ask myself "Why do I like this one?  What is it that makes it stand out from the rest, at least to me."  I ask the same type of question to other people when they think one is really special.  "What is it about it that makes it special?"  

This has lead me to understand that there is much more to producing a good image than just "point and click."  Not that I didn't already know this but it is an area where I am constantly growing.  Photography, like any good art, is a "rational" activity.  A person may pick it up intuitively and just "see" the image they want to record, certainly.  But when that happens, even then, when examined it will be seen to conform to some general principles.  In other words... there is method... order... intentionality... in the organization of beautiful things.  

This is true even when there is apparent chaos at first impression.  In the above image there is certainly chaos.  But you might notice that I have tried to bring out the "primary colors" to produce internal contrast.  Red & Green, Blue & Orange especially.  Yellow is present but there is only a small bit of purple/violet.  I did not see this when the image was first taken it was only in development that I brought it out, but .... that's photography.

The point of all that rambling was to illustrate that what is beautiful is, necessarily, reasonable.  Method, order and intentionality are not opposed to impulsive intuition (which often is mistakenly taken to mean "creativity") but rather are the subjects which an intuitive person recognizes.  Some people have to think their way to the final product.  Others just "see" it.  One is not better than the other and both can err.  But, in the final analysis, "come, let us reason together..." is the lens through which that which is beautiful can be comprehended and understood.

I love this chapter in 1 Samuel.  It is so full of pathos as old, tired Samuel is striving to establish his people on solid ground so that they may prosper before the Lord.  Samuel saw, with divine insight, that a truly beautiful life in this world is not only possible but it is what God desires for His people.  It is a life lived in community because beauty, as in the image, requires contrast, diversity, individual contributions to the final product.  The idea that a perfect man/woman is like a solitary Greek statue - pristine and faultless - with nothing missing, is a completely pagan idea.  God has designed mankind to not be "alone" but rather to live in blessed community with others.  The "image of God" that He wants mankind to reflect is a corporate image, filled with many diverse colors and forms and productive in total of that "image" with each individual making a necessary contribution.

Samuel doesn't explicitly lay this out in this chapter but it is implicit in his appeal to Israel.  "Stand still so that I may reason with you!" he says.  "Come let me show you a beautiful picture.  Look in your history!  See your fathers, the corporate reality of Israel as it existed then, and look at how God treated you with righteousness and justice.  Look at all the great acts that He has done.  Let this image fill your mind!"

"Now, think rationally.  What does this all mean?  What elements comprise this 'picture' and how do they show us 'beauty?'  Is it not this:  That God has declared, for His own great name's sake, that you are His people?  If this is true, is it not clearly reasonable, logical, that He will continue to watch over you and to form you into a people who truly shine more brightly than all the stars in the sky?"

"Form this image in your mind:  see yourselves, as a community, serving the LORD with all your heart (vs. 20).  Think of how life would flourish if you mutually help each other stay focused, that you restrain each other from going after empty things (vs. 21).  Does it not stand to reason that God would so encourage you and strengthen you and preserve you that, in hind sight, all of the difficulties that you may encounter would be seen to make the overall picture even more beautiful?"

"Be reasonable... consider what great things He has done for you.  What could be more logical that to fear the LORD and serve Him in truth with all your heart." (vs. 24)

What a beautiful picture of God's people is presented to our minds here.  The greatest thing about it is that it is not "abstract" art like the image above... rather it is as concrete as our own lives and the fellowship of our congregations.  They can be truly beautiful... if we just observe the structures or elements that contribute and lead to beauty.  

 

1 Samuel 11: Righteous Anger

Image: "On Eagle's Wings", 2018, Conowingo Dam, MD

 

1 Samuel 11:6–7 (NKJV) ⁶ Then the Spirit of God came upon Saul when he heard this news, and his anger was greatly aroused. ⁷ So he took a yoke of oxen and cut them in pieces, and sent them throughout all the territory of Israel by the hands of messengers, saying, “Whoever does not go out with Saul and Samuel to battle, so it shall be done to his oxen.”  And the fear of the Lord fell on the people, and they came out with one consent.

Chapter 10 ended with some men "despising" Saul and asking "How can this man save us?"  Saul, uncharacteristically for his later personality, "held his peace."  To me that is pretty impressive.  Saul was not all that sure at first whether he could do the job or, more importantly, whether he wanted it.  "Holding his peace" in the face of rebellious doubt was a wise thing to do.  As would be said by other men when something "new" was going on in Israel: "if God is in this thing He will prove it". (paraphrase)  Certainly chapter 11 removes all doubt.  God was "in this thing" with no holding back.

The narrative is pretty straight forward.  Ammonites under some petty tyrant (Nahash) came up and laid siege to Jabesh Gilead, a city on the Eastern side of the Jordan not far from Ammon's border.  The citizens seek to make peace with the Ammonites by basically surrendering to them and swearing allegiance.  Nahash was out for revenge.  He wanted to put out their right eyes and have that be a testimony against Israel, bringing them into contempt by the surrounding nations.  

