Lasso of Truth

I Samuel 8

Chapter 8

Verses 1-3 Samuel has led a long honorable life in God's service. Even so, his sons have turned out to be wicked, godless men who take advantage of their position as judges.

Verse 5 The elders use this excuse to again ask for a human king. "...just like all the nations."  Here God had set them apart and favored them above the rest of the world, and all they want is to be like the rest of the world.  They were an example of God's provision and love, but they missed the point.

Verse 6-7  Samuel is heartbroken over their request.  He sees it as a personal failure.  But God shows him that it is God himself that they have rejected as ruler and guardian over them. 

Verse 9  Solemnly warn them.

The Nation of Israel is about to undergo a huge transition.  God, always gracious, gives His people one more chance to reconsider.

Verses 11-18  This warning will be proven accurate over and over in the next few books of the Bible.  God's government was just and balanced, but with a king, they would be taxed in addition to the tithe owed to the Lord.  God allowed the ownership over so much of their lives, but a king will want to rule everything, even the lives of their children!  A king will be selfish and self-serving.

Verse 19  These warnings fall on deaf ears.  "...that we also may be like all the nations."

Satan is a cunning liar.  He has a way of making our godly lives seem cloudy and dull.  He plants a seed of doubt in our hearts about God's way, and then he shines a light on a possible alternative.  "How much better things would be if we weren't tied down by God's way..."  If you let them, his words soon become your own thoughts, until all you can think about is how confined you are within God's plan.  "I would have a better life if I didn't worry about staying out of debt...I could have that big house, and be happy!"  "If I didn't have my husband always on my case, I'd be free to be myself, free to serve God more." 

But Satan's "grass is greener" approach is always an illusion.  He never shows you the darker side of his way.  If you are struggling with keeping your life on track with the Lord's plan, and all you can see is how great life would be your way, YOU ARE BEING DECEIVED.  A life lived outside of the will of God is full of darkness, bitterness, sorrow, and death.  It may seem like a good decision at first, but soon you will realize that you never get to enjoy your home, since you have to work twice as much to pay for it.  That life as a wife was hard, but nothing compared to the over-exhaustion and sleepless nights that come from being a single mother with no one to protect you or provide for you.  You'll be stuck with your bad decisions, with no idea how you could have been so foolish.  Don't be deceived.

Take a lesson from the Israelites.  When God warns you about the trials of stepping out of His will, believe Him!  Because if you don't, He is going to let you do it your way, just like He did with His people.

Next time: I Samuel 9-10

I Samuel 6-7

Chapter 6

Verse 1 Seven months of sheer terror.

Verse 4 They are attempting to appease Him like He is one of their invented gods.

Verse 12 There could be no question Who's hand had been upon these people.

Verse 19 I was reading a book recently that mentioned the "fear of God" and how some "scholars" had attempted to water it down to mean "respect God" or "honor God."  These men discovered that to fear God is much more literal than that.  He created the universe.  He destroys His enemies without strain.  DON'T PUSH HIM.  That is the Fear of God.

Verse 20 Who can stand before the Lord, this Holy God?

Chapter 7

Verses 1-2 The ark of the Lord remained in Kiriath-jearim for 20 years!  And the nation had no peace.

Verse 3  Samuel is a man now.  He has grown into himself.

Verse 4 A simple sentence conveys an amazing turn-around for a nation.  "...and served the Lord alone."  Imagine what that would do for a nation.

Verse 6 Confession and repentance completed.

Verse 7 They have spent a long season away from their God, and they are unsure where they stand with Him.  I have been there in my own life.  Longing to run recklessly into His arms, but knowing I don't deserve to.  Afraid to take Him for granted again.

Verse 8 A desperate time may bring you closer to Him.  Crying to Him, sharing your broken heart with Him.

Verse 9 And the Lord answered them!

Verse 12  When God shows Himself to you, fights your battles for you, and gives you victory over your enemies, give Him credit!  Put something in your home or in your car or around your neck, that when someone asks about it, you can say, "This is what the Lord has seen me through."  That's what the rock of Ebenezer was to these people.  And that's what the lyrics mean in the Hymn "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing."

