Happy Spring Break! As you can tell, I took the weekend off from updating the reading guide... so here it is:
* Weekend: 1 Samuel 13 - 15
* Monday: 1 Samuel 16-19
* Tuesday: 1 Samuel 20-23
* Wednesday: 1 Samuel 24- 26
* Thursday: 1 Samuel 27- 31
* Friday: 2 Samuel 1-4
We kick this whole week off with what is probably the best known Bible event short of the birth of Jesus and His resurrection: David & Goliath! This week if you have been paying attention to the NCAA basketball tourney, you may have seen some games that pit some small schools versus some traditional powerhouses. Well, if you are a fan of Cornell or Northern Iowa, you know that the little guy can prevail against overwhelming odds.
What this story really is about is a young man who takes it upon his shoulders to defend the name of God and the nation of Israel mano a mano with the champion fighter of the Philistine army. This is Thunderdome...!
Corny references aside, this is a testament to the fact that God will help those who call on Him for that help. Yesterday the sermon referenced the fact that God will give us more than we can handle, as long as we put our trust in Him.
There is too much to pack in here to do a proper recap, but pay close attention to the relationship between David and Jonathan. Each of these men has a claim to the throne of Israel- Jonathan by blood and David by God's anointing. Yet both have put that fact aside and live as brothers. Our culture today seems to want to pit each of us against each other in various ways (jobs, money, sex, politics, etc.) and lead us to believe that we are entitled to many things in this life. The only thing we are entitled to in this life is the knowledge that we can have eternal life through Christ if we believe in Him and put Him at the center of our lives. David and Jonathan knew there was more to life than the events that surrounded them.
Have a great week reading and please post your thoughts accordingly- we love to dialogue as we read His word together!
In Him,
Mike
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I find I Sam 16:13-14 interesting. It appears that God took his Spirit from Saul and gave it to David. I have a couple of thoughts about that. One, it seems that in these times there is only one Spirit-filled leader. Granted this is before the work of Christ that provides the Spirit to all who believe, but why is there only one? In fact, I don't think Samuel received the Spirit from God, although God does talk directly to him.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, both David and Saul started off well with the Spirit in them, but their own actions put them in conflict with God. Yet, David is commonly described as a man after God's own heart, even as he stumbles later in life. Even with the Spirit in them, they had human failings, just like me.
I'm not sure how to address the Spirit comments- I think I "get it," though... A couple of years ago Chuck did a sermon on this addressing the Spirit in the Old Testament as well as tackling the issue of how people gained salvation and eternal life prior to Jesus dying on the cross...This may be a way to answer your comments.
ReplyDeleteAs far as David and Saul are concerned, yes, both of them stumbled in very big ways. Saul is normally "trashed" by people because of his sins and other transgressions. The important thing to remember is that Saul had what it took to be King, but refused to submit to God via Samuel and ended up a wreck. When we choose to rely on our own wisdom to light our paths, we can end up walking into some very dark places and have no escape. Saul ends up relying on witchcraft/divination at one point because of desperation... Saul did not lean on the Lord...
David, on the other hand, made some very egregious errors and committed some very horrible sins, but he was submissive to the Lord when his sins were brought to light. When we read 2 Samuel I think it would be good to keep this line of conversation going...