In summary, the citizens manage to get word to Saul in Gibeah (on the Western side of the Jordan not far from Jerusalem) who sounded the call to arms throughout Israel.  Saul showed some real gumption here.  He hacked up some oxen and sent messengers to the tribes saying "show up or what I did to these oxen I will do to yours."  Basically he threatened the tribes with civil war.  It didn't come to that though.  The "Spirit of God" came on Saul and moved him to great anger.  That anger was pretty impressive because, in vs. 8, it says that "the fear of the LORD fell on the people and they came out with one consent."  Saul mustered over 300,000 men to go and fight.  

Saul's army marched through the night and attacked the Ammonites "in the morning watch."  Verse 11 says, quite tersely, that they "killed Ammonites until the heat of the day."  The slaughter was so thorough that "no two of them were left together."

Well, that pretty much sealed the deal.  There was no question that Saul could lead Israel and so opposition to his rule ended.  Some of the people thought that they should take revenge on the ones who doubted previously but Saul, again showing restraint that was quite at odds with his later character, said "No."  Saul gave the LORD full credit for the "salvation" which He accomplished in Israel that day.  

Samuel took full advantage of the unity of spirit and the gathering of the people and they all hiked back down to Gilgal (where Joshua staged his conquests) on the Western bank of the Jordan and made Saul king all over again.  It was quite a day.

That which stands out to me in this reading is the emphatic description in verse 6 of the Spirit of God falling on Saul.  We are told that Saul's anger was greatly aroused, as I said earlier.  What can we glean from this?

When the Spirit of God "falls" on someone, as is said to happen here, there is an immediate effect on that person's entire being.  Theologians over the years have labeled it as "ecstasy."  We must carefully note that though often this is an experience of extreme "pleasure" yet it doesn't, as here, have to be.  What the Spirit does is awaken every sense in us.  He clarifies our mind... fills us with total awareness... and heats up the appropriate passions for whatever is before us.  At Pentecost the Spirit filled the disciples and they prophesied, as Saul did earlier.  That was, no doubt, a pleasurable thing ... a filling of joy and exuberance as God filled their hearts and minds with the powerful words of His testimony.  Here, Saul is transformed by righteous anger.  These "damnable" Ammonites are intent upon dishonoring the LORD God of Israel by heaping shame of His Covenant people.  This was not to be allowed.  The blasphemy must be addressed and the glory of God vindicated.

When Jesus "cleansed the Temple" I think He was motivated by a similar anger.  He saw that God's Holy Place was being desecrated and therefore, by implication, God was being dishonored.

Here is the ground, the firm foundation, that we can use to understand just what "righteous anger" truly is.  Not every wrong that is committed requires an angry response.  We simply cannot let our irritation at being unjustly accused or slandered cause us to jump to retaliation and call it "righteous anger."  It would more appropriately be called "vengeance" and we know that the Lord reserves that to himself.  We must distinguish Saul's response to the news about Jabesh Gilead from his response in chapter 10 when he was unjustly slandered by some people and here in chapter 11 where he refuses to punish them.

The difference was that it was God who was being dishonored at Jabesh Gilead and Saul was motivated by anger to deal with that blasphemy.  We should remember that all anger is motivated by some sense of a committed injustice.  We may err in our analysis of whether whatever happened was actually unjust.  But we must not let our default position be that any sense of injustice should cause us to be filled with anger.  We must reserve the label "righteous anger" to that emotion that strips us of our sense of self and moves us to respond "in Jesus' name" to deal with whatever has transpired.

That is "zeal for the Lord" and it is commended in both the Old and the New Testaments.

1 Samuel 10-11: Beautiful But Flawed

Image: Flawed But Beautiful, 2019, Severna Park, MD

1 Samuel 9:2 (NKJV) ² And he had a choice and handsome son whose name was Saul. There was not a more handsome person than he among the children of Israel. From his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people.

1 Samuel 10:6 (NKJV) ⁶ Then the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man.

1 Samuel 10:9 (NKJV) ⁹ So it was, when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, that God gave him another heart; and all those signs came to pass that day.

1 Samuel 10:23–24 (NKJV) ²³ So they ran and brought him from there; and when he stood among the people, he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward. ²⁴ And Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see him whom the Lord has chosen, that there is no one like him among all the people?” So all the people shouted and said, “Long live the king!”

There was, of course, no other life for Saul than that which the Lord decreed for him but I sometimes wonder how he might have turned out if the honor and the curse of kingly authority had not been bestowed upon him.

His story records that he was born into a house of some reputation.  His father, Kish.  was "a mighty man of power," that is a good warrior/soldier.  Kish was thus a man of substance because he possessed some number of donkeys which, as beasts of burden, indicated that he had loads for them to carry to market and such.  Saul himself seems to have been a good son. His father delegates to him the task of finding some lost donkeys and he takes a servant a sets out to do so.  We are told that he traveled a good bit so he was no shirker... he took his job seriously.

