Bible in a Year Blog

1 Samuel 12:1-13:23 + John 7:1-30 + Psalm 108:1-13 + Proverbs 15:4
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Old Testament – I like First Samuel 12 verse 7 today when Samuel says this to the Israelites: “Now stand here quietly before the LORD as I remind you of all the great things the LORD has done for you and your ancestors”  Just like the Israelites needed reminding all the great things God has done, we need reminding today as well.  We are a forgetful people.  I honestly believe reading God’s Word, the Bible, each day is a great way to “remember” all that God has done for each of us and our spiritual ancestors.  I know that I need this daily reminder…  How about you?

Verse 23 is intriguing when Samuel says – “As for me, I will certainly not sin against the LORD by ending my prayers for you. And I will continue to teach you what is good and right.” It sounds like if Samuel stopped his prayers for the Israelites, he would be sinning.  Interesting.  What about us today?  Does God call us at times to pray for others?  And if we do not respond to this call and do not pray for others, are we sinning?   Interesting food for thought.  I guess it’s just a safer bet to continue praying for others!  🙂

In 1 Samuel 13 we see Saul’s disobedience toward God, through his impatience.  I wonder again about us today – are we patient people?  Or are we impatient?  Do we wait on God when things are not moving as quickly as we would like them to…?  Should we be waiting on God or trying to hurry things up like Saul did…?  Below is a painting by artist Guye Rowe of Samuel rebuking Saul from today’s readings:

Bible.org’s commentary on our First Samuel readings today titled “Renewing the Kingdom” is at this link and commentary titled “Saul Sacrifices His Kingdom” is at this link.

New Testament – Hmmm… I found John chapter 7 verse 12 intriguing today as it said this about Jesus – “There was a lot of discussion about him among the crowds. Some said, “He’s a wonderful man,” while others said, “He’s nothing but a fraud, deceiving the people.””  Does this verse sound familiar to you at all?  Maybe like something we would hear about Jesus or Christianity in our modern world today?  “Jesus & Christianity is wonderful.  Jesus & Christianity is nothing but a fraud, deceiving people.”  Times really have not changed much have they?

Jesus’ words in verse 17 are powerful – “Anyone who wants to do the will of God will know whether my teaching is from God or is merely my own.”  I like that – if we want to do the will of God, we will know whether Jesus’ teaching is from God or is his own.  Do you want to do the will of God?  When you read Jesus’ teachings in John, do you know that his teaching is from God?

I will say this – I am so transformed when I read Jesus’ words in the Gospel of John.  I don’t know what it is about this Gospel…. but for some reason the words speak to me at a deep spiritual level.  Certainly when I read the words of Jesus in the other Gospels, or when I read any other words in the Bible, I know they are true words and I know they are feeding me spiritually. But… there’s something about the Gospel of John.  It is such a blessing to me.  It makes me want to cry with joy!   Really…

Bible.org’s commentary on John chapter 7 readings today titled “Jesus in Jerusalem at the Feast of Tabernacles” is at this link.

Psalms – I love Psalm 108 verse 1 today: “My heart is confident in you, O God; no wonder I can sing your praises! Wake up, my soul!”   Is your heart confident in God?  Do you sing God’s praises?  Is your soul awake?  Or does your soul need a wake up call?  Where do you suppose you can find that wake up call for your soul?  The Bible?  Jesus?  The Holy Spirit?  God?  Will you answer the call today?  Will your soul wake up?

Proverbs – I also love Proverbs 15 verse 4 today – “Gentle words bring life and health.”

Worship Video: Today’s readings reminded me of the classic worship song “Open the Eyes of My Heart” by Paul Baloche:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emkUsoER740

Is your heart open? Click here and open the eyes of your heart!

Please join us in memorizing and meditating on a verse of Scripture today: “Gentle words are a tree of life; a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.” Proverbs 15:4 NIV

Prayer Point: Pray that your tongue produces gentle word to others in your life – words that are a tree of life. Pray that you would never speak with a deceitful tongue, which crushes the spirit of others.

Comments from You & Questions of the Day:  Based on our Proverb today, do you bring life and health to those around you each day with gentle words?  Also, what verses or insights stand out to you in today’s readings?  Please post up by clicking on the “Comments” link below!

God bless,
Mike

p.s. Download our monthly Small Group study notes for our Bible readings at this link.

p.s. #2 – Download a schedule of our Bible readings for the year in PDF format at this link.

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======= Ramona:

1 Samuel 12:1-13:23

It appears to me that Samuel is asking Israel to examine his character so that they can judge the integrity of his ministry to them and the truth of his words. Since a false witness breathes out lies, if Israel finds anything amiss in his dealings with them, then what he is about to tell them has no weight as truth.

Samuel rehearses in all of Israel’s hearing how God has dealt with them and delivered them even when they are unfaithful to God. Even in their unfaithfulness, God gives them their hearts’ desire, Saul. In translations other than the NLT you can clearly see the play-on-words God uses to describe their newly appointed king and Israel’s relationship with him, the one that God picked. Remember that in Hebrew Saul means “Desired.”

13 “Now therefore, here is the king whom you have chosen and whom you have desired. And take note, the LORD has set a king over you. (NKJ)

God has set Saul over them as king, but Israel picked him! So remember as we read on about Saul, what they wanted they got. Saul’s character reflects the desire of Israel’s heart. The Apostle Paul states this very thing in the first chapter of the Book of Romans (24).

Some have debated and searched for understanding of the first verse of chapter 13, what is that number and what does it mean. In my English translation of the Jewish Bible, The Tanakh, it says two years. In a conversation I had with a Jewish scholar about this uncertainty we kind of came to an interesting possibility about this verse. There are two types of leadership, spiritual, one appointed by God, and political, one appointed by man. Saul’s reign as king of Israel in the eyes of God was two years; however his political leadership over Israel was 42 years.

When we come to the thirteenth verse of this chapter, we find this,

13 “How foolish!” Samuel exclaimed. “You have disobeyed the command of the LORD your God. Had you obeyed, the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. 14 But now your dynasty must end, for the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart. The LORD has already chosen him to be king over his people, for you have not obeyed the LORD’s command.”

Note that this Word doesn’t say that the Lord will choose a king but that he has already chosen one!

There is a political agenda then there is God’s. Which one will we as Christians pursue, God’s or ours?

John 7:1-30
There are a lot of things to chew on in this section of John, but I am drawn to three things near the end of our reading.

1) The Religious Leaders, and we do too; use an unequal form of “judging.” They and we judge ourselves by our intentions but we judge others by their behavior. Jesus brings to them their objections about Him healing on the Sabbath when they “work” on that same day to adhere to the Law of Moses (note Jesus didn’t say God’s law) to do circumcision. If they consider what Jesus did, heal, work then what they do is also work. (21-24)
2) They question whether or not Jesus could be the Messiah because no one is bothering him even though they are aware a “hit” has been placed on his life. Has leadership accepted Him? If they have maybe He is. Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do you say that I am?”
3) In the beginning of the chapter we read that Jesus stayed in Galilee, going from village to village staying out of Judea because leadership was looking to kill Him, yet in the thirtieth verse it states:
30 …but no one laid a hand on him, because his time had not yet come.

God’s will is always played out in the fullness of time.

Psalm 108:1-13
Saul needed the 411 of this chapter of Psalms. He could have used that 13th verse,

With God’s help we will do mighty things, for he will trample down our foes.

Proverbs 15:4

Life and death is in our tongues.

Grace and peace,
Ramona

====== Andrew:

Andrew

====== Anka:

Saul when faced with his sin,gave excuses….didn’t see him try to repent of what he did.Samuel said “I will teach you the way that is good and right”…did Saul ever go to class?Are we too busy in our lives to learn the ways of God,too much in a race against time to wait to hear from God before we go on….just say some quick prayers(the God bless my day kind)then rush off…I’m already feeling guilty.I thank God for His mercy and His grace..
God bless you all

Anka

====== Luch:

Reading about Samuel’s commitment to pray and teach the people reminds me of the words in Acts 6:4 where the spiritual leaders of the community were devote themselves to the ministry of prayer and the Word. This passage in 1 Samuel 12:23 was brought home to me in 1976 when someone gave me a book by Andrew Murray on The Prayer Life. In that book Murray had a chapter based on this one verse “As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you.” The chapter was simply called “Prayerlessness is a sin.” I guess today that emphasis wouldn’t go over very well but back then it inspired me to make intercessory prayer a daily practice for my personal life, my family and my ministry. It’s as we pray that we are then able to ‘teach you the way that is good and right.” I also like the way Samuel defines what a fully devoted follower of God looks like “They ‘fear the LORD’ and serve him faithfully and wholeheartedly, and they live with a deep sense of gratitude. Not a bad definition to measure ourselves against. Thank you Lord for loving us as we are, but thank you too, for not leaving us there.

Luch

====== Kristie:

====== Ramona:

Been Think’in (This is loooooong)

Yesterday I mentioned that there were clues within the text of I Samuel about Saul’s character that led him down the road to end his life with a whimper. When I stated that I wasn’t sure where to find it and what to look for, or even what within the text led me to come to that conclusion, I was spouting off something I just knew within me, I had no concrete evidence. Today I believed I received what I think was a revelation, or at lest the light bulb went on.

There are two scriptures that stand out to me that explain all, in my opinion. They are:

See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up and causes you trouble, or many of you will become defiled. (Heb 12:15)

And,

But God wasn’t pleased with most of them, and so they were struck down in the wilderness. Now these things became examples for us so that we won’t set our hearts on evil as they did. (1Co 10:5-6),
As well as:
You must stop complaining, as some of them were doing, and were destroyed by the destroying angel. These things happened to them to serve as an example, and they were written down as a warning for us in whom the climax of the ages has been realized. (1Co 10:10-11)

OK, ok, there are more than two.

I know that some are having a hard time getting into the Old Testament, thinking what is it’s relevance ‘cause we have the New. Well, the New is based on the Old and if you are a good lawyer or contract reader, to verify that the New is better than the Old, well you gotta read the Old. [However, Jesus has now obtained a ministry that is as superior to theirs as the covenant he mediates is founded on better promises. (Heb 8:6)]

I’m into analogies so I will use the study of Botany or agriculture to lay out my case that within the Old Testament narratives, one can find the character flaws of the men and women we are reading about and that is a good thing. (See. 1 Corinthians 10: 5-6, 10-11)

Throughout the Bible the realm of the heart has been compared to Soil, the Parable of the Sower as one example, and the seed is comparable to the Word of God. I put forth that there are other types of seed and the condition of the soil of our hearts will determine what will and want grow to maturity and produce fruit. Unless one has studied agriculture or botany, planted a couple of different types of seed and watched what come up, we really have a hard time identifying what each seed will produce and even recognizing the root of a plant. Before we ever see signs of the plant, the seed in the soil or the root (and who among us can identify a plant by its roots) have already taken hold.

Now, getting back to the Old Testament: within its pages we find more narratives about people, their beginnings, and their endings then in the New. To correctly identify the sum total of anyone’s life, we must look at them in their entirety: the good the bad and the ugly. Like a plant that has matured and gone to “seed,” we can then look at the seed and determine what that seed has produced, our lives kind of parallel a plant. Was the fruit good for us, or was it poison and destructive; how did that fruit effect the environment and the other plants around it? There are probably many more questions. Taking the Old Testament characters and Saints and juxtaposing them against the Character of Jesus Christ in the New, we now have a standard by which to measure not only our lives, but the lives of those who in looking back, walked amongst us in the Old.

In an Academic sense, the Old Testament can be studied as a Grad School Level class that operates entirely as Case Studies: we know the perfect model, Jesus Christ, now we look at the others to find out where they went wrong and what they did right so we won’t make the same mistakes. In a Case Study, you begin at the end, or if the concern is still in existence, at some fixed point in the present, then you travel back toward the beginning, studying each move. Since we live in a cause and effect world, nothing just happens by itself. We don’t just roll out of bed in the morning and suddenly jump up and rob a bank, rape and murder. Working out our salvation, at least for me, is identifying, uncovering, and uprooting everything that is not of God by identifying the seed, the roots that we find in the Old.

Sorry this is so long, but I hope it is helpful . Also note: I have not set this in stone this view will probably change as I continue to walk upon the earth. I probably will revisit today or tomorrow to post my impressions of today’s Old Testament reading.

Grace and peace,
Ramona

======= Ramona:

1 Samuel 12:1-13:23
Since I left a very long post this morning, I am going to focus on two passages that really got my attention.
1) 1 Samuel 12:19–Then all the people begged Samuel, “Pray to your GOD for us, your servants. Pray that we won’t die! On top of all our other sins, we’ve piled on one more–asking for a king!”
a. O.K. God picked Israel out of all the nations to be His People, yet Israel declares to Samuel that God is “your GOD” instead of their very own God. Israel was unwilling to do the work to keep them in right relationship, but they wanted to maintain the rights of that relationship under someone else’s bond. They were name droppers and hanger-on’s.
b. We do the same thing when we run from piller-to-post asking everybody to pray for us when we are unwilling to stand in right relationship with God but call a “prayer meeting” to manipulate others to pray for our concerns because we know, deep in our hearts, that we are not in fellowship with God.
2) 1 Samuel 12:11-12—11 Saul answered, “When I saw I was losing my army from under me, and that you hadn’t come when you said you would, and that the Philistines were poised at Micmash, 12I said, “The Philistines are about to come down on me in Gilgal, and I haven’t yet come before GOD asking for his help.’ So I took things into my own hands, and sacrificed the burnt offering.”
a. Saul didn’t know his history. Had he bothered to read? Did he never hear of how Gideon and three hundred men defeated 100 plus thousand men? Like us, Saul relied on his strength and the strength of the army he did not have. Since his strength was week and he and his men were full of fear, his fear led to wrong choices and decisions. Saul had stink’n think’n.
When we are in fear we are lacking perfect love, which casts out all fear. (1 John 4:18). So I ask a rhetorical question, something to think about, what exactly is perfect love? Since fear gives birth to shame, and shame is used by us to manipulate folks, keep folks in line, keep ‘em down on the farm and in their place. Is shame a good or bad thing? Again, rhetorical. It was shame that drove Adam and Eve into hiding while covering themselves with a bunch of leaves. What sets off fear, which leads to shame?
A GREAT BIG HMMMM!!!
Grace and peace,
Ramona

======= Arielle:

Thanks Ramona for your points in 1a&b. I never noticed Israelite’s said ‘your GOD’to samuel . wow what were they thinking about what GOD was doing for them all this while? Well I guess we can’t judge them either for their flaw because we tend to forget HIM as well when responsibilities mount on us and we rely on our own understanding and strength.
I agree with Mike we need someone or something to constantly remind us, because Yes! we are forgetful people.
I think we need to surround ourselves with HIS word, prayers, good christian community of friends that can constantly remind us that GOD is there for us every time!
Arielle

====== Dee:

======= Jim:

Here we read about a country that talks big about their God and has a just and righteous spiritual leader who has recently blessed their new king and yet walks in fear and rejection of that same faith. Samuel gets the people to verify his motives and reminds them of God’s great gifts of release from Egypt and conquest of Canaan so that they will listen to warnings concerning their gradual loss of faith. For a period, Israel repents for worshipinig idols of Ball and Ashtoreth and calls upon the Lord for deliverance. Until recently, the only possession of value was a person’s good name and Samuel refers to God’s good name. Samuel warns that God will bless them, however, only if they serve and obey and a severe winter storm as called by Samuel underlines this warning.
Acts 13: 21 informs us that Saul ruled for over 40 years, but there is some confusion about what is meant by v 13:1 (the New Living Translation just steals from Acts as per note f and somehow concludes the number 42). Some believe some number is missing, but it likely just means that Saul had reigned for two years. When the Philistines mobilize a major military offensive at this time, Israel runs from their homes to hide. After more and more of Saul’s army deserts and getting rebuked by Samuel for violating God’s commands to follow Samuel, Saul retreats leaving the Philistines to raid at will. Saul’s army had dwindled to 600 men, twice the number had by Gideon, except that they did not have Gideon’s faith. Uncertain times test our trust in God, not our strength of character.
Jesus attributes His material directly to God rather than to any rabbinical training and maintains that anyone who chooses to do God’s will would recognize it. He likely angered the Jewish leaders by outright claiming that they had not been keeping the OT Law and the refusal of their own guards to arrest Him surely only made the Jewish leaders angrier (more on this tomorrow). He also confounded them by possessing an advanced grasp of their religion without ever being apprenticed to any of them (the same bewilderment is later expressed regarding Peter and John in Acts 4:13). The Message Bible translates Romans 10:17 as “The point is, Before you trust, you have to listen. But unless Christ’s Word is preached, there’s nothing to listen to.” As we covered yesterday, without Christ, where else is there to go. It often, however, takes time to find every other path dead ends. It took time even for Jesus’ brothers, James and Jude, to believe and become church leaders. Here they sarcastically (explained in v 5) suggest that if Jesus could really do miracles that he should do them in front of the largest audience in Jerusalem at the time of a feast. So, don’t write off those who at first don’t respond to the Gospel. It rightly takes time. Jesus also tells His brothers that the world could not hate them (because they were a part of it), thusly wholly responding to the Gospel also takes courage (“But no one had the courage to speak favorably about him in public, for they were afraid of getting in trouble with the Jewish leaders”).
It is a vital principle that to develop a spiritual understanding a person must make a conscious and determined choice to do God’s will (v 17). If we make that choice, God will show us what His will is. John 6:45 clearly defined “appointment” as being taught by God to those that can “hear and learn” implying both knowledge and reason as the basis for belief. This means that it is current comprehensible instructions of the Holy Spirit that “ordains” and not some pre-time predestinational lottery or spiritual caste system of saved and reprobate. The strength of the eleven disciples that stayed true to Christ came by hearing the Word (Romans 10:17). To say that God works both good and evil in us (say, saved and reprobate) and that we are subject to God’s workings only by some passive necessity (where free will operates only at some higher level – see Martin Luther’s “The Bondage of the Will”), creates mankind as good with only a evil work wrought by God that makes God the author of sin (as well as the author of salvation) who punishes (or rewards) a person for doing only what God by the sole exercise of His own power irresistibly coerces man to do. It is one thing if God only knew the lost (or saved) and their choices before time and quite another if God determined their nature and fate before time just as there is a difference between God knowing, say, when you would be born leaving no doubt on which day it would occur and that He foreordained your birth.
The etymological origins of the Greek word tasso sometimes translated to ordained (although more likely to appointed) comes from “to place” as to place in a certain rank or order as in specifically disposing a body of soldiers in regular military order (see Barnes Concordance). Tasso is uses in eight places in the Bible denoting a command or designate (Matt 28:16, Acts 22:10, Acts 28:23), to institute, constitute, or appoint (Rom 21:1), determine, to take counsel, to resolve (Acts 15:2), to subject to authority of another (Luke 7:8), and to devote to (1 Cor 16:15). The word is never used to denote an internal disposition or inclination and does not properly refer to an external decree or to the doctrine of election. In the Greek translation of the OT, the word is used in Ezekiel 9:1 “And he cried in mine ears with a loud voice, saying, draw near, ye that have appointment of the city, and every man with his destroying weapon in his hand.” It is used only to refer to a forgone conclusion of the facts. Thus, we must be always careful to check the facts and our interpretation of them. The Jews, for example, wrongly assumed that Jesus had been born in Galilee because He lived in Nazareth, but if they had checked the records they would have learned that He was, in fact, born in Bethlehem and a descendent of David. Jesus tells them that even if they knew where he came from, their problem was still that they did not know God.
Psalm 108 is actually a medley of two other of David’s psalms (v 1-5 are from 57:7-11 and v 6-13 are from 60:5-12) about the assurance a person can have when God is his or her Lord. The remarkable fact about the words “I will rejoice” (v 7 KJV – “in triumph” in some translations) is that they are spoken by God. The Lord celebrates in delivering His people.
Jim

======= Vance:

I Samuel 12 (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.
23
Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you; but I will teach you the good and the right way.
24
Only fear the LORD, and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider what great things He has done for you. 25
But if you still do wickedly, you shall be swept away, both you and your king.”
I Samuel 13 (NKJV)
12
then I said, ‘The Philistines will now come down on me at Gilgal, and I have not made supplication to the LORD.’ Therefore I felt compelled, and offered a burnt offering.”
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.
John 7 (NKJV)
24
Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”
Psalm 108 (NKJV)
1
O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and give praise, even with my glory.
~~~
NOTE:
The people had asked for a king. I could be wrong, but I do not think their sin was wanting a king, but insisting for a king on their own timetable. God had already promised them that He would provide a king from the tribe of Judah before the people asked.
This brings me to the verses Psalm 108 and John 7. Our hearts really have to be steadfast in abiding in praise, prayer, worship to the Lord. This is the only way we will walk in step with the Spirit and His perfect timing. When we try to do God’s will—even though we may have the Holy Spirit within us—on our own and in our way, we will always suffer for it.
Note the independent streak in King Saul, first expressed in I Samuel 13. This is a challenge. Am I willing to wait in the Presence of the Lord to allow Him to show me how to accomplish His will? Again, acting in the flesh—trusting in my ability and my understanding—to do the will of God will ALWAYS lead to unnecessary pain.
May we yield every part of ourselves to the Lord.
“Trust in the Lord with all of your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. Acknowledge Him in all your ways [as Lord], and He will direct [make straight] your paths.” Proverbs 3:5 and 6.
Vance

======= John:

Feast of Tabernacles (sukkoth)
With deference to Bob, I think a closer look at the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles will reveal much more than is disclosed in Bob’s commentaries about the symbolism of Jesus’ words and the Messiah in general.
I would encourage people to google, yahoo, whatever the Feast and do some quick reading. It will help you to understand my post tomorrow and perhaps provide you with some insights that you may post.
John

1 Samuel 10:1-11:15 + John 6:43-71 + Psalm 107:1-43 + Proverbs 15:1-3
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~ Listen to today’s Scripture with Tom Dooley’s terrific NLT 1996 readings at this link or The ESV Bible: OT + NT + Psalms + Proverbs ~

Old Testament – Okay – I have a temporary new favorite verse in the Bible!  Today in First Samuel chapter 10 verse 22 when they were about to name Saul king, but they couldn’t find him: “So they asked the LORD, “Where is he?” And the LORD replied, “He is hiding among the baggage.””  That is awesome!  I really appreciate the fact that Saul was hiding among the baggage.  🙂  I think that’s where I would be too.  I hope I would be in any case.  I think it’s a bit scary when someone is too lustful for power.  Better to have your future king hiding in the baggage…  🙂

   

(sorry, couldn’t resist this photo… 🙂  I suppose this image below would be more appropriate for Saul being named king as we read in verse 24: “Then Samuel said to all the people, “This is the man the LORD has chosen as your king. No one in all Israel is his equal!” And all the people shouted, “Long live the king!”

In First Samuel chapter 11 we see Saul really step into his role as king by defending the city of Jabesh-gilead from the Ammonites attack.  Verse 2 was sad to consider when the Ammonite king said this to the citizens of Jabesh-gilead – “”All right,” Nahash said, “but only on one condition. I will gouge out the right eye of every one of you as a disgrace to all Israel!””  Gouging out the right eye would be done for humiliation purposes – but also to destroy the military ability of the archers.  After this point, Saul gets word back in his hometown that Jabesh-gilead is under attack.  Below is a powerful painting by the artist James Tissot from the year 1896 of verses 6 & 7: “Then the Spirit of God came powerfully upon Saul, and he became very angry. 7 He took two oxen and cut them into pieces and sent the messengers to carry them throughout Israel with this message: “This is what will happen to the oxen of anyone who refuses to follow Saul and Samuel into battle!””

I was impressed with Saul’s graciousness in verses 12 & 13 of this chapter: “Then the people exclaimed to Samuel, “Now where are those men who said Saul shouldn’t rule over us? Bring them here, and we will kill them!” But Saul replied, “No one will be executed today, for today the LORD has rescued Israel!”  Impressive.  You could see where after defeating the Ammonites, Israel’s adrenaline might be running high to go after dissenters.  Saul put a stop to it, which was impressive.  What about us today?  When we are riding high on a victory of some sort and the group around us says we should forge ahead on something that does not seem right, can we stand up and say “No” to the group as Saul did on this day?

Bible.org’s commentary on today’s readings in 1 Samuel titled “The Making of Israel’s First King” is at this link.

New Testament – Okay, so John chapter 6 verses 53 through 58 are some verses that get interpreted several different ways – some saying these verses speak of the Lord’s Supper and some saying they speak only of faith in Jesus because the Lord’s Supper had not yet been instituted by Jesus at this time.  I think the key for us to focus on is that Jesus is our nourishment – our literal spiritual food if we have faith in him. It is interesting to note that many disciples turned away from Jesus after this teaching.  I love Peter’s reply to Jesus in verses 68 & 69 after Jesus asks if the Twelve will leave too – “Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You alone have the words that give eternal life. We believe them, and we know you are the Holy One of God.””  True words indeed Peter.  True words indeed.  If not Jesus, to whom would you go?  Does anyone else have the words that give eternal life?

Bible.org’s commentary on John chapter 6 today titled “The Bread of Life” is at this link.

Psalms – Psalm 107 today is a wonderful Psalm of thanksgiving!  Okay, be honest, who started busting out singing the Michael W. Smith/Chris Tomlin worship tune “Forever” when you read verse 1? – “Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.”  I did!  That’s a great tune… based on a great verse in a great Psalm. 

Psalm 107 repeats a verse four times – starting with verse 6 here – “”LORD, help!” they cried in their trouble, and he rescued them from their distress.”  (then see verse 13, verse 19, and verse 28 – same verse) This is a great reminder to pray – and yes, it’s great to pray during times of distress of course.  But, how about praying during times of happiness & joy?  Or even times of just regular blahs?  I recently read much of the book “The Life You’ve Always Wanted” by John Ortberg (great book!), and it has a great chapter on prayer.  It is so true that one of the best ways to truly know and love God is through prayer.  Simple prayer.   5 minutes a day.  Do you pray to God 5 minutes a day?  When the storms of life come, do you cry out for help to Jesus?  Do you know that he will always be there for you in the midst of the storm?

Proverbs – Proverbs chapter 15 verse 1 is so so so very true… we would all do well to practice this every day – “A gentle answer deflects anger, but harsh words make tempers flare.”  How beautifully true & wise this is?  Let us be gentle people…

Worship Video: Today’s Psalm and Proverb reminds me of Michael W. Smith’s classic song “Friends:”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAeD2UEYaAk

Do you believe friends are friends forever? Click here for Forever!

Please join us in memorizing and meditating on a verse of Scripture today: “Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.”  Psalm 107:1 NIV

Prayer Point: Pray thanksgiving to God for His goodness today! Pray thanksgiving that God’s love endures forever!

Comments from You & Questions of the Day:  If someone were to describe you, would they describe you as a “gentle” person?  Would you want to be described as a gentle person?  Should we be gentle all of the time?  Was Jesus gentle all of the time?  Was Jesus gentle most of the time?  To whom or in what circumstances was Jesus not gentle?  Should we follow Jesus in this regard?  Also, what verses or insights stand out to you in today’s readings?  Please post up by clicking on the “Comments” link below!

God bless,
Mike

p.s. Download our monthly Small Group study notes for our Bible readings at this link.

p.s. #2 – Download a schedule of our Bible readings for the year in PDF format at this link.

p.s. #3 – I would greatly appreciate it if you would pray for this Bible Blog ministry today! Please also consider partnering with us by financially supporting this ministry. Thank you!

BLOG READERS HISTORICAL COMMUNITY COMMENTS:
(our Group Bible Study is below! : )

======= Ramona:

======= Jim:

God directed Samuel to anoint Saul, which he did reluctantly. Samuel poured a special mixture of olive oil, myrrh, and other expensive spices to symbolize the presence and power of the Holy Spirit of God in Saul’s life and to remind the new king of his great responsibility to lead by God’s wisdom and not his own. Samuel said, “I am doing this because the Lord has appointed you to be the leader of his people.” The book of Samuel is all about what it means to be the “Lords anointed” or chosen by God for some special service, blessed, and endowed by Him with the power and authority to carry out that task. Later, David will also be anointed by God as Israel’s second king and “the Spirit of the Lord came upon Him in power” (v 16:13). Paul will start his ministry to the Gentiles by reminding the Jews of Isaiah 49:6, “I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.” The Redeemer had been appointed, “before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee … and I ordained you a prophet” (Jeremiah 1:5). Luke 7:8, “For I also am a man set under authority; appointed, or designated as a soldier, to be under the authority of another” and Acts 22:10, “It shall be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee to do” refers to an announcement or commission for those with prejudice and prepossession to accept (the greatest of which is the Great Commission to go and to convert and baptize in order to make disciples of all peoples of the world. What is God’s will for you? What is your appointment?
Samuel gave Saul specific instruction for an unspecified future time when Saul would find himself at Gilgal involving a peace offering. The OT includes Burnt, Grain, Peace, Sin, Guilt/Trespass, and Wave Offerings to teach the Israelites reverence, submission, and commitment to God. The Peace offering was to show gratitude and that one was in peace and fellowship with God by slaying and cooking an animal without defect much the same as the Burnt offering with the exception that the person presenting the offer to could partake in eating a portion with the priest. The Sin offering mentioned in yesterday’s verses included a “certain” animal to be sacrificed for each sin, unintentional in nature, such as dirtiness, neglect, and thoughtlessness. In the Burnt offering, the animal would be slain with the sinner’s hand on the animal’s head to allow the beast to “take” the sin and show a person’s devotion to God and provide payment for sins in general. A Grain offering consisted of either fine flour with oil and frankincense, roasted kernels of corn with oil and frankincense, or baked cakes, and accompanied the Burnt offering to show honor and respect and by burning a portion on the altar that they understood what they have belongs to God. A Guilt Offering was with a ram without defect for God as well as the person offended. And, a Wave offering provided food specifically for the priests and was waved over the alter to show that what they offered, God would return.
Saul publicly shows Saul as God’s choice by use of the Urim and Thummim. Although most are pleased with Saul for his impressive size, those from Belial complain (but Saul hold’s his temper as well as a second time later). It was uncommon for Saul to speak for God and people were surprised when he prophesized (v 10:10-12) and asked, “Is Saul also among the prophets?” They quickly lost respect, however, as Saul’s devotion to God ends up to be something of a national joke. The signs Samuel had given Saul came to pass and Saul accepted God’s heart and disposition of mind and yet Saul was still for Saul. Mike says he likes the idea of finding a future king hiding. Just as it is good to be conscious of our unworthiness, however, it is not good to shrink from the responsibilities and services to which we are called. It is important to remember that while Saul was reborn into a new man, God never removes the endowment of free will and choice and because Saul later did not keep the commandments of God, the Spirit of God left Saul. “For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins” (Hebrews 10:26).
Many of Christ’s disciples were offended by the cannibalistic nature of Christ’s request to eat His body and they did not see the symbolism to spiritual eating and drinking of Christ by receiving him through belief and thusly many of his disciples deserted him (interesting that they left in verse 6:66). They also found it difficult to give up the doctrine they had been taught based on Moses, deeds, being special, and simply following some set of rules. Jesus did not deny that these things were difficult to give up and hence said that it was proof of God’s appointment if anyone believed. Just as we have heard that no one approached the Father except by the Son, v 6:44 tells us that no one can come to the son except by teaching (“hearing and learning” implying knowledge and reason as the basis for faith) by the Father. This implies some current comprehensible instructions of the Holy Spirit that ordains (and not some pre-time election). The strength of the 11 disciples that stayed true to Christ came by hearing the Word (Romans 10:17). The twelve disciples stay, convinced there was no where else to go. One the most surprising things I learned when I first read the Bible didn’t really require me to read the Bible except that it didn’t dawn on me until after I had read it: there is no Gospel entitled Jesus. While every other religious leader in history knew we would get their religion wrong without detailed personal instructions, Jesus was the only one who talked about a real relationship with the Father that we could get “right” on our own. Where else could we go, indeed! Disciple simple means to follow or to learn but could include unbelievers, those who go beyond initial belief to baptism and obedience, or to the apostles. While Judas was a disciple, it is never said that he believed. Christ’s words in verse 6:64 were likely partly addressed to Judas. Similarly, Paul suggests that many that joined in communion at Corinth perished because they did not distinguish between it and a common meal without properly considering that sacrifice for sin, or which the sacrament of the Lord’s supper is a type (1 Cor 11:30). This story fits well with the lessons learned today from the book of Samuel. As some accepted God’s appointed, some did not (asking, “How will this man save us?). They were offended in him and should be slain, but how much more to our advantage is an enemy made to be a friend. “Some were fools in their rebellion; they suffered for their sins. Their appetites were gone, and death was near. ‘LORD, help!’ they cried in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress.”
Jim

======= Ramona:

1 Samuel 10:1-11:15
I am a person that goes to the core of things, the cause—the effects are just grass to be mowed down and managed, but the core is the key to the problem. No one just rolls out of bed one morning and commits a heinous act. Character flaws are clearly seen if one looks; but the root, the causal seed takes study. For me it is important to do self-study, if I make a misstep, a sin, I need to not just look at the sin but look at why I did what I did. What is it I believe about myself, about God about the problems I face and faced to take the action I took? Those are the types of questions I ask.
Jesus said,
The upright (honorable, intrinsically good) man out of the good treasure [stored] in his heart produces what is upright (honorable and intrinsically good), and the evil man out of the evil storehouse brings forth that which is depraved (wicked and intrinsically evil); for out of the abundance (overflow) of the heart his mouth speaks. (Luke 6:45 AMP)
We speak in three ways, our words, sprit and our gestures (body language) and what I do and what I say, when lined up, make a powerful testimony of what I truly believe about myself, about God and about those around me. What does Saul really believe about himself, what does he believe about God and about the people who he will be serving as king; or is Saul thinking the people should be serving Him.
Maybe because I’m looking at the entire picture of Saul’s life, I am now looking at him in his entirety. He began with a BANG but ended with a whimper. The things that led to that whimper are in his character right now in these verses, in these chapters. I want to study them so I can take heed of what the Apostle Paul wrote in the tenth chapter of I Corinthians,
But God was not pleased with most of them, for they were cut down in the wilderness. These things happened as examples for us, so that we will not crave evil things as they did. (1 Corinthians 10:5-6 NET.)
The Children of Israel are not the only ones who had a wilderness to go through. Everyone who comes to Christ has their own desert to cross, their own tests to take; what can I learn from Saul to help take me to the next level?
Grace and peace,
Ramona

======= Michelle:

What have you noticed so far about Saul’s character, Ramona? I am on the edge of my seat!
Michelle

======= Ramona:

>>What have you noticed so far about Saul’s character, Ramona?>>
Michelle, I’m still taking notes, underlining the text and going, Hmmmm! I have my subway ride back home from work to continue my pondering. I tell you what, if I get something about this, I’ll ask God to remind me to send you an e-mail. Sometimes this kind of stuff takes days.
All my blessings
Ramona

======= Vance:

Proverbs 15 (NKJV)
1
A soft answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger.
2
The tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly, But the mouth of fools pours forth foolishness.
3
The eyes of the LORD are in every place, Keeping watch on the evil and the good.
~~~
When I think of Proverbs 15:1, I think of the following passages:
What Moses said in Exodus 32 (NKJV):
25
Now when Moses saw that the people were unrestrained (for Aaron had not restrained them, to their shame among their enemies),
26
then Moses stood in the entrance of the camp, and said, “Whoever is on the LORD’s side—come to me!” And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together to him.
29
Then Moses said, “Consecrate yourselves today to the LORD, that He may bestow on you a blessing this day, for every man has opposed his son and his brother.”
What Jesus said in Matthew 10 (NKJV):
34
“Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword.
35
For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’;
36
and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’
37
He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.
38
And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.
39
He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.
~~
Obeying God will cause conflict, even in families. Obviously, obedience and loyalty to God are more important loyalty to family.
What does this look like?
If each member of the family surrenders to the Spirit of Christ and prays together, then each family member will voluntarily surrender to Jesus in the heart first and do His will. Then, together as a group, the glory of God can be demonstrated in a greater way as the whole group agrees and flows with the Lord.
What if members of the family oppose the one family member who is intent on seeking the Lord first and doing His will above all else? Jesus anticipated this. God through Moses and Jesus instructs us that if necessary—our enemies may be of our own household because we obey.
Proverbs 15 verses 1 – 3 are very instructive. We can have a heart to obey God and yet act in the flesh, and give a rash and harsh answer to family members or friends who do not want to do God’s will.
Or… we can trust the Lord to provide wisdom on how to respond. Wait on the Lord, and He will provide the way of wisdom: “The tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly…”
God will always support us, as He said, “The eyes of the LORD are in every place, Keeping watch on the evil and the good.”
~~
We see hope of later reconciliation in the Scriptures, even in Jesus’ own human family.
See Jesus’ brothers disbelieving in Him and making fun of Him in John 7 (NKJV):
1
After these things Jesus walked in Galilee; for He did not want to walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill Him.
2
Now the Jews’ Feast of Tabernacles was at hand.
3
His brothers therefore said to Him, “Depart from here and go into Judea, that Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing.
4
For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world.”
5
For even His brothers did not believe in Him.
Note how Jesus’ brothers later were praying together with others waiting for the Holy Spirit from Jesus in Acts 1 (NKJV):
14
These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.
May we seek the Lord and fulfill His Word in our lives and trust the Lord to work in our families.
Vance

