This passage describes Samuel's last speech to the people of Israel as their leader, as he steps down from his place of highest authority for Saul. Samuel's extreme humility really surprises me in this passage. When the people asked for a king, they were rejecting both God and Samuel (which is why God tells Samuel that they weren't just rejecting Samuel, but God as well). Even so, there must be some sort of hurt that Samuel experienced. Despite this hurt, Samuel displays a genuine love for God's people, pleading with them to turn back to God.
Samuel puts the will of God and the good of the people above his own will and desires, putting aside his pride and allowing another to be raised up above him, even if it wasn't what God had wanted. Samuel doesn't show any bitterness, but exhorts the people one last time to follow God and obey his commands. The following are things that Samuel does that is a reflection of his humility.
Samuel examines himself for sin and wrongdoings.
While it may seem that Samuel is being self-righteous in the beginning of the passage, Samuel is affirming that God has been working through him as the leader of the nation, it wasn't because of his sin that the people wanted a king. It's a super ballsy offer for anyone in the entire nation of Israel to accuse him of a wrongdoing, an offer that he can only make if he's spend time in the past examining himself. A posture of humility comes from a conviction of our own sinfulness, which comes from a lifestyle of reflection, confession, and repentance. While we might not be able to relate to Samuel's blamelessness, we can be convicted by Christ's blamelessness, that Christ never led us astray or oppressed us in any way, but that it is our own sin that has ruined things. Humility comes with a deep understanding of the sinfulness of our own hearts.
Samuel maintains an attitude of gratitude and praise.
Samuel remembers all of God's past deliverances of his people, as he recounts "all the righteous acts performed by the LORD for you and your fathers." God has rescued his people whenever they called out to him, and God provided secure lives for his people. Samuel, while admonishing the people, describes the holiness, power, and mercy of God. Humility comes with a deep understanding of the person of God.
Samuel continues loving.
It would have been so easy for Samuel to be bitter about having to step down from leadership when he didn't do anything wrong. It would have been so easy for him to curse at the people under his breath and to give up and walk away. Samuel was wronged in his situation, but he maintains his love for God's people, warning them and teaching them the will of God. He even called upon God to give them rain for their harvest! Most importantly, Samuel continued to pray for the people who sinned against him.
Samuel shows a lot of humility as he steps down from a place of authority because of others' sin, and we can learn a lot from his humility.
Showing posts with label Samuel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Samuel. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Thursday, July 29, 2010
1 Samuel 11 - God's Deliverance
In this passage, we see the deliverance of a sinful city by Saul. From this passage, we can learn about our own lives and how Jesus has delivered us.
THE DELIVERED
The city of Jabesh was under attack by the Ammonites, and they tried to cut a deal with them, offering themselves as subjects to the Ammonites in return for peace. The Israelites were fine with being under the rule of pagans, as long as they didn't have to suffer too much. They were fine with being help captive by a rival kingdom, when God had just gave the them a new king to oppose all other kingdoms. However, Nahash the Ammonite wanted more than the taxes and the servitude of the people; he wanted to humiliate the Israelites. The elders at Jabesh didn't cry out to God for deliverance. They didn't even call out to their new king (the one they asked for, remember?!) because they didn't believe in Saul's power to do anything about the situation. Instead, they sent out a general cry for help, a cry for a deliverer.
Like the Israelites throughout the Old Testament, we tolerate being help captive by sin way too much. As long as the sin doesn't seem to get in the way of our everyday lives, we allow ourselves to be enslaved by it. However, when our own sin gets us in trouble, we don't even turn to God, but turn to other things, feeling hopeless without recognizing the hope that God gives us.
THE DELIVERER
The good news is that a deliverer has come! Although in most of his reign Saul was a bad king, in this passage, Saul foreshadows how Jesus will deliver his people.
Humility and Obedience
It's unclear how much time passed between the anointing of Saul and this first mission of his, but either way, Saul went back to working his field after he was anointed! He didn't exercise his right as the king of Israel until God gave him the circumstances and the authority to do so. Saul didn't start making new laws, taxing citizens, or deporting illegal immigrants once he was in power. In fact, the people of Israel didn't even really recognize him as king yet because he needed to be reaffirmed as king after the battle! Instead, Saul waited until his calling as king became more clear (Israel never had a king before so he probably didn't know what he was supposed to do anyway).
Similarly, Jesus, though all-powerful and totally capable, did not start his ministry on earth as a child. He didn't start it as a teenager or even a young adult. Jesus waited for his time to come. Jesus lived as a regular guy, a common man, although he knew that he was the creator of all things, the king of all creation. In all things, Jesus was humble and only acted when the Father called him, doing nothing out of pride or arrogance.
Passion and Love for His People
When Saul heard about what Nahash threatened to do to his people, he went berserk, consumed by a righteous anger against those oppressing and humiliating God's people, the people the God had given him to protect. In his Super-Saiyan rage, Saul straight up butchered two oxen, gave it to his messengers, and told them to go to throughout Israel to "make 'em an offer they can't refuse." (An aside: How scary must it have been to be around Saul when he was going crazy?! Imagine a tall, handsome, usually reserved and humble individual going crazy and slaughtering two animals and tearing them up to shreds. Can you imagine if Jeffrey (for my NJers) or Bryan (for my UMers) was filled with righteous anger and took out a knife and started slicing up live oxen? Freakin scary.)
Jesus too cared about his people, and his love far surpasses that of Saul's. Instead of tearing apart the body of an ox, Jesus himself, the sacrificial lamb, had his body torn apart for us, the ultimate act of love. Jesus' anger was directed at sin and death itself, while towards people, even those who opposed and eventually crucified him, he showed compassion and forgiveness.
THE OUTCOME
Unification
Israel had previously been divided, with each tribe and city basically watching out for itself. God unites the country both militarily and in spirit through the adversity that they face. The passage says that the people "turned out as one man", which is a contrast to the description of the defeated Ammonites, who were "scattered, so that no two of them were left together." It is through unity that the church can battle the dark side, the Nahashes that attack the church.