But it was his manliness that the scriptures emphasize.  "There was not a more handsome person than he among the children of Israel."  He was tall, well built and evidently strong.  As his father's son he was a warrior and therefore a man to be respected.  Certainly he seemed to be well suited for the task of reigning over Israel and leading them in battle.

When he meets Samuel and is told that God has chosen him to be king he doesn't seem to be thrilled with the prospect.  I think all he ever wanted to do was fight when he had to, run his father's estate as his inheritance and leave all that king-stuff to someone else.  God set about breaking him to the plow.

First God proves that He is behind all this by fulfilling all the interwoven, very specific, prophecies that Samuel told him.  He met the men he was told he would meet, they gave him the messages and the gifts he was told he would receive and then, amazingly, when the "prophets" were coming down from the high place he found himself "prophesying" among them.  It is all summed up for us in 10:9 - God "gave him another heart."  Saul begins to understand what is happening to him.

But, when the moment arrives, we see this big, strong, handsome dude cringing back in the baggage train... hiding from Samuel... he did not want to be anointed king.

Saul appears to me to be exactly what he will prove to be:  a beautiful but flawed human being that never rises above his flaws and yet is used by God to do some great things.  I am not going to "judge" Saul for his subsequent behavior.  It is up to God to do with his soul as God Himself justly determines.  What we can do however is note some important things about this part of his story.

We should note that Saul is, from day one, shown to be exactly the opposite of what God would ultimately prove to be a "man after His own heart."  Saul was a man who other fallen men would "recognize" as a leader.  They thought of him as possessing all those strengths (kind of like Samson) that would bring them victory in their battles against the Philistines.  Sure he was young but he was of a good family and in time the "business" of running a nation would probably prove to be something he could handle.

How different this image is than that of the young shepherd boy David.  How incredibly distant this image is than that of the True Messiah.  This Messiah was One whom "man despises... the nation abhors... a Servant..." (Isa. 49:7).  Yet it was this man of apparent weakness that God the Father bound Himself to help, to preserve and to "restore the earth". (Isa. 49:8).  This Messiah, in contrast to Saul, had "no form or comeliness".  When people saw Him they found "no beauty that we should desire Him."

God in His infinite wisdom and precise intentions, raised up Saul and gave him the claim to be His "savior of Israel."  But Saul's very focus on his own person was to be his undoing.  Like Samson before him he would fall prey to pride and forget that no fallen man is equipped sufficiently with strength and wisdom to bring about peace, prosperity and joy in God's people.  It must always be understood that "if God is with us" none can stand against us.  The humility that distinguishes an effective servant of God is exactly the recognition that he is completely insufficient to accomplish any task God sets before him in his own strength.  The kind of leadership that God values is often present in that person that the world may not think important at all.

 

1 Samuel 8: Exchanging Freedom for "Security"

Image:  Blue Skies, 2019, Severn Run E. P. Church, MD

1 Samuel 8:3 (NKJV) ³ But his sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside after dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice.

1 Samuel 8:6–7 (NKJV) ⁶ But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” So Samuel prayed to the Lord. ⁷ And the Lord said to Samuel, “Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them.

1 Samuel 8:18–19 (NKJV) ¹⁸ And you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, and the Lord will not hear you in that day.” ¹⁹ Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, “No, but we will have a king over us,

John 19:15 (NKJV) ¹⁵ But they cried out, “Away with Him, away with Him! Crucify Him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar!”

Samuel's sons apparently were not any better than Eli's.  Vs. 3 says that they "did not walk in (Samuel's) ways; they turned aside after dishonest gain, took bribes and perverted justice."  This is marginally better in that they evidently weren't violent but they obviously despised their office as judges over Israel.  How sad.

The people were unhappy.  This business of just having judges to guide us and administer justice just isn't working out - they thought.  "What we really need are more specific laws that just those given us by Moses.  We need a regular government, with bureaucrats and police and a standing army that fights for all of us.  We need a king over us... after all, the other nations around us have kings... why shouldn't we?"  

They evidently didn't go and check out those other lands very carefully.  Sure, Samuel's sons and Eli's sons before them were dishonest... they took bribes... they didn't do justly, love mercy and walk humbly with their God.  But if they had checked out the other governments what would they have found?  The king and all his administrative workers were dishonest, they took bribes and they certainly didn't do justly, etc.  The difference, as is the case in every instance, was that a strong, centralized government is gained at the expense of freedom.  Sure, the central government may, only "may", be more efficient in fighting wars.  Certainly the king and his minions would regulate society more efficiently.  It very well could be that the streets would be safer and the people would have reason to fear their neighbors less, BUT...