======= John:

John 6:48-58
I read the bible in a straightforward manner. And yes, that means I would understand some passages to be literal that others would not. That being said the “Bread of Life” discourse is a “spiritual” discourse. In vs. 63 Jesus says as much.
The progression
vs.29 Work of God is to believe IN the one he has sent.
vs. 35 He who comes and believes will never go hungry or thirsty.
vs. 40 Everyone who Believes IN the Son will have eternal life.
Vs 47 Jesus repeats himself (probably now in the synagouge) – he who believes has everlasting life.
Everlasting life is a spiritual concept. In the very next verse Jesus says, “I am the (or that) bread of Life” (Note the use of ego eimi or the “I AM” statement.) Bread is a metaphor.
The words used for “eat” are “phago” and “trogo”. Phago has an explicit metaphorical meaning of ” consume, take in”. Trogo is a more intense form of eating – implying “gnawing at and getting to the core”. It does not have an explicit metaphorical meaning, but since it is used in a spiritual passage, and is used to elaborate on a metaphor, I feel pretty comfortable that its use is not literal here – given the context of the passage.
vs. 56
“Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him.”
Merrill C. Tenney has a very compact statment regarding this metaphor of “Bread of Life”:
“The metaphor of eating and drinking is the best possible figure that can be employed to express the assimilation of one body by another, the method whereby life is transferred from the eaten to the eater. The literal eating of Jesus’ flesh and the drinking of His blood were not demanded” (John, The Gospel Of Belief).
It all goes back to John 1:12-13 with the concept of all those that received him (take him in) and believed IN His Name (Jehovah is salvation) had the authority to become children of God. Co-heirs to Heaven. To know (ginosko) Him in an intimate personal way is to be ensured a place in heaven.
How do you get that intimate with Christ? By taking him in (consuming Him), feeding on Him – His words, His sprit, and metaphorically his body and blood.
This to me – is what the “Bread of Life” discourse is all about. It is a spiritual lesson about eternal life.
Just ran across this:
John 6:56
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him.
v. 56 It is “real” food because it gives “real” or eternal life. And, carrying the metaphor a step farther, it does that because it enables us to participate in the life of Jesus Christ himself.
John

======= John:

Below are comments by St. Augustine, Gelasius – bishop of Rome, and a couple from the Believer’s commentary on “Bread of Life” discourse
======================================================
Believe, and you have eaten already.
“Who is the bread of the Kingdom of God, but He who says, “I am the living Bread which came down from heaven?” Do not get your mouth ready, but your heart. On this occasion it was that the parable of this supper was set forth. Lo, we believe in Christ, we receive Him with faith. In receiving Him we know what to think of. We receive but little, and are nourished in the heart. It is not then what is seen, but what is believed, that feeds us. Therefore we too have not sought for that outward sense.
This is then to eat the meat, not that which perishes, but that which endures unto eternal life. To what purpose do you make ready teeth and stomach? Believe, and you have eaten already.” (Augustine, John: Tractate 25:12).
======================================================
“The sacrament of the body and blood of Christ, which we receive, is a divine thing, because by it we are made partakers of the divine-nature. Yet the substance or nature of the bread and wine does not cease. And assuredly the image and the similitude of the body and blood of Christ are celebrated in the performance of the mysteries.” Gelasius, bishop of Rome, in Jacques Paul Migne, Patrologiae Latinae, Tractatus de duabis naturis Adversus Eutychen et Nestorium 14.
======================================================
In verse 47 we read that “He who believes in Me has everlasting life.” In verse 54, we learn that whoever eats His flesh and drinks His blood has eternal life. Now things equal to the same thing are equal to each other. To eat His flesh and to drink His blood is to believe on Him.
MacDonald, W., & Farstad, A. 1997, c1995. Believer’s Bible Commentary : Old and New Testaments . Thomas Nelson: Nashville
======================================================
In the bread of life discourse, our Lord began with fairly simple teaching. But as He progressed, it was apparent that the Jews were rejecting His words. The more they closed their hearts and minds to the truth, the more difficult His teaching became. Finally He talked about eating His flesh and drinking His blood. That was too much! They said, “This is a hard saying; who can understand it” and they quit following Him. Rejection of the truth results in judicial blindness. Because they would not see, they came to the place where they could not see.
MacDonald, W., & Farstad, A. 1997, c1995. Believer’s Bible Commentary : Old and New Testaments . Thomas Nelson: Nashville
======================================================
Amen, Amen
The NIV I think misses a great point of importance by using the phrase “I tell you the Truth”.
The KJV uses “Verily, Verily” the original word in Aramaic is “amen” – meaning so be it, or truth.
Before testimony is given in Jewish courts the witness first says “Amen” (truth) to indicate the veracity of his testimony.
On very important points Jesus does the same thing. Except he repeats it for emphasis. It would be wise to highlight all the “Verily, Verily” statements of our Lord.
John

1 Samuel 8:1-9:27 + John 6:22-42 + Psalm 106:32-48 + Proverbs 14:34-35
~ Click here to read today’s Scripture on Bible Gateway ~
~ Listen to today’s Scripture with Tom Dooley’s terrific NLT 1996 readings at this link or The ESV Bible: OT + NT + Psalms + Proverbs ~

Old Testament – We have some great dramatic reading today in First Samuel!  Tyndale’s One Year Bible Companion today has some good food for thought to the question of Why did Israel want a king? – “1. Samuel’s sons were not fit to lead Israel 2. The 12 tribes of Israel continually had problems working together because each tribe had its own leader and territory.  It was hoped that a king would unite the tribes into one nation and one army. 3. The people wanted to be like the neighboring nations.  This is exactly what God didn’t want.  Having a king would make it easy for them to forget that God was their real leader.”  In First Samuel Chapter 8 we hear Samuel passing on God’s warning to how the king will treat the people…

Can you imagine hearing these words of Samuel if you were Saul in First Samuel 9:20 today: “And I am here to tell you that you and your family are the focus of all Israel’s hopes.”  All you are doing is looking for your dad’s lost donkeys and all of the sudden you hear this from the seer!  Whew…   You know though – I will say this.  Being in relationship with God is always an adventure.  I think oftentimes we will start out on a journey to do one thing and God ends up taking us some place completely different.  Saul is about to embark on an adventure.  You and I have the opportunity to embark on an adventure with God each and every day.  I know that there are many times that God sends me into places & situations I would have never thought imaginable.  That’s the adventure of faith.  It truly is not boring!  I honestly think that life apart from God is truly boring.  The secular life is boring.  The materialistic life is boring.  If you are feeling bored these days, will you break free and wholeheartedly pursue an adventurous relationship with the Lord?

An image is below for 1 Samuel 9:11 today – “As they were climbing a hill toward the town, they met some young women coming out to draw water. So Saul and his servant asked, “Is the seer here today?”

Bible.org’s commentary on 1 Samuel’s readings today titled “Give us a King!” is at this link and commentary titled “The making of Israel’s first king” is at this link.

New Testament – Wow… verses 28 & 29 in John chapter 6 are so beautiful and simple that I think it is easy to miss the strong meaning behind this conversation between the crowd & Jesus – “They replied, “What does God want us to do?” Jesus told them, “This is what God wants you to do: Believe in the one he has sent.””  Check out that very last sentence.  This is what God wants you to do.  Believe.  That’s it.  It’s that simple.  Believe.  Not give away all your money to the poor.  Not do thousands of good deeds.  Not become a perfect person over night.  Just believe.  Believe.  Yeah, okay, maybe God will ask you to give away some money and do good and become better person after you believe…  🙂  But the key is first and foremost to Believe.  Do you Believe in Jesus, the One whom God sent?

And verse 35 is so powerful as well – “Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. No one who comes to me will ever be hungry again. Those who believe in me will never thirst.”  Jesus saying he is the bread of life is similar to him saying he is the Door or the Vine.  Bread is a beautiful metaphor that Jesus supplies divine nourishment to us spiritually.  For me, this verse also reminds me of The Lord’s Supper in our churches today.

Bible.org’s commentary on our John chapter 6 readings today titled “The Bread of Life” is at this link.

Psalms – Psalm 106 verse 39 stood out to me today, speaking about the Israelites: “They defiled themselves by their evil deeds, and their love of idols was adultery in the LORD’s sight.”  I think this Psalm verse stands the test of time with our modern world today.  Do you believe that we still defile ourselves with our evil deeds today?  Do you believe that our love of idols is adultery in God’s sight?  How can we stop defiling ourselves with evil deeds and stop loving idols in our modern world today?  Who can save us from ourselves?

Proverbs – Proverbs chapter 14 verse 34 today teaches us today: “Godliness makes a nation great, but sin is a disgrace to any people.”  This is a great reminder that godliness is not just an individual issue, but a community and even national issue.

Worship Video: The first half of Proverbs 14:34 today reminded me of the great Matt Maher song “Hold us Together:”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SHXQNfib_M

Do you believe love will hold us together? Click here for Love!

Please join us in memorizing and meditating on a verse of Scripture today: “Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”  John 6:35 TNIV

Prayer Point: Pray that Jesus is your bread of life. Pray that through faith in Jesus you will never be spiritually hungry or thirsty. Pray you will withstand hunger or thirst in this fallen world, knowing that Jesus is your bread of life.

Comments from You & Questions of the Day:  Do you agree with this Proverb that godliness makes a nation great?  In our recent readings in Judges, was Israel a godly nation?   Or was there sin in the nation bringing disgrace?  How about today?  Do you live in a godly nation?  Or is there sin bringing disgrace to the people?  Also, what verses or insights stand out to you in today’s readings?  Please post up by clicking on the “Comments” link below!

God bless,
Mike

p.s. Download our monthly Small Group study notes for our Bible readings at this link.

p.s. #2 – Download a schedule of our Bible readings for the year in PDF format at this link.

p.s. #3 – I would greatly appreciate it if you would pray for this Bible Blog ministry today! Please also consider partnering with us by financially supporting this ministry. Thank you!

BLOG READERS HISTORICAL COMMUNITY COMMENTS:
(our Group Bible Study is below! : )

======= Ramona:

======= Melanie:

Still on the programme! but doing it quietly as I hadn’t had the time to blog about my reflections. 
Interesting point about the John reading today. But I was wondering, as usual, what did Jesus mean by “Belief in me” … and immediately I thought “Well, if I want to be ‘saved’, just believe.” It made me realise how me-centred my view is, so what does Jesus mean when he said believing in him is enough?
Before Jesus’ answer, the question was: What must we do to perform the works of God”
Is it a convulated (to me, hah) way of saying, “What can we do to please God? help him?”
What jumped out for me in John was Jesus’ response in v26.
“Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you at your fill of the loaves”
Of course, as usual, I’m like one of the crowd: What does he mean?
Could it be that the crowd came searching for Jesus because they knew that he was the one who call bless them with things, a ‘wish man’ of sorts?
Jesus, of course, cut to the chase and said that we shouldn’t “work for food that perishes”
Ironically, many Christians still do that.
Saul seemed like such a perfect candidate when you read this portion of OT. He didn’t seem particularly power hungry or megalomaniacal either! Goes to show appearances deceive!
Melanie

======= Rob:

i was really struck by how saul came across in the passage and what a mess of things he makes later on. i have been thinking a lot recently about people who messed up earlier on and then came good (eve, jacob, joseph) as i am preaching about this on sunday – but here is someone doing the reverse. where did it all start to go wrong and may i ‘beat my body and make it my slave lest i myself be disqualified from the prize’ as paul says in the new testament.
rob

======= John:

John 6
28Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”
29Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” NIV
The people ask him what works (plural) they can do.
“Those who questioned Jesus seemed sure that if only Jesus told them what to do, they could please God by their works of God. For these people, as with many people today, salvation is found in the right formula for performing works that will please God.”
Jesus corrects them. Jesus’ name means “Jehovah is salvation”. Salvation is God’s work. In this regard, there are no works (plural) for the people to perform only the work (singular) of God. Believe in the one He sent – believe what He says, believe why He is there, believe IN Him. Have faith!
[Note: Greek in text is erga (works) and ergon (work).]
Having faith does not mean one gets a free ticket to do what one wants – faith leads to a transformation of our lives.
“We become by faith, his brethren, his servants, his soldiers, his subjects, and the children of his Father in heaven. This faith is obviously no merely peripheral interest of one’s life. If you have it, it controls you! Our entire lives, therefore, are redefined, redirected, indeed, recreated, because we believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that he came into the world to save sinners, and that those who trust in him will live forever.”
Once you have faith and are saved, then your life changes, so that we can carry out God’s works.
Eph 2:10
“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
John

======= Roslyn:

“I am the bread of life. No one who comes to me will ever be hungry again. Those who believe in me will never thirst.” AMEN!!!
Yes, Lord, I BELIEVE!!!
Roslyn

======= Ramona:

1 Samuel 8:1-9:27
In e-mailing Anka several days ago, we both have the same philosophy, or belief, that God has a sense of humor and I believe, in these two chapters, God is showing His humor toward us. However, this humor here is not the funny Ha, Ha, humor but the funny ironic kind.
Israel is desiring a king because of there disunity, because they want to be like the other nations, because they want a central government, they want someone to uphold the laws. Funny thing if one is following the Laws of God, one wouldn’t need to have someone enforce the laws. Laws are written for those that break the law not for those who uphold the law in their hearts. If one’s heart is right then one’s actions are right.
Because I have read the Book of Samuel multiple times, I know how the story ends but I want everyone to consider Saul’s name, it’s meaning in Hebrew:
שׁאוּל
shâ’ûl
shaw-ool’
Passive participle of H7592; asked;
And the root word the name Saul was taken from:
shaw-al’, shaw-ale’
A primitive root; to inquire; by implication to request; by extension to demand:
Israel was about to get that what she demanded. Be careful what you ask for you might get it. And when you accept the cost without.
The story of Saul and some other passages in the Bible have led me to conclude, outside of God and His Christ; we get the leadership we deserve.
Grace and peace,
Ramona
P.S. Anka–Great insight!

======== Vance:

John 6 (NKJV)
34
Then they said to Him, “Lord, give us this bread always.”
35
And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.
~~~
NOTE:
This is the key point of all knowledge and learning of the Scriptures. Do we know and have intimacy with the Lord Jesus?
Notice what Jesus said, “…He who comes to Me shall never hunger.”
We always have needs and we always hunger for more. That is why Jesus also said in Matthew 5 (NKJV):
6
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.
I am to be always and constantly seeking and receiving so all of who I am is truly washed with the water of grace and filled with Christ.
May Christ truly be seen and manifest in and through our lives.
~~
We can only walk in the love of God as Jesus lives His Life through us. When people hear God’s Word in and see the Presence of Jesus in us, then many hearts will come and receive from the Water of Life.
~~~
Psalm 106 (NKJV)
39
Thus they were defiled by their own works, And played the harlot by their own deeds.
NOTE:
Either Christ is our life and sustenance or something or someone else will be. Jesus is Lord and God is the Most High.
Yet
—it still amazes me when I think about it—
my choices can determine whether I have life or death, blessing or curse.
May I enter more and more and drink deeply from the Presence of the Lord. Then I will be protected from being defiled. Then and only then will I have the pure heart that only comes from grace.
Vance

======= Ramona:

More Thoughts on Today’s Readings:
One of the common thread in both of today’s reading, Old and New is seen in I Samuel 9:20 and Jesus’ words to the crowd looking for bread and fish, John 6:26.
Don’t be concerned about the donkeys that you lost three days ago, for they have been found. Whom does all Israel desire? Is it not you, and all your father’s family?”
(1 Samuel 9:20 NET.)
AND
Jesus replied, “I tell you the solemn truth, you are looking for me not because you saw miraculous signs, but because you ate all the loaves of bread you wanted. (John 6:26 NET.)
Saul was the answer to the hope and dreams of Israel, but was Israel operating out of God’s desire? Just because you have a lot of people desiring you, calling for you doesn’t mean that your fulfilling their hopes and desires they way they want you to is your true purpose. Just because you have the crowd carrying you along doesn’t mean the crowd will take you where you want to go, should go. Good isn’t good unless it’s righteous.
Jesus came to this earth to feed those that were spiritually starving and He knew His purpose. He wasn’t waylaid by the desires of the crowd. They wanted to be fed so their stomachs were full; Jesus wanted their spirits feed, that was the assignment his father gave Him and that was what He purposed in His heart to do.
Our God given assignments should never be diverted and perverted by the voices of the crowd.
Grace and peace,
Ramona

======= MItch:

it’s funny the details we find in the bible. for instance, why are we told how handsome saul is, but nothing about why samuels sons are so corrupt or who their mother is.
i’m really enjoying the old testament reading but would really love to have more commentary. i’ve been saturated in the new testament but am lacking in my knowledge and understanding of the old, which effects my grasp of christ and the new test regardless of how much i’ve been exposed to it. if anyone could recommend a good old test commentary for me i’d really appreciate it.
thanks,
Mitch

======= Anka:

Mitch,
Bob Deffinbaugh is a pretty good commentator on the OT…there are many others on http://www.bible.org.
Anka

======== Mitch:

anka,
thanks for the response. i’ve been following all the commentary links (most of them bible.orgs), but i guess i’m commentary greedy and want even more. i get much from bob d. but would love to have a verse by verse analysis with a heavy historical/contextual background.
Mitch

======= Mike:

Mich – the Zondervan NIV Study Bible is incredible. Great verse by verse analysis, and pretty good on the historical context w/ maps, etc. It’s online here – http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0310929555/
I try to review this study Bible before posting up, but don’t always get the chance. It adds a lot to my posts when I actually do. : )
Mike

======== John:

1Samuel 8-9
All the “heroes” of the Old Testament are flawed. Samuel is a Godly man, and we have seen no real sin on his part up to now.
However, here Samuel appoints his sons as judges. God raises up judges – nowhere has it been said that a judge was to pass down leadership to family. Samuel did not consult God on this – he just did it! The results were disastorous.
======================================================
Israel desires a king.
God designed this world as a theocracy. Adam was to be God’s representative on Earth – God was the ultimate authority. Judges were raised up to deliver people from certain situations – but God was still the ultimate authority.
God provided for Israel whenever they were in fellowship with Him. He provided for all their needs. God was their king – but the people wanted a king “like all the other nations”.
This rejection of God as ruler of Israel foreshadows Israel’s rejection of Christ.
God knew that they would have a king one day – but Israel’s early cry for a king brought them Saul. If they had not cried out for a king – I believe that first king would have been David.
======================================================
Saul
Saul was from central casting – tall and good-looking -but nowhere in the verses today does it say what (if any)kind of relationship Saul had with God.
In fact the only mention of even having anything to do with God was to find the donkeys – nothing about Saul’s personal life.
Saul appears humble and modest before Samuel – will that change when Saul is elevated to power??????
John

======= John:

John 6
[IMPORTANT VERSES TO ME. Before I was saved as I was reading through this gospel, and I ran across these verses – they struck me. Never had heard anything about these verses growing up – I began to understand.]
======================================================
28Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”
29Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” NIV
The people ask him what works (plural) they can do.
“Those who questioned Jesus seemed sure that if only Jesus told them what to do, they could please God by their works of God. For these people, as with many people today, salvation is found in the right formula for performing works that will please God.”
Jesus corrects them. Jesus’ name means “Jehovah is salvation”. Salvation is God’s work. In this regard, there are no works (plural) for the people to perform only the work (singular) of God. Believe in the one He sent – believe what He says, believe why He is there, believe IN Him. Have faith!
[Note: Greek in text is erga (works) and ergon (work).]
Having faith does not mean one gets a free ticket to do what one wants – faith leads to a transformation of our lives.
“We become by faith, his brethren, his servants, his soldiers, his subjects, and the children of his Father in heaven. This faith is obviously no merely peripheral interest of one’s life. If you have it, it controls you! Our entire lives, therefore, are redefined, redirected, indeed, recreated, because we believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that he came into the world to save sinners, and that those who trust in him will live forever.”
Once you have faith and are saved, then your life changes, so that we can carry out God’s works.
Eph 2:10
“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
John

1 Samuel 5:1-7:17 + John 6:1-21 + Psalm 106:13-31 + Proverbs 14:32-33
~ Click here to read today’s Scripture on Bible Gateway ~
~ Listen to today’s Scripture with Tom Dooley’s terrific NLT 1996 readings at this link or The ESV Bible: OT + NT + Psalms + Proverbs ~

Old Testament – Interesting chapters in First Samuel today!  The idol Dagon was no match for the Ark of the Covenant!  You’ll notice in verse 4 that Dagon ends up in a worship position before the Ark: “And when they arose early on the morrow morning, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD.”  Dagon was the “god” of the Philistines, and was thought to have been some sort of man / fish combo.  The idol of Dagon may have looked something like this:

Below is a pretty good map of that will show you where three of the Five Cities of the Philistines (Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Ekron, and Gath) that we read about in today’s readings are located in the Philistine territory:

It’s fascinating to see the Philistine’s send back to Israel a “guilt offering” of golden tumors and rats with the Ark.  Not quite what was prescribed for guilt offerings in Leviticus… but, I guess you can give them an E for effort.  🙂  We read in chapter 6 verse 11 – “Then the Ark of the LORD and the chest containing the gold rats and gold tumors were placed on the cart.”