Life, and life to the full
After the battle, Saul announced, "No one shall be put to death today, for this day the LORD rescued Israel." Saul's victory over the Ammonites and the grace he showed towards his opposition saved the lives of countless of God's people. However, Jesus not only delivers us from death and gives us life, he goes beyond it - "I have come so that they have life, and have it to the full (John 10:10)." The life that Jesus gives isn't just the lack of death, but it is an abundance of joy, love, and peace, and sugar, spice and everything nice. Saul delivered Israel from humiliation and captivity to freedom and life. Jesus did all that and more - he delivered us from death so we can enjoy everlasting life, and that life to the full.
THE DELIVERED
The city of Jabesh was under attack by the Ammonites, and they tried to cut a deal with them, offering themselves as subjects to the Ammonites in return for peace. The Israelites were fine with being under the rule of pagans, as long as they didn't have to suffer too much. They were fine with being help captive by a rival kingdom, when God had just gave the them a new king to oppose all other kingdoms. However, Nahash the Ammonite wanted more than the taxes and the servitude of the people; he wanted to humiliate the Israelites. The elders at Jabesh didn't cry out to God for deliverance. They didn't even call out to their new king (the one they asked for, remember?!) because they didn't believe in Saul's power to do anything about the situation. Instead, they sent out a general cry for help, a cry for a deliverer.
Like the Israelites throughout the Old Testament, we tolerate being help captive by sin way too much. As long as the sin doesn't seem to get in the way of our everyday lives, we allow ourselves to be enslaved by it. However, when our own sin gets us in trouble, we don't even turn to God, but turn to other things, feeling hopeless without recognizing the hope that God gives us.
“Instead of humbling themselves before God and confessing the sins that had brought them into trouble, they put God altogether aside, and basely offered to become the servants of the Ammonites . . . We see here the sad effect of sin and careless living in lowering men’s spirits, sapping courage, and discouraging noble effort. Oh, it is pitiable to see men tamely submitting to a vile master! Yet how often is the sight repeated! How often to men virtually say to the devil, ‘Make a covenant with us, and we will serve thee’!” (Balike)
THE DELIVERER
The good news is that a deliverer has come! Although in most of his reign Saul was a bad king, in this passage, Saul foreshadows how Jesus will deliver his people.
Humility and Obedience
It's unclear how much time passed between the anointing of Saul and this first mission of his, but either way, Saul went back to working his field after he was anointed! He didn't exercise his right as the king of Israel until God gave him the circumstances and the authority to do so. Saul didn't start making new laws, taxing citizens, or deporting illegal immigrants once he was in power. In fact, the people of Israel didn't even really recognize him as king yet because he needed to be reaffirmed as king after the battle! Instead, Saul waited until his calling as king became more clear (Israel never had a king before so he probably didn't know what he was supposed to do anyway).
Similarly, Jesus, though all-powerful and totally capable, did not start his ministry on earth as a child. He didn't start it as a teenager or even a young adult. Jesus waited for his time to come. Jesus lived as a regular guy, a common man, although he knew that he was the creator of all things, the king of all creation. In all things, Jesus was humble and only acted when the Father called him, doing nothing out of pride or arrogance.
Passion and Love for His People
When Saul heard about what Nahash threatened to do to his people, he went berserk, consumed by a righteous anger against those oppressing and humiliating God's people, the people the God had given him to protect. In his Super-Saiyan rage, Saul straight up butchered two oxen, gave it to his messengers, and told them to go to throughout Israel to "make 'em an offer they can't refuse." (An aside: How scary must it have been to be around Saul when he was going crazy?! Imagine a tall, handsome, usually reserved and humble individual going crazy and slaughtering two animals and tearing them up to shreds. Can you imagine if Jeffrey (for my NJers) or Bryan (for my UMers) was filled with righteous anger and took out a knife and started slicing up live oxen? Freakin scary.)
Jesus too cared about his people, and his love far surpasses that of Saul's. Instead of tearing apart the body of an ox, Jesus himself, the sacrificial lamb, had his body torn apart for us, the ultimate act of love. Jesus' anger was directed at sin and death itself, while towards people, even those who opposed and eventually crucified him, he showed compassion and forgiveness.
THE OUTCOME
Unification
Israel had previously been divided, with each tribe and city basically watching out for itself. God unites the country both militarily and in spirit through the adversity that they face. The passage says that the people "turned out as one man", which is a contrast to the description of the defeated Ammonites, who were "scattered, so that no two of them were left together." It is through unity that the church can battle the dark side, the Nahashes that attack the church.
Life, and life to the full
After the battle, Saul announced, "No one shall be put to death today, for this day the LORD rescued Israel." Saul's victory over the Ammonites and the grace he showed towards his opposition saved the lives of countless of God's people. However, Jesus not only delivers us from death and gives us life, he goes beyond it - "I have come so that they have life, and have it to the full (John 10:10)." The life that Jesus gives isn't just the lack of death, but it is an abundance of joy, love, and peace, and sugar, spice and everything nice. Saul delivered Israel from humiliation and captivity to freedom and life. Jesus did all that and more - he delivered us from death so we can enjoy everlasting life, and that life to the full.
Monday, July 26, 2010
1 Samuel 9, 10 - Sovereignty and Grace
God's sovereignty and God's grace are two themes that are often pointed to in the Old Testament. In 1 Samuel 9 and 10, God's grace is revealed through his sovereignty, as he works in the lives of Samuel and Saul and coming of Jesus is foreshadowed.
1) God's sovereignty and grace in present circumstances
God's sovereignty in this passage is first most obviously seen in his leading of Saul to Samuel, leading Saul on a three-day donkey chase. God was always in complete control of the situation and Samuel knew this, trusting God so much that he didn't even travel to the land of Benjamin, knowing that God would bring the person promised to him.
God's grace is demonstrated in how he lead Saul to Samuel. While God spoke directly to Samuel and told him of Saul's coming, he chose not to reach out to Saul the same way, using a more roundabout method of leading Saul using everyday circumstances. Saul's relationship with God probably was not as great as Samuel's relationship with God, and he probably wasn't in the habit of regularly talking to and hearing from God. Despite this, could God have spoken audibly to Saul to tell him to go meet Samuel? Sure, he could. But God chooses to meet us where we are and to use our imperfections and weaknesses rather than avoid them.
