Choices

Read the following passage:
 ¹² Eli’s sons were scoundrels; they had no regard for the LORD. ¹³ Now it was the practice of the priests that, whenever any of the people offered a sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come with a three-pronged fork in his hand while the meat was being boiled ¹⁴ and would plunge the fork into the pan or kettle or caldron or pot. Whatever the fork brought up the priest would take for himself. This is how they treated all the Israelites who came to Shiloh. ¹⁵ But even before the fat was burned, the priest’s servant would come and say to the person who was sacrificing, “Give the priest some meat to roast; he won’t accept boiled meat from you, but only raw.”
 ¹⁶ If the person said to him, “Let the fat be burned first, and then take whatever you want,” the servant would answer, “No, hand it over now; if you don’t, I’ll take it by force.”
 ¹⁷ This sin of the young men was very great in the LORD’s sight, for they were treating the LORD’s offering with contempt.
 ¹⁸ But Samuel was ministering before the LORD—a boy wearing a linen ephod. (1 Samuel 2:12-18, New International Version, ©2011),
and realized that despite living in a wicked household, children are still responsible for choosing correct behavior no matter the environment. Behavior is a choice.

The punch-line is the 18th verse and begins with the word, “but.”

 ¹⁸ But Samuel was ministering before the LORD—a boy wearing a linen ephod. (1 Samuel 2:18, New International Version, ©2011)

Despite what was going on all around him, despite being fostered by a man of God who raised wicked children and didn’t bother to discipline them, Samuel lived out his life in the “but” even though he was no more than 3 years old when he was dedicated to the Lord and when to live with Eli. Wow.

It ain’t what mommy, daddy, auntie, uncle did or didn’t do, it is what did you chose to do.

This came the day after reading this out of the book of Ruth:

 ¹ Meanwhile Boaz went up to the town gate and sat down there just as the guardian-redeemer he had mentioned came along. Boaz said, “Come over here, my friend, and sit down.” So he went over and sat down.
 ² Boaz took ten of the elders of the town and said, “Sit here,” and they did so. ³ Then he said to the guardian-redeemer, “Naomi, who has come back from Moab, is selling the piece of land that belonged to our relative Elimelek. ⁴ I thought I should bring the matter to your attention and suggest that you buy it in the presence of these seated here and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, do so. But if you will not, tell me, so I will know. For no one has the right to do it except you, and I am next in line.”
   “I will redeem it,” he said.
 ⁵ Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the land from Naomi, you also acquire Ruth the Moabite, the dead man’s widow, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property.”
 ⁶ At this, the guardian-redeemer said, “Then I cannot redeem it because I might endanger my own estate. You redeem it yourself. I cannot do it.” (Ruth 4:1-6, New International Version, ©2011)

The “other” kinsman redeemer, or the guardian-redeemer which represents Christ, was trying to preserves his physical legacy so he declined to “redeem Naomi, and thus Ruth, from out of their poverty because he wanted to preserve his natural legacy forgetting about another spiritual legacy that was greater. The “true” legacy had to pass through Ruth so he lost what really mattered.

How often do I, do we, make the mistake of “trading” what is truth and thus everlasting, for the temporal that will fade away?

Whose Voice?

11 Samuel 24-25:44

Two people; a married couple; Nabal and Abigail; both heard the same “news” about David’s flight from Saul, both were God’s people but one was not of God. Nabal was a descendent of Calab, a mighty warrior of strong faith, yet Nabal had none and didn’t take up his legacy. . Nabal had no spiritual insight [1 Samuel 25:4-11], but Abagail did [1 Samuel 25:15-19] . Nabal couldn’t recognize God’s protection; Abigail did [1 Samuel 25:23-31]

Jesus said,

 ^22-24They were celebrating Hanukkah just then in Jerusalem. It was winter. Jesus was strolling in the Temple across Solomon's Porch. The Jews, circling him, said, "How long are you going to keep us guessing? If you're the Messiah, tell us straight out."

 ^25-30Jesus answered, "I told you, but you don't believe. Everything I have done has been authorized by my Father, actions that speak louder than words. You don't believe because you're not my sheep. My sheep recognize my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them real and eternal life. They are protected from the Destroyer for good. No one can steal them from out of my hand. The Father who put them under my care is so much greater than the Destroyer and Thief. No one could ever get them away from him. I and the Father are one heart and mind." (John 10:24-30, The Message).

God's people know God's ways, actions and voice even before they know God in the present, they have known Him in their heart.

Fighting God and Wrestling with Puzzlement

1 Samuel 20-21:1

I’ve always wrestled with the passages that deal with the conflict David, and especially Jonathan, had with king Saul.  Why was this written for, what direction do they give us?  I see so many things in these passages of struggle, friendship based on true trust and loyalty between two people all based on both parties trusting in God.  I also see loyalty between son to father; however, not between father and son. 