 

Then we arrive at the people of Beth-shemesh who look in the ark and perish – and then the ark is sent off again to another town.  We then arrive at some wonderful words from Samuel in chapter 7 verses 3 & 4: “Then Samuel said to all the people of Israel, “If you are really serious about wanting to return to the LORD, get rid of your foreign gods and your images of Ashtoreth. Determine to obey only the LORD; then he will rescue you from the Philistines.” So the Israelites destroyed their images of Baal and Ashtoreth and worshiped only the LORD.”  And later in verse 10 we read – “Just as Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the Philistines arrived for battle. But the LORD spoke with a mighty voice of thunder from heaven, and the Philistines were thrown into such confusion that the Israelites defeated them.”

Bible.org’s commentary on our 1 Samuel readings today titled “The hands of Dagon and the Hand of God” is at this link.

New Testament – It is very interesting to note that Jesus’ miracle of feeding the 5,000 is the only miracle, along with the resurrection, that is described in all 4 gospels!  In John chapter 6 verse 14 we read – “When the people saw this miraculous sign, they exclaimed, “Surely, he is the Prophet we have been expecting!””  The Prophet the crowds are referring to comes from Deuteronomy chapter 18 verses 15 & 18 – “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him…. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers; I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him.”

Bible.org’s commentary on our John chapter 6 readings today titled “The Messiah: Mightier than Moses” is at this link.

Psalms – Today in Psalm 106:19-21 we read: “At Horeb they made a calf and worshiped an idol cast from metal. They exchanged their Glory for an image of a bull, which eats grass. They forgot the God who saved them, who had done great things in Egypt.” This of course sounds very familiar to Romans chapter 1 verses 22 and 23: “Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.”  Was this wise that the Israelites exchanged their Glory for an image of a bull?  Why did they do this?  What should have been their Glory? What is your Glory today?  Do you, at times, exchange your true Glory for something else?  Is this wise?  Are you forgetting the God who saved you? The God who has done great things for you?  Please don’t ever exchange the true Glory for a false idol!

Verse 13 in this Psalm also stands out: “Yet how quickly they forgot what he had done! They wouldn’t wait for his counsel!”  Is this true of us?  Do we forget or take for granted all of the blessings God has poured out into our lives?  In doing so, do we decide to take matters into our own hands – not waiting on God’s counsel for our direction?  Will we remember?  Will we wait?  Patiently…?

Proverbs – I really like Proverbs 14 verse 33 today – “Wisdom is enshrined in an understanding heart.”  I pray we all develop understanding hearts that are full of godly wisdom!

Worship Video: Today’s readings in John reminded me of Needtobreathe’s song “Testify:”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCKU7kAUrvU

Have you testified? Click here to Testify!

Please join us in memorizing and meditating on a verse of Scripture today: “They exchanged their Glory for an image of a bull, which eats grass.”  Psalm 106:20 NIV

Prayer Point: Pray that you will never exchange the Glory of God in your life for a useless dying idol.

Comments from You & Questions of the Day:  What do you think this Proverb means when it says “understanding heart”?  What is an “understanding heart”?  How is it different from other hearts?  Maybe hardened hearts or foolish hearts?  Have you ever prayed to God for an understanding heart?  Would this be a good prayer?  Also, what verses or insights stand out to you in today’s readings?  Please post up by clicking on the “Comments” link below!

God bless,
Mike

p.s. Download our monthly Small Group study notes for our Bible readings at this link.

p.s. #2 – Download a schedule of our Bible readings for the year in PDF format at this link.

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BLOG READERS HISTORICAL COMMUNITY COMMENTS:
(our Group Bible Study is below! : )

======= Ramona:

1 Samuel 5-7:17

For me this entire story of the capture of the Ark and its return can be played out today in our dealings with God either individually, as a congregation, a community and a nation. The Ark was captured because Israel used it as a “good luck” charm. It had become a symbol of God, something to carry into battle because they had lost a previous battle and not because they trusted God, they had put God in a box and kept Him there in the reasoning of their minds.

The Philistines now had the God of Israel in a box and took Him to their temple where their god, Dagon, fell before Israel’s God. [(I have sworn by Myself, the word is gone out of My mouth in righteousness and shall not return, that unto Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear [allegiance] Isaiah 45:23); (It is written: ” ‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.’ ” 12 So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God. Romans 14:11-12)]

Instead of getting a clue and either being too stupid or stubborn to buy one, the Philistines kept their god and tried to reason and placate the God of Israel. Their means and methods of dealing with Israel’s God, placing it in a chart being pulled by cows that had given just given birth to calves that were not allowed to travel with them and the gold idols, were about “blind” men searching in the dark for God. In the natural new mothers don’t leave their babies. Israel took this as a sign, which it was; however, they misinterpreted the “sign” because they failed to seek God’s direction. They went by how things appeared to them instead of what God said because they failed to have fellowship with God to find out what He required, they failed to adhere to the Laws handed down by Moses so they went by it kinda-sorta-seems-like-to-me.

We still do that today. We try to keep God in a box and only bring Him out in crisis, then only to cry, “Why God, why?” When we don’t have God in our lives, His Presence, when manifested, defeats the gods in our lives and instead of asking questions and examining the reasonableness of the gods we serve, we send the true God back. When the God we say we serve out of tradition shows up in our lives in a powerful way, we then forge a worship method based on what we think we have seen instead of drawing closer to Him in fellowship to find out what He requires. We then begin to forge a worship system formed out of the ignorance of our own minds based on traditions formed from the lifestyles of unbelievers, a deadly formula.

John 6:1-21

This sentence/verse has caught my attention,
2 And a huge crowd kept following him wherever he went, because they saw his miracles as he healed the sick.

Am I following the pattern of the crowd? Am I following Jesus because of His miracles, because he “fed” me? Am I looking for a feeding program? When we read through the Book of Luke we came across the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16: 19-31). At the end of that story there is a punch line which was, 31″But Abraham said, `If they won’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they won’t listen even if someone rises from the dead.’ ” Signs and Wonders do not bring belief and faith, signs and wonders just make us wonder, “Hmmm” Hopefully our curiosity will send us on a journey to find “Truth.”

What the now well-fed crowd wanted was a king to keep them fed. This desire not only indicted the crowd back then but it indicts us today. We seek the “right” politician or leader not for what is right and moral but for what they can do for us and at the same time not give to the other guys living across the tracks or the other side of the political spectrum. Like us, they wanted a prophet/king to give them “stuff” but they didn’t want the Messiah part because they, like, us, don’t really want to submit to anyone however we do just want the “stuff.”

Psalm 106:13-31
24 The people refused to enter the pleasant land,
for they wouldn’t believe his promise to care for them.

25 Instead, they grumbled in their tents
and refused to obey the LORD.

I am always fascinated by how the readings from different books written at different times parallel and compliment each other. This division of the Book of Psalms, at least to me, clearly shows the fickleness of “us folks.”

Proverbs 14:32-33

32 The wicked are crushed by their sins, but the godly have a refuge when they die.

Our bodies were never created to withstand the weight of sin. For those who are “saved” go get a B.S. (Before Salvation) picture and one now and see the difference on your face. Salvation lifts burdens.

28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Grace and peace,
Ramona

====== Anka:

Mike,
thanks for putting the links “steps to peace with God”cos I found some wonderful passages from “God can make a difference in the unknown” and “where to look in times of need”.God bless you for your labour of love.
Today’s OT reading I feel is loaded with meaning.God can’t be used,put down or mocked.We need to leave all the security blankets and throw ourselves into God’s arms.The Israelites had to be told to leave their gods aside and seek ONLY God.
I really don’t get the “they drew water out and poured it out in front of the Lord”bit but I can see that they in all sincerity turned to God in worship.The enemy chose a really bad time to strike…during a family reunion…God gave them victory because they did their part and God took care of all the rest.Our part is trusting Him and my prayers are “please teach me how to trust you,to love you”..it may sound really silly but I honesty look into my heart and it’s not pretty.
God bless you all
Anka

====== Luch:

Commenting on Psalm 106:19-21 “The people made a calf at Mount Sinai; they bowed before an image made of gold. they traded their glorious God for a statue of a grass eating ox. They forgot God…” Alas, the last three words are the ruin of many people—“they forgot God.” Everytime I read this passage I am reminded of what the famous preacher and scholar Jonathon Edwards said about “goodness”. He said, “The ultimate good in life is to treat something according to its true value.” How true. The ultimate good is to treat God according to His true infinite value, but these people chose not to, and in not treating God according to His true value, they destroyed themselves. When we fail to treat ourselves according to our true value as the ‘imago dei’–image bearers of our great God, we then also turn to lesser gods that end up destroying us over time. Aplly this principle to every relationship in your life–treat your spouse/children/friends/enemies/fellow parishiones/neighbours—according to their true value as image bearers of our Triune God. The Israelites chose as we/I do at times to ‘bow before an image made of gold” and we pay the price for our unwise choice. May God help all OYB readers to practice this discipline of treating people and God according to their true value…..

Luch

====== Michelle:

======= Jim:

The Philistines may have placed the ark in their place of worship to honor the god that had apparently abandoned their enemy, but they were certainly not ready to submit to it (being polytheists). In Canaanite mythology, enemy heads and hands were taken as trophies by the goddess Anat. The imagery here clearly shows that Yahweh and Dagon had fought and that Yahweh had been triumphant. After the return of the ark to Beth Shemesh the people were yet again under judgment for irreverence in worship and approach to a holy, righteous, and almighty God. We should consider our own seriousness when adding black lights and mood music to Sunday’s service when reading stories like these from scripture.
If the events of John chapter 5 occurred at the Feast of Tabernacles and chapter 6 was during Christ’s second Passover of John Gospel, then half a year has passed between these two chapters. Christ feeds 5,000 (only miracle recorded by all four Gospel authors except for the resurrection, although only John describes the bread as barley denoting a poor bread – reminiscent of when Elisha multiplies such loaves in 2 Kings 4:42-44) and later walks on water. The leftover food may suggest that there was also enough spiritual food to satisfy them forever (like the manna previously given in the wilderness) and the specific counting only of men may suggest four times the 5,000 in total. “Man does not live on bread alone” (Matt 4:4) because human beings are more than mere animals. Christ reminds the still spiritually immature and insensitive disciples to “not be afraid” but rather “believe” during the storms on the lake and in life. Jesus is whom sinners persecute and saints adore – nothing could be more alarming or comforting. I am often surprised to hear Jewish and Christian friends say that neither of them think they worship the same God.
During the times of Christ there was a multitude of supposed miracle workers (including those who claimed to be able to walk on water), but only Jesus focused on teaching (rather than on overthrowing the Romans – what the customers wanted). The distinction is made clear: “Jesus answered, I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.” And, Jesus departed when the crowds came to take Him by force and to be their king. In the OT, Moses, Joshua, Elijah and Elisha all parted bodies of water, but only God trod upon the water (Job 9:8). After Jesus walked across the water to join them in the boat, it immediately was beamed to the shore as the Spirit did to Philip from the Gaza road in Acts (also compare with 1 Kings 18:12). Matthew tells us that Peter left the safety of the boat and began to sink when his attention was drawn away from Jesus and onto the wind. This is a great example of how those who respond to Christ’s call are still vulnerable to doubts.
In Matthew 12:43-45, Jesus describes the spiritual condition of the generation of His day after saying how they would be condemned by the Ninevites and the Queen of Sheba in the day of judgment (Matthew 12:41-42). Jesus warned it is not enough just to go through the process of having one’s sins forgiven unless reformation continues and something positive is put in the now-cleaned house (where the end might prove worse than the beginning). We must replace evil with good. In our heart can reside things that produce harm (Matt 15:19) as well as be the source of good (Matt 12:35). Our “house” can be cleaned (like in Hebrews 10:22 and Acts 15:8-9) to serve God (Heb 9:14) but we are expected to “fill” our home with Christ (Ephesians 3:17), God’s peace (Colossians 3:15-16), and the law (Hebrews 8:10). Nature abhors a vacuum, though, and our good home is likely to see evil return with a vengeance! Consider the Corinthians that had been washed, sanctified, and justified (1 Cor 6:11) and yet were later engaged in sinful conduct again (2 Cor 12:20-21) or the false teachers mentioned by Peter who had been bought by the Lord (2 Pet 2:1) but had become entangled again and, “the latter end is worse for them than the beginning” (2 Pet 2:20-22). In the case of he false teachers, they had become worse by forsaking the right way (2 Pet 2:15), adultery and covetousness (2 Pet 2:14), and even denied the Lord who bought them (2 Pet 2:1). In our case, our hearts can become “hardened” (Heb 3:12-13), insult the Spirit (Heb 10:26-29), and eventually reach the point of no return (Heb 6:4-6). How important, then, that we do not let the home of our heart remain empty and thusly invite worldly things to take up residence only to discover, “the last state of that man is worse than the first!” Follow instead the example of David (Psalm 101:3-4), renew your understanding (Romans 12:1-2), study God’s word (1 Pet 2:1-2), allow yourself to be filled with the Spirit (Colossians 3:16), be selective about your environment (Philippians 4:8), and chose friends carefully (1 Cor 15:33, Prov 13:20, 2 Cor 6:14-7:1).
I seemed to provide conflicting opinions yesterday when suggesting that we should focus less on other’s sins and more on our own and then saying that we should also focus less on our own sins as well. This is because I think we should focus on grace (or forgiveness for our sins – not others). Christ did not suggest we first pray, “God stop me” but “God, be merciful to me.” People often assert high grades on unselfishness and pronounce their health and wealth as the just reward (since, “what goes around, comes around”). All of the students in one of my college classes, for example, once even claimed their choices in life were honest and selfless no less than either 90% to 100% of the time. Persons of great spirituality (like Mother Teresa), on the other hand, state that they know their decisions are SELFISH 100% of the time. Apostle Paul even said, “I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.” (Romans 7:18) Psalm 106 is specifically about God’s people forgetting His mercies and calls for the praise of God despite these short memories. “Remember me” seems based on the remembrance of Israel’s history in the previous Psalm and is a strong contrast with “they soon forgot.” We read last week the most famous line of the Bible that starts, “For He so loved the world…” How would you finish the sentence, For the world so loved their God … ? “We have sinned with our fathers,” “They soon forgot,” “He gave them their request,” the rebellion of Dathan and Abiram, the story of the golf calf, “they despised the pleasant land,” and so forth is about the great need for community penitence for forgetting. There isa long history of rebellion in the face of God’s love and provision even though He has always remained faithful.https://widgets.wp.com/likes/#blog_id=247928091&comment_id=100895&origin=bibleinayearblog.com&obj_id=247928091-100895-69feb564eb250
Jim

======= Chris:

I’m keeping up here with everyone. I must say that I am becoming very educated while I’m on this journey and at the same time, I’m wondering what took me so long to actually read the Bible.
I find it comforting while at the same time seeing many parallels between then and now and human nature. As I continue to read, I ask myself are we so different now? The killing that occurred, take of countries, towns, cities, leaving no one alive…
Then jumping ahead to actually visualize Jesus speaking and trying to connect this.
I have asked myself these questions:
Are we as human beings so different now than they were back then?
And how can I as one person make a difference?
And how can we all as a community make a difference?
It seems we keep making the same mistakes over and over again, taking one step forward and two back.
I’ve never been closer to God than I am today, even though at times I am a bit confused by it all, but I suppose that, too, will become clearer to me.
Judges was a real eye-opener, especially at the end.
I do know that the more I read the more strength I draw and the more determined I am to make right my life and to adhere to God’s teachings and to share that with my family by living that way.
I ask myself questions and I am finding the answers.
Thanks for taking so much of your time to share with us your views and opinilons, and the questions you ask to ask ourselves.
You’ve got me thinking!
Chris

======= Vance:

I Samuel 5 (NKJV)
6
But the hand of the LORD was heavy on the people of Ashdod, and He ravaged them and struck them with tumors, both Ashdod and its territory.
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.”
8
Therefore they sent and gathered to themselves all the lords of the Philistines, and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?”
19
Then He struck the men of Beth Shemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the LORD. He struck fifty thousand and seventy men of the people, and the people lamented because the LORD had struck the people with a great slaughter.
20
And the men of Beth Shemesh said, “Who is able to stand before this holy LORD God? And to whom shall it go up from us?”
21
So they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kirjath Jearim, saying, “The Philistines have brought back the ark of the LORD; come down and take it up with you.”
1 Samuel 7 (NKJV)
1
Then the men of Kirjath Jearim came and took the ark of the LORD, and brought it into the house of Abinadab on the hill, and consecrated Eleazar his son to keep the ark of the LORD.
~~~
NOTE:
I really like this very timely, ever real question and challenge by Mike:
“What is your Glory today? Do you, at times, exchange your true Glory for something else? Is this wise? Are you forgetting the God who saved you? The God who has done great things for you? Please don’t ever exchange the true Glory for a false idol.”
An idol is not just something physical, like a statue of the Buddha or one of the thousands of Indian gods and goddesses.
It is so easy to develop an idol inside the heart which no one but the Lord can see. God’s Word can reveal to us what God sees within us as we wait in His Presence.
I am taking more time to wait in God’s Presence, sing and praise Him. God gave me the ability to play guitar and to sing. The guitar helps me sing and pray through my joys and sorrows.
~~~
Note that even when worshiping the true and living God, we must follow His instructions and worship the way that He tells us. Note what may be considered the “severity of God” as the holiness of God’s Presence weighed heavily on the Philistines (I Samuel 6, verses 6 – 8, 19 and 20).
This makes me think of something Charles Spurgeon said when questioned about God’s mercy and judgment. I do not remember the exact quote, but he said they were twin sisters – both glorifying the Lord.
God is holy. We need to be holy. We can only be holy as we wait in the Presence of the Holy One and allow Him to place His Word into our lives. We can, and our spiritual life longs for us to, meditate on His Word as we wait in His holy Presence.
This makes me think of these verses I have been meditating on with guitar and song:
Psalm 101 (NKJV)
1
I will sing of mercy and justice; To You, O LORD, I will sing praises.
2
I will behave wisely in a perfect way. Oh, when will You come to me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart.
Vance

======= John:

John 6
Feeding of five thousand
Greater than the last:
Water into wine for a wedding gathering, healings for individuals – witnessed by household and the other by temple occupants.
This miracle was in front of 5,000 – 20,000 people.
Previous miracles dealt with existing constraints – only a certain number of water jars, and illness in an individual.
This miracle had no constraints the food would go out to as many as would receive it – whether that was 20,000 or a million. And there would still be food (grace) left over.
Allusion to Moses is strong in this chapter, and will be expounded on later by Jesus. Moses prayed and manna came down from heaven. Jesus came down from heaven, prayed, and food was available to the people. The miracle sets up Jesus’ next discourse on the “bread of life”. Remember Bethlehem was translated : “House of Bread”.
Walking on Water
A month ago a professor at F.S.U. just “threw out there” that the region had experianced freezing temperatures and ice may have been formed on top of the water.
Professor Nof said: “We leave to others the question of whether or not our research explains the biblical account.”
And the media ran with it in the usual run-up to Easter that has become so common of late.
Must have been cold on the mount when people were being fed : ) Heck of a cold front that would freeze a stream of fresh water 3 and a half miles out to the boat, so that not only Jesus walked on it, but Peter as well. Pretty neat that the boat just happened to be at the end of the fresh water ice. Course Peter must have hit a thin patch of ice when he sunk.
[SIGH!]
Man, particularly non-believers, can not rest until they find an explanation of things that make sense to them. “That works for them” (How many times do we hear that phrase?)
[referring to media here and not so much the professor]
Random notes on Walking on Water:
They were terrified when they saw Jesus walking on water. Why? Up to now they had been present at other miracles and being comfortable in presence of Jesus had seen them unfold. This miracle came out of the blue and was directed at them.
How many times in Bible did angels suddenly appear and tell people “be not afraid”. The supernatural scares people when suddenly confronted with it with no warning or warm convivial build-up (just my opinion).
Jesus for the second time that I recall in John uses “ego eimi” or the “I am” phrase, and like the angels tells the disciples to not be afraid.
The disciples willingly take him in – the same Greek word as in John 1:12 – Gk. “lambano”: receive him. And immediately the boat reached shore.
Pretty neat capsule picture for “salvation”. Life in sin is a nasty storm, but if you believe in him and “take Him in” you will straightaway reach your destination. Does not mean the storms will subside or life will get all smooth and happy.
Your destination. It is like Andrew posted yesterday from Ephesians 2:6. The Greek verb construct is: we are already there (in heaven) raised up and seated with Christ. That is our destination to which we immediately come to upon salvation.
John

======= Ramona:

1 Samuel 5:1-7:17
What do I do when confronted with the undeniable power of God? Do I place Him amongst all my other gods? Do I scratch my head and ponder when the false gods I have erected bow down to the One True Living God loosing their heads and hands? What do I do when faced with the Truth of who God is? That is the question of the day.
The Philistines, who had no relationship with God, use magic, superstition and magical thinking to try to understand the God of Israel. They may be excused in their handling of the things of God, after all they were not given His commands. However, they cannot be excused for their continual worship of their false gods after seeing the devastation and destruction that came upon the people. They served and worshiped a weak god. What is so troubling to me is this: In the face of the power of God, they chose to get rid of Him instead of finding out who He was. They new He was powerful, yet still didn’t want Him. They desired gods that they could carry around, the desired images that allowed them to project their thoughts, their religious systems upon inanimate objects. How far off from the Philistines are we today?
Now God’s people and their reaction to the return of the Arc is another matter. Here we have a people who have been chosen by God to be His people, yet they utterly treat with contempt and familiarity, the things of God. They gave Him no honor, no respect and no reverence.
In the John passage, we have Jesus feeding more than five thousand people. We know there were more than five thousand because only the men were counted. Not only were the people fed, they had been healed and taught the Word of God, and yet, what was their reaction. They wanted to take Jesus and make Him king. The problem with giving anyone your stamp of approval, including God, is that then we want to tell them or Him how they should operate because after all didn’t we make “Him” king.
There is a common thread in today’s Old and New Testament reading and it is this: what do we doing with the information we have about God? Are we operating out of assumptions (ass-u-me), which is the lowest form of communication when it comes to the things of God and God Himself? Are we making up our own rules and regulations, like the Pharisees, and saying these are the laws of God? When God’s mighty power manifests in our lives, are we pushing it away instead of making a heart felt inquiry. How am I handling God and the things He has created, after all He created me!
Grace and peace,
Ramona

======= John:

1 Samuel 5-7:17
Israel Turns Back to the Lord
In Chapter 7 – as Samuel instructed, Israel threw away their false idols. Like back in judges – people turned to God and acknowledged their sin. they acknowledged God’s chosen one for leadership, Samuel, and sacrifices were conducted.
When their hearts were right towards the Lord – God delivered them from the Philistines and their was a time of peace.
======================================================
Is it any different for a believer today?
When we sin and do not go to God – and keep sinning for a period of time. God seems silent – out of our lives. He is still active in our lives, but we do not feel His prescence.
How is this rectified? Like Israel we are to throw out our false idols (sins) – literally or figuratively. Acknowledge we have sinned, and go to our mediator – Jesus Christ and offer prayers to God for forgiveness and restoration of “fellowship”.
The result: Just as Israel is God’s “chosen people” – we are, as believers, God’s “chosen people”. We will be forgiven (not of sins as that happened on the cross) but of “grieving God” and restored in fellowship.
God will then become closer to us, work in our lives, and we will be at peace for a time (until the next bout of sinning).
The goal – for sinning to occur less and less frequently as we mature as Christinas in the image of Christ.
John

1 Samuel 2:22-4:22 + John 5:24-47 + Psalm 106:1-12 + Proverbs 14:30-31
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Old Testament – First Samuel chapter 2 verse 25 stood out to me today when Eli says to his sons – “If someone sins against another person, God can mediate for the guilty party. But if someone sins against the LORD, who can intercede?”  This is an interesting thing to consider.  When we sin, are we sinning against other people and/or against God?  I think generally speaking the answer is both.  I have heard a pastor teach that “nobody sins in a vacuum.”   Not a literal vacuum of course :), but a “vacuum” meaning that your sin only affects you and you alone.  This pastor went on to say that when we sin – even when we are alone – we end up affecting everyone else around us in our lives in some way.  We may not consciously see how this happens, but our sin affects how we will treat others in the near future.  So, it seems to me that when we sin we pretty much always sin against others, because we’re in one sense letting down the community of people around us and we will behave differently to our community around us because of our sin.  Now, in terms of sinning against God, I always think of Psalm 51 where David writes to God – “against you and you alone have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight.”  I think this is true as well – any sin we commit is a sin against God.  It is interesting that David uses the term “you alone” about his sin.  But, obviously, David’s sin of adultery with Bathsheba affected the community around him in a big way.  So, all this to say – I believe that when we sin we are sinning against God and the community of people in our lives at the same time.  Eli asks in this verse above, “who can intercede for our sins against God?”  Well, at that time, that was a very good question.  However, in our time Jesus can and does intercede for our sins against God – if we’ll ask him.  We simply need to confess our sins to Jesus and ask for forgiveness and repent – in faith that Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.  We are so very fortunate that we have someone – Jesus – who can intercede for our sins…  This is why Jesus is called Savior.  Jesus Saves us from our sins.  Has Jesus saved you from your sins?

An awesome image is below for 1 Samuel 3:10 – “And the LORD came and called as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel replied, “Yes, your servant is listening.”

Bible.org’s commentary on today’s 1 Samuel readings titled “Samuel and the sons of Belial” is at this link.  Commentary titled “The Rise of Samuel and the fall of Eli and Sons” is at this link. 

New Testament – I am intrigued by Jesus’ words in John chapter 5 verse 30 today, particularly in light of the book of Judges that we recently read, which was a dark time in Israel’s history – “But I do nothing without consulting the Father. I judge as I am told. And my judgment is absolutely just, because it is according to the will of God who sent me; it is not merely my own.”  I love that Jesus says his judgment is absolutely just.  And I believe this is true – 1. that Jesus will judge us and that 2. his judgment is just.  I think this is both something to be celebrated – there is no one else I would want to judge me… – and I think this can be sobering – if his judgment is absolutely just, then it is obvious that we cannot “sneak” anything by Jesus.  Everything we have ever done or will do will be judged by Jesus.  I think ultimately it is very healthy to recognize this.  Maybe initially this realization will keep us from sinning because of some fear of judgment – but ideally this realization matures into a love for Jesus that encourages us not to sin because we would not want to disappoint Jesus whom we love with all that we are.  Do you believe that Jesus is your judge?  Do you believe that Jesus will judge you absolutely justly?

Bible.org’s commentary on John chapter 5’s readings today titled “Like Father, Like Son” is at this link.

Psalms – Psalm 106 is a repentant Psalm, likely written by a Levitical priest after returning to Jerusalem after its destruction.  Verse 2 stood out to me today – “Who can list the glorious miracles of the LORD? Who can ever praise him half enough?”  Can you list all of the glorious miracles of God?  Can anyone?  Are you praising God today?  Every day?

Verse 3 is powerful- “Happy are those who deal justly with others and always do what is right.” I think this is such an important thing to know – we will be happy when we deal justly with others and when we do what is right.  This is happiness.  Not money or fame or power or luxuries.  Dealing justly with others and doing what is right is happiness.  So, Biblically, are you happy?

Proverbs – Today in Proverbs chapter 14 verse 31 we read – “He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.” Those of you that have been journeying through the One Year Bible with me this year know that I like to point out verses like these. I believe it is crystal clear in the Bible that God cares about the poor and instructs us to care for the poor. I’m sure we all have differing views on what this might look like logistically, and that’s fine. But, I think it’s really an issue of the heart.

Worship Video: Today’s Proverb 14:31 about being kind to the poor reminded me of the Chasen song and this powerful video for “On and On:”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rqh9sHTXcAI

Do you believe in Miracles? Click here for a Miracle!

Please join us in memorizing and meditating on a verse of Scripture today: “He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.”  Proverbs 14:31 NIV

Prayer Point: Pray that you are kind to the poor and needy. Pray that you are not showing contempt for God by oppressing the poor. Pray to love your neighbor as yourself.