So when life seems frustrating and when it seems like God is sending you on wild goose chases, be encouraged. God is and will always be in control. Even though you don't know where your life is going or where God is leading you, know that he is always there and is always working for your good (Romans 8:28). The three days you spend frustrated searching for your donkeys will be totally worth it after you end up meeting Jesus and are crowned along with him.
Also, God can use you even if you're an ass. [Sorry, I had to. =P]
2) God's sovereignty and grace in his ultimate plan for redemption
Saul seemed like the king the Israelites had been asking for, the perfect king. Socially, he came from a well-known, well-respected family. Morally, he was respectful, humble almost to a fault, and radically obedient to his father (if my dad sent me on a 3-day hide-and-go-seek game with donkeys, I would probably run away from home). Physically, he was tall and handsome. According to Jewish tradition, Saul was also the ultimate lady's man:
Despite these physical and character traits, Saul would be later be consumed with pride and jealousy and rejected by God.
Saul being a crappy king didn't catch God off guard. God knew Saul's heart, and he knew from the beginning that all human kings would be sinful and imperfect. Luckily for his people, God is always in control and has in store for us a king greater than Saul, whom he has prepared for us before the beginning of time.
Like what Pastor Heald said yesterday, when the Israelites were begging for a king, they were actually crying out, "Show me Jesus", as Jesus is the only truly perfect king. There's no indication in the Bible of Jesus being tall or handsome, and it seemed like the only women he drew to himself were prostitutes and "sinners". Unlike Saul, Jesus came from a humble family, one that had been disowned by the community because of pre-marital pregnancy. While Jesus was not the king that the Jews expected, he is the king that all people desire. Unlike Saul, Jesus remains obedient to his heavenly Father. While Jesus didn't bring military victories like Saul did, Jesus conquered the unconquerable, death. While Saul was the fallen first king of Israel, Jesus is the ultimate, eternal king that can never be dethroned.
Long live the King.
1) God's sovereignty and grace in present circumstances
God's sovereignty in this passage is first most obviously seen in his leading of Saul to Samuel, leading Saul on a three-day donkey chase. God was always in complete control of the situation and Samuel knew this, trusting God so much that he didn't even travel to the land of Benjamin, knowing that God would bring the person promised to him.
God's grace is demonstrated in how he lead Saul to Samuel. While God spoke directly to Samuel and told him of Saul's coming, he chose not to reach out to Saul the same way, using a more roundabout method of leading Saul using everyday circumstances. Saul's relationship with God probably was not as great as Samuel's relationship with God, and he probably wasn't in the habit of regularly talking to and hearing from God. Despite this, could God have spoken audibly to Saul to tell him to go meet Samuel? Sure, he could. But God chooses to meet us where we are and to use our imperfections and weaknesses rather than avoid them.
So when life seems frustrating and when it seems like God is sending you on wild goose chases, be encouraged. God is and will always be in control. Even though you don't know where your life is going or where God is leading you, know that he is always there and is always working for your good (Romans 8:28). The three days you spend frustrated searching for your donkeys will be totally worth it after you end up meeting Jesus and are crowned along with him.
Also, God can use you even if you're an ass. [Sorry, I had to. =P]
2) God's sovereignty and grace in his ultimate plan for redemption
Saul seemed like the king the Israelites had been asking for, the perfect king. Socially, he came from a well-known, well-respected family. Morally, he was respectful, humble almost to a fault, and radically obedient to his father (if my dad sent me on a 3-day hide-and-go-seek game with donkeys, I would probably run away from home). Physically, he was tall and handsome. According to Jewish tradition, Saul was also the ultimate lady's man:
He was marvelously handsome; and the maidens who told him concerning Samuel (comp. I Sam. ix. 11-13) talked so long with him that they might observe his beauty the more (Ber. 48b). [src]
Despite these physical and character traits, Saul would be later be consumed with pride and jealousy and rejected by God.
Saul being a crappy king didn't catch God off guard. God knew Saul's heart, and he knew from the beginning that all human kings would be sinful and imperfect. Luckily for his people, God is always in control and has in store for us a king greater than Saul, whom he has prepared for us before the beginning of time.
Like what Pastor Heald said yesterday, when the Israelites were begging for a king, they were actually crying out, "Show me Jesus", as Jesus is the only truly perfect king. There's no indication in the Bible of Jesus being tall or handsome, and it seemed like the only women he drew to himself were prostitutes and "sinners". Unlike Saul, Jesus came from a humble family, one that had been disowned by the community because of pre-marital pregnancy. While Jesus was not the king that the Jews expected, he is the king that all people desire. Unlike Saul, Jesus remains obedient to his heavenly Father. While Jesus didn't bring military victories like Saul did, Jesus conquered the unconquerable, death. While Saul was the fallen first king of Israel, Jesus is the ultimate, eternal king that can never be dethroned.
Long live the King.
Pop the turtle!
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
1 Samuel 8: Rejecting the King
Israelites: God, all the other kids on the block have a king. We want one too. Pleasseeeee?
God: I am your king. Do you not want me as your king anymore?
Israelites: No. Can we please, please, please, please have a king?
God: A human king will only bring you strife and bad things like snakes on a plane. Are you sure you want
a king?
Israelites: We want a king!
God: A king will take your action figures without asking and break them. (v. 11)
Israelites: We still want a king!
God: He'll ask for your crayons and he'll draw pictures with some and stick the others up his nose. (v. 12)
Israelites: We still want a king!
God: He will take your Barbie dolls and draw on their faces, dress them up as ugly as possible, and throw
them down the toilet(v. 13). He will steal your lunch every day and share them with his friends (v. 14).
Then, he will steal your lunch money every day. and share it with his friends (v. 15). He will steal your
dog and her puppies (v. 16). He will make you do whatever he wants, and he will hit you if you don't
listen (v.17). Still want a king?
Israelites: Yes! We still want a king!
God: Okay, but don't come running back to me if the king is mean to you (which he will be)!
God: I am your king. Do you not want me as your king anymore?
Israelites: No. Can we please, please, please, please have a king?