That "but" is the key.  The only reason why the king might make their lives more secure was because the people, as a whole, had rejected God and His laws at the rule of faith and practice.  If the general character of the Israelites had been that they "loved God and loved their neighbors" then they could live in freedom AND be secure.  The institution of the "Judges" was entirely sufficient to confront those Israelites who were abusive and lived by violence.  If the people had submitted and embraced the laws Moses had given them then not only would they have purified their ranks of those who rebelled against God but they also would have found that God Himself would have given them victories over their external enemies.

It IS harder for people to govern themselves without a strong, centralized, national government.  The American Founding Fathers knew this very well.  They intentionally designed the central government originally to be balanced by strong state governments.  For about 100 years this was the case.  The "Fathers" knew that if ever a strong sense of Christian ethics did not unify and pervade the general population then despotism and oppression would naturally result.  They said as much in their writings.

So, it is only when a morally weak people, a people who are too self-preoccupied to be actively involved in the promotion and enforcement of godly ethics in their social order, voluntarily decide that they would rather be in chains than free, that a strong central government gains political power.  We get the government we deserve... and usually that is not a very good statement about the government or us.

This is exactly what happened with the Israelites.  As God said, "they have not rejected you (Samuel), they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them."  Israel's subsequent history, certainly under king Saul and under Solomon and the rest, bears out the truth of Psalm 2.  The people speak out against the LORD and want to cast off His cords from them.  The Lord, sitting in heaven, laughs.  "OK, you want a king... see how that works out for you."  

It is this same rejection of God as our King, this same desire to have an earthly king over us that we can understand because, regretfully, he is just as unholy as we are, that set the Priests to declare "We have no king but Caesar."  Can any more blasphemous words be uttered by men?  And these were those who had been given the honor, privilege and responsibility of pointing the people to their Heavenly King in the first place.

As the world descends into chaos, the first impulse of fallen people is to look for some guy to fix the world for us.  We want it to be better but we don't want to do the work.  So... we elect people who promise to "fix it."  What we find is that, always, the programs they proclaim will fix it will involve a further tightening of our chains.  It will require us giving up freedom.  It will cost us more of the money which we earned and which otherwise we could have spent in freedom.  And... after having surrendered more freedom we will not get it back... even if the programs don't work (which they rarely do).  

Israel can teach us something here.  If we want to retain our freedoms then we are going to have place our trust in God and not in government.

1 Samuel 5-7: The Battle Is The Lord's

Image: "Refreshment", 2019, Jackson's Mill Bridge, Pa.

1 Samuel 5:7 (NKJV) ⁷ And when the men of Ashdod saw how it was, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for His hand is harsh toward us and Dagon our god.”

1 Samuel 6:12 (NKJV) ¹² Then the cows headed straight for the road to Beth Shemesh, and went along the highway, lowing as they went, and did not turn aside to the right hand or the left. And the lords of the Philistines went after them to the border of Beth Shemesh.

1 Samuel 7:5–6 (NKJV) ⁵ And Samuel said, “Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord for you.” ⁶ So they gathered together at Mizpah, drew water, and poured it out before the Lord. And they fasted that day, and said there, “We have sinned against the Lord.” And Samuel judged the children of Israel at Mizpah.

1 Samuel 7:13–14 (NKJV) ¹³ So the Philistines were subdued, and they did not come anymore into the territory of Israel. And the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. ¹⁴ Then the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron to Gath; and Israel recovered its territory from the hands of the Philistines. Also there was peace between Israel and the Amorites.

I hope that it is not displeasing to the Lord but I always have a tinge of sorrow thinking about the cows in this story.  They were taken from their calves and hitched to a wagon carrying the ark.  Then, the calves were locked up back at the barn.  This was a test.  If the cows did what they naturally would do if left untended, turn and go to the barn and their calves themselves, then the Philistines would say that all the tumors and diseases and catastrophic falls experienced by their idol Dagon, were just coincidence.  But if those cows went down that road to Israel then it was the hand of God behind all this.  Well, these cows went down that road.  They pulled the cart all the way to Beth Shemesh and the Philistines knew it was God and they turned back.  And what did the Israelites do?  They rejoiced that the ark had been returned.  They were so glad that they sacrificed those cows then and there as an offering to God.  I can't help thinking: "poor cows."

What we see here, as we saw in the judgments on Egypt and Samson's destruction of the temple of Dagon in his day, is God waging war against the unrighteousness in the world and the powers of darkness that is behind it.  God topples the image of Dagon before His ark... in effect He brought Dagon to his knees... then next time He broke off the head.  The Philistines should have learned their lesson there and then.  But they did not tear down that temple and throw themselves before God and ask for mercy.  No, they evidently repaired the idol or built another one, but from that time on they did not step on the threshold of the temple for it was that which broke the idol's head.  How silly can you get?

The people of Israel see the ark and their curiosity and excitement overwhelms them.  They look into the ark!  Not a good idea.  Whether it was due to ignorance or blind stupidity, they broke the law Moses had given them.  No one but the high priest could touch that ark or look in it, and then only with the utmost caution and submission to God's law.  The Philistines were not the only ones who were taught a lesson that day.  God reminded them that "I will be treated as Holy by those who come near to Me."   Fifty thousand and seventy men were struck down for their act.