1.	Come, thou Fount of every blessing, 
	tune my heart to sing thy grace; 
	streams of mercy, never ceasing, 
	call for songs of loudest praise. 
	Teach me some melodious sonnet, 
	sung by flaming tongues above. 
	Praise the mount! I'm fixed upon it, 
	mount of thy redeeming love. 

2.	Here I raise mine Ebenezer; 
	hither by thy help I'm come; 
	and I hope, by thy good pleasure, 
	safely to arrive at home. 
	Jesus sought me when a stranger, 
	wandering from the fold of God; 
	he, to rescue me from danger, 
	interposed his precious blood. 

How can you "raise our Ebenezer" this week?  What have you come to only by his help?

Next time: Chapter 8

I Samuel 4-5

Chapter 4

v.3 Why has the Lord defeated us?  It feels like a direct blow.

v.5 So that the earth resounded.

v.7 The Israelite God has a reputation.  It seems also to the point that this enemy has a greater respect and fear for this powerful God than His own people.  God will use them to teach His own a lesson.

v.11 This is a dark day for Israel, and it keeps getting darker.

v.13-15 It is interesting that Eli was anxious enough to sit and "watch" for the outcome even though his eyes were now useless to him.

v.16-22 Major changes are in store for this nation, starting today.

Chapter 5 The Philistines, although a pagan nation, know that the ark of the Lord is powerful.  They had no idea just how powerful.

v.3-5 A God so powerful that no created being, idol, or graven image can stand before Him. 

v.6-7 A God who deals harshly with His enemies.

v.8-9 Who strikes the minds of His enemies with confusion.

v.10 Who causes His enemies to tremble in fear.

v.12 Who is able to fight His own battles, but who allows us to witness the work of His hand.

Before we go on to the next chapter, let's just reflect for a moment on the power of the God we serve.  In this story He proved to His enemies that He was not something to steal, not a power to be contained.  If He is able wreak so much havoc on an entire nation of people, how much more can He deal with our personal trials?  Sometimes we have a hard time trusting that God will (or can) see us through a dark season in life, but the God we serve is so much more powerful than we can understand.  And stories like this one make me all the more eager to stay under His protective wing!

Next time: 1 Samuel 6-7

I Samuel 2-3

Chapter 2

Verse 3 is a key verse to Hannah's story: "Boast no more so very proudly, do not let arrogance come out of your mouth, for the Lord is a God of Knowledge, and with Him actions are weighed."  Spoken like a woman who knows where she'd be without Him.

Verse 4-5 The work of the Lord defies reason.

Verse 6-8 God is the one with the power and authority.

Verse 11 fulfillment of her promise.

Verse 12 An example that even an extremely godly man can produce worthless sons.  There is no indication whether Eli was to blame here.  Did he neglect his duty to them in the name of ministry?  (A realistic concern for me, personally...) No one knows why these men turned out the way they did.  But at some point, a son becomes a man, and the responsibility for obedience is on him, not his father.  That is where we meet Eli's sons.

They were priests, and yet they did not know the Lord.  A dangerous combination.

Verse 16  Remember, all fat was the Lord's portion. So these priests were stealing directly from God's portion.  They must have had no fear of Him at all.

Verse 17 The men despised the offering of the Lord.  Wicked men have not changed over thousands of years.  The world is full of people who despise the offering of the Lord.  But today, that offering of the Lord is the person of Jesus Christ.

Verse 19 I don't know about you, but I find so much comfort in the fact that Hannah is still able to see her son (if only once a year!), and in a small way, continue to mother him.

Verse 21 Hanna was blessed with five more children.  We serve a generous Lord.  It seems like all he was waiting for was a place in her heart.

Verse 22 Even more evidence against these men.  Eli's sin occurs when he deals with their actions in a minimal way.  God expected him to punish these priests severely for their actions, but Eli only gives them a talking-to.