Comments from You & Questions of the Day:  Based on today’s Proverb, do you care for the poor? Really – “care,” in your heart, for the poor?  What are some ways in your life that you are caring for the poor on a consistent basis?  Do you believe that God cares for the poor?  Do you believe that God instructs us to care for the poor?  Why?  Also, what verses or insights stand out to you in today’s readings?  Please post up by clicking on the “Comments” link below!

God bless,
Mike

p.s. Download our monthly Small Group study notes for our Bible readings at this link.

p.s. #2 – Download a schedule of our Bible readings for the year in PDF format at this link.

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======= Ramona:

1 Samuel 2:22-4:22

I have heard it stated but I never, until today’s reading, saw it in scripture: God always warns us of impending judgment BEFORE judgment comes. Eli has been warned continually of his son’s behavior and does nothing about it. As High Priest, his responsibility was to teach the nation, yet he failed to even teach his sons. He may have rebuked them verbally but he never disciplined them. . But I believe the worst thing he committed was gorging himself on the fruit of his son’s misbehavior, stealing the sacrifices the people brought to the alter. Eli sent out mixed messages, what he said with his words was drowned out by the decibel level of his actions. He profited from his sons’ behavior and they new it, dulling the impact of his rebukes.

A man of God came to Eli and said to him, Thus has the Lord said: I plainly revealed Myself to the house of your father [forefather Aaron] when they were in Egypt in bondage to Pharaoh’s house. Moreover, I selected him out of all the tribes of Israel to be My priest, to offer on My altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before Me. And I gave [from then on] to the house of your father [forefather] all the offerings of the Israelites made by fire. Why then do you kick [trample upon, treat with contempt] My sacrifice and My offering which I commanded, and honor your sons above Me by fattening yourselves upon the choicest part of every offering of My people Israel? (1 Samuel 2:27-29 AMP)

As we read on, we find this message delivered by the prophet wasn’t the first time Eli heard from God about his sons and him benefiting from his sons’ actions,

The Lord told Samuel, Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel at which both ears of all who hear it shall tingle. On that day I will perform against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. And I [now] announce to him that I will judge and punish his house forever for the iniquity of which he knew, for his sons were bringing a curse upon themselves [blaspheming God], and he did not restrain them. (1 Samuel 3:11-13 AMP)

I am wondering if I am seeing a pattern of how God operates. His warnings are first personal, maybe told to us in our prayer time or in dreams while we sleep. Then His warning is brought by a man of God, a prophet or other “church” worker. Finally a warning is made public in a public place, or house of worship, by someone who we are mentoring or someone who looks up to us. Then lastly, judgment comes.

My question to myself is this: How many warnings have I “blown off?” What has God been trying to get my attention about? Can I handle the embarrassment of being exposed in a public form? I think not.

Grace and peace,
Ramona

====== Anka:

Where sin increased,grace increased even more:Aaron’s sons were struck dead as soon as they took “strange fire”into the temple yet Eli’s sons sinned again and again without immediate judgement from God.Yet Aaron’s line continued in priesthood while Eli’s didn’t.Really don’t know where I’m going with this but it was the first thing that struck me as I was reading.When i think of judgement,I think we that have so much more knowlege and mercy will be judged according to how many chances to repent we’ve had.
Can leaders lead us astray?Eli and his sons did.They let Israel offer sacrifices that were not acceptable to God,the priests lived in sin.Today as Christians we have to realise that leaders are to be prayed for…and thank God we have the Holy Spirit to lead us out of an unhealthy gathering…
God bless you all

Anka

====== Jim:

Every time I read a verse in dealing with the poor, I feel a pang of conviction. My job brings me into contact with the poor and for the most part their circumstances are the result of life style choices, drugs, alcohol, mental disorders and just plain bad luck. What I’m saying is I have been guilty of dealing harshly with the poor only because it is easy to judge others who are in poorer circumstances then yourself. God has convicted me on this many times and I have been slow to change, but I am thankful that God is patient with me. God knows every poor person’s life from cradle to grave and all of the circumstances surrounding it. Who am I to judge these people? I’m but one back injury away from descending into povery. I keep in mind to treat all the poor with compassion and dignity and try to keep them in my prayers at all times. It certainly is not easy, but where I fail, God is victorious.
Thanks,
Jim

====== Vance:

====== Jim:

Samuel is considered the last of the Judges and the first of the prophets who was chosen by God to succeed Eli because his sons had become corrupt beyond hope and he turned the people away from their gross idolatry and led them to final victory over the Philistines (what Samson should have done). He took the country from loosely associated tribes led by local judges to a unified nation led by kings. When he became old, however, he sons (like those of Eli) were also far short of their father’s integrity and the people demanded a king for powerful armies “such as all the other nations have.” They still could not see the connection between their successes or failures and being faithful to God. God even warned them that death and taxes would become the norm, and yet they still wanted the idol symbols of human power. Here is a prophesy likely of Saul’s massacre of the priests at Nob (with Abiathar a descendant of Eli as the only survivor as per v.33 who as David’s faithful priest was banished by Solomon to permit only Zadok to be the only high priest, as per Ezek 44:15, all the way into the millennial temple, which further fed the 2/10 tribe Israel / Judah divide with differing pastoral loyalties) as well of Christ as the ultimate priest and king. “A heart at peace give life to the body.”
Like the Sanhedrin, the sins of Eli’s sons were intentional as they “made themselves contemptible.” They both acted arrogantly in full knowledge that what they did was wrong with utter contempt for God and His Law. Even the unintentional sin of a priest could be atoned for by a sacrifice as per Leviticus 4:3-12, but there was no sacrifice for any person’s willful violation of the spirit of God’s laws. It is said that Jesus removed all sin, but likewise He does not wash clean the consequences of intentional sin against the Spirit. “Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.” (Matthew 31-32) Abraham was not only elderly but a liar, Jacob (meaning deceiver) was anxious and a cheat, Leah was unattractive, Joseph was physically abused, Moses had a speech impediment and was disobedient, Noah got drunk, Gideon was underprivileged, Samson was codependent, Rahab was depraved, David was an adulterous murderer, Elijah was afraid and suicidal, Jeremiah was depressed, Jonah was unwilling, Peter was impulsive (and guilty of denial), Zacchaeus was unpopular, Thomas was doubtful, Timothy was timid, and Paul was overweight and of poor health. The Bible contains quit a collection of misfits and even though they were sometimes chastised, they never lost their intimate relationship with God. God had a use for each of them (without “fixing” them with self-help philosophy or letting their sinful nature get in the way) that justified them. This was not the case for Eli’s sons, “the guilt of Eli’s house will never be atoned for by sacrifice or offering.”
Too often I hear sermons on “raising the bar” of expectations for Christians. The phrase “raising the bar” brings fear into the heart of sailors as it refers to the raising of the sand bar at the mouth of a river that makes the trip to the open ocean all the more dangerous. The phrase likewise brings fear into the heart of any true believer because it only increases the divide between the Shepard and His sheep. Judas “raised the bar” for himself too high to be saved just like religious leaders often hypocritically attack the behavior of others without looking within – too often sermons talk about “them” instead of “us” or “me” when talking about sin. Everything we naturally might do, feel, and think must be given up, so that “none can boast.” Evangelistic focus, IMHO, should thusly be more on lowering the bar. Even though Samuel and Eli’s sons were raised in positions of privilege, their lives strongly contrasted. Only one honored God and was honored by Him. Samuel’s first message of divine judgment was on the very house of Eli (most prophets were not popular in their own time) – how rare it would be to hear a sermon of divine judgment on one’s very own congregation. “But envy rots the bones.”
Christ said in Luke 18:13 that only those who believe they have a poor relationship with Him actually have a right one. Christ suggested we should always pray, “God, be merciful to me, the sinner!” Just as Christ ascended from Bethany in which his sufferings first began, those that would go to heaven must ascend from the house of sufferings and sorrows. Jesus bids that all bear their cross in the way of duty in Luke 14:27. Satan, however, always accepts us the way we are, never asks us to work or grow, and we never have to ask. The only problem is that members of his household end up dead, like a plant or animal without proper care, in much the same way that helping a butterfly past the natural struggle out of its cocoon will only keep it from ever flying (without the blood being pushed out into the wings). “Faith is not what today is so often called a ‘mystical experience,’ something that can apparently be induced by the proper breathing exercises or by prolonged exposure to Bach (not to mention drugs). It can be attained only through despair, through suffering, through a painful and ceaseless struggle.” – Peter F. Drucker
The Israeli army superstitiously assumed that taking the ark would guarantee success, but instead their forces are crushed (but not routed), their priests killed, and the ark lost and placed before the Philistine idol (which later falls to the ground and loses it head and later hands before the ark while the nearby people are stricken with tumors). God’s chosen constantly suffer loses while never being defeated (the Canaanites, for example, no longer exist) because it was always God and not religious relics that counted. Recent excavation suggest that Shiloh was destroyed around 1050 BC, possibly by a Philistine raid after the battle in v. 4:3 (also see Jeremiah 7:12) as punishment for their sins. Eli’s dying daughter-in-law saw the defeat, priestly deaths, and the lose of the ark as total ruin, but these events were in fact only purging judgments that ended a dark era and ushered in a new age of hope. We should remember the battle of Aphek whenever things may look their darkest – God may be preparing a great work in and through us. Also remember, though, that life for the Israelites was made worse by their self-serving worship and prayer. Prayer and worship, when done only to elevate ourselves, can make things worse. It is an awful thing to trifle with God. “We have sinned, even as our fathers did.”
Christ made it clear that it is belief that brings life and sin that condemns and kills. Christ mentions in 5:29 the first and second resurrections of Revelation. Revelation 20:5 says, “The rest of the dead live not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.” Those that experience the FIRST resurrection and live a thousand years with Christ are exempt from the second death (the lake of fire). The numbering of resurrections is because there will be a second one when those from the Pit (whom Jesus will later preach to when gone for three days after His crucifixion), including Satan (locked there for the millennium), will live on Earth again. The OT similarly tells that all will end up in Sheol (which Christ describes with a great divide between two judgments) with a potential salvation in a “world to come” (that some Jews believe will be ruled by David as the King of Kings). There are three kinds of life: 1) the natural life of soul and body, 2) the spiritual life of God and soul, and 3) the eternal life of the communal body and God. Those that hear the voice of the son of God shall wake from the dust, from sin, and receive eternal life in the body of Christ.
Jesus adds to His witness the testimony of John the Baptist because after the Cain / Abel murder investigation, God degreed that only the testimony of two or more should be believed, but Christ had no need of John’s testimony as He already had the greatest testimony of the Father (and His own works). Christ is saying in v 5:41 (and 43) that He acted through neither self-interest nor vanity (as our salvation adds nothing to Him and our destruction takes nothing away), He only spoke through His love for our salvation. On the other hand, Christ adds in v 5:42 (and 44) that the Jews were just the opposite with neither love nor zeal for God but that incorrigible ignorance and malicious jealously filled their hearts – condemned not by Jesus, but by the Law. It appears the Lord shut these Jews up as they went away without replying. The Pharisees were like the Philistines who accepted Yahweh but would not submit to Him. “Who can proclaim the mighty acts of the Lord or fully declare his praise?”
Escaped slave, Frederick Douglass, wrote the following about the nineteenth century American Christian church, “Between the Christianity of this land, and the Christianity of Christ, I recognize the widest, possible difference–so wide, that to receive the one as good, pure, and holy, is of necessity to reject the other as bad, corrupt, and wicked. We have men-stealers for ministers, women-whippers for missionaries, and cradle-plunderers for church members. The man who robs me of my earnings at the end of each week meets me as a class-leader on Sunday morning, to show me the way of life, and the path of salvation. He who sells my sister, for purposes of prostitution, stands forth as the pious advocate of purity. He who proclaims it a religious duty to read the Bible denies me the right of learning to read the name of the God who made me. We see the thief preaching against theft, and the adulterer against adultery.”
Jim

======= Andrew:

Re Mike’s questions on judgement:
Yesterday I read a less-than-ten-word summary of the Christian message: “We’re all bastards but God loves us anyway.”
Sure, we will all come before the judgement throne. But there is nothing we can do out of our own righteousness which will make us appear acceptable there. As reflected in today’s Psalm – we are saved from condemnation and damnation by the grace of God.
Blessings,
Andrew

======= Andrew:

Re Jim and Ramona on people in poverty and choices:
remember that the liberal capitalist economic system we have chosen to run depends on keeping a section of the population in poverty.
Greetings,
Andrew

======= Ramona:

Andrew,
That may be but you don’t have to play their game, or you can become a better player. Besides, Jesus said the poor we will have always, at lest until Jesus returns.
It is one thing to be poor because of social injustice, it is another thing to choose to be poor because of bad choices and not knowing your true value.
Ramona

======= John:

John 5:29
For the last year I have led a Bible study on the Gospel of John. The leadership position came by default – as no one else wanted to lead the weekly discussions. The group is made up of several denominations of Christian faith.
Verse 29 provided some lively discussion as some people staked a claim based on this verse that good works will lead to heaven.
John 5:29
“and come out—those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned.” NIV
This shows the danger of taking verses in isolation. I found a couple of paragraphs from a sermon that talks about verse 29.
[Our old theologians used to say that you can distinguish justification (the forgiveness of sins) from sanctification (the purification of our lives) but you cannot separate them. They always go together. Anyone whose sins are forgiven will live a godly life because God only forgives the sins of those whose lives he intends to transform. That is why the Bible teaches us that we cannot claim to be forgiven if we are not, at the same time, living a righteous life. In this world, of course, our righteousness is deeply imperfect to be sure, but still, that is the way the Bible always speaks. “This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.” (1 John 3:10)
We want to qualify that statement. We want to hurry on somehow to take the bite and the sting out of that statement made by the same apostle who wrote the Gospel we are reading these Sunday mornings. We do not like to hear such definitive pronouncements about the absolute necessity of obedience if we are to stand in the judgment of God. But such statements are everywhere in the Bible. We meet them at every turn. God’s people will be righteous people, obedient people. They will serve the Lord. People who do not and will not are not God’s people no matter how vigorously they protest their loyalty to him. Which is why those who do good will rise to live and those who do evil will rise to be condemned.]
“God’s people will be righteous people, obedient people. They will serve the Lord. People who do not and will not are not God’s people no matter how vigorously they protest their loyalty to him.” – from end of sermon notes.
Goes hand in hand with Matt 7:21-23
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!” NIV
The will of the Father is that we acknowledge Jesus Christ as our Savior/Redeemer. That we Believe in HIM. That we Receive HIM.
Again the “knew” Christ speaks of is Gk. -“ginosko” – an intimate knowledge where Christ and the person are one, with you abiding in Christ and He in you. If you do nto have this intimate relationship with Christ, then nothing you do on your own will be good enough. It will be rooted in your will and what you think is right. Not in the Will of God.
I often lift up a prayer to God that people who desire to walk a righteous path would first realize that they need to Believe IN and Receive Christ. If not – they will go the way of non-believers in verse 23 of Matthew.
Can man sin against man and/or God?
I thought that was a good question. My first inclination was all sin is against God.
My reasoning. Man cannot forgive sin. He can forgive offences, debts, etc. But only God can forgive sin. Therefore Sin can only be against God.
They are his rules, his righteous way of living – when we break HIS rules we sin against HIM.
John

======= John:

John 5:24-47
Quick hits
“I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.” John 5:24 NIV
What is Jesus’word – that you believe in Him (and receive Him) who was sent. If you do that and acknowledge it is the Father who sent Jesus then…
According to the Greek tenses – present active indicative – you have and will always have “eternal life” – You have crossed over – [Perfect active indicative – completed action because you have eternal life] – from death to life.
======================================================
Another way to look at verse 29 is those who have done good – listened, heeded and accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior.
Those who did evil rejected Christ – may have listened, but did not heed His words and are condemned.
Remember what happened to all the people in the OT who rejected the One True God – the sentence is death. It is the same here – except this is eternal separation from God.
======================================================
Testimonies To Chirst
– John the Baptist
– Jesus’ signs and wonders – the new beliver – the crippled man from the pool of Behthesda may have been standing in their midsts as Jesus spoke.
– The Father through the Holy Spirit. The ones who reject Jesus’ word never get this testimony. But the ones who have come to believe have been moved by the Holy Spirit.
– Scripture. It points to Christ – but they refuse to come to Him. If they do not believe Scripture (God’s Word) that points to Christ – they never will believe wht Christ (the Word) says.
Why?
Jesus points it out at the end of the readings:
PRIDE
It is pride that universally always keeps one from coming to Christ.
‘That is not the way I understand it. That is not the way I was raised. What you say is different than what I believe. That does not make sense to me. My friends agree with me, and we do not believe what you say. The authorities and media do not agree with you (Jesus). That is not what I was taught in school. Smart people do not fall for such a path to God.’
Unless one humbles himself and gets rid of all the “I’s and me’s” concerning Salvation, they will never heed Jesus’ words.
Unless one is humble and comes to God recognizing there is nothing they can bring to the table – heck, they can’t even get to the table – to impress God enough to get into heaven – they are condemned.
Unless one is humble, recognizes man’s sinful nature and repents to God with a right heart – there is no hope of salvation.
One must be in this state to be able to hear and heed Jesus’ words. Only then can one believe in Him and receive Him and have (right now) eternal life.
John

======= John:

1 Samuel 2:22-4:22
Quick hits
The sons of Eli were “wicked” – they appropriated the sacrificial offerings for themselves and had their way with the women who served at the entrance to the Tent of meeting (tabernacle). They did what the Canaanite priests did – they had learned well. They did not listen to their father in his old age – as they had never been restrained from youth and had become wicked.
Meanwhile:
“And the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor with the LORD and with men.”
[Note the similarity to what is said about Jesus in his youth.]
======================================================
Prophecy Against the House of Eli
Eli was “heavy” and so while he may have talked about stopping their activity – it seems implied here that Eli went ahead and ate richly from the food appropriated by his sons.
While an Ok high priest (and judge) – Eli was not able to restrain his sons thereby corrupting the priesthood.
Prophet says and the Lord later affirms to Samuel – the line of priests would be replaced, those not killed immediately would never live past their prime, and Eli’s sons and Eli himself would die on the same day.
The new priestly line would begin with Zadok during David’s reign.
======================================================
The LORD Calls Samuel
God had been silent throughout the end of Judges and has been silent here in opening of 1 Samuel. God has been active and personal like He always is – but His Word (through prophets) has been absent. That is going to change now.
“One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was..”
[Some possible spiritual metaphors here – Eli’s sight may be metaphor for his spiritual strength was waning. Lamp not gone out – may have been foreshadowing the capture of the ark. the glory departing from Israel.]
Eli’s sons had no regard for the Lord. Samuel did not yet know the Lord – but he would. Precedent for Samuel sleeping in the tent was seen before when Joshua slept there with Moses.
“the LORD was with Samuel as he grew up,” and God kept His Word (as He always does.)
God started speaking to Israel again through Samuel and it went out to all Israel. God revealed himself to Samuel through His Word.
======================================================
The Philistines Capture the Ark
-God is never consulted.
-Wicked men (Eli’s sons) accompany the ark.
– Bad theology and bad history by the Philistines regarding ‘”gods” and the plagues in the desert’. this is always the case when people do not know God – they do not get it right.
– Eli and his sons die – prophecy beginning to be fulfilled.
– The “glory” has departed from Israel. The Lamp is now out.
John

1 Samuel 1:1-2:21 + John 5:1-23 + Psalm 105:37-45 + Proverbs 14:28-29
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Old Testament – Today we begin the book of First Samuel! This is an amazing book of the Bible. I cannot wait to read about Hannah, Samuel, Saul & David!  Below is an image of Samuel anointing Saul, which we will read about later this week:

First Samuel
Author: Unknown
Date: Probably tenth century B.C.
Content: The books of First and Second Samuel comprise one book in the Hebrew Bible because they form one continuous history covering the lives of Samuel, Saul, and David. They were separated into two books for convenience for reading. First Samuel deals with the Philistine wars and Saul’s ultimate failure to deal with the enemy. The book opens with Israel’s being oppressed by the Philistines (a war-like neighboring nation) and the emergence of the two early leaders, Samuel and Saul. Samuel was the religious leader and Saul ultimately became the king. Saul’s early victories are described, followed by his moral decline and tragic end. Balancing the decline of Saul is the rise of the youthful David who will assume leadership after the death of Saul.
Theme: The basic idea that pervades this book is that God does not make his people immune to the changes of human life, but give them grace to see things through to a satisfactory conclusion. The rise and fall of kings, times of peace and war – throughout it all God stays the same and controls human events in such a way that those who trust him will find comfort and the courage to endure. (Above commentary is from “The One Year Bible Companion” p. 5)

More commentary on First Samuel from Bible.org is at this link.
Here’s a great quote from this link: “One might conclude from reading the Book of Judges that the problem was the absence of a king in Israel: “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25). In First Samuel, Israel will get her king. Saul, Israel’s first king, will be the kind of king the people want, and prove to be the king Israel deserves. David, Israel’s second king, will replace Saul. He is God’s kind of king, a man after God’s heart. First Samuel tells the story of fascinating people like Hannah and Samuel, like Saul and David. There is never a dull moment in this masterfully well written history. The book closes with the death of Saul, and thus the end of David’s flight from the hand of Saul, who seeks to kill him as an enemy.”

Bible Project:  Here is a great video overview of the book of First Samuel!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJOju5Dw0V0

Below is a great image for First Samuel chapter 1 verses 24 through 28 today where we read: “When the child was weaned, Hannah took him to the Tabernacle in Shiloh. They brought along a three-year-old bull for the sacrifice and half a bushel of flour and some wine. After sacrificing the bull, they took the child to Eli. “Sir, do you remember me?” Hannah asked. “I am the woman who stood here several years ago praying to the LORD. I asked the LORD to give me this child, and he has given me my request. Now I am giving him to the LORD, and he will belong to the LORD his whole life.” And they worshiped the LORD there.”

Today in First Samuel chapter 2 we read the incredible Prayer of Hannah! In verse 2 we read: “There is no one holy like the Lord; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.” This prayer of praise from Hannah really stands out to me these days. Oftentimes I think I “forget” that there is no one holy like the Lord – and I start to seek from other sources what I should only be seeking from God. I have come to realize more than ever lately that if I am feeling a strong emotion or need, I need to really reflect on that emotion or need and ask myself if God can satisfy or quench or dispel that emotion or need. The answer is always an unfailing and beautiful YES. There is no other person, place or being that will always be there for us – that will always be our Rock – that is perfectly consistent – besides God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit. God is holy and his holiness can take care of any emotion or need that comes up in our lives. We need to turn it over to him and trust in Him. How about you? Do you sometimes “forget” that God is holy? Do you sometimes seek from other sources what you should only be seeking from God? Do you believe that God can satisfy or quench or dispel any emotion or need that comes up in your life? Is God your Rock? Do you believe there is no one holy like the Lord?  Below is a great painting of Hannah and her prayer!

Bible.org’s commentary on our readings today in First Samuel titled “The Son and the Psalm of Hannah” is at this link.

New Testament – I’m not sure if you noticed this unique thing about Jesus’ healing of the man at the pool of Bethesda today – the man did not seem to have faith in Jesus or know who Jesus was!  You’ll recall with many of the healings we read about in the Gospels people yell out to Jesus for healing, or reach for Jesus’ garment, and show some sort of faith or recognition of who Jesus truly is.  Well, here in John chapter 5 verse 6 Jesus asks this man at the pool: “Do you want to get well?”  And then in the following verses the man still doesn’t realize who Jesus is and doesn’t ask Jesus for healing, but instead frets about not getting into the waters of the pool where he thinks the waters will heal him.  Well, come verse 8 Jesus says, “Get up!  Pick up your mat and walk.”  I find this whole scene awesome and a great example of God’s grace!  Perhaps sometimes in our lives when we miss seeing what Jesus is doing, He will still often heal us or care for us!  Even sometimes (though I don’t think always…) when we seem to looking for the other “waters” that we think will heal us.  Even sometimes when we don’t ask Jesus for healing, he’ll still do it for us.

Bible.org’s commentary on our readings in John chapter 5 today titled “Jesus Heals the man at the Pool of Bethesda” is at this link.

Psalms – Psalm 105 wraps up the Exodus Cliff Notes version today, with a great closing verse 45 – “All this happened so they would follow his principles and obey his laws.  Praise the LORD!”   Indeed, praise the Lord!

Proverbs – Proverbs 14:29 teaches us today: “People with understanding control their anger; a hot temper shows great foolishness.”  Do you agree with this Proverb?  Have you ever struggled with anger?  Do you agree that controlling your anger demonstrates understanding, and that letting your anger control you shows great foolishness?  Will you seek only understanding in this area of your life, and let all foolishness go?  Please, please, don’t be this guy…

Worship Video:  Today’s readings reminded me of Consumed by Fire’s song “First Things First:”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpTOcZN9JB4

Are you putting first things first? Click here for the Alpha/First!

Please join us in memorizing and meditating on two verses of Scripture today: “Then Hannah prayed and said: “My heart rejoices in the LORD; in the LORD my horn is lifted high. My mouth boasts over my enemies, for I delight in your deliverance. There is no one holy like the LORD; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.”  1 Samuel 2:1-2 NIV

Prayer Point: Pray like Hannah prayed to the Lord today! Pray that your heart is rejoicing in the LORD today. Pray that your delight is in your Rock and your deliverer, God.

Comments from You & Questions of the Day:  Based on my reflections above about the healing of the man at the pool of Bethesda, has Jesus ever done something amazing for you without you asking for it?  Perhaps even when you were looking for somebody or something else to fix or heal something for you, is there a time when God’s grace showed up on the scene instead and made the situation right?  Also, what verses or insights stand out to you in today’s readings?  Please post up by clicking on the “Comments” link below!

God bless,
Mike

p.s. Download our monthly Small Group study notes for our Bible readings at this link.

p.s. #2 – Download a schedule of our Bible readings for the year in PDF format at this link.

p.s. #3 – I would greatly appreciate it if you would pray for this Bible Blog ministry today! Please also consider partnering with us by financially supporting this ministry. Thank you!

BLOG READERS HISTORICAL COMMUNITY COMMENTS:
(our Group Bible Study is below! : )

======= Ramona:

1 Samuel 1:1-2:21

Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife saying, “May the LORD raise up for you descendants from this woman to replace the one that she dedicated to the LORD.” Then they would go to their home. So the LORD graciously attended to Hannah, and she was able to conceive and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. The boy Samuel grew up at the LORD’s sanctuary. (1 Samuel 2:20-21 NET.)

The above passage blows my mind and I recognize that these are the Words of Christ coming to pass before the Words of Christ were spoken to His disciples,

And anyone and everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands for My name’s sake will receive many [even a hundred] times more and will inherit eternal life. (Matthew 19:29 AMP)

Hannah received a five hundred fold return. She gave one son to the Lord, and received three sons and two daughters. Her act of faith, and it was a great act of faith because she had no idea that she would be able to have other children, in bringing her son to the Temple when he was probably three years old, and leaving him there to be raised by a priests, who may have done a inadequate job raising his own, wrought her great blessings. Trusting God is scary and exciting; painful, giving up what our heart desires, and exhilarating as we reap a harvest of unimaginable bounty.

Grace and peace,
Ramona

====== Andrew:

‘So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jews persecuted him. Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working.” For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.’ John 5:16-18 NIV

It strikes me (again) how radical Jesus appeared to the religious authorities of his time. In John’s account we’ve already had the clearing of the merchants from the temple courtyard.

Do our religious authorities reflect a distorted image of the Kingdom of God? How radical should we be in following Jesus? My wife says I am too radical. Is that possible?

I guess the clue is in the following paragraph of John:

“I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does.” John 5 19:20 NIV

Hearing God – seeing and knowing what the Father is doing and joining in doing it with Him according to His purpose.

And if that is radical, so be it.

Andrew

====== Michelle:

Hannah’s faith blows me away. To be able to hand over her dream child for someone else to raise and only see Samuel once a year–that is faith in action. She realizes that he doesn’t “belong” to her anyway. In fact none of our children belong to us–they all belong to God. We are only their caretakers.

Michelle

======= Roslyn:

I think we had some serious
discussion over this last time: Christ showing his compassion and love for the man that was unable to walk, healing him on the day of the Sabbath to the great consternation of the Jews. Christ has shown us that love and compassion is beyond the law. Indeed, LOVE IS THE LAW!!!

Roslyn

======= Susan:

I just want to say how grateful I am for this website. It has been my faithful companion this year. Around Thanksgiving last year, my husband told me he wanted a divorce. Last month we filed. we have two small children – 1.5 and 3 and I worry mostly about them, but this website has been my comforter and rock. I was determined in December that no matter what else happened this year regarding my family, that my Bible reading would be the one stable thing in my life and it has been. Thanks for keeping up the website!