A grain of common sense took hold and they brought the ark to Kirjath Jearim and consecrated Eleazar to keep it.  Things settled down for a brief spell but Israel came and "lamented after the LORD." (7:2)  Here was what was needed.  The people recognize their foolishness.... they listen to Samuel when he tells them to put away their foreign god and "prepare your hearts for the LORD."  He calls them to Mizpah for a revival.  

The Philistines hear that Israel was gathering there and promptly saw a military opportunity.  They had handily defeated Israel last time when they "won" the ark from them.  Why not go now and put an end to this troublesome people for good.  It would have worked too if the Lord had not intervened.  The Israelites were terrified.  They begged Samuel to intercede for them and the Lord "answered him." (7:9)  We are then told that God struck the Philistines directly.  He thundered against them so terribly that their morale plummeted and they were thrown into confusion.  Even the previously terrified Israelites could handle them now and they did.  There was a great slaughter and the Israelites chased them out of the territory.  Samuel set up a stone, his Ebenezer ("thus far only"), and from that time on, throughout the time of Samuel, Israel was secure from them.  

The point that is pounded home is that God did the heavy lifting.  It was He who brought His ark back to Israel.  It was He that reminded them that they needed to treat Him as Holy.  It was He that called them to repentance and upon rendering that repentance, He raised them up and gave them victory over their foes.

This is the wondrous, all powerful, absolute King Whom we serve.  He can accomplish all His purposes directly.  In the final analysis He does not need us.  But the great Good News is that God has chosen to work primarily through fallen instruments, like Samuel, like us, to bring about His good objectives.  This is our honor... this is our privilege... we should be humbly thankful and energetically inspired to do whatever He puts before us.

I suppose the primary teaching of these chapters is the Lord saying: "I can do My own fighting, thank you very much.  You need to remember that."  Certainly that fact is blatantly apparent even on casual inspection.

 

1 Samuel 3 & 4: Zeal for the Kingdom... Nothing Less Will Suffice

Image: Fading Glory, 2019, Severna Park, Md

1 Samuel 3:21 (NKJV)  Then the Lord appeared again in Shiloh. For the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the Lord.

1 Samuel 4:11 (NKJV) ¹¹ Also the ark of God was captured; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

1 Samuel 4:18 (NKJV) ¹⁸ Then it happened, when he made mention of the ark of God, that Eli fell off the seat backward by the side of the gate; and his neck was broken and he died, for the man was old and heavy. And he had judged Israel forty years.

1 Samuel 4:22 (NKJV) ²² And she said, “The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured.”

The story of Eli the prophet is one of the more sad narratives in all of Scripture.  The teaching of his life is that a "lukewarm" faith brings forth weak fruit and earns the Lord's displeasure (cf. Rev. 3:15-16).  Eli, was from all appearances, diligent in his ordinary duties as priest.  He "judged Israel" for forty years and was evidently respected for his ministry.  The man fleeing from battle goes out of his way to travel to Shiloh to bring news of the battle to him, so Eli must have kept the embers of true religion alive in Israel at least.  

It was his failure to see beyond these "ordinary" duties that brought judgment on his house.  How could he seek to discipline the entire nation when he could not even govern his own house well (cf. 1 Tim. 3:4,5).  His sons were notorious thieves and extortioners.  They despised the things of God and saw the people of God as their personal sheep to be sheared of possessions and sacrifices.  According to 1 Sam 2:17, their sin was "very great" in that they "abhorred the offering of the LORD."  The sons of Aaron died in their arrogance of substituting "strange fire" for the God ordained incense that was proper.  Eli's sons do things that are far worse.  They abused their privileged position and were not above acting like gangsters in the process (2:16).

In chapter 3 we see young Samuel being "awakened" to his ministry.  In verse 7 we are surprised to learn that "Samuel did not yet know the LORD..."  It also says that the LORD's word had not yet been revealed to him, but there is something very precious in this story in the way God opens Samuel's eyes to Himself.  Saul of Tarsus went through a much more traumatic experience than Samuel but at their root, the two stories overlap.

None of us "know the LORD" until He undertakes to reveal Himself to us.  We may know things about Him.  After all, in 3:1 we see that "the boy ... ministered to the LORD before (in the presence of and under the supervision of ) Eli."  There is ministry to the Lord, even productive and effective ministry, and there is "knowledge of God."  The two things are not identical.  How many preachers have had productive fruit for the Kingdom and yet, in Paul's words, themselves failed to attain the prize?  It's possible and it can be tragic.  