Verse 26  The passage goes back and forth between the evil sons of Eli, and Samuel, who is all the while growing and maturing.  I can't help but notice that this wording is almost identical to the description of Jesus in Luke. 

Verse 27 God speaks to Eli through another "man of God." 

Verse 31 Because Eli honored his sons above the Lord, he curses his household so that there will not be an old man among them.  Forever.

Verse 35  He has another priest in mind who will follow God's heart and mind always.  This must have been a devastating blow to Eli.  To know that you have pushed your long-suffering and gracious God one step too far?  To see that even in this steep punishment He was going to honor his Word to keep the family line intact. Sometimes it is more humiliating to accept "light esteem" than complete destruction, because you know you deserve so much worse.  Can you imagine generations and generations of men who knew they would never live to see their children grow up?  Eli should have punished his sons according to the law of the Lord, but instead he brought judgment upon his entire line of descendants.

Sometimes God's way is difficult, but before we reject it, consider the alternative!

Chapter 3

Verse 4 It is so natural to think that God's message is coming from someone else.  Sometimes it takes a seasoned believer to help discern the Lord's call on our lives, and how we should respond. (v.8-9)

Verse 7  According to this, it is possible to serve the Lord and not know Him.  I believe the key to knowing Him is within Scripture.

Verse 10  We should begin every day with Samuel's words, "Speak, Lord for your servant is listening."  Every Bible study, every difficult situation, every struggle in parenting.  "Speak, Lord.  I am listening!"

Haven't you ever been awakened in the night by something pressing on your mind and heart?  Even when we don't hear the audible voice of God, it doesn't mean that He has stopped speaking to us.

Verse 11 What an intro!

Verse 12-14  A serious message for a boy to have to relay.  In my imagination he's about 10 or 11 years old.  No wonder he's afraid to tell Eli!

Verse 17  Eli has probably never heard the voice of God, and is excited to know someone who has.

Verse 18  At some point in life, you have to realize who has the power.  Eli gives over his life to the Lord's will, but it is too late to bring him any comfort.

Verse 19-20  Samuel's fame spreads throughout all Israel.  I bet Hannah was praising God when she heard how He was using her son.

Next time: I Samuel 4-5

I Samuel 1

Welcome to I Samuel!  If you are new to our group, this is a great place to jump in and join us.  Don't worry that you are behind and need to catch up.  God's Word is living and active, and has a way of speaking to your life and circumstance.  Spending time in Scripture is never wasted time, because God promises that when His Word leaves His mouth, it will never return to Him empty.  Any time you spend in the Bible will change your life for the better.  I hope you'll consider joining us in this "book club-style" study.  I want to hear how these chapters have impacted you (comment below), and how He has made His Word relevant to your life through them.

Chapter 1 

Verse 2 The Intro to Hannah.  She is one of two wives.  The other bore children, while she remained barren.

Verse 5 He loved her.

V. 6-7 Her rival.  There is a reason that God ordained the one-man, one-woman system.  Two wives will always be rivals.

Verse 8 "Am I not better to you than sons?"  This is almost a joke to me.  In the past, I have felt sorry that Elkanah had to live with a depressed and bitter woman, and I guess I still do, but since he has another wife and all of her children, Elkanah really isn't Hannah's, is he?  He isn't even 1/2 hers, because she has to share him with this other wife, and even more her children.  His question would not have been a comfort to me, and apparently it was not a comfort to Hannah, either.

Verse 11 Just a side note...I try really hard to avoid making deals with God.

Verse 15  She is a woman with so much pain, oppressed in spirit.

Verse 18 Look at the change in Hannah here.  Has anything in her life changed at this point?  Not really.  She is still sharing her husband's love.  She still has no children.  But her face is no longer sad.  What did that?  She went to the temple as a bitter woman, oppressed in spirit, and she poured out her soul to the Lord.

As long as we hold on to something that causes distress and bitterness, there can be no change in us.  Until this moment, Hannah has been focused on the sorrow of her empty womb.  There can be no healing when our whole focus is on our own suffering!  But at this moment, seemingly for the first time, she lets go.  Her focus changes to the Lord and to pleasing Him.  She empties her soul to Him.  And He fills her soul with peace.  It is almost beside the point that God chose to grant her wish. (v 19)  But he did.