God: A human king will only bring you strife and bad things like snakes on a plane. Are you sure you want
a king?
Israelites: We want a king!
God: A king will take your action figures without asking and break them. (v. 11)
Israelites: We still want a king!
God: He'll ask for your crayons and he'll draw pictures with some and stick the others up his nose. (v. 12)
Israelites: We still want a king!
God: He will take your Barbie dolls and draw on their faces, dress them up as ugly as possible, and throw
them down the toilet(v. 13). He will steal your lunch every day and share them with his friends (v. 14).
Then, he will steal your lunch money every day. and share it with his friends (v. 15). He will steal your
dog and her puppies (v. 16). He will make you do whatever he wants, and he will hit you if you don't
listen (v.17). Still want a king?
Israelites: Yes! We still want a king!
God: Okay, but don't come running back to me if the king is mean to you (which he will be)!
The sin of the Israelites in this passage isn't in asking for a king alone, but in rejecting the one that God had already provided, Himself. Despite God providing the perfect king, the Israelites are discontent and demand to have things their own way (Burger King!). It's like the Israelites are insisting on taking a medicine for a disease that they don't have that have the side affects of headaches, memory loss, loss of hair, obesity, and herpes. Totally not worth it, but they have convinced themselves that it is.
Though, as usual, the Israelites sound extremely stupid and brain-damaged, but we resemble them in our lives. Like the Israelites, we beg God for a lot of things, which isn't a bad thing in itself, but our mindsets are often wrong and we begin worshiping what we are praying for rather than who we are praying to. We often believe that the only we we can be happy is if we have a relationship, lots of money, a good career, etc. You can fill in the blank yourself. We tell God that who he is and what He's given us isn't enough to satisfy our heart's desires and that we need much more than what he's given us already. We tell him that what he's given us just isn't good enough and to keep us happy, he needs to start giving us more of what we want. In a sense, in our relationship with God, we are gold diggers.
The scary thing is that sometimes, God lets us have our human, fallen desires. Like the prodigal father, he grants us our heart's desire, even though our discontent is a slap to his face, and our plans are doomed to fail. God gives us boyfriends or girlfriends that never should have been, dating relationships that never should have happened. He gives us jobs that we begged for but that he didn't call us to, which result in disappointment. And he gave the Israelites a king. He gave them many kings. Most of them were evil, and none of them were faultless.
Be encouraged if you are obeying God but your life doesn't seem to be going where you want it to be going. If you are faithfully following God, your life is probably going where God wants it to be going, and he won't let your petty desires get in the way of using you and prospering you. God has a lot in store for us, and God hears our prayers and knows our hearts, so when he withholds certain things from us, we just need to sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride he's taking us on.
On the flip side, if you've dug yourself a hole, the good news is that despite our waywardness, God can use our crappy decisions and circumstances to bring himself glory. Although God desired to be the sole king of Israel, he used human kings, like David and Solomon, to point to the ultimate king to come, Jesus Christ. Although Jonah fled when God commanded him to preach to the Ninivites, God used his disobedience to save those on-board Jonah's ship. Even if you've said "my will, not yours" and veered off track from God's original calling for you, he can still use your current situation to bring him glory, if you let him.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
1 Samuel 7: Idols
So let's set the scene: The ark is returned after seven months in Philistine territory, where God wreaked havoc on every city the ark was in. After the Philistines decided they had enough, they returned the ark to the Israelites, with some gold for good measure. The Israelites were over-excited, and tried to look inside of the ark, to which God responded by killing 50,070 people Israelites.
The Israelites responded, and for twenty years, "all the people of Israel mourned and sought after the LORD." But it turns out, that after God had severely punished the Philistines for serving idols and the Israelites for disrespecting Him and twenty years to think about it, Israel had not yet gotten rid of their idols and were still serving foreign gods! Twenty years may sound like a short amount of time in a historical account such as 1 Samuel, but take a second and think about how long twenty years actually is for any individual. Twenty long years have passed, and the Israelites still haven't gotten rid of their idols! It wasn't until Samuel finally commanded them to rid themselves of idols (which I also bet he had done multiple times before) that Israel completely turned their sights on God.
Jonah 2:8
Those who cling to worthless idols
forfeit the grace that could be theirs.
"Those who cling to worthless idols"
A lot of times when we come to God, we come holding onto our idols that we refuse to get rid of. We come in front of the all-knowing God trying to hide them, like a child foolishly trying to hide things behind his back. We come to God hoping that he doesn't mind us cheating on him with the other gods in our heart, asking him to allow us to hold on to our idols. And sometimes he lets us. He let the Israelites hold onto theirs for twenty years, but it isn't until we genuinely burn those idols that we can come to God in full obedience with a clear conscience to accept the grace that he wants to give us. Keeping idols in our lives, we are often also too ashamed and guilty to want to confront God because engaging in relationship with God only brings out the filth inside of us, even though we know God knows the dirt we sweep under the rug anyway.
Getting rid of idols is hard. It sucks. We often need to destroy things that we have spent a long time making and have taken pride in. We need to adjust our priorities and the way we live our lives. Getting rid of idols isn't the one-time event of chopping down some Ashtoreth pole or burning Baal statues because our idols keep popping up, and we have to keep burning them down. Just ask the Israelites, even though they burn them down, for some reason those idols always reappear (Kings, Judges). I'm not great at burning idols, but luckily God's a pyromaniac that's always willing to lend a hand.
"forfeit the grace that could be theirs."
We are again presented with God's amazing grace that is so often overlooked in the Old Testament. The people were given twenty years to get rid of their idols by the holy and wrathful God, as we have just seen in chapter 6. Twenty years! Our human inadequacies are always overwhelmed by God's love and patience. Always. Not only did he rescue his people from the Philistines once, he delivered them for a lifetime.
"Throughout Samuel's lifetime, the hand of the LORD was against the Philistines. The towns from Ekron to Gath that the Philistines had captured from Israel were restored to her, and Israel delivered the neighboring territory from the power of the Philistines. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites."
Think about it. The Israelites had decades of disobedience, stop, burn their idols, don't eat for a little bit to pray, sacrifice one lamb as a nation, and God rewards them with a lifetime of peace and prosperity. At CMC 2004, they emphasized that you can never out-give God. How true. We give God a tiny little bit, and he rewards us a hundred-fold.