But God in His great mercy comes to little Samuel in the dark still night and speaks tenderly to him.   Samuel has no idea at first what was happening until Eli told him to be still and listen, as Christians throughout the ages have had to learn to do.  God then tells Samuel that Eli and his family will be judged and punished in such a manner that it would make Israel's "ears" tingle.  God is here doing two things.  He is opening up Samuel's mind and heart to "know" Himself personally.  At this point Samuel's ministry is transformed.  No longer will he be just "doing stuff" for God.  He will be in close communication with His Lord and will act as His mouthpiece, for both good and ill.  Secondly, God is now essentially commissioning Samuel to take Eli's place.  Eli is not long for this world, God said.  Also, his two sons will be disposed of also so that the house of Eli will have not claim to the office of Judge over Israel.  "I am making your way straight before you, young Samuel, and though it will pain your heart to see what happens, yet you must see this as My decree and My plans, for you and for Israel."

We must see the story of chapter 4 in terms of judgment on Eli.  Israel's defeat at the hands of the Philistines was of course a judgment on their own weakness of faith.  They call out the Ark of the Covenant to go before them in battle as it did in the days of Moses.  The big difference was that God had not told them to do this.  They were treating His Ark as a magic talisman that would, in a sense, force the hand of God to defeat their enemies.  The two sons went along with this travesty and paid dearly for their arrogance.

But the shame of the defeat and the over-whelming shame of having lost the ark of the covenant fell most heavily on Eli.  This is what happens when God's Word, His "whole counsel", is not drummed into the ears of His people.  Those who have been set aside to this task ought to pay close attention to Eli's downfall and death.  The sheer impact of the words, "the ark has been lost", must have hit him like a sledge hammer.  Truly the glory had departed from Israel... and, in no small part, it was his fault.  It knocked him down and he dies.

I cannot help but think that God probably had grace for Eli as he passed into glory.  I doubt that was true for his sons.  Eli seemed to have a tender and submissive heart, especially toward Samuel as the anointed one to replace him.  So, I have hope for Eli, but his story should be taken very seriously and we must remember that God has called us to "zeal" for the kingdom and He is not pleased with anything less.

1 Samuel 2: Sovereign Over Life.... And Death!

Image: Aging Beauty, 2019, Winterthur Gardens, De

1 Samuel 2:3 (NKJV) ³ “Talk no more so very proudly; Let no arrogance come from your mouth, For the Lord is the God of knowledge; And by Him actions are weighed.

1 Samuel 2:6–7 (NKJV) ⁶ “The Lord kills and makes alive; He brings down to the grave and brings up. ⁷ The Lord makes poor and makes rich; He brings low and lifts up.

1 Samuel 2:10 (NKJV) ¹⁰ The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken in pieces; From heaven He will thunder against them. The Lord will judge the ends of the earth. “He will give strength to His king, And exalt the horn of His anointed.

As far as transcendent poetic expression goes, Hannah's song ranks right up there with the best.  Moses' song does not excel over it in any category.  Hannah's submissive heart flows through her words and the Holy Spirit shapes them into expressions of majestic power.

Let your mind soar in contemplating our God as "the God of knowledge!"  A lowly woman, once despised by her peers, sees through the veil of smoke that covers the minds of ordinary men and women. She sees that this smoke is deception... it hides the true nature of the world and of the society of men in the world.  God, like the sun, burns through this smoke.  As was said of the Logos, "in Him was light and that light was the light of the world."  No matter how limited our vision... no matter how distracted we are by the cares and worries of this world... yet we may sing with Hannah in this, that God sees and knows all things.  He is not asleep.. He is not preoccupied with other things... no detail of any life on earth and of ours in particular escapes His notice.  He knows when the sparrow falls to the ground and He knows US... and all our troubles... and all our joys.

And this knowledge is a great comfort to us for it is He who with knowledge weighs the actions of men.  The fool, in his heart, says that there is no God.  The pridefully arrogant may profess Him with their lips but their hearts are far from Him.  He is with the humble and opposed to the proud.  He knew ever injustice imposed on Lazarus in the parable and He carefully weighed all of the actions of the rich man.  God's knowledge is the ground and foundation of His perfect justice and that same knowledge and justice is the strong rock that gives us hope.

(Vs. 6-7) The humble man or woman recognizes that behind all that happens in this world is the often hidden hand and counsel of God.  The rich man and the poor man occupy the status that He has decreed.  In that status each man, rich and poor, will find God's purpose for His life.  The rich man, in humility, will recognize this and see his wealth as resources for bringing glory to God.  The poor man, in humility, will be able to guard his heart from jealous rage and recognize that God has works for him to do also.  Everything in its own season, everyone in their own field, this is the wisdom and sovereignty of our God.

(Vs. 10) And as rolling thunder accompanies flashing lightning, so will God's knowledge work to the glory of His wisdom and the beauty of His King.  All things work together for good and the greatest good is the glory of God which is also the delight of His people.  All opposition to God will be ended at some point.  God will judge the ends of the earth through a Man that He has appointed for this very task.  He has proved the truth, the certainty of this coming reality, by raising this same Man from the dead.  This man is His Anointed as Hannah saw.  He entered into this world born of a lowly woman, a woman like Hannah.  And as Hannah lived to see her miraculously born son Samuel rise to prominence in all of Israel, so Mary lived to see her Son, Jesus, raised from the dead.  She knew Him to be exalted to the right hand of God the Father Almighty and there given all authority in heaven and on earth.  As the One who has all authority and power He is the "horn" of God in Hannah's terms.