Susan

======= Jenny:

====== Lee:

I Samuel 1:3 – “… The priests of the Lord at that time were the two sons of Eli – Hophni and Phinehas”
Comment: Strikes me that we need to accept as this family that even when there are problems and problem-clergy…that such does not negate our need to go to church and worship God.
I Sam 1:7 – “Year after year it was the same…”
Comment: God gives us strength to endure misfortune and mistreat with His gift patience. We CAN endure whatever it is that we’re going through…for as long as needed. (Even when we’re “reduced to tears” as Hannah was.)
I Samuel 1:18 – “Oh,Thank you, Sir!…then she went back and began to eat again, and she was no longer sad.”
Comment: Hannah believed the Word that God had spoken through Eli. When we BELIEVE in God’s promises we are released from the source of our unhappiness and released to a state of joyfulness, and ability to enjoy this life. Let us seek to accept the Word He has spoken to us…and live full and joyful lives in trusting Him to care for us as He has said.
I Samuel 1:19 “….the Lord remembered her request.”
COMMENT: God is currently aware of your/my requests. He will not forget. We can rest in knowing He has heard us.
I Samuel 1:20 “…IN DUE TIME she gave birth to a son.”
COMMENT: Timing is important. Our time is not necessarily God’s timing. He has a time and it will come to pass as He knows best. Let us learn to rest in His care and His timing.”
Lee

======= Jim:

Eli’s comin’, hide your heart girl!
While these are more times of spiritual and moral decline, Hannah is one godly woman that still has a strong faith. She is at a low point in her life when she is ridiculed by her husband’s other wife, Peninnah, for being childless (likely taken specifically due to her failure to produce) on an annual pilgrimage to the tabernacle in Shiloh (about 20 miles north of Jerusalem) – as Peninnah does regularly. In her despairing prayer, she vows if only God would give her a son that she would dedicate him to serve God as a Nazarite (just like Samson). Her prayer is first misunderstood by the old priest Eli, and then blessed. She does have a son, Samuel, and he is weaned from his mother at the age of two or three (the age Israelites used to wean their children) to live forever at the tabernacle (Hannah visited once a year with a new jacket for him). The corrupt times are made clear by Eli’s assumption that any woman outside the tabernacle would likely be drunk as well as by his corrupt sons who as priests seduce the women even at the door of this worship site (I think the sin of “fornication” specifically refers to cultic prostitution). While Ramathaim is not one of the 48 cities designated in Numbers 35:6 as being one of the “Levitical cities” assigned a Levite, it is assumed that Samuel’s father was a Levite (1 Chronicles 6:16-26) living in the tribal territory of Ephraim (just five miles north of Jerusalem and where Samuel was born, labored, died, and was buried) – he seems to be a pious man who returned each year to worship and offer sacrifice.
In an agrarian culture like ancient Israel, children were critically important in helping with feeding the family. Today, we no longer see children as society’s best investment and we abort 1 in 4 pregnancies to instead minimize their costs (Note: The real problem for Social Security is that it is increasingly difficult to feed the elderly when we no longer desire children. What’s more, there’s not a single industrialized nation that has a positive population rate since the introduction of legalized abortion as you need 2.3 kids per woman when all industrialized nations only produce 1.2 to 1.8. 100% of the population problem, 3 billion people, over the past 40 years has come from third world countries and the primary reason that Islam has grown over Christianity is simply that they don’t kill their unborn. In addition, there used to be no greater source of pride to any American family than to have a priest as brother, son, or cousin – but the Vatican’s Pontifical Yearbook shows a 45% increase in the number of baptized American Catholics over the past 25 years while other estimates show the number of priests to have dropped by more than half in the same period (even with 1 in 6 priests today coming from overseas). The church can no longer afford to be selective in accepting only the best for its religious leaders (something to remember as we read about what happens to a country that doesn’t respect human life or provide for righteous leadership).
Eli’s coming, come on and blow your horn!
Hannah began her poetic song of prayer with “my horn is exalted,” which represents that Hannah’s power and strength (horn – the wicked are even told not to lift up their own horn in Psalms 75:4-5) was in God just as David will later speak of God as his “horn of salvation” in 2 Samuel 22:3. She reminds all who would boast, not just Peninnah (the phrase wicked woman literally “daughter of Belial” or “daughter of Satan” – see 2 Cor 6:15), that God in holiness, knowledge, power, and judgment often reverses human strength, wealth, and fertility to humble the proud and exalt the lowly (Mary made the same point in her song in Luke 1:46-55). She also contrasted how the Lord would keep his saints from stumbling (and even raise them from the dead) and trip up His adversaries (the word Sheol is translated here to grave) and points to the work of God in granting her a child as part of the fulfillment of His promise to the mothers of Israel that through them He would one day provide the ultimate king, before whom every knee will bow (see Philippians 2:10). How sad were the priests who as teachers knew so much about the things of God and yet did not know Him personally and took so lightly their duties (such as those for sacrifice). Eli had warned his sons but never really rebuked them and so was slain by God when he no longer had opportunity after his sons died in battle. Those who allow poor behavior from their children without restraint and punishment, in effect, honor them more than God. Eli was a good man but a poor parent who raised his children to fail (their failure was not his sin, but his poor efforts at correction).
Jesus asks the man unable to quickly get into the healing pool while it bubbled, “Do you want to get well?” Many do not really want to see their situation change, no matter how bad it is. The crippled man, for example, made his living begging and would be responsible to start working. Unlike the slow healing of the pool, however, Christ’s healing was immediate. Eternal life isn’t something we have to wait for, but something we possess now. In addition, it is more than endless as it is infused with His vitality and links us with other believers. Christ claims The Son can do nothing by Himself, but gives life (because He possesses life) and takes the responsibility for all judgment. This sick man was healed without knowing Jesus (but Christ caught up with him later to warn him to sin no more or that something even worse would happen to him). The first miracle (converting water into wine) suggests that salvation is through the Word, the second (saving the nobleman’s son) illustrates that it is by faith, and this one shows that it is by grace. The “great number of disable people” pictures the sad spiritual condition of the unsaved: without power as in Rom 5:6, unable to walk correctly as in Eph 2:1-3, and waiting for something to happen as in Eph 2:14. The invalid did not have the power to save himself in the same way it is impossible for mankind to keep God’s perfect law.
The Law of Moses taught to honor the Sabbath and Jeremiah had prohibited carrying burdens or working (Jer. 17:21-22) and over the years Jewish law had identified 39 different classifications of work including carrying furniture (which the man violated by carrying his bedding) and providing medical treatment (Christ’s healing). Even my grandfather was once jailed in Baltimore for painting his house on Sunday and yet it is possible that none of the city officials knew why Christians go to church on the Sunday, the first day of the week, instead of Saturday like Seventh Day Adventists – even First Century Christian worshiped on Sunday as a weekly mini-Easter celebration for Christ’s resurrection and perhaps for the church’s birthday from the only Jewish holiday on a Sunday, 50 days after Passover, of Pentecost. Most churches today have many written and unwritten creeds that have been added to God’s desires (such as provisions against theistic biology and evolution) while happily being unfruitful for the Great Commission. Christians have routinely over the centuries tried to kill who they saw as the Anti-Christ even though Revelation says such assassination would fail and predicted to the day and hour of Christ’s return despite scripture clearly stating such knowledge not being possible.
Back in Luke 22, Christ got the apostles to admit that when he told them to carry nothing with them that they, in fact, purchased two swords. When did they likely buy those swords? This is the first time when people persecuted Jesus and display open hostility. Was it fear of this exact persecution that motivated the apostles to doubt and sin so? Jesus then adds fuel to the fires by publicly equating Himself with God the Father (again I must ask how so many can suggest the Jesus never claimed to be God – His enemies here were angered by what He was claiming – more than just disregarding the traditional rabbinic interpretation of scripture, He claims to be deity) and He goes on at some length to support His claim not only with the miracle by the Scriptures themselves – so, to reject Him meant to also reject their holiest of books as well. The NIV omits the verse about the angel stirring the water because no manuscripts before the 4th century has it and many believed it was just superstition added long after John wrote it. Others call the NIV “Satan’s Bible” specifically for its omissions (including the last lines of the Lord’s Prayer).
Jim

======= John:

John 5
I am with the linked commentary under “WORST Case Scenario”.
The reason this miracle greater than the last.
Jesus changed illness to health of a long term injury.
Jesus chose and God’s grace was magnified by the man had no faith.
It was done before a larger crowd.
[Note: The word for illness of boy in last chapter and invalid in John 5 is the same in Greek. The common thread being helpless, feeble, powerless.]
From the wine stewards, to the boy, to the invalid – all are helpless to change their situation. It is the same for us in spiritual death. We are helpless without the healing power of Christ.
I get perturbed when non-believers of any ilk say Christ did not say He was God.
I used to say the same thing, but at least I would admit I had never read the Bible.
I can go along with John 1 being Nathaniel declaring Jesus is the Son of God, and John saying it earlier in the chapter. I can understand when Jesus declares himself as the Messiah to the Samaritan women – Messiah was thought by Jews to be the “appointed” man of God who would lead Israel to all the blessings promised by God.
But in verse 17 Jesus says “mou Pater” – My Father. “Pater” is the same word used for Father in the Lord’s prayer. It is pretty clear cut that Jesus is deity. In the later verses – Jesus puts himself on equal footing with God.
One thing I have started doing, is not only pointing out the Verses where Jesus proclaims deity, but I tell people to look at how the people at the time reacted to what he said.
vs. 18 is an example of this and is absoluteluy correctly translated.
Does someone today have the insight to deny Christ’s deity that the people of 2,000 years ago did not have?
One may choose not to believe Christ’s deity, but it is because they do not believe in the text, not because it was never said or implied throughout this Gospel.
John

======= John:

Anger
One of the great signs at the moment of my “salvation” was three things were taken from me.
– a Crippling mental illness
– profanity
– anger
I have not said a curse word in three years. Before I was a prolific almost every other word curser and blasphemer.
It was particualarly bad when I got angry. My anger was the purple face, vein popping, spittle flying out of my mouth rage directed at other people. I have not been angry in three years. Perhaps at times perturbed at stoplights and lousy drivers – but never angry : ) I have been blessed at that time and since by God removing negative lifelong habits and charactersitics of my nature. It is THE reason I never doubt God or my Salvation, and KNOW that he is working in my life, and that I am one with Christ and am a possessor of the Holy Spirit in me.
I still struggle at times with the flesh – but I have never doubted since that night three years ago when I came to my knees and believed in Him and Received Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. God has shown Himself to me over and over since that time, and I know Jesus is the only way to Salvation, His Word is inerrant, and that I am a child of God – co-heir to heaven.
The question is: If you are a believer – do you know – really know those last things mentioned?????
John

======= John:

1st Sam 2
Eli’s Wicked Sons contrasted with Samuel.
“Eli’s sons were wicked men;
The Hebrew is actually “sons of Belial” literally to be without worth or value. Later Belial in Jewish writings would be considered a “right hand man to Satan” if not Satan himself.
The sons of Eli were wicked, AND
“they had no regard for the Lord.” this is not a good thing and foreshadows a future problem.
“Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the LORD.”
Samuel did not know the Lord yet – but he was growing up in His presence.
Eli may not have been a good father, but the implication here is thorugh his prayer for Hannah and his raising of Samuel – that he was an ok High Priest. Whatever he was doing with Samuel – it was different than how he raised his boys??????
======================================================
JMikeAdams@msn.com
I am not soliciting emails, but type pad (according to Mike) has changed their format – no loner allowing email addresses in the signature.
So once a day – I will put my email in a post so if someone wants to ask a question or correct me:) they can do it directly – in case they do not feel like posting it on the blog. I have always had it in my signature in the past – so I see no reason to not have it somewhere on a daily post at this time.
John

======= John:

John 5:1-15
The pool of Bethesda was found 20 years ago on an archaelogical dig.
Jesus healed one man out of many. The man was not searching Jesus out – but he was helpless, and could do nothing to heal himself.
Not knowing Jesus when asked if he wanted to get well – I think he took an opportunity to try and get help.
I think unspoken here is – ‘you believe in the pool and its stirring – but you should believe in me. Get up – take up your bed – and walk.’
Be healed, you do not need the bed here any longer, and walk – don’t depend on others any longer.
Not knowing it was Jesus the man still had an incomplete faith. The moment he was asked about his healing – he told them – not me, but the other man who healed me told me to do this thing.
The next part is critical. Jesus again sought the man out – His work was not done. Jesus says, “See, you are well again.” NIV But the Greek says you are made “whole” – he has been physically healed and his sins have been forgiven – healed inside and out.
We are not ever given the exhaustive list of things said – just what is important to the gospel. Jesus may have explained more, or the man upon hearing it was Jesus knew of His teachings. I think it is at that point that the man believed and was saved.
Perhaps his naming of Jesus at the end to the temple priests was a badge of honor identifying the former cripple as a believer in Christ????
======================================================
The reason this miracle greater than the last.
Jesus changed illness to health of a long term injury.
Jesus chose (before others came to Him) and God’s grace was magnified by the fact that originally the man had no faith.
It was done before a larger crowd.
[Note: The word for illness of boy in last chapter and invalid in John 5 is the same in Greek. The common thread being helpless, feeble, powerless.]
From the wine stewards, to the boy, to the invalid – all are helpless to change their situation. It is the same for us in spiritual death. We are helpless without the healing power of Christ.
John

======= John:

John 5:16-23
Life Through the Son
I get perturbed when non-believers of any ilk say Christ did not say He was God.
I used to say the same thing, but at least I would admit I had never read the Bible.
I can go along with John 1 being Nathaniel declaring Jesus is the Son of God, and John saying it earlier in the chapter. I can understand when Jesus declares himself as the Messiah to the Samaritan women – Messiah was thought by Jews to be the “appointed” man of God who would lead Israel to all the blessings promised by God.
But in verse 17 Jesus says “mou Pater” – My Father. “Pater” is the same word used for Father in the Lord’s prayer. It is pretty clear cut that Jesus is deity. In the later verses – Jesus puts himself on equal footing with God.
One thing I have started doing, is not only pointing out the Verses where Jesus proclaims deity, but I tell people to look at how the people at the time reacted to what he said.
vs. 18 is an example of this and is absoluteluy correctly translated.
Does someone today have the insight to deny Christ’s deity that the people of 2,000 years ago did not have?
One may choose not to believe Christ’s deity, but it is because they do not believe in the text, not because it was never said or implied throughout this Gospel.
John

======= Nasser:

proverb 14:29 i saw it in my life and i found out how powerful impact on others when you are slow in anger in front of somebody who was on rage GOd ‘s wisdom is great and powerful even when you return back in anger you lost yourself and your friend but when you controll your anger it is much powerful reaction you did you will be apreciatied by others for the understanding and wisdom you show on this situation parise to the lord Amin
Nasser

======= Helen:

When Jesus is speaking to (some of)the Jews, he includes in John 5 verse 21(a)”For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life,…”
I’d not noticed that bit before.
Blessings, Helen.

======= Dorothy:

Prov.14:19 is such a wonderful verse. It has spoken to my heart. I am touched by the words that controlling one’s anger demostrates one’s understanding and the vise versa shows how foolish one is.
Regards, Dorothy

======= Suzy:

Hannah’s story always reminds me of myself. I had also been in a situation of fruitlesness for years after my marriage. I cried unto God like Hannah and He heard and opened my womb; today I have a beautiful two-year old…Surely there is no rock like our God. Just like Mike said, I still sometimes find myself seeking for help from friends instead of God….by His grace I’m learning to make Him my ‘rock’ in all circumstances and situations of my life. Jesus has also done a lot for me even when I have not asked…I live by grace each day!
Peace, Suzy

Ruth 2:1-4:22 + John 4:43-54 + Psalm 105:16-36 + Proverbs 14:26-27
~ Click here to read today’s Scripture on Bible Gateway ~
~ Listen to today’s Scripture with Tom Dooley’s terrific NLT 1996 readings at this link or The ESV Bible: OT + NT + Psalms + Proverbs ~

Hi everyone!  Brief post today.  Back to a full post tomorrow!

Old Testament – In today’s readings in Ruth we are introduced to the incredible man, Boaz, who is really a “type” of Christ figure. Also in chapter 4 verse 16 the name of David is first mentioned in the Bible! It is awesome to read today how David descended from Ruth, and of course ultimately Jesus descended from Ruth! Today in Ruth chapter 2 verse 10 we read – “Ruth fell at his feet and thanked him warmly. “Why are you being so kind to me?” she asked. “I am only a foreigner.””

And in chapter 3 verse 15 today we read – “Boaz also said to her, “Bring your cloak and spread it out.” He measured out six scoops of barley into the cloak and helped her put it on her back. Then Boaz returned to the town.”

New Testament – Bible.org’s commentary on today’s readings in John titled “Jesus Heals the Royal Official’s Son” is at this link.

Psalms – Psalm 105’s verses today give us a good Cliff Notes version of the end of the book of Genesis and beginning of the book of Exodus!

Worship Video:  Today’s readings in John reminded me of Casting Crowns song “Glorious Day:”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqrqPGt11bA

Is today a glorious day for you? Click here for Glory!

Please join us in memorizing and meditating on a verse of Scripture today: “He who fears the LORD has a secure fortress, and for his children it will be a refuge.”  Proverbs 14:26 NIV

Prayer Point: Pray that you have a healthy fear of the LORD. Pray that the LORD is your strong fortress. Pray tht your children will find refuge in the secure fortress of the LORD.

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

God bless,
Mike

p.s. Download our monthly Small Group study notes for our Bible readings at this link.

p.s. #2 – Download a schedule of our Bible readings for the year in PDF format at this link.

p.s. #3 – I would greatly appreciate it if you would pray for this Bible Blog ministry today! Please also consider partnering with us by financially supporting this ministry. Thank you!

BLOG READERS HISTORICAL COMMUNITY COMMENTS:
(our Group Bible Study is below! : )

======= Ramona:

Ruth 2:1-4:22

Therefore humble yourselves [demote, lower yourselves in your own estimation] under the mighty hand of God, that in due time He may exalt you, Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully. [Ps. 55:22.] (1 Peter 5:6-7 AMP)

Everything in today’s reading screams “humility.” The entire book is about love, the love not of the flesh or “love” that stems from lust, but love that is described in the thirteenth chapter of I Corinthians,

Love is patient, love is kind, it is not envious. Love does not brag, it is not puffed up. It is not rude, it is not self-serving, it is not easily angered or resentful. It is not glad about injustice, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NET.)

Too often today, and probably yesteryear too, woman compete with each other, mother-daughter, mother-in-law-daughter-in-law, best friends and not so good friends. But here we are privy to a relationship that is not based on envy or self-serving, but true genuine love. Naomi didn’t ask Ruth to go into the fields, Ruth desired to go so that she could be a benefit to her mother-in-law. While she was out in the fields, Naomi was concerned for Ruth’s safety and health not her belly. While in the fields Ruth didn’t have an attitude problem looking for what “I deserve,” or “my rights,” she worked hard and long. She was respectful thus she became respected. Even before she went into the field, her love for her mother-in-law was well known and she was honored for that.

What I always marvel at when I read the Book of Ruth is God’s mercy and grace. His people, though they were not His people, like Ruth, can be anyone. Anyone that is who gives up, “And whoever has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.” (Matthew 19:29 NET.)

May all who come to this site become a “whosoever,” one who leaves all to follow the King.

Ramona

======= Anka:

It amazes me the kind of love Ruth has for Naomi..wonder if she wasn’t a teeny weeny bit scared.Yet she took no gods with her for protection.She was obedient to Naomi in spite of her
saying(I returned empty),she follwed Naomi to serve her with probably little expectations because Naomi didn’t guarantee she’d get married again.When she was given food she thought of Naomi.Kinda makes me really look at my idea of serving God…do I serve him cos I want to be in His good books,think alot of the reward in heaven…have I truly given everything up or do I still hold on to things in my past(just in case….)I think Ruth paints a pretty good picture of what serving really is…Right now I really love grace cos I sure need it.
God bless you all

Anka

====== Mae:

======= Jim:

In every direction are the snares and quicksand of death. We may see the big ones and walk away only to sink slowly into another. One of the best observations concerning people is a quote by Dr. Albert Ellis (the most frequently cited author of psychotherapy works published in the last 50 years and ranked the most influential therapist by clinical psychologists) from a New York Times article, “All humans are out of their minds. They’re not only disturbed. They get disturbed about their disturbances. Until you accept that people are crazy and do all kinds of terrible things, you’re going to be angry.” Dr. Ellis feels that the basis for neurotic behavior is a self-loving, perfectionist refusal to accept being a “fallible, incessantly error-prone human and when they fall short of their unrealistic ideals, they largely think of themselves as sub-humans.” This is a much better description than just “pride” or “envy” (or other words for the loss of humility) as the source of all evil. Ellis teaches unconditional self-acceptance (“you always accept you no matter what you do”), unconditional other-acceptance (“nobody is evil, even if they do evil things”), and unconditional life-acceptance (“you always accept things, no matter how they are”). The modern focus on improving behavior rather than psyches (in which Ellis has played a major role) is in the right direction, for one can never convert a lifelong need for irrational control into a sane and adult mind. Psychiatry is by and large about getting people from -5 to 0, but recent research into what it might take to get to a +5 found the answer was faith and social capital (the Lord’s Prayer contains no singular pronouns). After trying unsuccessfully for years to cure alcoholism by means of psychoanalysis, even Dr. Carl Jung concluded that alcoholism could not be treated by either medical or psychodynamic techniques. He reasoned that the underlying problem was one of spiritual emptiness and wrote in a letter to Bill Wilson (in which Jung coined the phrase, “spiritus contra spiritum” or “spirits against the spirit”), “I am strongly convinced that the evil principle prevailing in this world leads the unrecognized spiritual need into perdition, if it is not counteracted either by real religious insight or by the protective wall of human community. An ordinary man, not protected by an action from above and isolated in society, cannot resist the power of evil, which is called very aptly the Devil.” Jung further concluded that conventional religion was usually equally spiritually impoverished and just as ineffective as therapeutic efforts in the battle against alcoholism. “Fear of the Lord is a life-giving fountain: it offers escape from the snares of death.”
Ruth would have hoped to lift a few handfuls of grain (not enough for even one person to survive) with a full day’s work from what was missed by the normal workers (OT law gives this right to the poor – but if seen taking too much, one could easily end up getting beaten), but when she returns with 40 pounds worth it is obvious that someone is intentionally helping her out (the expression translated to “it turned out” as well as Noami’s praise for “blessed be he of the Lord” suggests that it was more than just a coincidence but that God directed her steps) and Noami sends her back with specific instructions. Boaz was compassionate by providing such supply as well as doing it in secret so as not to shame the recipient, but what happened later on the threshing floor? Many would suggest that the reference to “laying” was a polite way of saying she had sexual relations with Boaz with “feet” referring to sexual privates (and anyway, harvest time is celebrated with rites of fertility when the Jews often were permitted more moral leeway than usual). I think in this case, however, that the author and Noami were using their words (and actions) very carefully in order to suggest marriage (with only the sexual overtones that would imply). Ruth made her marriage objective clear (although at night as a means perhaps of protecting Boaz from embarrassment in case he chose to refuse) with “spread the corner of your garment over me” (as in Ezekiel 16:8, Deuteronomy 22:30, 27:20, and Malachi 2:16) by the custom still practiced by some Arabs today of a man throwing a garment over the woman he has decided to marry. Boaz handled himself honorably (not as likely if he had passed out from drinking at a festival) when he deferred to another who would have prior claim (as did Ruth with her willingness to marry another sight unseen for here duty to her dead husband) even if Boaz did just happen to mention the extra burden of potential inheritance disputes from Noami’s family in order to get him to back down (less of a threat to Boaz being “a man of great wealth”). Boaz had already shown some of this honorableness when he previously told the men in his fields not to touch Ruth (and of the dangerous times when a lone woman could end up raped while working in the fields).
Jesus himself again testifies in our reading today and He was received (as they had seen his miracles and believed). John later tells us in Revelation that Jesus waits at the door with ointment for our eyes, but waiting at the door implies that we must first ask him in or go to Him (as the father humbly does for the health of his son). Satan, on the other hand, will proudly walk right into our life. Jesus, however, does not go the man’s home in order to show that the trip back was not necessary demonstrating that God does not always answer our prayers with the means and methods we expect (and He rebuked them for a faith that required the earlier miracles of 2:1 while the Samaritans did not). Here the sickness of the son resulted in the piety and new faith of the entire family. The boy was cured about 1:00pm, 17-20 miles away in Capernaum and yet the use of “yesterday” suggests the man remained in Cana an extra day proving he did not need to see what happened. Jesus gives one of the basic reasons why people will not believe: they want to see signs. Long distance miracles were rare in the OT and people generally more easily believe magicians when they were in person. Keep in mind, though, that Satan is able to perform signs and wonders to deceive (2 Thes 2:9-10). Compare this story with the similar one with a centurion in Capernaum from Matthew 8:5-13. Today’s Psalms calls us to praise and remember God’s wondrous works including the first covenant and the lives of Joseph, Moses, and David.
Jim

======= John:

John 4:43-54
Royal official is “basilikos” and is only used twice by John (both in this chapter). The meaning denotes being in the king’s service. The King is Herod Antipas.
Herod’s men were despised by the Jews of the land. Maybe even more so than the Samaritans in the earlier part of the Chapter.
John 4:50A “Jesus replied, “You may go. Your son will live.” NIV
The actual Greek tense here is present active indicative – the boy lives and will continue to live.
So the “official” went from taking Jesus at his Word to believing in Him. It appears that through his faith and evangelism the whole household believed.
Some scholars think the name of this man was given in Acts 13:1. A prophet in Antioch – Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) – the foster brother of Herod.
======================================================
Elliot McQuaid talks about the gospel of John as being the “Glory of God”. Each miracle (of the seven primary miracles described) greater than the last.
Water into Wine: Jesus changes water into wine, Jesus is physically present, his disciples (Jews) believed in Him (could be considered prone to believe).
Healing of royal official’s son: Jesus changes sickness into health, Jesus is twenty miles away, a despised man and his whole household believe in Him. (Could be considered prone not to believe before the incident.)
In both cases – the wine stewards and the father were helpless. They had no remedy for the situation. Much like us before we are saved – there is nothing we can do to help ourselves get to heaven until the Father and Jesus act. The Father draws us, and Jesus provides the “way”.
John

======= John:

RUTH
kinsman-redeemer (“goel”)
Vance mentioned this role of Christ the other day, and I was going to expound upon it now. But I found a good commentary that explains my thoughts.
=====================================================
The goel – sometimes translated kinsman-redeemer – had a specifically defined role in Israel’s family life.
· The kinsman-redeemer was responsible to buy a fellow Israelite out of slavery (Leviticus 25:48).
· He was responsible to be the “avenger of blood” to make sure the murderer of a family member answered to the crime (Numbers 35:19).
· He was responsible to buy back family land that had been forfeited (Leviticus 25:25).
· He was responsible to carry on the family name by marrying a childless widow (Deuteronomy 25:5-10).
======================================================
But the consideration of Jesus in this book of Ruth doesn’t begin with the mention of King David; Jesus has been through the whole book, pictured by Boaz and the office of the kinsman-redeemer.
· The kinsman-redeemer had to be a family member; Jesus added humanity to His eternal deity so He could be our kinsman and save us.
· The kinsman-redeemer had the duty of buying family members out of slavery; Jesus redeemed us from slavery to sin and death.
· The kinsman-redeemer had the duty of buying back land that had been forfeited; Jesus will redeem the earth that mankind “sold” over to Satan.
· Boaz, as kinsman-redeemer to Ruth, was not motivated by self-interest, but motivated by love for Ruth. Jesus’ motivation for redeeming us is His great love for us.
· Boaz, as kinsman-redeemer to Ruth, had to have a plan to redeem Ruth unto himself – and some might have thought the plan to be foolish. Jesus has a plan to redeem us, and some might think the plan foolish (saving men by dying for them on a cruel cross?), yet the plan works and is glorious.
· Boaz, as kinsman-redeemer to Ruth, took her as his bride; the people Jesus has redeemed are collectively called His bride (Ephesians 5:31-32; Revelation 21:9).
· Boaz, as kinsman-redeemer to Ruth, provided a glorious destiny for Ruth. Jesus, as our redeemer, provides a glorious destiny for us.
comments by David Guzik
======================================================
Note: Let me add that what is left out in Jesus’ role of kinsman-redeemer is His role as the “Avenger of Blood”.
It is nice to think of the Love of Christ and the beauty of his message – and that was and is certainly appropriate for the message of salvation from the “Lamb of God”.
But I firmly believe that when Jesus comes back it will be as the “Lion of Judah”, and He will be the “avenger of blood”.
At a steady rate over the last 20 centuries, and in all 238 countries, 70 million Christians have been martyred -killed,executed,murdered -for Christ.
–from Table 1-1 in World Christian Trends,William Carey Library,David Barrett & Todd Johnson.
Satan, his minions, and his followers will answer for this and other crimes.
John

======= John:

Ruth
Quick Hits
Boaz did not come to the fields and immediately count grain or talk to foremen – Boaz blessed his workers and they blessed Boaz.
Ruth was grateful to be with Naomi, was grateful to have the opportunity to glean food, and was humble throughout.
Boaz blesses Ruth:
“May the LORD repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.”
======================================================
” Ruth approached quietly, uncovered his feet and lay down.”
In that day, this was understood to be the role of a servant – to lay at their master’s feet and be ready for any command of the master. So, when Naomi told Ruth to lie down at Boaz’s feet, she told her to come to him in a totally humble, submissive way.
Ruth asking for a covering or a spreading of Boaz’ garment over her:
“Many people interpret this as Ruth propositioning Boaz. That demonstrates a lack of understanding of Jewish culture. On the hem of the garment was the symbols of a tribe and any symbol of authority. Ruth is acknowledging his position and seeking his favor in redeeming her. She is asking him to play the role of kinsmen redeemer.” – Bill Donahue
“Even to the present day, when a Jew marries a woman, he throws the skirt or end of his talith over her, to signify that he has taken her under his protection.” (Clarke)
======================================================
Naomi changes – from bitter to a doting grandmother
“But we should also learn from what she learned. We should learn that God’s plan is perfect and filled with love, and even when we can’t figure out what He is doing and it all seems so desperate, He still knows what He is doing. We should learn that all things work together for good for those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).” – David Guzik
======================================================
Jesus’ Ancestors
So from the Son of Rahab and a Moabite wife – the line of Jesus was continued.
John

======= Helen:

Part of a verse that stood out from the passages most for me today:
Ruth 4 verse 11(b)
When the witnesses bless Boaz the kinsman-redeemer they include:
“May you have standing in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem”.
I hadn’t noticed that before. . .
Blessings, Helen.