I wrestle with the person who knows their God and who maintains strong ties with those who don’t; especially when one knows one of your close relationships is trying to take out- to “kill”-someone who is godly.  Jonathan, because of his close relationship with God, knew David was God’s ordained man.  He also knew his father; the king of Israel had lost his kingly anointing to be king.  Saul was king politically, but not heavenly. 

1 Samuel 20:30-31 AMP  Then Saul's anger was kindled against Jonathan and he said to him, You son of a perverse, rebellious woman, do not I know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your own shame and to the shame of your mother who bore you?  (31)  For as long as the son of Jesse lives upon the earth, you shall not be established nor shall your kingdom. So now send and bring him to me, for he shall surely die.

Saul was fighting against God, a losing battle; however:    

1 Samuel 13:13-14 NIV  "You acted foolishly," Samuel said. "You have not kept the command the LORD your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time.  (14)  But now your kingdom will not endure; the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his people, because you have not kept the LORD's command."

Jonathan knew the will of God and accepted it. Why hang out with people, family or non-family members, who you know are fighting against the will of God? 

1 Samuel 23:16-17 NIV  And Saul's son Jonathan went to David at Horesh and helped him find strength in God.  (17)  "Don't be afraid," he said. "My father Saul will not lay a hand on you. You will be king over Israel, and I will be second to you. Even my father Saul knows this."

Whose Cloak - Your Cloak or God's Cloak

1 Samuel 17-18:4

Are you wearing a “cloak” of insecurity and self-doubt because you don’t believe what God says about you?  Or, are you wearing the “cloak” God gave you.  A “cloak” woven with promises and certainties about whom you really are because God, as your creator, knows what you are made of.

Saul and his entire army saw Goliath’s size and heard his taunts then looked at themselves compared to the giant,  Goliath and stood wanting. Saul was more concerned about appearances because he cared only for what others thought of him. It appears from today’s text that insecurity about who and what you are leads to the concern of appearing as if you are in charge instead of being in charge.

You run out in your armor, you shake your spear, pull down the face piece on your helmet and you march out to the battle line, but go no further.     Insecurity leads to lust, the desire to benefit self at the expense of others.  Unable and unwilling to do the work to take down the enemy that taunts you, you try to enlist others by promising rewards.  In other words, you drum up a posse and feign outrage and disgust, appealing to the emotions and pocket books of those you supposedly lead.

1 Samuel 17:24-25 NLT  As soon as the Israelite army saw him, they began to run away in fright.  (25)  "Have you seen the giant?" the men asked. "He comes out each day to defy Israel. The king has offered a huge reward to anyone who kills him. He will give that man one of his daughters for a wife, and the man's entire family will be exempted from paying taxes!"

But David, secure in his knowledge of himself and his abilities, the ones he discovered while tending his father’s sheep and goats, knows who he is because he knows his God.  Know God, know yourself; don’t know God, don’t know yourself.

1 Samuel 17:33-37 MSG  Saul answered David, "You can't go and fight this Philistine. You're too young and inexperienced--and he's been at this fighting business since before you were born."  (34)  David said, "I've been a shepherd, tending sheep for my father. Whenever a lion or bear came and took a lamb from the flock,  (35)  I'd go after it, knock it down, and rescue the lamb. If it turned on me, I'd grab it by the throat, wring its neck, and kill it.  (36)  Lion or bear, it made no difference--I killed it. And I'll do the same to this Philistine pig who is taunting the troops of God-Alive.  (37)  GOD, who delivered me from the teeth of the lion and the claws of the bear, will deliver me from this Philistine." Saul said, "Go. And GOD help you!"

David’s response shows many things, among them

1)   David loved the animals he took care of; Saul didn’t love the men he led into battle, more correctly, pretending to lead into battle; however, he did love himself more than any other in the face of his insecurity.

2)   David was willing to risk his life to protect the animals he had charge over; Saul was willing to risk the lives of his men before he himself faced Israel’s enemies.

3)   In going up against the lion and bears, David strengthened his faith “muscles” at each and every encounter.  He also knew from each encounter that it was not his strength that defeated the lion and bears but it was God’s strength; Saul never “tested” God’s intervening strength during the forty days Goliath stepped out morning and night, delivering his challenge. 

a.   I’m a new exerciser (Feb. 2006).  When I first began, I l could only do 15 minutes and took an hour to recover—I also continued by faith, believing that the future benefits of my exercise sessions would benefit my type II diabetes, high blood pressure and cholesterol.  I can know do a three hr session taking less than 15 minutes to recover.  When I first began my body spoke to me, telling me “You’re going to die, you’re going to kill us, now stop it.”  Yet, I heard God’s still small voice telling me to go on.

4)   David, having dwelled in God’s presence, knew that God was always with him; Saul didn’t know that he was in the presence of God while speaking with David because he never took the time to dwell with God.