God has so much that he wants to do for us and give us, but we are too stubborn to cling on to worthless idols that we miss out on all that he has in store for us. We all have idols, and we need to think how those idols have been holding us back.
On the chapter heading:
On a somewhat unrelated note, in the NIV Bible, the header for this section is "Samuel Subdues the Philistines at Mizpah", which couldn't be more misleading. Despite the obvious fact that all battles won were because of help from God, this header makes it seem like Samuel himself used his walking stick (that all prophets seemed to have) and went Yoda on the Philistines, using kung fu and somersaults to physically "subdue the Philistines." I usually like the NIV headers because they make passages easier to find, but this one is just straight up misleading.
1 Samuel 5, 6 - Don't mess with God
1 Samuel 4 - Continued Disobedience and Using God
1 Samuel 3 - Midnight Encounter with God
1 Samuel 2 - For those stumbling
1 Samuel 1 - "Because I asked the Lord for him"
Thursday, July 8, 2010
1 Samuel 5, 6: Don't mess with God.
This passage is quite familiar to me and the images of drawings of this passage from the Picture Bible are still vivid in my head. I can still see the image of this giant mermaid idol Dagan flat on the ground, broken into pieces in front of the ark of God. I love this story because we often like to treat God like a giant fluffy teddy bear (someone like a pre-fall Lotso from Toy Story 3) that will accept us despite our brokenness (which he will), and we forget just how awesome (in the awe-some sense of the word) and powerful God is. If it's not too sacrilegious to say, God is totally BA in this passage. In this passage, I can imagine God saying to himself something like this:
"Philistines don't want to respect me and make me share a temple with this poser Dagan, whom they call "Lord of the gods"? Man, don't the Philistines know that I totally trademarked that name centuries ago? These fools don't know who they're messin with. Imma tip this little fella over and see what happens...They picked him up again?! I'll just push him a little harder this time...oops..broke his head, arms, and fishy tail by accident...Aww they don't want me here next to their pwecious little Dagan anymore and are moving me to another city. Why don't they just treat me like the powerful God that I am instead of pretending I'm just some mere symbol? I know...I'm going to make them an offer they cannot refuse: Return the ark to my people, or TUMORS AND RATS. Your move, Philistines."
God demands respect. God demands obedience. God's holiness and power should cause us to fall down and worship him, like Dagan did. Our God is not a God to mess with, as the Egyptians, Philistines, Persians, Babylonians, Assyrians, Romans, Nazis, and Islamic extremists have painfully discovered. It's kind of funny thinking about it because the Egyptians, Jordanians (Canaanites, Edomites), and Syrians (Assyrians) never learned their lesson and got their butts kicked again by God's Chosen People in the Six-day War in 1967. They never learn.
God's Justice
The thing that struck me this time around that I haven't seen before is the justice of God demonstrated in the punishment of the Israelites. Sometimes when we read the Old Testament, it really seems like God is always in favor of the Israel, because those seem to be all the stories that we remember. When we think about God and the Israelites, we like to remember all the warm, fuzzy stories like Moses and the Exodus, Joshua and Jericho, and David and Goliath but we immediately don't think about the punishments the Israelites suffer for their sin, like "the earth opened up its mouth and swallowed them, with their housholds and all Korah's men and all their possessions (Numbers 16:32)", Joshua's stoning of Achan and burning of his family for the Ai fiasco, and the death of David's firstborn for murdering a soldier and quid pro quo-ing his wife.
God does not show favoritism. Contrary to popular belief (and practice), Christianity and the Christian God is not about racism or putting one ethnicity or peoples above another. God's justice is painfully demonstrated in the passage, with an extremely severe punishment of all who disrespected His ark. God is less tolerant with the sin of the Israelites because they really should know better than to try and look inside the holy ark of God. This passage is a confirmation of the first part of Romans 2:9-10, that God's chosen people are held to a higher standard. This is God's justice.
The moral of the story is that as Christians, we should never just assume that we can treat God however we want. He has demonstrated grace beyond grace, but we serve a God that also demands fear and obedience. God is unpredictable, in both his grace and his discipline - as said in Narnia, God is not a tame lion.
It all really makes me think: DAM, GOD. YOU SCARY (in the best possible way ever).
"Philistines don't want to respect me and make me share a temple with this poser Dagan, whom they call "Lord of the gods"? Man, don't the Philistines know that I totally trademarked that name centuries ago? These fools don't know who they're messin with. Imma tip this little fella over and see what happens...They picked him up again?! I'll just push him a little harder this time...oops..broke his head, arms, and fishy tail by accident...Aww they don't want me here next to their pwecious little Dagan anymore and are moving me to another city. Why don't they just treat me like the powerful God that I am instead of pretending I'm just some mere symbol? I know...I'm going to make them an offer they cannot refuse: Return the ark to my people, or TUMORS AND RATS. Your move, Philistines."
God demands respect. God demands obedience. God's holiness and power should cause us to fall down and worship him, like Dagan did. Our God is not a God to mess with, as the Egyptians, Philistines, Persians, Babylonians, Assyrians, Romans, Nazis, and Islamic extremists have painfully discovered. It's kind of funny thinking about it because the Egyptians, Jordanians (Canaanites, Edomites), and Syrians (Assyrians) never learned their lesson and got their butts kicked again by God's Chosen People in the Six-day War in 1967. They never learn.
God's Justice
The thing that struck me this time around that I haven't seen before is the justice of God demonstrated in the punishment of the Israelites. Sometimes when we read the Old Testament, it really seems like God is always in favor of the Israel, because those seem to be all the stories that we remember. When we think about God and the Israelites, we like to remember all the warm, fuzzy stories like Moses and the Exodus, Joshua and Jericho, and David and Goliath but we immediately don't think about the punishments the Israelites suffer for their sin, like "the earth opened up its mouth and swallowed them, with their housholds and all Korah's men and all their possessions (Numbers 16:32)", Joshua's stoning of Achan and burning of his family for the Ai fiasco, and the death of David's firstborn for murdering a soldier and quid pro quo-ing his wife.