======= Melissa:

I have been on a journey to find more daily inspirations. Your site has offered an opportunity to continue to do this. I am thankful. From books to blogs, I believe we can share and uplift with many people.
Melissa

======= Deb:

Thank you for continuing my walk with Christ at this site. It’s the first thing I do every morning.
I also like the sometimes shorter posts.
Deb

Judges 21:1-Ruth 1:22 + John 4:4-42 + Psalm 105:1-15 + Proverbs 14:25
~ Click here to read today’s Scripture on Bible Gateway ~
~ Listen to today’s Scripture with Tom Dooley’s terrific NLT 1996 readings at this link or The ESV Bible: OT + NT + Psalms + Proverbs ~

Old Testament – Today we finish the book of Judges!  What a powerful and telling verse the book closes with in chapter 21 verse 25: “In those days Israel had no king, so the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.”  Unfortunately, so true then.  And perhaps so true for us today if we don’t have a king.  Fortunately, we do have the opportunity to have a king – through faith in Jesus.  Otherwise, without Jesus as our king, we will surely do whatever seems right in our own eyes.  I know I did for many years…  sad years they were.  Is Jesus your King?

An image is below for verse 23 – “So the men of Benjamin did as they were told. They kidnapped the women who took part in the celebration and carried them off to the land of their own inheritance. Then they rebuilt their towns and lived in them.”

Today we are starting up – and tomorrow finishing – the wonderful book of Ruth and then moving into First Samuel. The book of Ruth is a wonderful look at faithful love in human relationships, and in a family in particular. I like how the NIV Study Bible describes this book – “The book of Ruth is a Hebrew short story, told with consummate skill. Among historical narratives in Scripture it is unexcelled in its compactness, vividness, warmth, beauty, and dramatic effectiveness – an exquisitely wrought jewel of Hebrew narrative art.” I hope you are ready for this jewel!

Ruth
Author: Unknown
Date: During the time of the Judges
Content: The book of Ruth portrays another side to the chaotic time of the judges. In it there is a welcome relief from the bloodshed and mayhem that seemed to engulf the land because of Israel’s sin. It is the story of Ruth, who decided to stay with her mother-in-law, Naomi, after tragedy struck that unfortunate woman. God returned good to Ruth in the form of a husband (Boaz) and a child, and also to Naomi in the form of grandchildren. From this family, eventually, came David the king.
Theme: The central point of this book is that even in times of crisis and despair, life may be lived according to the precepts of God and that God abundantly blesses those who do so live. The fundamental values of love, faith, trust, and goodness are greater than the hatred and violence of men, and continue from generation to generation as a light to guide those who look for the true meaning of life. (Above commentary is from Tyndale Publishers “The One Year Bible Companion” pp. 4-5)

More commentary on Ruth is at these 3 links:
https://bible.org/article/introduction-book-ruth
https://bible.org/article/argument-book-ruth
https://bible.org/seriespage/5-two-get-ready-story-boaz-and-ruth

Today in Ruth chapter 1 verses 16 & 17 we will read these beautiful words of Ruth to her mother-in-law Naomi, whose husband & two sons had died – “Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me.” How’s that for love & commitment! Can you imagine saying these words to someone in your life today? I pray that each of us have this type of love & commitment for our families – or that we will have this in the future with our families. It seems like nowadays families are getting more and more distanced from one another – separated sometimes by geography and I think oftentimes by individualism or other selfish reasons. Perhaps each of us can learn something from Ruth and her dedication to her mother-in-law Naomi about what family love & commitment could and should really look like?

Bible Project:  Here is a terrific video overview of the book of Ruth!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0h1eoBeR4Jk

New Testament – Wow.  The Jacob’s Well story in John chapter 4 today is beautiful on so many levels.  I definitely recommend you check out Bible.org’s commentary on this chapter at this link if you aren’t familiar with all of the meanings of this story. 

I love Jesus’s words in verse 34 – “My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing his work.”  If this is true for Jesus – think this might be true for us too?  Do you believe that our nourishment comes from doing the will of God?

Psalms – Psalm 105 verse 4 stood out to me today – “Search for the LORD and for his strength, and keep on searching.” I like that – search!  If you search for God, he will indeed be found.  Have you ever searched for God?  And for his strength?  Are you maybe searching now?  Do you believe he will be found?  Will you keep on searching?

Verses 8 & 9 remind us of this character of God: “He always stands by his covenant– the commitment he made to a thousand generations. This is the covenant he made with Abraham and the oath he swore to Isaac.” The covenant continues today through the new covenant (testament) brought to us through Jesus.

Proverbs – Proverbs 14 verse 25 is an excellent reminder to always tell the truth – particularly when witnessing for someone else! “A truthful witness saves lives, but a false witness is deceitful.”

Worship Video:  So much of today’s readings including Ruth and the woman at the well with Jesus reminded me of the fantastic song “Savior Please” by Josh Wilson. Here’s a great live version of Josh performing this song. Feel free to worship along!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxhNVEUY55c

Is Jesus your Savior? Click here and be Saved!

Please join us in memorizing and meditating on a verse of Scripture today: “But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.”  Ruth 1:16 NIV

Prayer Point: Pray that you have or will have the same time of strong family connection and love that Ruth had for Naomi. Pray that you will stick with your family even during hard times. Pray that your family belongs or will belong to God.

Comments from You & Questions of the Day:  How has been reading the book of Judges been for you this year?  What new insights or revelations did you pick up while reading through Judges?  Also, what verses or insights stand out to you in today’s readings?  Please post up by clicking on the “Comments” link below!

God bless,
Mike

p.s. Download our monthly Small Group study notes for our Bible readings at this link.

p.s. #2 – Download a schedule of our Bible readings for the year in PDF format at this link.

p.s. #3 – I would greatly appreciate it if you would pray for this Bible Blog ministry today! Please also consider partnering with us by financially supporting this ministry. Thank you!

BLOG READERS HISTORICAL COMMUNITY COMMENTS:
(our Group Bible Study is below! : )

======= Ramona:

Judges 21:1-Ruth 1:22

Judges 21

And the Israelites came to the house of God [Bethel] and sat there until evening before God and lifted up their voices and wept bitterly. [Judg. 20:27.] And they said, O Lord, the God of Israel, why has this come to pass in Israel, that there should be today one tribe lacking in Israel? (Judges 21:2-3 AMP)

Ya think the folks were really interested in what God had to say? I do it, we do it, the church does it—we make decisions based on what seems right to us, what looks right in our own eye failing to seek God’s voice, and if He does speak, we ignore Him. Yet, when faced with the consequences and fruit of our “nutty” behavior, we ask God why? Ain’t nothing new under the sun, but everything is fresh and renewed under the Son.

Ruth

Naomi’s bitterness blinded her to the blessing God placed right in her household. Like many women today who have faithfully and dutifully followed there husband into a place where they should have never been, Naomi followed but became bitter. She was dutiful but angry and hurt because her husband took her from the House of Bread, during the time of famine, into a land and a people they should have shunned.

Looking at the names of the men pre-return from Moab, we probably get a hint of there character, and it wasn’t pretty.

Elimelech (Naomi’s Husband)= “my God is king” Now, here was a man that definitely didn’t live up to his name because he left the God who was his king and went to a land where Chemosh was the god of the land.

Mahlon (One of the husbands to Ruth or Orpah) = “sick” I picture a man who was always whining and miserable.

Chilion = “pining”

What did Ruth see in the God that Naomi served in spite of her mother-in-laws bitterness? Whatever it was, she recognized that she had everything to gain and nothing to loose if she failed to go back to her father’s house.

In Ruth’s behavior I see what it truly means to accept Jesus Christ: giving up everything you grew up with, everything you know and attaching yourself to the one true God. Ruth is an Old Testament example of a New Testament work, a changed mind (Romans 12:2) She forsook family, traditions, religion, everything that was familiar to her to follow after Israel’s God. Wow! She did what the Rich Young ruler would not. Have I given up ALL to follow Jesus, or am I hanging out with “Sick, Pining, and My God is king who had forgotten who the King really is?

Grace and peace,
Ramona

========= Emily:

======= Jim:

More murder in the name of righteousness – it is always easier to find a way around the letter of a law than the spirit. While God commanded and approved the destruction of the Canaanites, there is no hint that God supported the bloodbath at Jabesh Gilead. The Israelites would have probably done better to have repented of their rash behavior, brought sin-offerings, and sought forgiveness rather than attempt to avoid guilt through more actions just as wrong. All the married adults and all the children are murdered at Jabesh Gilead (for failing to respond to the Levite’s call to arms) to acquire 400 adult virgins as wives for the 600 hiding Gibeahites so that the tribe of Benjamin would not perish (they always were a less successful tribe and being nearly exterminated now didn’t help). This was done to get around the restrictions by an oath to never provide women for the tribe of Benjamin to marry. 400 wasn’t enough, of course, so the Israelites contrived to get more from Shiloh. Some believe the yearly feast of in Shiloh was the Passover in the Spring because of the association with dancing (hard to believe so many modern denominations still have a low opinion of dancing) although more consider it to be the Feast of Tabernacles in the fall because vineyards are mentioned. The Israelites think themselves to have cleverly circumvented the oath about providing women by allowing the Benjaminites to abduct their own choices. Judges closes with a reminder that all these troubles were the result of failing to designate a righteous leader.

A famine drives a family to Moab where the two sons marry, but within a decade the father and both sons die. When news comes that the famine has ended, the widowed mother, Noami, decides to return home and urges her two daughter-in-laws to remain and find new husbands (since there are no brothers to take care of them), but Ruth demonstrates great friendship and is determined to stay with Noami.
While it had been common to baptize pagans into the fold, it had not been customary to baptize a “Jew” until John the Baptist. The Pharisees claimed the authority to regulate all religious rites and ceremonies and were fairly unhappy first with John’s and even more so with Christ’s success with their “unauthorized” baptisms and the attention they were taking away from the Sanhedrin. Jesus was weary during the heat of the day and sat on Jacob’s well in the town called Sychar (which signifies “drunken” for this sin charged in Isaiah 28:1-8). The well is not mentioned in the OT, but it probably got its name from either Jacob digging it or because it was near the land purchased for a hundred pieces of silver from the children of Hamor (Gen 33:18-19) in addition to land he took from the Amorite which he gave (perhaps foreshadowing His later reference to “the gift of God” in 4:10) for the burial of his son, Joseph (Gen 48:21-22, Josh 24:32). It was likely not a spring fed well but one built at the end of a narrow valley to collect rain water at the edge of town (compare to the God-made well of which Jesus speaks). There is still such a 100-foot well dug 3-yards wide filled with trash (that still fills with about 5 feet of water when it rains) at the foot of Mt Gerizim (surrounded by the remains of a large church built by the Empress Irene destroyed by the Turks) a few miles to the east of Nablus, whose citizens claim to be the same one (who tell tourists that it only fills with water that bubbles up on the anniversary of Christ’s visit).

In John 4:14, Christ said, “But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst, but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” “Shall be IN him” suggests the Holy Spirit and we’ve just read where Christ warned that only those born of water and Spirit can enter the Kingdom of God. John describes in Revelation being shown the river of the water of life flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb lined with the Tree of Life yielding fruit for every month and leaves for healing all nations. Revelation 21:6b says, “I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.” In Ezekiel’s vision of God’s house, the water that poured from under the threshold represented the unrestricted flow of God’s blessing upon his people (Ezekiel 47:1-12). Jeremiah describes God as “the fountain of living waters” (Jeremiah 2:13, 17:13). There are many references to spiritual water (Psalms 36:9, 42:1, Isaiah 55:1, Jeremiah 2:13, 17:13, and Zechariah 13:1) including “The purposes of a man’s heart are deep waters, but a man of understanding draws them out” (Proverbs 20:5). Jesus provided the model for probing the heart of another. The woman at the well knew Jesus was of God because He knew her heart and life. When dealing with sinners, Jesus did not shake His finger in their faces and tell them what they were doing wrong. Instead, He asked thought-provoking questions that brought attention on the sin in the person’s heart instead of the circumstances. Christ (as a model soul-winner) ignored the gender and racial roles of the time as well as the barriers of sin and religious tradition and guided the conversation in a friendly way and allowed the Word to take effect. When parents merely demand that a child behaves, they’re hindering the child from growing in the area of discernment. When a person learns to evaluate their own heart and deal biblically with the sin found there, he or she learns to govern their own behavior as well as grow in wisdom and character.

The Samaritans had accepted the five books of Moses, but generally refused the prophets (as many were descendants of the revolting 10 tribes during the rule of Rehobaom and others had been excommunicated or shunned for disobeying by intermarrying during their Assyrian captivity) and had even joined the worship of idols (although accepted the idea of the coming Messiah from Deut 18:15). Instead of worshiping in Jerusalem with those who despised them, they had set up a rival temple (by Sanballat to end the idol worship of the Cutheans and Sepharvites, see Kings 17:26-34) about 332 BC where Abraham had gone to sacrifice Isaac and where the blessings and curses had been read by the patriarchs (Deut 11:29, 27:12). Jesus answered her question of where to worship in such a way as to suggest that it was much less important that she had assumed. “True worshiper will worship the Father in spirit (as opposed to rites and ceremonies) and truth (rather than shadows or sacrifices).” First, this is because while God appointed the old mode of worship to lead and prepare the people to Him, He did not seek it. Second, “For God is Spirit” (how can anyone think He has a body?) means that He is singular, invisible, everywhere, pure, and holy. He is not worshipped with good works, for He has no need of anything. True worship is only an offering of the soul rather than the body – of the heart rather than of the lips. “The Jesus told her, ‘I am the Messiah!’” He had not yet openly professed this truth to the Jews (but how can so many suggest that Jesus never said He was God?), but this discussion demonstrates our duty in being Christ-like to make use of all topics of conversations to lead unbelievers to belief in Christ as well as that that the purpose of true religion is to consist of more than external forms as a pure, spiritual, active, ever-bubbling fountain where the heart is offered and desires of salvation are breathed out of a humble soul. Even the woman, although she probably no longer had any doubt in her mind, suggested that Jesus was the Christ to her neighbors and friends modestly with a question of whether the evidence she had available was not enough for them to believe. One of the key aspects of the Messiah was the ability to tell the secrets of the heart (Isaiah 11:2-3) and 100 years later they quickly killed (but only after two years of deception) the counterfeit Messiah of Barchachab when he could not tell the righteous man from a group of wicked men. The woman being at the well alone may suggest that the village had shunned her (since this was normally a time for the woman to socialize together) and yet she was still able to get the townsfolk to listened (and she so excited to speak that she forgot her errand). Nevertheless, there is no greater example of racial separation in America today than during worship.

Four months was the common time from sowing the seed to the harvest in Judea and so a farmer expects fruit only after a considerable time – but, it not necessarily so with Christ’s preaching. There is thusly more encouragement to labor in this field than the farmer has to sow his grain (also harvesting salvation reaps fruit that is not temporary). Since the Gospel fits to an immediate impression on the minds of those that can hear, we can expect that it will. Christ is making this comparison just after a case of fruit occurring only a few hours (at most a couple of days) after seeding signifying. This suggests, IMHO, that we are not to wait to some indeterminate future moment for results. Jesus has come so the day of opportunity is now (all any disciple need do is look around to recognize that spiritual hunger abounds). Disciples are to reap (even more than John the Baptist) the harvest of Christ and the Holy Spirit. Even the wicked and ignorant Samaritans heard the voice of God and came in multitudes. When we evangelize, is it with the voice and expectations of man or with the voice and heart of God? We are to expect revivals of religion. Jesus was tired, thirsty, and hungry when he sat next to Jacob’s well and was refreshed without water or food for His temporal needs were nothing compared with the woman’s need for eternal life.

How often and how loudly would anyone speak having the cure for AIDS? How much greater then shall be the cry of one with the cure for everything that ails mankind? Romona and her son are correct that it is by “the power of the Word of God” (Feb 20th), but I must respectfully disagree with the suggestion that we are likely not to know the fruits of our labor (likely from reading 1 Corinthians 3:6 where Paul planted, Apollos watered, and God increased) or that we should normally expect (like the farmer) a considerable delay (such delays are very uncommon in the Bible). It is Hinduism that suggests that one should just focus on keeping busy because the creator’s desires cannot be known, but not Biblical Christianity. “We must be led by the Spirit” (Luke 4:1, Romans 8:14, and Gal 5:18) and so should foreknow what to expect. Salomon warns us not to be idle with, “Whoever watches the wind will not plant; whoever looks at the clouds will not reap” (Ecclesiastes 11:4). We will later find, however, Paul heading for Asia and for Troas in Acts 16:7-10 and that the Holy Spirit corrects him both times (“you can listen to me now or listen to me later”). Some suggest that Jesus is sending the disciples to sow (over the next two days) what they did not seed after sending them to market for food while He (and perhaps the woman) seeded. Others would say the seeding was done by the patriarchs and prophets who announced the Messiah. Still others would say that Jesus Christ becomes the reaper of the seed which he had so recently sown – “Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one” (1 Corinthians 3:8a). Compare this chapter to the old Jewish proverb in Isaiah 65:21-22, “And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.” And then compare the opinion that most Christians may not know in their lifetimes whether their efforts brought fruit to the story of the talents and the proverb of Leviticus 26:16, “Ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it” (and consider that Wicca is the fastest growing religion in America). “A truthful witness saves lives, but a false witness is a traitor.”

Reading the story of the Samaritan woman in John from the KJV, Darby, or ASV Bibles put it best, “And he must needs go through Samaria.” In other words, Jesus didn’t just go through Samaria because it was conveniently on the way (a path few Jews ever took), pleasant, or for even warm feelings for the people, but simply because there was a woman who needed the mercies of God. And, she became the first disciple of her town (being immediately successful) with personal testimony and the message of Jesus. Never knowing the results is not for a John 15:15 friend of Jesus. “And the LORD said, ‘Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing?’” (Genesis 18:17) The Pharisees even tried to insult Jesus by calling Him a Samaritan (in 8:48) after Christ told them, “He that is of God heareth God’s words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.” Too often we try to serve God on our own. Our motives are right and our plans are made with prayer, but we are unwilling to die. Jesus reminds us that there is no harvest without death just as a seed must die before it can germinate and grow. He has already carried His cross and died on it, all that is left is for us to lift our cross and follow Him. How do times when the Holy Spirit works through you differ from times when you have tried to do good work with only your own efforts? The primary differences are the measures of effort (less with the Spirit) and success (more, of course).
Pope John XXIII summoned Vatican II in 1959 and the sixteen resulting texts were translated into English in 1965. The two documents, however, that clearly received the least attention were those on communications and education. The two declarations were widely held, even within the church (my praise for a church that can criticize itself), as being out of touch with the world and included tactics that in effect curtailed the success of the Ecumenical Council. It does not matter how good your product is if you do not really want to sell it. Today, nine out ten evangelical churches are still “lacking in any real marketing” (Barna, 1993). Church attendance in America has spiraled down roughly 25% to 50% from the 1950s (Putnam, 1995) – 10% in just the last decade (ARIS study). Moreover, only 4% of Americans ages 28 and under are Christians (Rainer, 2004). While religious organizations commonly assert a religious revival in the United States, “There does not seem to be revival taking place in America. Whether that is measured by church attendance, born again status, or theological purity, the statistics simply do not reflect a surge of any noticeable proportions. In fact, Americans seem to have become almost inoculated to spiritual events, outreach efforts, and the quest for personal spiritual development.” (George Barna, 2001) As the Campus Crusades for Christ started off, Bill Bright went on a recruiting tour from campus to campus of the leading Christian schools and seminaries of the nation looking for anyone with a degree who had been fruitful witnessing for Christ, but he had difficulty in finding any. How could this be? The fact is that Europe and America has done a “repositioning of religion as a commodity that we consume, rather than one in which we invest ourselves.” America has more un-churched people than all but ten of the world’s 194 nations, only 1% of American churches are exhibiting any growth at all (Miles McPhearson, 2003), 7000 churches close each year (Hunt and McMahon, 1985), and only 4% maintain over a 5% conversion rate (Rainer). We seem to have the words of God but not His voice. If a gifted evangelist could win ten thousand people to Christ every night of the year, ten thousands years would not be enough to win the entire world for Christ. However, if one true disciple of Christ were able, under God, to win just one person each year and train that person to do the same, it would only take 32 years to win the entire world.
Jim

======= Jan:

My prayer for Mike for doing the One Year Bible Blog is this: Those that refresh others will themselves be refreshed…what a wonderful reward here & there!!! Thank you again Mike…you will have many jewels in your crown.
Jan

======= John:

John 4
Bob cites Josephus saying the relationship between Jews and Samaritans may not have been THAT bad. I disagree. The Samaritans:
Were inter-racial (no longer pure from the tribes), rejected the Jews and their teachings, during persecution had rededicated their temple at one time under duress to Zeus , had been persecuted and killed over temple dispute settled in Egypt, were open to unclean practices (hence – you did not eat off a plate of a Samaritan), and in Jesus’ time had spread Human bones throughout Temple during a passover celebration – thus desecrating the temple.
So, while Jews may have taken the short cut through Samaria as Josephus indicates – they probably avoided the towns and people of the area for reasons above.
The Samaritans believed in the same God, thought their Temple was the Holy place of worship, and thought the Messiah would come as a “TEACHER”. Not a “KING” as the Jews believed.
http://www.answers.com/topic/samaritan
http://virtualreligion.net/iho/samaria.html
And Jesus WENT to them. This was to Glorify God as the message would go to the World as early John indicates – even the Samaritans. The Jewish Nation would reject Christ – here the Samaritans would embrace Jesus.
Here he met a woman who had a “hunger” for a relationship. She had five husbands and now a live-in, but the hunger – the hole in her heart – was not satisfied.
Christ offers her the “living water”. Water washing the body always symbloizes God’s Word. Water ingested (drank) symbolizes the Holy Spirit. I believe the “gift of God” is Salvation. So Christ is saying ‘if you knew the gift of Salvation, and I who came to bring it – you would ask for the “Holy Spirit” to have eternal life.’
The woman still does not get it – and must come to realize the thing that hinders her from understanding (We all must come to this point before salvation). Jesus confronts her with her many relationships – she has to know they are not the way to be fulfilled – one can only be truly fulfilled through God.
After her next statement – Christ says worship is not about a place, your knowledge is incomplete, and God is spirit and must be worshipped in the spirit.
(Notice the process of revelation for the Woman. She starts off calling Jesus – A Jew – then Sir – then prophet – and lastly the Christ (albeit in the form of a question).
This is the second time in Gospel of John that Christ openly reveals himself. The first time is to Nathaniel. I would suggest they both had hearts that were without guile – they were open to receiving Christ. Although the woman’s heart seemd to undergo a progression indicated by the way she addressed Jesus. It is also the first use in John of “ego eimi” or “I AM” which in the original Greek text is “Egw eimi” and not split up as the translation indicates.

A Great Visual
I think a lot of commentators miss this and the NIV totally leaves it out.
John 4:35
“Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest.” NAS
In the Greek the word “white” – Gk. “leukos” – is in the text.
Our Lord gave a lot of agrarian exmaples to a nation that had a lot of farmers. I assume when the grain was ripe and the sun hit it the field had a bright white kind of topping. I think there was another visual image being represented here.
In those times only the wealthy could afford the colored (dyed) robes of the time. Most common people wore undyed white outer garments. While Jesus was talking to disciples – the woman had been spreading the word in town.
I can just imagine the townspeople wearing white – a few hundred? – cutting across the fields to hurry and see (possibly) “the Messiah”. So the disciples would look up when Jesus recited verse 35 and see all this white.
Before now they had benefited from John the Baptist’s prepatory work, and had been baptizing people. Here,Jesus had already planted the seed with the woman, and now they were going to harvest.
And they did –
“We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”
John

======== John:

Here he met a woman who had a “hunger” for a relationship. She had five husbands and now a live-in, but the hunger – the hole in her heart – was not satisfied.
Christ offers her the “living water”. Water washing the body always symbloizes God’s Word. Water ingested (drank) symbolizes the Holy Spirit. I believe the “gift of God” is Salvation. So Christ is saying ‘if you knew the gift of Salvation, and I who came to bring it – you would ask for the “Holy Spirit” to have eternal life.’
The woman still does not get it – and must come to realize the thing that hinders her from understanding (We all must come to this point before salvation). Jesus confronts her with her many relationships – she has to know they are not the way to be fulfilled – one can only be truly fulfilled through God.
After her next statement – Christ says worship is not about a place, your knowledge is incomplete, and God is spirit and must be worshipped in the spirit.
John

======= Vance:

The book of Ruth – Beautifully illustrates Kinsman-redeemer
Kinsman-redeemer is a wonderful concept that is so beautifully fulfilled in the life and ministry of the Perfect Man, our Elder Brother, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Note this information from the wonderful Messianic Jewish website, hebrew4christians.com/Grammar/Unit_One/Aleph-Bet/Gimmel/gimmel.html
“The …( go’el ) [or redeemer] is the name for the kinsman Redeemer…YHVH (Yahweh) Himself is identified as the ultimate Redeemer of Israel and mankind (Psalm 19:14)…”
“Yeshua the Mashiach (Messiah) is identified as the Redeemer of mankind (John 4:41). He is the One who, being born into the world, runs forth bearing charity for the poor ones who stand “behind the door”. He is our nourishment and our great Benefit. But for those who spurn His love, He represents judgment and recompense (i.e., the Avenger of blood…)”
“…Yeshua has been lifted up and exalted before the world as the One who has conquered sin and death on our behalf. Benefit indeed!”
NOTE:
Note how the Lord Jesus is our near Kinsman:
1. Fully God and fully man
(John 10 – “I and the Father are one”; John 5 – “the Son of Man”)
2. Perfect Man – Perfect because He was without sin (Hebrews 2, 4, and 5)
1 Timothy 2 (NKJV)
5
For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,
3. Our Brother –
Hebrews 2 (NKJV)
14
Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,
For Jesus to truly fulfill the role of “Elder Brother” for the family of the redeemed, He had to take on flesh and blood. He had to enter into the prison to free the captives.
4. Jesus is the Perfect Representative as man. Only as man could He redeem man from the sin and deceptions of the enemy. Man was created to represent God’s image on earth. As such, man was created to rule righteously and to reflect God’s excellence. Satan knew that. When he tempted man and when man sinned, Adam (mankind) gave up his right to be delegated ruler by placing himself under the authority of the devil and sin.
I John 5 (NKJV)
19
We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.
5. Jesus, being very glad and not ashamed to be our brother, was able to give us His victory of sin, flesh, world, and the devil. When we repent and trust in Jesus, His victory over sin is given to us.
And get this – this is one of the most amazing facts about Jesus: As our kinsman-redeemer, Jesus loves us and BY GRACE shared with us HIS VERY OWN INHERITANCE.
This is a powerful picture of spiritual reality, pictured in Luke 15. The elder brother is the one who receives the inheritance from the father, and then the others in the family receive their inheritance from him.
Note this from Romans 8 (Amplified), one of the most exciting verses in the Bible:
17
And if we are [His] children, then we are [His] heirs also: heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ [sharing His inheritance with Him]; only we must share His suffering if we are to share His glory.
It not it amazing that Jesus the Son, in HIS GRACE, shared His own inheritance with us?
WOW!
Vance

========= Billy:

Mike, my search for God is partly in reading this blog everyday !! Praise the Lord.
Reading Judges has reminded me that when you turn your back on God it has consequences.
Billy

======= Bob:

O.T. Survey by Lasor,Hubbard and Bush (pg. 164),comments on the end of Joshua 21:25 “In those days Israel had no king, everyone did as he saw fit.” (Vs: 18:1, 19:1, 17:6). This links the writing to a time when there was a king and contrast the days under the monarchy with those prior to it. It asks if the book of Judges is a low key apology for the Davidic Monarchy? I think it goes even further showing us how to eliminate chaos and pointing us to the one and only King we will all serve one day.
John 4:4-42 Jesus Mission Trip. I love this story because it has all the elements of a modern day mission trip. He goes into a “dangerous” place, meets up with someone open to his teaching, gives living water to be spread into the lives of new believers! How awesome is that! If you want to experience a new perspective next time you go missioning, try digging into this beautiful example our Lord gives us.
Bob

Judges 19:1-20:48 + John 3:22-4:3 + Psalm 104:24-35 + Proverbs 14:22-23
~ Click here to read today’s Scripture on Bible Gateway ~
~ Listen to today’s Scripture with Tom Dooley’s terrific NLT 1996 readings at this link or The ESV Bible: OT + NT + Psalms + Proverbs ~

Old Testament – Today’s readings in Judges 19 about the Levite’s concubine being raped and killed really made me tear up today. What a sad story! The evil of the act led to tens of thousands of men dying in battle in chapter 20. Notice the similarities between Judges chapter 19 and Genesis chapter 19?  In Genesis chapter 19 two angels arrived in Sodom in the evening and they planned to spend the night in the town square.  But Lot insisted they go with him and spend the night at his house.  Then, in the middle of the night the men of Sodom came to Lot’s house to have sex with the two angels.  Lot offered his two virgin daughters instead…   see the unfortunate similarities?  Social protocol of the time – protecting a house guest at any cost – unfortunately carried more authority in Judges chapter 19 than God’s law and moral convictions.  Obviously this is an extreme case in Judges chapter 19…. yet, is it possible that in today’s world social protocol of our time can sometimes carry more authority than moral convictions?  Will we stand tall today and protect someone when this is the case?  We will stand up for moral convictions over social protocol today?  An image is below for Judges chapter 19 verses 16 & 17 – “That evening an old man came home from his work in the fields. He was from the hill country of Ephraim, but he was living in Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin. When he saw the travelers sitting in the town square, he asked them where they were from and where they were going.”

