This may be the only single chapter that is going to receive an entire post, but I felt like it needed one. I picked up the page and let the rest of the Bible fall to either side, and I said to my husband, "You have no idea how much depends on this one page.....", and I just kind of played with the page in my hand for a moment and to be honest, it kind of intimidated me.
I became rather frustrated with this chapter because...well, I guess I figured that if I studied & researched it enough, I would eventually get my "Aha!" moment. Some kind of revelation, some deep and abiding inspiration, as though I had solved one of God's great mysteries.
I realized eventually that the Davidic Covenant, like all other major points in the Bible, have some specifics that are interpreted differently. What seems to make a huge difference is the way people interpret the words "house", "throne" and "kingdom." What I really wanted to understand from the Davidic Covenant is if God was specifically telling David that the Messiah would come from his lineage, and if He was, if David understood it. If anyone at all reads this, please take my humble interpretation with an entire shaker of salt. I have absolutely no authority whatsoever to try to make sense of something this important. Nonetheless, Lord forgive me, I'm going to try.
This is how I understand chapter seven----
So David is looking around at his beautiful house and is so very happy and probably thinking about all that God has done for him. He realizes that the Ark of the Covenant has been kept in a tent, and feels badly about that. He tells Nathan, the prophet, "See, now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the Ark of God dwells in a tent." The Ark of the Covenant, however you choose to understand this, is something like the literal embodiement of God amongst Israel. So David seems to get this vision that he's going to *do something for God.* Something nice. Make a lovely house for God. What's interesting about this to me is that this isn't David responding in obedience to God. None of the hugely faithful servants of God which I've read about thus far have ever come up with an idea of *something to do for God* for no reason other than to make God happy.
So anyway, God speaks to David through Nathan, and His response is like, "Oh? You're going to make ME a house? I've been living in a tent all this time, did I ever say anything about requiring a house?" Then God reminds David that He took him from a pasture, and made him a king, and crushed all his enemies, etc, etc.... And then God says this: "Moreover, the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house. And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build an house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever. I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men:But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee. And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever."
OK, this is the really important part, God's response to David. And here is my understanding... God is first speaking about Solomon, when he talks about David's seed which shall build a house for God's name. Verse 14, where God is saying, "If he commit iniquity", I feel that God is still speaking about Solomon - not Christ yet, because we know that Christ is without sin. So what this is basically telling me is that God is telling David about how Solomon is going to build the temple, and that God will have a close relationship with Solomon. But something else, THE something else, is that God tells David "thine house and thy kingdom" and "thy throne" shall be established forever. What it seems that Christians agree upon is that the reason God says this is because Christ comes from David's line. There is a whole different kind of "kingdom" coming from David than what David understands at this time. It isn't because there will be king after king after king (forever) sitting on a throne in a cedar house in Israel. It's because the King of Kings is coming through David, and His reign, and His kingdom is eternal. But hey, maybe he did understand. David's response to this seems as though he's beside himself. At one point, he's even lost for words and says, "What more can David say to You?" So, at the end of all this study, I am supposing that how specifically David understood this prophecy may not be for me to fully know. Maybe it isn't that important for me to know. God and David know. What's important for me to know is that God revealed what He revealed of this dialogue between the two of them (er, three of them, if you include Nathan) so that I, and all mankind, could understand that God purposely brought Christ through David's lineage. Sometimes, I imagine, God looks down on me and sees me figuratively running on my hamster wheel, and I bet He's thinking, "Mary, c'mon, it's not that complicated....."
Here's a picture of the famous "David" statue by Michaelangelo. I added shorts to keep things family friendly, and also because I don't imagine that David was naked when he picked up that stone for his sling. You'd never guess from this picture, but the statue actually weighs over six tons. Two Honda Civics on top of each other weigh less.