Verse 22  It must have been so hard even to speak these words aloud.

Verse 23  She doesn't seem to have much spiritual leadership in Elkanah.  (For that matter, she probably should have looked to him before she offered their child back to the Lord.)

Verse 24-28  There is so much to say about these verses. 

1.  When I read this story before, I remember thinking, "What's the point, Hannah?"  Why go to the trouble of praying for a baby that you are just going to give up?  Is the joy worth the heartache?  But this time I remembered her life before.  No children to raise.  A husband who didn't need her, because he had someone else to serve him.  What was the point there?  What was the purpose of her life?  She seemed to have no identity.  And somehow, though she thought she would find her purpose in motherhood, she seemed to find an even greater fulfillment in serving the Lord. 

Her testimony of holding nothing back from God has been told for thousands of years.  She had a reason to live now:  To see what the Lord would do in Samuel's life, and a new intimacy with the Lord that would sustain her.

2.  This sacrifice (giving up a child) is similar to Abraham's willingness to give up his son, Isaac, but from a woman's perspective.  I have heard men say that the story of Abraham's obedience has helped them understand the pain and sorrow that God must have felt in giving up His Son for us, and how much more they understood His love for us through it.  Now with Hannah we have the mother's side of the story.  All of Scripture points to the cross, and this story grabs my "mother's heart" the way that Abraham's does for fathers.  Do you love God enough to give up your child for Him?  It is almost unthinkable!  But that's how much He loves you.

3. I am amazed at what this action says about Hannah's trust in the Lord.  As parents we trust God, but we still feel the ultimate responsibility for them.  We trust God to guide us in parenting them.  But Hannah was trusting God to keep Samuel safe, provide, nurture, teach--everything!  Because she wasn't going to be a part of it.  Do you trust God that much?  It's a very difficult question.  Ask the Lord how we can demonstrate our complete faith in Him on a regular basis.

***

I'm going to stop here today, because there is so much to absorb in chapter 1 alone!  Come back tomorrow and we'll discuss chapters 2 and 3.

Ruth - A Love Story

It struck me just now as I wrote the title for this post, that this is indeed a very complete love story.  I was going to write about just Ruth and Boaz, but that's not entirely enough.

I remember the first time Donnie ever spoke for the youth group at our church in Indiana.  It was in February, so why not teach a lesson on love!  What he taught them that weekend was so memorable to them, that they were still talking about it four years later when our time there was over.  Love isn't just between a man and a woman...it's so much more than that.

Phileo is the love between friends and family members, and the story of Ruth gives us a perfect example of that.  Ruth cared so deeply for Naomi that she would give up her home, her safety, and her future (as far as she could see it) to devote her life to her friend.

Of course the love that all of us know is Eros.  That's the romantic, man and wife, kind of love.  Ruth is also a beautiful example of that, for obvious reasons...but something that I had never realized until this time through was that there is so much detail about Boaz's character. He was upright and respectful of Ruth.  He was affectionate and determined to be a blessing to her.  So often, girls expect to compromise their values in order to get the husband they desire.  All Ruth had to do was let him know she was interested, and Boaz went to work to win her hand.  Every girl wants to be someone's prize.  Boaz and Ruth got this right.

Agape is the third kind of love in this story.  It is the unconditional love of God toward His people.  Although we can find this kind of love in almost every line of Scripture, I think this story showcases it in a wonderful way.  Stepping back and viewing the story as one piece, we can see that God sent Naomi to get Ruth from her country.  He chose her and guided her to Himself.  He made a direct path that her life would follow, and gently led her along it...straight to her redeemer.  Ruth's story of Agape love is the same as each of ours.  God chose us for His own, and he used others to guide us to our Redeemer, Jesus Christ.

Ruth is such a beautiful, complete story of love.  Thank you, Lord!

Next time: I Samuel 1-2