And another image is below for Judges chapter 20 verses 4 through 7 – “The Levite, the husband of the woman who had been murdered, said, “My concubine and I came to Gibeah, a town in the land of Benjamin, to spend the night. That night some of the leaders of Gibeah surrounded the house, planning to kill me, and they raped my concubine until she was dead. So I cut her body into twelve pieces and sent the pieces throughout the land of Israel, for these men have committed this terrible and shameful crime. Now then, the entire community of Israel must decide what should be done about this!””

New Testament – Wow… I love John the Baptist’s words about Jesus in John chapter 3 today!  Great stuff.  Please read these verses again and meditate upon them in your life today.  The verse that really stood out to me today was verse 30 when John said this about Jesus – “He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.” How very true and how very applicable to our lives today.  We must let Jesus become greater and greater in our lives, hearts, and actions, and our individualism / selfishness must become less and less.  How are you doing on this?  Are you allowing Jesus to become greater and greater in your life and are “you” becoming less and less? 

Bible.org’s commentary on John chapter 3’s readings today titled “John’s Joy and his Disciples Jealousy” is at this link.

Psalms – Today we finish up Psalm 104, which we started yesterday. I mentioned in yesterday’s post, that this is a great Psalm of praising God’s creation. And indeed it is. What I didn’t realize yesterday, but I picked up today, is that this Psalm overall goes through Genesis 1 and the story of creation. Not quite in the same order of creation, or the same details. But, essentially this Psalm is a retelling of Genesis 1. Below is a wonderful piece of art from Pat Marvenko Smith titled “The Creation” – you’ll note this piece shows all 6 days of creation and what was created on each day, going from the left to the right:

Art used by permission by Pat Marvenko Smith, copyright 1992.
To order prints visit her “Revelation Illustrated” site. 

I love Psalm 104 verse 33 today – “I will sing to the LORD as long as I live. I will praise my God to my last breath!”  I so pray that this verse will be true for both you and me.  I pray we will sing to God as long as we live.  I pray we will praise God to our very last breath.  And in particular at our very last breath I pray we are praising God!

Proverbs – Proverbs verse 14 chapter 22 is awesome – “If you plan good, you will be granted unfailing love and faithfulness.”  Great stuff!  And so true.

Worship Video:  Today’s readings in Psalm 104 remind me of Bebo Norman’s fantastic song “I Will Lift My Eyes:”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZ9bLnyIEyw

Are you looking at God? Click here and lift your eyes!

Please join us in memorizing and meditating on a verse of Scripture today: “He (Jesus) must become greater; I must become less.” John 3:30 NIV

Prayer Point: Pray that Jesus is becoming greater and greater in your life day by day and that you are becoming less and less. Pray for more of Jesus and for less of you.

Comments from You & Questions of the Day:  Based on today’s Proverb, do you plan good in your life?  Do you consciously think of ways you can bless others?  Do you love others well?  Do you surprise others with grace?  Often?  Do you believe that if you plan good, you will be granted unfailing love and faithfulness?  Also, what verses or insights stand out to you in today’s readings?  Please post up by clicking on the “Comments” link below!

God bless,
Mike

p.s. Download our monthly Small Group study notes for our Bible readings at this link.

p.s. #2 – Download a schedule of our Bible readings for the year in PDF format at this link.

p.s. #3 – I would greatly appreciate it if you would pray for this Bible Blog ministry today! Please also consider partnering with us by financially supporting this ministry. Thank you!

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======= Ramona:

Judges 19:1-20:48

Israel had moved the bar, the bar of righteousness, the bar that set boundaries, the bar that said, “This is sin.” You have a Levite that has a concubine and as the text states, was unfaithful to him. First question, “What is a Levite doing with a concubine that is a loose woman?” As per Moses’ directive, Levites were supposed to keep the Law so that they could teach the Law. The bar/standard was lowered.

When Israel masses itself to fight this “horrid” sin, the bar has been set so low that the “sin” they all are living in is not even a blip on their radar screen. The outrage is a culmination of outrages acts on the other side of that bar that has been lowered almost to the ground. I’ve heard people say, and I’ve said it myself at one time or another, “I wouldn’t do that,” or “Even I wouldn’t do that,” as if our or my personal behavior or standard was “IT.” I know that it is not. I think we do this, consciously or sub-consciously, to distance ourselves from our sin, the “white lie,” syndrome. God has stated that when we break one Law we have broken them all; but, we insist that we are not as bad as that guy or gal over there or across the street. Yes we are.

In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes. (Judges 17:6 KJV)

When we do what is right in our own eyes, we have set ourselves up as God which was and is the sin of Satan. There are only two kingdoms on the earth, The Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Satan; which one do we say we are in and which one are we really in? As Children of God, are we trespassing in the wrong Kingdom? Or, can we be citizens of the Kingdom of Satan trying to pass ourselves off as children of the Light? And worse yet, do we, like this Levite, play our sin off in such a way that we share the outrages consequences of our actions as if it just fell out of the sky into a innocent lifestyle getting everyone upset enough to call a prayer meeting to do “spiritual warfare?” Hmmmm!

Grace and peace,
Ramona

====== Anka:

Could the father of the concubine have been trying to get the Levite to spend 7days with his daughter so he could claim it was a wedding?Just a thought.The Levite lied to Israel,he didn’t mention that he had sent his concubine to the benjamites,he just said they raped her.What a horrible time for women it was,to be raped to death to protect a guest.God allowed heavy casulaties on both side.It must have broken his heart to see depraved Israel fighting each other.
Without God man becomes really demonic.Only satan can cause the degradation of humanity today as we see it and we let it happen.What must have started out as falling in love with the wrong person became a sick stronghold of lust.How can a whole gathering of men take pleasure in torturing a woman…it all started with a single uncontrolled lusty thought.
Reading Ramona’s post about the youth leader’s in a lustful relationship,I again remember the need to fear God.How can you lead God’s children while obviously giving tribute to the devil with your life.It’s mocking God to His face!Sadly it happens often:pastors having adulterous relationships with their secretaries while going for out of town conferences,leaders preying on their followers all in the name of “I fell in love”,worshippers supposedly worshiping God in public while worshipping the devil in private…Even non belivers see the earthquakes,pestilence,floods,wars and know the end is near.Will Christ find any faith left among his flock?
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.
If you believe that arsenic is poison,you will not even taste something that looks really delicious when you it part of it’s ingredient is arsenic.We all know what God says about the relationship between a man and a woman(just an example)can we really say we believe in Jesus when we stray from his teachings.We believe yet we act contrary to his teachings?May God open our eyes to the devices of the devil and may we constantly allow the Holy Spirit search our hearts lest we deceive ourselves.
God bless you all

Anka

====== Kristie:

Judges shows how bad it gets when people turn away from fearing God. Even the man who gave his concubine to the worthless men, then rallies everyone to fight doesn’t tell the whole story. Look at the way he just talks to her when she is dead on the doorstep. Everyone in this story is a depraved sinner.

Kristie

====== Mae:

Our last Sundaymorning Biblestudies have been about overcropping (premature exhaustion?). It was the first thing I thought about while I was reading todays verse from Proverbs. 1.) We have to give God the chance to make the changes in our hearts 2.) We have to plan well. If we TRY to do good in our lives, if we TRY to love others well, if we TRY to suprise others with grace, in the long run we will get exhausted if we do it all on our own energy. We have to let God work on our hearts, so we don’t have to TRY so hard ourselves. Okay … do I make sense here? I’m really trying to translate the notes I made in the Biblestudy. The thing is that we want to do the right thing everywhere: for God, in church, at work, in our relationships (marriage, the children, friendships etc). So in order to see everything clear, we have to plan well. So in the first place give things in God hands and in the second place, plan well ourselves. So yes, I really love todays Proverb “If you plan good, you will be granted unfailing love and faithfulness.” Indeed: so true!!

Mae

====== Robert:

Psalm 104

I really like how this Psalm raises the tackles the topic of Ecology. We are asked to have a right relationship with God, with one another and with creation. That way we are nurtured by and feed into a full and holistic spirituality. If we seek earth’s beauty and ask for forgiveness for the ways in which we participate in the destruction of this holy creation we are practicing God’s Ecology.

I have trouble joining those “save the trees” groups because I am a business man and love development. I do think the two can live in harmony but it is a delicate balance. I just have to watch some National Geographic documentary and realize how beautiful God made this world. I pray I can be sensitive to how God wants to go about his re-creation and be a positive part in that.

Judges 19:1

“In those days Israel had no king.” This statement also found in 17:6, 8:1 and 21:25 links Judges to a future time when there was a king. It is preparation for the Monarchy and it has been suggested that it is a low-key apology for the Davidic Monarchy. Old Testament Survey by Bush. Page 164.

Robert

======= Jim:

Here is yet another story (that resembles the assault on Lot’s home in Sodom) about the poor moral condition of Israel where a Levite reconciles with an unfaithful concubine (usually a female servant forced into a spousal relationship – and, assuming the extra donkey is for her to ride rather than follow the custom of forcing a woman to walk beside her riding husband suggests at least some feelings for this woman) and sets out for home (after five days, instead of three, as again required by Jewish custom suggesting there is still some observance of the Law) about 3:00pm and as night approaches stops in Gibeah (rather than the very close Canaanite town of Jebus – an example of how close the Jews lived with the Canaanites despite opposing instructions of God) assuming safety in an Israelite town. They finally find lodging (the general failure of the townsfolk to honor the custom of hospitality should have been a warning of perilous morals afoot and they only find lodging from a fellow Ephraim who was passing through) but some men in the town come to rape him (the sin that brought judgment on Sodom is now common in Israel) and (after the host offers his own daughter attempting to honor his obligation to protect a quest at any cost) the Levite throws his concubine to them where they rape and brutalize her all night and she returns to die in the street outside the house alone. The Levite takes her body home and sends a slice of her body to each of the 12 tribes as gruesome evidence of the atrocity (as a call to arms).

While the Levite is silent about his own part in the murder, the judicial court (“before the Lord”) decides the acts of the Gibeahites merit death under OT Law and they chose (by lot) a tenth of their men. The Benjamites additionally merit their own death by refusing to punish the wicked. Their haste initially ends them with two losses in battle. Judah is sent first to fight, perhaps as a reminder they were supposed to be fighting the Canaanites as in 1:1-2 rather than fighting each other. The slings of the Benjamites (like the one used by David) were capable of accurately throwing 1 pound smooth rocks at up to 90 miles per hour – and yet, they were outnumbered (400,000 to 26,700), eventually out maneuvered, and killed to the last 600 men (who would carry on the tribe’s name). The mention of Phinehas (who earlier stopped the plague at Peor in Num 25:6-11) suggests these events occurred about the time of Joshua (see Josh 22). Without a king and royal court there was no place to rule over unjust treatment of visitors or revenge killing.

While the impression in John 3:22 is given that Jesus baptized, John corrects this idea in 4:2. Jesus provided the authority while the disciples performed the task. While I have heard many sermons on baptism, I have heard surprisingly little about the baptism of the Holy Spirit or of fire that John the Baptist spoke of in Matthew 13:11. We read yesterday, “He makes winds his messengers, flames of fire his servants.” But, when does this new birth and spiritual baptism occur? It could be as soon as believing turns to a belief, when a repenting becomes a calling on the Lord, or during or after a baptism. Certainly baptism is not required for salvation as the thief next to Jesus on the cross had no opportunity and yet was assured entrance into heaven with Christ. All of the ten conversions in Acts involved a seven-step process described in many places of when hearing becomes a belief in Christ (Mark 16:15), a confession (Proverbs 28:13; Romans 10:9), a repenting (Acts 2:38), calling on the Lord (Acts 22:16), a baptism (Matthew 3:13), the gifts of the Holy Spirit (Romans 12:5-21; Ephesians 4:11-16; 2 Timothy 1:6-7; 1 Corinthians 12:7), and rebirth with Great Commission discipleship in the body of Christ (Matthew 28:18-20). These ingredients for a new Christian usually all take place in a very short time, almost as a singular event. The Catechism of the Catholic Church similarly describes the journey with the steps of “proclamation of the Word, acceptance of the Gospel entailing conversion, profession of faith, Baptism itself, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and admission to Eucharistic communion.” But, Paul came across some Ephesian disciples who had received the baptism of John the Baptists without receiving the Holy Spirit. Paul conferred the Holy Spirit onto them through the “laying on of hands” (Acts 19:6). The Holy Spirit was also similarly imparted by Peter and John in Acts 8:14-17 to the Samaritans. And finally, Paul writes to Timothy, “I have been reminded of your sincere faith… For this reason I remind you to fan into flames the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.” Paul said in Ephesians 5:18 to “be filled with the Spirit” and Jesus said he wants us to be so full of the Spirit that it will flow out of us “like a river of living water” (John 7:27-39). To be baptized in the Spirit is to be immersed to the point that it take over one’s life, including thoughts, words, and actions. John the Baptist continuing his work long after the Messiah arrives and takes over reminds us that there could well be a period of adjustment. Some believe that it is possible to have the Spirit without this by accepting Jesus as Savior but not as Lord – who have so grieved the Spirit that it is residing but not presiding. Nevertheless, John Calvin, Martin Luther, John Wesley, Wall, and Brenner have all affirmed that baptizo meant full immerse just as Romans 6:4 equates baptism to burial and not just to getting dirty. “For thirteen hundred years baptism was an immersion of the person under water.” (Brenner, Catholic) “When you send your Spirit, new life is born to replenish all the living of the earth.”

Infants, of course, cannot express a belief, a confession, a sorrow, call on the Lord, make a decision to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, or demonstrate an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. This can only occur later in life, even for any “sanctified” infants. The ten baptisms in Acts occurred at once when people believed, upon hearing, or soon after on the same day of the conversion. The baptism did not came first and none involved getting someone else to do the baptizing as the “converter” carried it out each time – just as the Great Commission directs us to “convert AND baptize.” The Roman Catholic Church (and many others) would seem to view Baptism as only that of John as they believe as per the Catechism that even unbelievers with good intentions are somehow able to confer a baptism. The Catholic suggestion that an infant can only be “freed from the power of darkness” through infant baptism who would otherwise not be a “child of God” has historically even often lead to baptisms required for salvation at any cost including the death of the mother. It can be said that each moment carries with it every other moment. In other words, in a universe that carries the purpose of God, the present incorporates the past and the future. Evangelical Christians often speak of having received salvation at some point in the past, when they committed themselves to Jesus as Lord. The thief next to Christ on the cross, for example, was with Christ that day (assuming the comma comes before the word “today”) in paradise due to his belief. Jude 3 speaks about “the salvation we share,” in the past tense just as Titus 3:5 states, “He saved us through the washing of rebirth,” similarly as does Acts 15:11; Romans 8:24; Ephesians 2:5, 8; and 2 Timothy 1:9. At the same time, Peter speaks of salvation as a goal, an end result, not as something already possessed. Peter refers to a future salvation (1 Pet 1:5, 9-10; 2:2, 4:18) every time but when referring to Noah’s salvation (1 Pet 3:20-21). The New Testament makes frequent reference to salvation in the future (Rom 5:9-10; 10:9; 11:26; 13:11; 1 Cor 3:15; 15:2; 2 Cor 7:10; Phil 1:28; 1 Thess 5:8-9; 1 Tim 4:16; Heb 1:14; 9:28; 10:39). Finally, salvation is spoken of as a present process (1 Cor 1:18; 2 Cor 2:15). Each is true because salvation is not a moment in time, but a journey through time with a God who is timeless and outside of time. Saint Augustine held the Bible teaches that God transcends time and that creation is “with time” not “in time” (agreed to by the Big Bang theory). The mark of those who are “being saved” is their ability to remain firm in their faith under pressure. It is not those who just “make a decision for Christ,” but those who “stand firm to the end” (Mt 10:22; 24:13; Mk 13:13) who will be saved. In the Wesleyan tradition, salvation is tentative and may be lost, while in the Reformed tradition, God assures that those whom he has truly regenerated will in fact endure. Both traditions, however, accurately reflect that it is not a one-time decision, even if long ignored, that brings salvation, but a commitment to Christ lived out through obedience to the end of life. “I will praise my God to my last breath!”
Jim

======= Veronica:

God was Israel’s King, but they did not acknowledge Him as King so….
In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.(Judges 17:6 KJV)
Veronica

======= Peggy:

THIS VERSE REALLY STOOD OUT TO ME TODAY. John 3:35 The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. 36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.”[d]
THIS SAYS IT ALL
ALSO IN PSALM 104:33 I will sing to the LORD all my life;I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
DON’T YOU JUST FILL LIKE SINGING WHEN YOU READ THESE WORDS? I KNOW I DO.
HAVE A BLESSED DAY!
Peggy

======= Laura:

MAY 4TH NATIONAL DAY
OF PRAYER
Lord I pray for unity in the churches and Godly wisdom in our government. Lord you have oppointed rulers who govern our counties, states and nation, please fill them with your Holy Spirit and guide them in the ways of righteousness, truth and knowledge. Lord hear our prayers.
Mike said, “in today’s world social protocol of our time can sometimes carry more authority than moral convictions” Will we stand tall today and protect someone when this is the case? Will we stand up for moral convictions over social protocol today? On this National Day of Pray this is something we all must think about. I am thankful that we have the word of God as our example of Godly wisdom. God has shown us how we are to live. Why can’t we learn from all the mistakes that people in the past have made and not repeat them? Why are we so stubborn and hardheaded? Lord soften our hearts and open our minds, and let your knowledge, wisdom and desernment lead us. Let this nation founded by you and built on Godly principals, go back to those roots as you have taught us. Lord hear our prayers.
Let there be an end to crime, violence, and injustice in the world and in our nation. Let conviction rather than apathy guide us. Give us boldness and courage to stand tall for you and let there be no more persecution for your namesake. Lord hear our prayers.
We really are living in the end times. As I read the paper,pray, attend church and come to the blog everyday, I am reminded that the Lord is coming back very soon. Iran with it’s treats,weapons of mass destruction, rumors of war,desease, disasters that have been occuring in the world all these things have been noted. Lord I pray for salvation and repentance for our nation and our world. Lord hear our prayers.
And all of Gods people said Amen!!!!
Laura

======== John:

Judges 20
Judges 17-18 Religious apostasy
Judges 19 Moral decline
Judges 20 Political anarchy
A familiar pattern?????
vs. 18-28
Why did it take three attempts to defeat tribe of Benjamin?
When Benjaminites would not listen and formed an army. Israel formed 400,000 men. Made a decision to go to war, and then – Oh yeah – in what seems almost an afterthought – ask God – ‘who goes first?’
Perhaps if they had gone about it the right way (more on that later) God would have pared down their force like Gideon and delivered the Benjaminites to Israel.
Israel suffered defeat, and wept and asked the Lord – should we do this?. Is weeping a sign of true repentance? Maybe they are sorry they lost so many men, maybe they are mourning, but there is more to this from God’s point of view.
Israel saw this as a “they sinned” idea, and God wanted them to know that it is a “we sinned” concept. It is the whole country of Israel that is sinning and turning from the Lord. Even if the sin on Israel’s part is just about “national pride” and their thinking they can take care of the situation. Perhaps God wanted to humble the whole nation.
Like Jesus said, ‘until they take the beam out of their eye, their is no way they can deal with the speck in Benjamin’s eye.’
So God sent them out again and they got “whooped”.
This time they came back fasted, made burnt and peace offerings, and consulted God through the High Priest. This is what they should have done from the git-go.
Now Israel was right with God, and He sent them out and delivered the Benjaminites into Israel’s hands.
John

======= John:

John 3:26
“They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan—the one you testified about—well, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.”
Reminds me of John 12:19
“So the Pharisees said to one another, “See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!”
Not quite bookends but similar reactions to Jesus. John’s disciples were ones that stayed with John – Why? John had already made clear that Jesus was the Messiah. Did they not believe????
Was their a comfort level in their preaching, their approach to the Jews, their ability to argue and persuade that they enjoyed. Perhaps John’s disciples felt that if they followed Jesus their roles would be diminished, they would not be in the forefront, they would not have as much individual power????? How often is this seen today in those that vary from the preaching of the Gospel to a message THEY feel has their stamp on it?????
We know the Pharisees in general did not believe. Perhaps for the same kind of reasons as John’s disciples. They might have to give up something to join Jesus. It is one of the hardest things to do when “Coming to Christ” – giving up yourself, swallowing your pride, submitting your will to Gods. Yet it is essential.
So from this perspective, the two groups of men are like little children.
They cannot even say Jesus’s name. And “EVERYONE is going to him” and the “WHOLE WORLD has gone after him”. Pure Hyperbole. Typical of a child’s argument for explaining why they acted the way they did in a situation. I can almost see the two groups of men standing there “stomping their feet” and throwing a mini-tantrum.
Sad, because they both should have known better. The Disciples because the man they followed revealed Jesus as the Messiah. The Pharisees because they were the learned men of Scripture and they could not even see that the Scripture they knew pointed to Christ.
John

======= Vance:

Judges 20 (NKJV)
12
Then the tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of Benjamin, saying, “What is this wickedness that has occurred among you?
13
Now therefore, deliver up the men, the perverted men [Literally sons of Belial] who are in Gibeah, that we may put them to death and remove the evil from Israel!”
26
Then all the children of Israel, that is, all the people, went up and came to the house of God [Bethel] and wept. They sat there before the LORD and fasted that day until evening; and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD.
27
So the children of Israel inquired of the LORD (the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,
28
and Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, stood before it in those days), saying, “Shall I yet again go out to battle against the children of my brother Benjamin, or shall I cease?” And the LORD said, “Go up, for tomorrow I will deliver them into your hand.”
44
And eighteen thousand men of Benjamin fell; all these were men of valor.
NOTE:
Today, May 4, is the National Day of Prayer.
In honor of this day, note this small quote from George Washington’s prayer journal which is taken from William J. Johnson George Washington, the Christian(New York: The Abingdon Press, New York & Cincinnati, 1919), pp. 24-35.
“Almighty God, and most merciful father, who didst command the children of Israel to offer a daily sacrifice to thee, that thereby they might glorify and praise thee for thy protection both night and day, receive, O Lord, my morning sacrifice which I now offer up to thee; I yield thee humble and hearty thanks that thou has preserved me from the danger of the night past, and brought me to the light of the day, and the comforts thereof, a day which is consecrated to thine own service and for thine own honor.”
As I ponder the deep prayer, repentance, and faith of the father of our county, I am ashamed to say that I have been influenced too much by modern America. I find it a challenge to pray as I ought.
Thank God that God has made provision for us, even in this. The Holy Spirit came to teach me, and us, how to pray as we yield to Him.
Romans 8 (Amplified Bible)
26
So too the [Holy] Spirit comes to our aid and bears us up in our weakness; for we do not know what prayer to offer nor how to offer it worthily as we ought, but the Spirit Himself goes to meet our supplication and pleads in our behalf with unspeakable yearnings and groanings too deep for utterance.
NOTE for Judges 20:
Verses 12 and 13 show that this life really is about spiritual warfare. Note that these perverted men were also known as “sons of Belial”, which means “sons of Satan.” If sin is not repented of, the people of God can be oppressed and controlled by the evil one.
Can a Christian be demon possessed? No way – see the verse below:
I Corinthians 6 (NKJV)
17
But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.
But if sin is entertained, allowed to find a place and rule, that will allow a place for the enemy so he can rule in our minds and bodies.
Verses 26 – 28: Thank God for godly leaders. Note the compassion of the Lord guiding the wrath of God. The people, lead by the godly leader Phineas, weep before the Lord trying to find a way to spare their brothers. Yet, God tells them that there is no more room for repentance for the sons of the devil and for those who join them.
Psalm 103 (Amplified)
10
He has not dealt with us after our sins nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
11
For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great are His mercy and loving-kindness toward those who reverently and worshipfully fear Him.
Verse 44: Note still how the Israelites honored their brothers.
Thank God for God’s justice—which is sorely needed to protect us from ourselves from sin, and from the devil. Thank God that His justice is always guided by looking for every opportunity to pour His love on us.
May we receive the “mercy of the truth” so that Jesus be demonstrated in our lives—so others may see that Jesus truly is Lord and not just seen as fiction or as a historical man.
Vance

======= Tim:

I enjoy the verse which says (KJV) ” In all labour there is profit: but the talk of the lips tendeth only to penury”.Please underline the word “In all labor”.
This should make every Christian positively productive for His glory
Tim

======= Jeff:

John 3:30 ~ How does, “I must decrease” practically look in my life today?
Jeff

======== Liz:

What I noticed in the O.T. passages today was that the Israelites sacrificed 40,030 men because of the evil that was done. It was probably indicative of the whole city, like Sodom. The Benjamites sacrificed 25,100 men for the homosexual perverts that took what they could get without any thought of the woman or her life. What I took away from this is that we know what God thinks about homosexuality. That it was obviously so egregious that the man offered his virgin daughter and the concubine rather than allow them to rape the man, because God calls homosexuality an abomination. I can’t get my head around it being better for them to rape a woman than a man, but I feel that an abomination is a worse sin. I believe there are degrees of sin. Not when it comes to salvation, all have sinned and need repentance and salvation, but in this world and in The Judges eyes, not finally, but now. There seems to be sin, and evil there. These men were “lewd” and evil and God allowed men to be destroyed because of them. Why, at the sacrifice of 40,000 Israelites instead of like He destroyed Sodom? Maybe because they were without a King and did what was right in their own eyes, until they prayed after the 40,00 were killed. They were not successful until God said he would give them into their hands.
There are many people in America that are trying to wipe homosexual sin from the Bible and even pastors do not speak of it anymore. If it was abominable to God, then, it is still abominable. The Benjamites would not turn over the wicked men which makes me think they were wicked, too, like Sodom. I fear for America. If not for the Methodist outside of America, the Methodists would have voted to sanction sin, but the American UMC, is working to leave the association so they can carry on in their sin. This kind of thing is happening in so many areas in our country. How long will God tolerate it? Will his judgement come by war, by fire from heaven, or by natural disaster? Maybe through political slavery. Praying for a great awakening for the United States.
Liz

Judges 17:1-18:31 + John 3:1-21 + Psalm 104:1-23 + Proverbs 14:20-21
~ Click here to read today’s Scripture on Bible Gateway ~
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Old Testament – Judges chapter 17 & 18 are sad chapters to read!  In these chapters we see how far a Levitical priest had wandered from his original call to serve God – by accepting money, idols, and position in Micah’s house.  And we see how far the tribe of Dan had wandered from God’s plan for the tribes of Israel by killing the citizens of Laish – a city that did not fall under God’s judgment due to serving idols or wickedness – and Laish was outside the geographical boundaries of the tribe of Dan.  Unfortunately, we see Dan’s tribe worshiping idols.  Verse 6 in chapter 17 stood out to me – “In those days Israel had no king, so the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.”  This verse certainly seems to be building up to the kings of Israel that will soon be coming.  But, this verse also indicates to me the importance for each of us to have a king – so that we don’t just do whatever seems right in our own eyes.  Fortunately, today, we have Jesus Christ as our king.  He is the best king we could ever hope for.  Do you consider Jesus to be your king?