God does not show favoritism. Contrary to popular belief (and practice), Christianity and the Christian God is not about racism or putting one ethnicity or peoples above another. God's justice is painfully demonstrated in the passage, with an extremely severe punishment of all who disrespected His ark. God is less tolerant with the sin of the Israelites because they really should know better than to try and look inside the holy ark of God. This passage is a confirmation of the first part of Romans 2:9-10, that God's chosen people are held to a higher standard. This is God's justice.
The moral of the story is that as Christians, we should never just assume that we can treat God however we want. He has demonstrated grace beyond grace, but we serve a God that also demands fear and obedience. God is unpredictable, in both his grace and his discipline - as said in Narnia, God is not a tame lion.
It all really makes me think: DAM, GOD. YOU SCARY (in the best possible way ever).
The extent of my holy fear (and humility) never ceases to amaze me.......just kidding.
1 Samuel 4 - Continued Disobedience and Using God
1 Samuel 3 - Midnight Encounter with God
1 Samuel 2 - For those stumbling
1 Samuel 1 - "Because I asked the Lord for him"
Thursday, July 1, 2010
1 Samuel 4: Continued Disobedience and Using God
2 John 1:6
Continued disobedience to God results in a broken relationship with Him and makes us lose sight of who He is.
After Samuel's message from God to Eli, decades pass, but it doesn't seem like Eli or his sons have changed. Eli's sons are still wild, being two of the people who basically stole the ark from the temple. Though Eli's role in this is all unknown, he has failed both as a father of two wayward sons and a leader of a rebellious nation. After Samuel's prophecy about Eli and his family, Eli seems unmotivated to change his ways and his sons' behavior. We've seen God's mercy in the Old Testament, where God condemns cities or individuals but after sincere repentence of the condemend sparing their lives. Eli didn't bother to ask God for forgiveness or beg Him to change his mind. Eli seemed resigned, saying merely, "He is the Lord; let him do what is good in his eyes", which to me almost seems like Eli is saying, "Whatever...do whatever you want."
The Israelites forgot who God was. They forgot that He is all-powerful and strong enough to help them defeat the Philistines, they forgot that He is loving and willing to help his chosen people, but above all, they forgot that He is holy, and that all sinners who come in contact with His holy presence embodied by the ark of the covenant will die. To them, God was confined inside the walls of the ark, not an all-powerful ever-present God who would strike down all who disrespected his holy ark.
When we lose sight of who God is, we try to use God for our own selfish desires.
When we lose sight of who God is, we lose sight of who we really are. Instead of recognizing our continual dependence on Him, we rely on ourselves and demand His intervention whenever we run into a little bit of trouble. Although it is easy to condemn the Israelites for attempting to use God's power and presence for their own salvation without desiring relationship, we often do the same in our own lives. We slack in our personal lives, falling into continual obedience, and act like spoiled children and demand God's blessing when life gets tough.
What makes using God and relying on God different? Here are some thoughts:
Using God stems from pride.
There might be a fine line sometimes between relying on God and using God in any one situation, but looking at our life as a whole, it's easy to see where our heart really is. Relying on God comes from a posture of humility because we can't do anything on our own. We rely on God for the big things and the little things. On the other hand, when we use God, we treat him as a car repairman, giving him our life only so he can make it better and wanting it back again. We often communicate "Hey God. I know you're out there and all-powerful. You love me. I know you do. I have this thing in my life that I really don't know what to do or how to deal with it. Can you fix it for me? After you do fix it though, I want it back. Thanks." This all stems for a belief that we can take care of most of life by ourselves. God isn't needed in life most of the time, and we only need Him once in a while, so that's why we only pray every once in a while.
Using God implies selfish prayers.
When we use God, our prayers are for ourselves. Like the Israelites, they had only themselves in mind. Our heart isn't in line with God's heart, and we are too focused on the trials and troubles that we are currently going through and we miss the bigger picture of God's heart for the whole world. In 1 Samuel 4, there is no real indication of why the Israelites were fighting the Philistines. Maybe they were being attacked, maybe they were attacking. We don't really know. However, I can say with certainty that if God had commanded his people to go out and fight, they would not have lost and would not have needed to go steal the ark. The Israelites were living life by themselves and for themselves, and their demand of God to give them a victory in battle stems from selfishness.
Using God lacks praise.
When we use God, we feel entitled to whatever we are asking of Him. God is gracious and often gives us what we desire, no matter how foolish our desires may be. When we use God, we fail to worship him with our lives. Sure, we may praise him in the moment, but we don't praise him with our lives. This of course is very general, and I know of situations where God used a selfish ambition to reveal His power and love and bring their hearts back to Him. However, many times when we come to God with our vending machine prayers ("Hi God. I would like A6, good grades please. Oh and B7, that girl"), when He gives us what we asked for, our pride blinds us to his work and we claim it for our own ("I'm a good-looking genius. Good grades and girls are my own accomplishment.")
I know that a lot of stuff written here is pretty harsh and uncomfortable to identify with, but the reality is that everyone struggles with it. I struggle with continued disobedience and I struggle with selfish prayers. We all do. If we can learn anything from the Israelites in 1 Samuel 4, we should know that if Jesus hadn't died for our sins, we would end up like them: sinful and dead.
Also, don't be like Eli. He was weaksauce and stubborn. Here's a lesson: continued disobedience makes you old, blind, fat, and clumsy enough to die by falling out of a chair.
And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.John 15:9,10
As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love.
Continued disobedience to God results in a broken relationship with Him and makes us lose sight of who He is.
After Samuel's message from God to Eli, decades pass, but it doesn't seem like Eli or his sons have changed. Eli's sons are still wild, being two of the people who basically stole the ark from the temple. Though Eli's role in this is all unknown, he has failed both as a father of two wayward sons and a leader of a rebellious nation. After Samuel's prophecy about Eli and his family, Eli seems unmotivated to change his ways and his sons' behavior. We've seen God's mercy in the Old Testament, where God condemns cities or individuals but after sincere repentence of the condemend sparing their lives. Eli didn't bother to ask God for forgiveness or beg Him to change his mind. Eli seemed resigned, saying merely, "He is the Lord; let him do what is good in his eyes", which to me almost seems like Eli is saying, "Whatever...do whatever you want."