There are probably many more things to discern when looking at the David and Saul responses when challenged by an imposing, powerful and loud advisory but I’ll leave that for you to discover. So go fish.   

Who Am I?

1 Samuel 15-16:23

Luke 19:26 NIV  "He replied, 'I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away.

I’ve always wondered how you can take something away from someone who doesn’t have anything.  I’ve quoted this verse that is stated by Jesus after he tells a Parable (Luke 19:12-25) and I’ve been reading this book long enough to know that whatever God, Jesus, Paul, etc. make a statement that points to a behavior pattern, lifestyle, or way of thought somewhere there is a “real life” example within the Words of God and today I’ve found it in the Old Testament scriptures regarding king Saul. 

Saul’s response to Samuel when told,

  “…And to whom is all the desire of Israel turned, if not to you and all your father's family?"

gives the first hint of how Saul say himself in his response to Samuel,

1 Samuel 9:21 NIV  Saul answered, "But am I not a Benjamite, from the smallest tribe of Israel, and is not my clan the least of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin? Why do you say such a thing to me?"

When Samuel went to proclaim Saul king in front of all of Israel, Saul went and hid among the baggage,

1 Samuel 10:20-24 NIV  When Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, the tribe of Benjamin was chosen.  (21)  Then he brought forward the tribe of Benjamin, clan by clan, and Matri's clan was chosen. Finally Saul son of Kish was chosen. But when they looked for him, he was not to be found.  (22)  So they inquired further of the LORD, "Has the man come here yet?" And the LORD said, "Yes, he has hidden himself among the baggage."  (23)  They ran and brought him out, and as he stood among the people he was a head taller than any of the others.  (24)  Samuel said to all the people, "Do you see the man the LORD has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people." Then the people shouted, "Long live the king!"

And finally after Saul has messed up big time, we hear these words from God spoken by Samuel,

1 Samuel 15:12-17 NLT  Early the next morning Samuel went to find Saul. Someone told him, "Saul went to the town of Carmel to set up a monument to himself; then he went on to Gilgal."  (13)  When Samuel finally found him, Saul greeted him cheerfully. "May the LORD bless you," he said. "I have carried out the LORD's command!"  (14)  "Then what is all the bleating of sheep and goats and the lowing of cattle I hear?" Samuel demanded.  (15)  "It's true that the army spared the best of the sheep, goats, and cattle," Saul admitted. "But they are going to sacrifice them to the LORD your God. We have destroyed everything else."  (16)  Then Samuel said to Saul, "Stop! Listen to what the LORD told me last night!" "What did He tell you?" Saul asked.  (17)  And Samuel told him, "Although you may think little of yourself, are you not the leader of the tribes of Israel? The LORD has anointed you king of Israel.

It’s not what we think about ourselves that matters, it’s what God says about who and what we are that we must learn to believe despite appearances, and what circumstances look like.  If we don’t believe what God tells us, then we become what we believe about ourselves and what God has given us will be taken away.  Saul didn't do what he was commanded to do because he listen to the men he was suppose to be leading and not to the Words of God.  

Check Your Motives

1 Samuel 12-13:23


What we ask for and the true reason we want what we want is often a lie. We ask out of ulterior motives.

Israel didn’t want a king because Samuel’s sons were greedy for material gain, they asked out of fear (1 Samuel 8:4-5 AMP All the elders of Israel assembled and came to Samuel at Ramah (5) And said to him, Behold, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint us a king to rule over us like all the other nations.)

Their real reason is uncovered here:

1 Samuel 12:12 AMP But when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites came against you, you said to me, No! A king shall reign over us--when the Lord your God was your King!

No matter how we use our words to “cover” with leaves our true intent, God always comes in and asks the question, “Where are you?” He knows where we are but are we taking the time to find out where we really are.

Removing The Reproach of One's Past Sin

Joshua 5-7

 ⁹ God said to Joshua, "Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt." That's why the place is called The Gilgal. It's still called that. (Joshua 5:9, The Message)

The “reproach” of slavery, 400 years of slavery, was not rolled away from the Hebrews by God when they,
1) Left Egypt (Exodus 12-13)
2) Fought Battles in the desert (Exodus 17:8-16).
3) Crossed Over into their Promise and Scouted out Jericho (Joshua 2), nor
4)  Promised Rehab they would not destroy her and her household if she hung the “Red” cloth/cord out of the window (Joshua 2:17-20).

The reproach of slavery was rolled away after they, the Israelites, renewed their covenant with God by circumcising all the males that had not been circumcised in the desert. These are the ones that were either born in the desert and those under 20 years old who had not rebelled in the desert, except Joshua, the new leader, and Caleb, those two believed God. Being Circumcised represented covenant renewal to those who were born in the desert.  Past sins hanging out in our lives blocks our future, so circumcise your hearts to roll away the reproach of slavery.