An image is below for Judges 18 verses 22 & 23 – “When the people from the tribe of Dan were quite a distance from Micah’s home, Micah and some of his neighbors came chasing after them. They were shouting as they caught up with them. The men of Dan turned around and said, “What do you want? Why have you called these men together and chased after us like this?””

New Testament – Today in John chapter 3 we will read about Jesus’ interactions with Nicodemus, a member of the Pharisees. This is obviously a powerful chapter, as Jesus’ words in this chapter include the famous John 3:16. In verse 3 we will read this from Jesus – “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” And to this Nicodemus asks in verse 4 – “How can a man be born when he is old? Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born?” What do these verses mean to you? Do you understand Jesus’ statement in verse 3? Do you understand Nicodemus’ confusion and why he asked the question like he did in verse 4? Jesus later goes on in chapter 3 to say that he is referring to being born again in “the Spirit.” It is not a physical rebirth Jesus is referring to in verse 3, but a Spiritual rebirth. I do think this is an appropriate time in our One Year Bible readings – the gospel of John and John chapter 3 in particular – for each of us to ask ourselves if we have been born again in the Spirit? If not, do you want to be born again in the Spirit? Will you pray today to God and Jesus for this Spiritual rebirth?

Bible.org’s commentary on John chapter 3 titled “The Doctrine of Salvation” is at this link and commentary on “Jesus and Nicodemus” is at this link and at this link.

An image is below for verses 14 & 15 as Jesus says this to Nicodemus – “And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so I, the Son of Man, must be lifted up on a pole, so that everyone who believes in me will have eternal life.”

Psalms – Psalm 104 is a beautiful hymn to the Creator!  I like all of the verses – verse 19 stands out to me because I can find some cool images related to this verse on the web!  🙂  “You made the moon to mark the seasons and the sun that knows when to set.”

Proverbs – Today in Proverbs chapter 14 verse 21 we read – “He who despises his neighbor sins, but blessed is he who is kind to the needy.”

Worship Video:  Reading John 3:16 today reminded me of the terrific We The Kingdom song “God So Loved:”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iq5URsXbKXs

Do you believe John 3:16? Click here for God’s love!

Please join us in memorizing and meditating on a verse of Scripture today: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 NIV

Prayer Point: Pray that you fully know and believe John 3:16. Pray for 316 people that you can share the message of John 3:16 with this next year.

Comments from You & Questions of the Day:  How does today’s Proverb speak to you? Do you love your neighbor? Who is your neighbor? Do you believe despising your neighbor is a sin? Are you kind to the needy? What are some ways that you are consistently kind to the needy? Do you believe that you are blessed when you are kind to the needy?  Also, what verses or insights stand out to you in today’s readings?  Please post up by clicking on the “Comments” link below!

God bless,
Mike

p.s. Download our monthly Small Group study notes for our Bible readings at this link.

p.s. #2 – Download a schedule of our Bible readings for the year in PDF format at this link.

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======= Ramona:

Judges 17:1-18:31

Reading today’s Old Testament passage reminds me that things are pretty much the same today as they were 3-4 thousand years ago, nothing new under the sun. Here we have pictured some family dynamics that have gone awry. We have a son who has stolen from his mother and the return of the money, under threat or fear of a curse, is seen as time to get “religious” and honor the son who stole it. As we read on, we find out that the son’s mother is a grandmother because this man Micah has a son; what a godly example he is for his offspring, NOT.

Superstition, and superstitious have permeated Israel, not only is the God who protected them in the desert, the God who brought them out of Egypt with a might hand not served, he is looked on as one of many gods to be manipulated, a god that can be transferred from one person to another. When a nation falls into this kind of thinking, the children and other family members are used as a means of protection by the head-of-household, or the ones with the biggest posse and the greatest forth of strength. Three times, we read that either the son (1 time) or the priests (twice) were set-up to be “protection” for grown men. (17:5, 10; 18:19). Is this not what Abraham and Isaac subjected their wives too but magnified?

Whether we actually install our children as priests and give them a title as father, when we instruct our children to tell the Bill Collector on the phone that we are not in, when we stand back and send our children to the front of the line so that people will give them preference and force “mercy and grace,” we are setting up our children to be proctors like Micah and the men from Dan. When God moves from being our protector, our provider, our strong tower, when God moves from being a personal God to just a god, our children and relationships become a tool to be used to get what we want. We in effect, like Micah, like Dan establish our own religion build our own idols, even if it is not metal or stone, and offer up our children, spouses, and “friends” and other relationships on the alter of our fears.

Love desires to benefit others at the expense of self – for God so loved the world …; Lusts desires to benefit self at the expense of others. What is it? Do we love or lusts? Some very tough questions that I need to answer.

If people don’t know it, I’ve dedicated myself to focus on and post on the Old Testament readings this year; however, from time to time I will do “hit-and-run” comments on the New and today is one of those days. I read something as per the NLT translation that gave me a new perspective and deeper understanding of something I struggle with, “What does true repentance look like?”

Some background information: The first church I attended after my salvation had, what appeared to me in the beginning, a genuine love for Jesus, but something went wrong, arrogance developed. What had been a church with a humble heart and core became one that screamed “entitlement” because we are God’s people. They forgot about the Mercy of God. Because I wanted to be “loyal” to my church, I turned a blind eye to the things that I saw happening. My son didn’t want to attend the Youth group, and I didn’t force him because a succession of leadership, male and feemale where living together outside of marriage. When I left, after getting a revelation of Jeremiah 14:16, I asked what thing, if any, had I gotten out of being in that church and the only thing I heard was this, “You know what not to do if your kids go to jail.”

What that “knowing” was, was this: Jailhouse conversion doesn’t equal real conversations. Jailhouse conversions are precipitated from the state of “I’m sorry ‘cause I got caught.” It seemed that everybody and his brother/sister was going to jail from some crime, white collar and blue collar. An, “I’m O.K. cause God has my back no matter what I do,” mentality ran amuck. I wasn’t sure if there was ever any scripture to back up what I had discovered until now and it comes from the Words of Jesus, King James style,

But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. (Joh 3:21)

Since everything that is done in the dark, will come to the light of day, just because something is illuminated doesn’t mean that the person saying, “I’m sorry” is sorry because of his/her behavior, they more than likely are sorry because they got caught. The key is in the first half of Jesus words, “But he that doeth truth cometh to the light …”

Coming into the light after having been in the dark causes your eyes to hurt; you are blinded by that light until your eyes adjust. Coming into the light exposes the sin for what it is, ugly and rotten. While in the dark, what is ugly, gaudy and worthless, can give off the appearance of beauty and value. In the dark the things that are gray and shady, blend in and are hidden by the dark, but in the light everything is exposed.

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. (James 1:17 KJVR)

Godly sorrow says, I didn it and I’m repentant and I am willing to pay the cost, and if there is anything else that needs to be exposed, God please show it to me no matter the pain or embarrassment. Worldly sorrow (jailhouse conversions) says, “O.K. I said I was sorry so where is the key so I can get out,” showing an unwillingness to pay the price or change directions.

Grace and peace,
Ramona

======= Alice:

Ramona,
I like all your comments.
I hope you keep putting them up!
Have a blessed day everybody
Alice

======= Briggs:

======= Anka:

I think the Israelites lost their fear of God.The Levite knew he was called to be a priest as did Micah.The Danites knew as a Levite he was supposed to hear from God yet they had no regard for God or his commandments.To me it seems more like the Danites went to a fortune teller.They had a few facts:the people of Laish were secluded so nobody could help them and they were unsuspecting(even trained armies are vulnerable to a suprise attack how much more these people)…could they have thought in their hearts “who needs God’s approval when we can wipe out these people without breaking a nail”.They obviously heard about God even went to hear from Him but their actions show they didn’t fear God.This still happens today..we go to church to hear from God,maybe even get a blessing but as soon as we get out of church our light shines dimmer that that of an unbelievers.
When Nicodemus spoke to Christ he said “we” kinda makes me wonder if the rabbi’s saw the truth but as John said were too full of Zeal for the house of God:it paid well,gave them respect etc.Some of them didn’t even believe in resurrection so they wanted to get the best out of life on earth.When they arrested Jesus,they broke a lot of the rules they so meticulosly taught.Like the Levite priest,they only did what paid them well.When Jesus came with the truth it felt bad so they refused to listen.They let their passion for money and power blind them.The pull to listen to our passions,to live it out,to get so involved with our work or problems is sometimes much louder than the voice of the Holy Spirit.I need the fear of the Lord in my life..to know that even though nothing can take away his love for me,my lack of reverence for him will eventually make me loose my love for him then take me on a self distructive path of condamnation.********************************************************************
God bless you all
Anka

======= Peggy:

======= John:

Matt 28:18
“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”
authority is “exousia” that same delegated power or authority from God discussed in John 1. So God, the Father, bestowed this authority on Christ.
I know what Peggy means as I catch myself concentrating on Jesus in his High Priest role. It seems at worship I can relate to the Father “abba” role, but I don’t acknowledge enough the role of Christ as the “King of Kings – Lord of Lords”.
I think it will all be pretty clear at the Second Coming.
John

======= Cheryl:

I was always taught that the very next person you see is your neighbor-so I guess that does mean everyone! Jesus is my Father, brother, savior and yes-King. We are called to serve him, as well as serve others in his name.

Cheryl

======== Micky:

========= Pat:

Thank you Micky for sharing your remarkable experience with us. What a wonderful testimony! Christ must have great plans for you because He has saved and prepared you for some awesome task.
God Bless!
Pat

======= Micky:

Thank you, Pat, may God remember you in His KINGDOM!!
Peace Be With You
Micky

======= Mae:

I love the story from Jesus and Nicodemus!!!! When people ask me why I made the choice to be reborn, I always give them the chapter of Nicodemus.
Verse 3 “Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.” ~ There’s no way you can get a better explanation!
Verse 18 ““There is no judgment against anyone who believes in Him. But anyone who does not believe in Him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son”. ~ I love this verse!

Proverbs 14:21 “”He who despises his neighbor sins, but blessed is he who is kind to the needy.” ~ I really care deeply for my neighbors, they’re not my best friends though. And I know for a fact they are not very fund of us because we are Christians. They were raised Muslims, but do not practise their religion. Many times I’ve tried to have normal contact with them, but they won’t allow it. All I do is pray for them, because they have a terrible relationship. They are not married and have 3 kids from her former marriage. They fight constantly and I feel so sorry for them. Life doesn’t have to be this way. I truly believe that we’re blessed when we are kind to the needy. I’m doing all the best I can to be kind to the needy. It makes me happy to see a smile on their face when I help them out and I thank the Lord for giving me the strength to help out.

My life is not about me, it’s about others.

Mae

======== Lisa:

======== Jim:

Judges 17 starts off with a confused story of a mother that curses a thief who steals 1100 shekels of silver who then turns around and blesses him when she finds out the culprit was her own son. I asked earlier when lying could possibly be Godly and now I must ask when is stealing righteous? Was the seemingly justified earlier lying a “bridge” sin onto further sinning? The author is clearly demonstrating how upside-down things were and continues with several undated events in order to sum up the moral and social deterioration during a time when “everyone did as he saw fit” (Judges 17:6) without a king. Revelation includes a harsh condemnation (“I will vomit you out of my mouth”) of the church of Laodicea for being filthy rich, spoiled, and deplorably indifferent to everything (even if they didn’t know it). Laodicea etymologically means “the rights of the people” that may suggest an era of democracy where the church is dominated not by its religious leaders but by its people. This description also fits for the Israelites of Judges as well as a warning for the church of today. Judges 17 tells of Micah stealing, setting up silver idols in a shrine in his house (perhaps as some insurance against his mothers curse as mom had already dedicated this silver to the Lord) and ephod (remember what trouble Gideon and his family got into with their homemade ephod – the ephod held 12 stones as well as the Urim and Thummim, perhaps sticks, for determining the will of God by “casting lots,” with more than just “yes” and “no” replies), ordaining a son as a priest until hiring a Levite (Moses’ great-grandson, Jonathon), and expecting God to bless him even though each act violated commands found in the Mosaic Law – which Micah didn’t know. Micah thought the Levite at his door must be a sign of God’s favor – a common foolishness of those finding support for evil ways. Micah had created a syncretistic religion (one that teaches that all religions are different routes to the same goal) complete with self-supporting superstitious beliefs. The implication is that Israel needed a righteous leader to end such transgressions from ignorance. Micah became a corrupting influence for many generations. By the same token, the most serious hindrance to a Godly church is a Godless home – or, it is very difficult to sustain a clean government in a corrupt society of a corrupt government in a clean society.

Judges 18 adds to this ironic tragedy with an advance party from the Tribe of Dan obtaining the blessing from Micah’s priest (after running from the land God commanded them to conquer), stealing the shrine (to be later set up in a tribal worship center), plundering and killing, and making the Levite’s sons hereditary priests (who had abandoned his benefactor when a better deal came along). “What else do I have?” was the cry of the sincere idolater who had lost his idols and counterfeit priest. Much like Micah, the Danites don’t know and don’t care that their worship is in direct violation of OT Law. Similarly, many religious leaders today assert that the world will soon come under one World Church without denominations and where democracy and compromise will rule notwithstanding fulfilling end-time apostasy (of which most are unaware). In addition, the most rapidly growing religion in post-modern America and Europe is Wicca (with a doubling in size every 18 months to 30 months and an estimated size of 5-10 million by Phyllis Curott in her Book of Shadows), New Age mores based on Tibetan pagan Bon traditions brought with their form of Buddhism being increasingly inserted into Christian observances, education that gives the people what they want – high grades and little work, Christians making baloney like the DaVinci Code into a best seller, and the last presidential election being between two men who had both taken a secret blood oath to Satan and yet still applauded for their Christian convictions. There are, however, no natural, man-made, or spiritual laws for which ignorance is ever an acceptable defense (such as, “but officer, I didn’t know what the speed limit was”).

During the age of Judges (as today), the knowledge of God was slowly lost, being diluted by pagan concepts that found their way into the religious consciousness. One pagan posting states, for example, “To me, being a Pagan is basically believing whatever you want” and the first Wiccan Rede is, “Do whatever you wish.” Biblical theology contains no such poorly defined, wide-path, relativistic principles or consequences! Core to New Age beliefs is that of relativism – where only subjective experiences define truth. In contrast to the scientific method, the failure of some practice to achieve expected results is not considered as a failure of the underlying theory but only as a lack of knowledge about hidden extenuating circumstances. This is very different from Pluralism, which is only about tolerance for different views. Relativism is about believing all answers are equally correct – devastating to any honest search for logic and truth. In a pluralistic society, everyone has the fundamental right to be wrong, while in a relativistic society everyone has the right to be right, all the time. “Is one religion as good as another? Is one horse in the Derby as good as another?” (GK Chesterton)

The fact that Jesus performed miracles as an agent of God was beyond logical dispute. This brought a Pharisee named Nicodemus (described in Jewish writings as the son of Gorion, supposedly so rich that he could have supported all of Jerusalem for a decade) at night (which may suggest a timidity of faith or just a desire to speak privately – but not interested in being baptized as they were never done at night as per Wetstein, but this would not have been required for a circumcised Jew) to question Jesus (and later, he comes to aid in embalming His body in John 19:39). As one of the Sanhedrin (“ruler of the Jews”), Nicodemus was certainly part of the Jewish council that had investigated John the Baptist and thus had heard his testimony that he as not the Messiah but that the Messiah was present (1:26-27). Nicodemus says, “WE know you are a teacher from God” and Jesus replies that (again only obvious to readers of the King James) Jesus spoke not only to Nicodemus but to “you all” that he represented must be born again. The Sanhedrin had come to believe that the “King of Kings” would free Israel from occupation while elevating the council and Jesus showed no inclination to do either. Instead He called for repentance, EVEN of the Pharisees. Despite the concept of a spiritual rebirth having roots in the Old Testament, Nicodemus was surprised by such an idea. Jesus goes on to explain the awesome cost to God of making eternal life available to mankind.

The requirement to be “born of water and the Spirit” could mean 1) water baptism as in Acts 10:47, 2) water as a symbol of the Holy Spirit, as in “born of water, even the Spirit”, 3) water as a symbol of the Word (with similar imagery in Eph 5:26 and Pet 1:23), 4) born of water referring to physical birth, 5) born of water referring to the baptism of John the Baptist, and 6) an OT imagery of water and wind for the work of God as per Isaiah 44:405 and Ezekiel 37:9-10 with wind being an alternative translation for Spirit. Jesus uses “the wind” in 3:8 to depict the sovereign work of the Holy Spirit as something with incomprehensible origin and yet of definitive existence. “He makes winds his messengers, flames of fire his servants.” Born again could also be translated as born from above, but Nicodemus clearly understood Jesus to be speaking of a second “born again” birth that contrasts being born of flesh. Jesus rebukes Nicodemus and others (clear with another KJV “thee”) for being teachers of Hebrew Scriptures and whose job it is to guide the blind to the light of truth for being so deplorably ignorant and unacquainted with the necessity and nature of a new birth. Furthermore, Jesus asks if Nicodemus cannot nderstand earthly things, how he could ever understand the kingdom of God. It was the common opinion of the time that Gentiles, as sort of “God’s trash,” were predestined to be destroyed in the days of the Messiah, but Christ teaches a contrary doctrine that God intends the salvation (and not the destruction) of the world. Even though Paul later writes that as Gentiles we should learn from their mistaken views in order to not separate the world into saved and unsaved, TULIP Calvinism seems to make a similar separation before time of sovereign elect and reprobate.

The lines that precede the best know verse in the Bible explain how just such a rebirthing process would begin. Before John 3:16 (in which “world” may include all creation as per Rom 8:19-22 and Col 1:20), are verses 14 and 15, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” This is the first time eternal life is mentioned in John’s Gospel, but the message returns again and again. Why is Jesus equating His crucifixion with Moses lifting up the serpent in the wilderness? The story is found in Numbers 21:4-9: “Then they journeyed from Mount Hor by the Way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the soul of the people became very discouraged on the way. And the people spoke against God and against Moses: “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and our soul loathes this worthless bread.” So the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died. Therefore, the people came to Moses, and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and against you; pray to the LORD that He take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. Then the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.” So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.” In the story, the fiery serpents represent death, and their bite that pushed believers back to God represents the sting of death, for “the wages of sin is death…” and “the sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law” (Rom. 6:23 and 1Cor. 15:56). Just as the Israelites only had to look at the bronze serpent to live, all that anyone must do today is look at the cross to live; and just as there were Israelites who may have continued to irrationally refuse to look at the bronze figure while many were clearly being saved around them, many continue to refuse to look at Jesus Christ on the cross. Nevertheless, all it takes to leave “the Way of the Red Sea” to start on “the Way which they call a sect” (Acts 24:14) is with one real and believing look (“he that believes is not condemned”). Christ lifted up (as also per 8:28 and 12:32-34) on the cross gives sin the opportunity in us to be recognized and the penalty taken away. The problem with WWJD bracelets is that the answer to what would Jesus do is that He would personally shoulder the full wrath of God’s hate for sin, which is not my job. Christ asks in Luke 14:27 that we bravely carry our own cross, not His. In other words, a better question is What Does Jesus Want (WDJW)?

The “only begotten son” (more often today, the “only forgotten son”) does not necessarily convey the idea of birth as Hebrews 11:17 refers to Isaac as Abraham’s “only begotten” when he actually had two sons. While the father has many children through new birth, the Son of God has a unique glory and an unrivaled place of honor. While Jesus for came so that the world though Him might be saved, He will come again in judgment upon those who have turned away. Those who do not believe are “already condemned,” where condemnation refers to the reason for judgment. There are many excuses people give for refusing Christ (such as hypocrites in the church or supposed inconsistencies in scripture), but ultimately it is only because they don’t want to. While there is no suggestion of any change in Nicodemus at this time, we later find him publicly defending Christ when He was before the Sanhedrin.
Jim

========= John:

John 3 – Doctrine of Salvation
I read through all Bob’s commentary, and I have nothing to add.
I am glad Mike included the commentary on the “Doctrine of Salvation”
http://bible.org/page.asp?page_id=1519
I hope it is pretty clear that I believe in this Doctrine. None of my family and friends do, but I know what happened to me, and the results. My family does not even know what it is that they do not believe. All they know is it is different from the Roman Catholic Church we were all raised in from Birth. That is unacceptable to them.
I know there are people reading this site, who do not believe in the “Doctrine of Salvation”. I will implore you, like I do my family. Read the link provided here. At least know what it is you do not believe. Bob D. does a pretty good job of spelling it all out and providing some good commentary to the topic.
John

======= Vance:

John 3 (NKJV)
14
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
15
that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
16
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
17
For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 18
“He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
19
And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
20
For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.
21
But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”
NOTES:
Question: Are serpents (snakes) and dragons evil? I recall in a world religions class I took in seminary, and the question of the interpretation of whether dragons and serpents (snakes) came up. In many cultures the dragon is a being (whether real or imagined) which provides blessing and fortune.
Obviously, in God’s Word, dragons and serpents are associated with Satan. The difference in interpreting dragons and snakes can be a barrier to understanding and receiving the Gospel in the minds of unbelievers from other cultures.
However, I see something in John chapter where our Lord Jesus uses the serpent as an example of His Love and His Atoning death on the Cross. This is the only case I know of in the entire Bible where serpents are understood in a good way.
This is how I interpret this passage in John 3. Let us start with how Jesus Himself began to explain in verse 14:
“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up”.
Note the original event in the lives of the Israelites.
Numbers 21 (NKJV)
4
Then they journeyed from Mount Hor by the Way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the soul of the people became very discouraged on the way.
5
And the people spoke against God and against Moses: “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and our soul loathes this worthless bread.”
6
So the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died.
7
Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and against you; pray to the LORD that He take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.
8
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.”
9
So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.
Note these facts we can learn for ourselves from the Israelites:
1. There is nothing wrong in discouragement, itself.
2. However, the emotion of discouragement not handled properly can lead to sin. The people of Israel choose to allow discouragement to lodge deep within them so they consistently complained against God. Discouragement leading to murmuring is not just an “emotional issue” of relating to “not being fulfilled”. Rather, murmuring is a sin against God.
3. Their sin opened up the children of Israel to being bitten by snakes. When we consistently sin and do not repent, it opens us up to the destruction of the enemy.
4. God the Father used the very snakes that destroyed the people by PLACING A REPRESENTATIVE OF THE SNAKE ON THE POLE. This is a very important point. When the people looked at the REPRESENTATIVE OF THE SNAKE ON THE POLE established by God, they were healed.
In short, I see our Lord Jesus using a wonderful word picture of the following verses:
Galatians 3 (NKJV)
10
For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.” [Deuteronomy 27:26]
13
Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree” [Deuteronomy 21:23] ),
14
that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
JESUS CHOSE TO BE OUR REPRESENTATIVE. Also, Jesus chose to take on Himself all of Satan’s schemes, deceptions, and sin. Satan believed he was defeating God’s purposes when He used Judas and the religious leaders to kill Jesus on the Cross. However, when the Lord Jesus died, He took on the curse and all the sin Satan was. When Jesus died, He also died as our representative, so we would not have to die for our own sin.
We are redeemed from the curse because Jesus paid for it! God has joined us to His Son, the Lord Jesus in this way:
a.
When Jesus died, we died to our sin.
b.
When Jesus died, blood covenant was cut so we are forever bound to God.
c.
When Jesus rose, we rose with Him, as new creations, raised to a new life
d.
When Jesus ascended into the heavens next to the right hand of the Father, we were raised and seated with Him.
MAY WE USE OUR SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY to pray out and live out God’s purposes on the earth. This is how many will see the glory of God in Jesus and in the Body of Christ.
Vance

======= John:

John 3:1-21
Man with a Searching Heart
Nicodemus did not have a heart like Nathaniel. Jesus did not reveal Himself directly here as He did with Nathaniel. Jesus did reveal some things to Nicademus as this man was searching Him out – coming out of the Darkness (night) into the Light (Jesus).
Nicodemus came paying respect. He alluded that more than just he (“we”) know you are a “teacher” from God. For a member of Sanhedrin to call another a “teacher” was a great sign of respect. The Pharisees believed that if one taught the things from God, and the people tried to obey, that that would please God.
NO! NO! NO!
Jesus cuts to the quick, to halt this belief in man’s efforts to please God through teaching of rules.
John 1:3
“In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” NIV
“I tell you the truth” or “Verily, Verily” in the KJV is the Greek word “amen”. It is the way every witness in a Jewish trial is to start off his testimony. Here is God Himself saying – “I TELL YOU THE TRUTH” – one should probably listen to what comes next.
What is next? No one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again. “Again” is Greek word – “anothen” which has three meanings:
-It means again to do it a second time;
-it also means to begin radically, completely, a new beginning;
-and it also means from above, and it is used in that sense in other places in Scripture.
It signifies God must do this. The Christian understanding of this word includes all three of those meanings. It is speaking of something radical, a new beginning. It is a second birth, but it comes from above. It is God that does it, not man; and it results in a new creation, a new beginning.
======================================================
Nicodemus wants Clarification
John 1:5
“Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.”
Again God is saying this is the Truth – and “born again” is equated with being born of water and the Spirit.
Many are confused – as I had been – about “born of water”. I have come to believe that being “born of water” is talking about Baptism, but not the act itself of baptism, but the attitude to which you come to baptism.
Remember John the Baptist? What was his cry to the people before they entered the Jordan. REPENT! REPENT! It does no good to go into baptismal waters without having repented. Acknowledging our sinful state, our unworthiness before God, and our inability to “fix” things with God.
You cannnot receive the Spirit without having first repented. It is having a repentant heart that is the key – not a baptism ceremony. Remember the thief on the cross – he had no baptism, yet he repented, believed, and asked to be with the Lord. That day he was with Christ in paradise.
With repentence God will make you alive in the Spirit. Your life will no longer be your own, like the wind goes as God pleases – so will you be led by God through the Spirit.
======================================================
John 3:1-21
Man with a Searching Heart (cont.)
Nicodemus does not get it – remember this is radically different than what the Pharisees have been teaching.
Jesus says – you should get it – it is in Scripture – how do you not know this concept of being born again?
Nicodemus supposedly knew Scripture. Jesus also knew that book. He knew that Isaiah had spoken about a new life from God; that Jeremiah had predicted a new creation that would be given; that Ezekiel had said that God would take out the old heart of stone and give a new heart of flesh. All through the Old Testament there are statements about a new birth, a new beginning, a new creation, a new life that would come as a gift of God to those who would humbly, without pride, receive it as something they desperately needed.
Eze 36:26 “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.” KJV
It is all there in the Scripture (OT) Nicodemus – you are a teacher and you do not get the connection????
======================================================
John 1:11
“I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony.” NIV
Again – God is saying this is the TRUTH. so who is the “we” in Jesus statement. I believe it is the Scripture referred to previously and Christ Himself. God’s Word and the Word made flesh both testifying to the Truth.
When two witnesses agree in their testimony at a Jewish trial – it is considered valid testimony. How come you people do not see that I am speaking the Truth.
======================================================
John 1:18
“Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” NIV
So the rubber hits the road. If you are a non-believer in Jesus Christ – you are already condemned. You are living out a time on earth – where you have the opportunity to change the sentence of rejecting God.
“If you are traveling on a wrong road and every so often you see a signpost that points the way to the right road, but you persist and go by all those signposts, refusing to take the way back to the right road, then you remain wrong. That is God’s view of life.” – Ray Stedman
Why do we stay on the wrong road?
“This is a universal human reaction. We all dislike being shown to be wrong. I feel that way myself. I do not even want to be corrected in the way I pronounce a word. If you tell me that I have mispronounced a word, and prove from a dictionary that you are right, I will challenge the dictionary! We do not like to be shown to be wrong. This verse is saying that normal human reaction is part of our fallen character. That is why life is so hard to change. Nobody wants to change. Nobody wants to admit he is wrong.” – Ray Stedman
That is why God must draw us to Him. If He did not all of us would stay on the wrong road.
So if God is drawing you to Him what will you do? Where is your heart towards God? You must repent, belive in his name, and receive Jesus into your life.
Jesus translated “Jehovah is Salvation” – it is of God (period).
John

======== Alan:

So blessed to be in America all of my life. So grateful for our God of second chances. What an awesome country we have. God had to create it. The wife and I have seen some amazing places as we travel about the country. I’ve been so blessed by the One Year Bible online these past few year. Thanks for letting me share.
Alan