The Israelites forgot who God was. They forgot that He is all-powerful and strong enough to help them defeat the Philistines, they forgot that He is loving and willing to help his chosen people, but above all, they forgot that He is holy, and that all sinners who come in contact with His holy presence embodied by the ark of the covenant will die. To them, God was confined inside the walls of the ark, not an all-powerful ever-present God who would strike down all who disrespected his holy ark.
When we lose sight of who God is, we try to use God for our own selfish desires.
When we lose sight of who God is, we lose sight of who we really are. Instead of recognizing our continual dependence on Him, we rely on ourselves and demand His intervention whenever we run into a little bit of trouble. Although it is easy to condemn the Israelites for attempting to use God's power and presence for their own salvation without desiring relationship, we often do the same in our own lives. We slack in our personal lives, falling into continual obedience, and act like spoiled children and demand God's blessing when life gets tough.
What makes using God and relying on God different? Here are some thoughts:
Using God stems from pride.
There might be a fine line sometimes between relying on God and using God in any one situation, but looking at our life as a whole, it's easy to see where our heart really is. Relying on God comes from a posture of humility because we can't do anything on our own. We rely on God for the big things and the little things. On the other hand, when we use God, we treat him as a car repairman, giving him our life only so he can make it better and wanting it back again. We often communicate "Hey God. I know you're out there and all-powerful. You love me. I know you do. I have this thing in my life that I really don't know what to do or how to deal with it. Can you fix it for me? After you do fix it though, I want it back. Thanks." This all stems for a belief that we can take care of most of life by ourselves. God isn't needed in life most of the time, and we only need Him once in a while, so that's why we only pray every once in a while.
Using God implies selfish prayers.
When we use God, our prayers are for ourselves. Like the Israelites, they had only themselves in mind. Our heart isn't in line with God's heart, and we are too focused on the trials and troubles that we are currently going through and we miss the bigger picture of God's heart for the whole world. In 1 Samuel 4, there is no real indication of why the Israelites were fighting the Philistines. Maybe they were being attacked, maybe they were attacking. We don't really know. However, I can say with certainty that if God had commanded his people to go out and fight, they would not have lost and would not have needed to go steal the ark. The Israelites were living life by themselves and for themselves, and their demand of God to give them a victory in battle stems from selfishness.
Using God lacks praise.
When we use God, we feel entitled to whatever we are asking of Him. God is gracious and often gives us what we desire, no matter how foolish our desires may be. When we use God, we fail to worship him with our lives. Sure, we may praise him in the moment, but we don't praise him with our lives. This of course is very general, and I know of situations where God used a selfish ambition to reveal His power and love and bring their hearts back to Him. However, many times when we come to God with our vending machine prayers ("Hi God. I would like A6, good grades please. Oh and B7, that girl"), when He gives us what we asked for, our pride blinds us to his work and we claim it for our own ("I'm a good-looking genius. Good grades and girls are my own accomplishment.")
I know that a lot of stuff written here is pretty harsh and uncomfortable to identify with, but the reality is that everyone struggles with it. I struggle with continued disobedience and I struggle with selfish prayers. We all do. If we can learn anything from the Israelites in 1 Samuel 4, we should know that if Jesus hadn't died for our sins, we would end up like them: sinful and dead.
Also, don't be like Eli. He was weaksauce and stubborn. Here's a lesson: continued disobedience makes you old, blind, fat, and clumsy enough to die by falling out of a chair.
Monday, June 28, 2010
1 Samuel 3: Midnight Encounter with God
Background of these 1 Samuel posts: I'm reading through 1 Samuel with Cory and Kelli, my small group leader and helper, over the summer to prepare ourselves for small group Bible studies this next semester. We read two chapters a week, and this week, we read 1 Samuel 3 and 4.
Yesterday, life took a difficult turn. I went to bed disappointed, a bit sad, and very anxious. I normally fall asleep immediately, but not surprisingly, it took me a little longer than usual to fall asleep. The strange thing is that I woke up in the middle of the night, which never ever happens, thinking and worrying about life. I tried to pray about it, but it was difficult letting go and giving everything over to God. Like Samuel, God spoke to me, lying in bed in the middle of the night. God told me: "You can either trust me or not trust me. You decide." As Christians, we often create little grey areas for ourselves to justify and rationalize our doubts and selfishness, but when God puts it in those terms, I have no choice but to respond by putting my trust in Him.
God has taught me a lot about trusting him these past years. Recognizing God's sovereignty and love has been a constant encouragement that as long as I remain in Him by obeying his commands, God's will is done in my life, and I can be confident that his will in my life will always be the best for me. Trusting in God has given me unparalleled peace, even in the worst circumstances. It also seems like whenever I get closer to God, my circumstances become terrible. Though I'm confused by this, I press on in the knowledge and hope that God is always working for my good and has plans only to prosper me.
Like Samuel, God has been speaking to me recently in many different ways. Reading the Word has been extremely fruitful, as God is giving me passages that really relate to my life and is opening my eyes to the things he wants me to see. Here are some verses that God has given me today:
Proverbs 13:12 (NKJV)
Yesterday, life took a difficult turn. I went to bed disappointed, a bit sad, and very anxious. I normally fall asleep immediately, but not surprisingly, it took me a little longer than usual to fall asleep. The strange thing is that I woke up in the middle of the night, which never ever happens, thinking and worrying about life. I tried to pray about it, but it was difficult letting go and giving everything over to God. Like Samuel, God spoke to me, lying in bed in the middle of the night. God told me: "You can either trust me or not trust me. You decide." As Christians, we often create little grey areas for ourselves to justify and rationalize our doubts and selfishness, but when God puts it in those terms, I have no choice but to respond by putting my trust in Him.
God has taught me a lot about trusting him these past years. Recognizing God's sovereignty and love has been a constant encouragement that as long as I remain in Him by obeying his commands, God's will is done in my life, and I can be confident that his will in my life will always be the best for me. Trusting in God has given me unparalleled peace, even in the worst circumstances. It also seems like whenever I get closer to God, my circumstances become terrible. Though I'm confused by this, I press on in the knowledge and hope that God is always working for my good and has plans only to prosper me.