Thus Hannah's song, full of sublime poetic expression, is a powerful prophetic declaration of the true state of affairs in all creation.  She calls us to see through the smoke and mirrors that Satan uses to keep us in ignorance.  Her song celebrates the transcendent God Whose knowledge is perfect and who is completely aware of all things.  This omniscient God is also sovereignly imposing His will in all the affairs of men and nations.  God's decree is whatsoever comes to pass which includes the distribution of wealth and poverty, the invigoration of health and the millstone of illness.  All things are from Him and for Him and unto Him and like Hannah, we also can celebrate Him as the sure foundation for our hope.

He has exalted the horn of His anointed... He has given strength to His King... We have not been abandoned and we have been given light.  He has done all things well!  Alleluia.

1 Samuel 1: The Lord Who Hears.....

Image:  Focused on Task, 2019, Winterthur Gardens, De

1 Samuel 1:11 (NKJV) ¹¹ Then she made a vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head.”

1 Samuel 1:16 (NKJV) ¹⁶ Do not consider your maidservant a wicked woman, for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief I have spoken until now.”

1 Samuel 1:19–20 (NKJV) ¹⁹ Then they rose early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord, and returned and came to their house at Ramah. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and the Lord remembered her. ²⁰ So it came to pass in the process of time that Hannah conceived and bore a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, “Because I have asked for him from the Lord.”

1 Samuel 1:27–28 (NKJV) ²⁷ For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition which I asked of Him. ²⁸ Therefore I also have lent him to the Lord; as long as he lives he shall be lent to the Lord.” So they worshiped the Lord there.

It is passages like this that give us a glimpse into the "ordinary lives" of people who lived lives so different from us.  Our tendency when reading ancient history/scripture is to project our current attitudes, sympathies, perceptions and thought processes back onto the characters of that time.  It always amuses me to see late medieval art depicting scriptural stories and see how they painted them in costumes and armor of the artist's own day.  We all tend to do that more or less and it is a significant hindrance to our understanding.

Then we encounter a story like this one.  Hannah and Elkanah are presented to us in concise but clear prose.  We can enter into their lives if you will.  We understand what it means for a woman to be in despair.  What shakes us up is why this is the case.  Hannah is the "first" of two wives in the household.  As the "first" she ordinarily would have priority in respect and honor.  But the "second" wife, Peninnah has children and in that culture children represented the future.  In one sense it was how a man gained a type of immortality.  If he left children behind then his name would not be lost in the future.  His inheritance would not be divided up among relatives.  What this meant for the women was their positional status in the culture was intricately tied up in their ability to bring children to the man.  

Peninnah was jealous of Hannah because she was "second" and Elkanah clearly loved Hannah more than her (1:5).  Like far too many of us, Peninnah used every opportunity to make Hannah miserable and Hannah wept and prayed for "deliverance" from her "shame."  Elkanah, as husbands are prone to do, didn't quite get it.  In verse 8 he reproaches Hannah for grieving.  He thinks his obvious preference for her (giving her a "double portion" - vs. 5) was not sufficiently appreciated.  Then rising to the very heights of male logic he puts it plainly: "Am I not better to you than ten sons?"  I can't help but think that Hannah probably just looked at him in exasperation, shook her head at his ignorance, and walked away.  Elkanah probably went to the pub and had a beer and complained that he would never understand "that woman."

But the beauty of the story and its importance in the history of all that follows lies in Hannah's subsequent actions.  She is presented to us as a model of faith and submission.  She knows that her only hope is in the LORD.  She knows that if it is His will that she remains barren then that is the way it will be.  But she also knows that God loves His people... not only corporately but individually.  She knew that she, by covenant privilege, had the right to petition him directly... to lay her heart at His feet confident that He would understand her far more than did her husband.  If God willed, He could provide her with offspring... and specifically a son.  This was the desire of her heart and she did what countless men and women have done over the centuries:  she took her petitions to the Lord and she poured out her soul to Him in passionate but trusting pleading.

In verse 11 she submits her future to God.  She prays specifically for a son.  But notice that she vows that if God gives her a son that she will not hoard him to herself.  She will not insist that he stay with her and take care of her in her old age.  She gives up that claim, so important in that culture, and says:  "It will be enough if I have a son... I will dedicate him entirely to you.... all the days of his life."

What a beautiful picture of submission.  It was not entirely "self-less".  No prayer is.  Whenever we pray for something there is always some reason, important to us, for what we ask.  But Hannah's prayer was framed in a Kingdom perspective.  "Oh God, if you give me a miracle... a son... then I know that such a son, conceived in this way, would serve You powerfully and gloriously.  My heart would be content and I would bask in his career.  Please God... hear my prayer."