Like Samuel, God has been speaking to me recently in many different ways. Reading the Word has been extremely fruitful, as God is giving me passages that really relate to my life and is opening my eyes to the things he wants me to see. Here are some verses that God has given me today:
Proverbs 13:12 (NKJV)
Hope deferred makes the heart sick,Jonah 4:9-10 (NIV)
But when the desire comes, it is a tree of life
But God said to Jonah, "Do you have a right to be angry about the vine?"Job 1:20 (NIV)
"I do," he said. "I am angry enough to die."
But the LORD said, "You have been concerned about this vine, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight.
The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away;
may the name of the LORD be praised."
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
1 Samuel 2: For those stumbling
1 Samuel 2:4
When I read this verse, I immediately thought of Court McGee, who just won the Ultimate Fighter last Saturday. In his post-fight interview, he broke down while saying "I want to dedicate this fight to anybody who's struggling today. I love you all!" A little background on Court: a few years back, he was addicted to drugs and eventually overdosed, and he was clinically dead at one point. He fought through it, went to rehab, straightened his life, and has now just landed a UFC contract. You can watch the fight here. (The post-fight interview is at around 8:50).
Court's outburst of emotion reminded me of another man who was beaten, knocked down, taken down, and hit in the face in every literal and figurative way imaginable, but fought hard and he came out on top. He has dedicated his life for all those struggling, that when we fall, he lifts us up back on our feet with heads held high, knowing that it is because we are loved that Jesus died for us.
If you are struggling today, Jesus loves you. If you've been stumbling, know that however strange it may seem, God arms all who have stumbled with strength. Keep your head up, your arms high - God has already won the battle.
"The bows of the warrior are broken,This verse jumped out at me when I read Hannah's prayer. For all you out there who stumble, this is the verse for you. How strange the Scripture says that those who stumble are empowered, when in my experience stumbling in life causes shame, guilt, and an overall sense of powerlessness, not strength! When the devil succeeds in his temptations, get back up and continue to fight on. This verse has greatly encouraged me, reminding me that God is my strength, no matter how righteous I am.
but those who stumbled are armed with strength."
When I read this verse, I immediately thought of Court McGee, who just won the Ultimate Fighter last Saturday. In his post-fight interview, he broke down while saying "I want to dedicate this fight to anybody who's struggling today. I love you all!" A little background on Court: a few years back, he was addicted to drugs and eventually overdosed, and he was clinically dead at one point. He fought through it, went to rehab, straightened his life, and has now just landed a UFC contract. You can watch the fight here. (The post-fight interview is at around 8:50).
Court's outburst of emotion reminded me of another man who was beaten, knocked down, taken down, and hit in the face in every literal and figurative way imaginable, but fought hard and he came out on top. He has dedicated his life for all those struggling, that when we fall, he lifts us up back on our feet with heads held high, knowing that it is because we are loved that Jesus died for us.
If you are struggling today, Jesus loves you. If you've been stumbling, know that however strange it may seem, God arms all who have stumbled with strength. Keep your head up, your arms high - God has already won the battle.
1 Samuel 1: "Because I asked the Lord for him"
Hannah joyfully accepts the gift of a son that God has given to her with gratitude and a new understanding of God's grace. In the NIV Bible, it says that "Samuel" sounded like the Hebrew for "heard of God" so even though the sentence may at first glance sound prideful, but the focus of Hannah was on the grace of God, not on her own asking.
There are many things in my life that I want that I have never brought to the Lord for whatever reason, but Hannah's joy in knowing that God responded to her prayers really makes me want to eventually be able to say "..because I asked the Lord for it." Not only is this a reflection of reliance on God, it's a response to the command to pray, jumping on God's bandwagon to advance His kingdom. I want to be a part of God's plan' I want to make a difference, so I need to pray more.
Two observations on prayer and asking God for things:
We don't receive because we don't ask.
Don't get me wrong. If you ask, there's no guarantee that you will receive what you're asking for. However the Word is quite clear that "if you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer" (Matthew 21:22). Our hearts need to be aligned with God's heart, but many times even for the noble and righteous things we are hesitant to pray. How often do we pray for the salvation of friends or the healing of broken relationships? God can also use prayer to mold our hearts and often to convict us to be the answer to our prayers.
God promises us that he answers prayers. Why do we doubt him so much? Has God really let you down before? We doubt God's faithfulness and love when we fail to bring things to him in prayer, forgetting just how much he loves us and desires our joy and pleasure.
Luke 11:9-13
"So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
"Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"
We aren't grateful when we do receive because we didn't ask
Despite our failure to pray, God still pours out blessings for us, whether or not we asked for it, but because we didn't ask, we take those blessings for granted. This seems a little bit counterintuitive, because it would seem like we should be even more grateful because we should be able to see God's grace clearer, as we never asked for what we received. The sad reality is that we become like spoiled children, feeling entitled to the world and failing to recognize that all the wonderful things in life are blessings from God.
When we ask God, we are recognizing his sovereignty and resigning our will to His, that when we do receive, there is no reaction fitting but to praise Him. Because we often don't ask, we don't bother to wonder where our blessings are, forgetting that "every good and perfect gift is from above" (James 1:17).
To sum it all up: don't be afraid to ask God for anything, and remember to praise God for everything.
Despite our failure to pray, God still pours out blessings for us, whether or not we asked for it, but because we didn't ask, we take those blessings for granted. This seems a little bit counterintuitive, because it would seem like we should be even more grateful because we should be able to see God's grace clearer, as we never asked for what we received. The sad reality is that we become like spoiled children, feeling entitled to the world and failing to recognize that all the wonderful things in life are blessings from God.
When we ask God, we are recognizing his sovereignty and resigning our will to His, that when we do receive, there is no reaction fitting but to praise Him. Because we often don't ask, we don't bother to wonder where our blessings are, forgetting that "every good and perfect gift is from above" (James 1:17).
To sum it all up: don't be afraid to ask God for anything, and remember to praise God for everything.
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