This is the heart attitude which God loves to foster in His children.  It is a prayer that fits the criterion Jesus Himself gave us.  "Whatsoever you ask, in My name, believing, you will receive."  He is not giving us some magic incantation.  He is saying that when we pray, according to His name which means according to His objectives and will for this world, in submission to what may be required of us, that prayer will be answered.

Hannah knew this!  Hannah rose from her prayer and (vs. 18) she was "no longer sad."  She knew God was going to do it.  When the son was born he was named "Samuel" which means "I was heard by God."  That tells us all we need to know about her and about her and our God.  He is a God who hears the prayers of faith.

 

Ruth 3 & 4: Fruits Unto Righteousness

Image: Abundant Fruit, 2019, Winterthur Gardens, De

Ruth 3:4 (NKJV) ⁴ Then it shall be, when he lies down, that you shall notice the place where he lies; and you shall go in, uncover his feet, and lie down; and he will tell you what you should do.”

Ruth 3:10–11 (NKJV) ¹⁰ Then he said, “Blessed are you of the Lord, my daughter! For you have shown more kindness at the end than at the beginning, in that you did not go after young men, whether poor or rich. ¹¹ And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you request, for all the people of my town know that you are a virtuous woman.

Ruth 4:10 (NKJV) ¹⁰ Moreover, Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, I have acquired as my wife, to perpetuate the name of the dead through his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brethren and from his position at the gate. You are witnesses this day.”

What an amazing story this is and what a subtle and engaging plot development is before us in chapter 3.  This entire story hinges on the recognized virtuous character of both Ruth and Boaz.  Naomi devises a plan that could be dangerous indeed.  She is depending on the good character of Ruth not to do anything that would violate Boaz' integrity and she is absolutely trusting that Boaz, on awakening, will not despise Ruth when he discovers her lying at his feet.  For this clandestine encounter to work both parties have to be exceptionally restrained in self-control and respectful of the other person's dignity and future.

Ruth is most likely still wearing the garb of a grieving widow.  Such a woman was not to be disturbed in her period of mourning and she would not discredit it by being frivolous or open to approach by a man.  However (cf. 2 Sam. 12:22) when she was ready to end her mourning the usual custom was to bathe and then put on "normal" clothes.  What Naomi is doing is arranging things such that the first person to see that Ruth is now available as a wife will be Boaz.  To do this she must be delicate.

Ruth must not come across as being loose or playing the harlot.  She has bathed and anointed herself and dressed in good clothing.  She is instructed to uncover only Boaz' feet when she approaches him.  Though some commentators differ I believe Naomi specifically instructs her to uncover only the feet and not to shame Boaz by "uncovering his nakedness."  If Boaz had awakened to find she had done such a thing he would have either treated her as a harlot or he would have banished her in shame from his presence.  By uncovering only his feet she demonstrates, as he says, that she is a "virtuous woman." (3:11) 

Further he recognizes that she has come to him in such a way as to give him the honor of being the first man to see her as being available now as a wife.  Boaz is impressed by this.  He immediately tells her that he appreciates her gesture, after all (vs. 10) she could have gone "after young men, whether rich or poor."  Boaz recognizes just how precious this woman is.  There is nothing in the story that indicates that he took sexual advantage of her.  This speaks well of him also.

The rest of the story then details the delicate negotiations that Boaz undertook with regard to the closer relative.  This kind of subtle maneuvering in bargaining was one of the great delights enjoyed by people in that culture.  Here we see Boaz opening negotiations by giving the nearer relative the right of first refusal on a valuable piece of property that his family position opened to him.  The relative jumps on the offer.  He would love to buy that property.  Then Boaz says "You do understand that the young woman Ruth goes with it.  You buy the property then you have to take her as your wife."   If the man had taken Ruth then any children born to them would have his inheritance under the dead husband Elimelech's, name.  

Whoops... not so fast, the relative says.  That might endanger my own inheritance.  Thus Boaz completes the transaction with honor having satisfied all requirements and the relative has no grounds for any future complaint.  Thus the love story draws to a beautiful conclusion.

Boaz here is the "kinsman redeemer" for Ruth.  He came for her in her destitute and seemingly hopeless state and brought her into his own family.  She was a Moabitess, a "stranger" to the covenant with God, but he did whatever had to be done to bring her to himself and establish her as his own with no reason to be ashamed anymore.  

It takes no great leap to see how much more of a "Kinsman-Redeemer" is our Big Brother, the Lord Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ of God.  He is indeed our "nearest Relative."  Through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit we have been adopted into His family and He has done everything needful to establish us in our new position with out any shame.  We have been washed, anointed and dressed in new garments.  We are His and He is ours.  Like Ruth and Boaz now all that remains is to bear fruits unto the righteousness that we have been accorded.  We are to produce good works and through discipleship produce many children.  In doing so we will find that to the maximum extent possible in a fallen world, our joy is complete.