So as we left things, Saul & Jonathan died, and Israel's army had just been defeated by the Phillistines. David, meanwhile, has been victorious against the Amalekites. An Amalekite man comes and informs him of Saul & Jonathan's death, and brings Saul's crown and armlet. Interestingly - the man claims to have killed Saul himself - which we know is not true, because the last chapter we read stated that Saul committed suicide by falling on his own sword. David doesn't know this, though, and so he has the Amalekite man promptly killed. David laments and mourns, for both Jonathan AND Saul. You're a bigger person than me, David. I wouldn't lament over someone who tried to kill me again, and again.....and again.. Something that stood out to me in the lament is that David says of Jonathan: " your love to me was extraordinary, surpassing the love of women." Some people might try to put that into a context of some sort of romantic relationship, but I don't think David & Jonathan's relationship was like that. I think David just has a tendency to wax poetic (think of the Psalms, after all....). And they are men. Men seem to have this inherant need for "brotherhood", which is why we have things like motorcycle clubs, VFW, the American Legion, the Lodges, etc, etc.. OK, getting back on track.... OK, now I stated previously that David is the "second" king over Israel. It's actually a little more hairy, though. David is anointed king over the house of Judah. Meanwhile, Abner, commander of Saul's army (who evidently escaped the battle) makes Saul's son Ish-bosheth the king of "all Israel", but the house of Judah "followed David." So the two opposing sides have a small battle at Gibeon, with David's men victorious. After that, it says that Saul's (or really, Ish-bosheth's) house grew "weaker and weaker" while David's grew "stronger & stronger". David has some sons. His firstborn is Amnon by his wife Ahinoam, then Chileab, by Abigail, the 3rd is Absolom, by his wife Maacah, the 4th - Adonijah by Haggith, the 5th - Shephatiah by Abital, the 6th - Ithream, by Eglah. Like I said before, I don't know why Israel keeps getting involved with the fertility goddess, Ashtaroth.... Abner hooks up with Saul's concubine, and Ish-boshesh confronts Abner about it. Well, Abner must have been exceedingly angry over the whole thing, because he immediately changes course and declares his allegiance to the house of David. David agrees to make a covenant with Abner, but first, requires him to bring that wife Michal to him - the one he paid for in foreskins. She is taken from her husband, who follows along, crying all the way. Abner tells him to get lost, so he does. Abner goes off to confer with Israel's elders, to smooth out the whole "OK, let's forget Ish-bosheth and make David king over all Israel" thing, which seems to go well. But while Abner is busy with that.....Joab (David's nephew and the commander of his army) tells David that he thinks Abner is two-faced and secretly plotting against David. So, Joab kills Abner. We are told that the real reason is because Joab is still pissed about Abner killing Joab's brother, Asahel, in the battle at Gibeon. David condemns Joab and his house, cursing them forevermore with leprosy and hunger and all sorts of unpleasantries. David and his people mourn Abner. Two men named Baanah and Rechab go and kill Ish-bosheth, and bring his head to David. David is exasperated by this and he's like, "Why does everyone assume I want persons A,B,C & D murdered? Dag nab it, now I have to kill you!" So he has them killed, and cuts off their hands and feet and hangs them by a pool. (perhaps this is some sort of symbol warning other from following suit!) Now David is officially anointed king over all Israel, at the age of 30. He takes posession of Jerusalem for Israel. It says that he takes the stronghold of Zion and names it the city of David. (Bethlehem is also called "the city of David" in the New Testament, but is 5 miles south of Jerusalem). So David's reign grows stronger. Israel loves him. God finds favor in him. He has more kids: Shammua, Shobah, Nathan, Solomon, Ibhar, Elishua, Nepheg, Japhia, Elishama, Eliada, and Eliphelet. The Phillistines battle Israel twice, lose both times, and Israel chases them off some more land. David has the Ark of the Covenant brought to Jerusalem. Everybody made merry and had music going and it was quite the celebration. Chapter 6 verse 14 made me sit back and just imagine for awhile: David was wearing a linen ephod (sacred piece of clothing over the chest), and "danced before the Lord with all his might." I can just picture him doing all kinds of sweet moves, his robes bouncing all around, while they carry the Ark up a hill. I bet that was probably one of the best days of David's life. Incidentally, a man named Uzzah who was involved in carrying the Ark, made the mistake of reaching out and grabbing hold of it when one of the carts' oxen stumbled. God struck him dead for his error. (there's been mention in the OT previously that some people were unable to even look at the Ark without dying.) David's wife, Michal, gets ticked off that David is dancing around other women, which she deems inappropriate, and she confronts him. David says he is justifiable making merry before the Lord, and would she like a piece of cheese with her whine? (so to speak). As a result of her behavior, she remains childless all her days. (whether she was barren or just never went to bed with David again, it doesn't say). This brings us to the end of chapter 6. I know that I'm going through this very, very slowly, but this is really huge stuff. It occurred to me today that in the books of the law, it seems like - an event would occur, and ten chapters would detail it..... whereas now, every chapter has like 10 very important things going on..... I can't leave them out. 2 Samuel chapter 7 involves the Davidic Covenant, which may be, single-handedly, the most important and VITAL part of the Old Testament. It is God's promise to David to bring the Messiah (Jesus Christ) through David's lineage. As much as I want to "accomplish" reading the Bible and cross that finish line, I am going to take a few days and really study and try to grasp chapter 7. This is really exciting stuff for me, kind of like I'm seeing God's great big huge hand pop up out of the Old Testament pages and point over to Matthew.
In honor of Israeli merriment & dance, I just had to post this video from Fiddler on the Roof. If you haven't seen this movie, you simply have to. As I've been reading the Old Testament, I am remembering culturally significant parts of the movie that make more sense as I am now reading Israel's history. I never understood, as a child, why it was such a big deal to Tevye to see his daughters marrying non-Jews. I thought, "Hey, they love each other. What's the big deal?". But as I look back at Israel's history now, I think of how deep the fear of consequences of intermarraige (Caananization) was in the heart of orthodox Jews, even in modern times. That's a big part of what the movie was about, and I get it now. This scene features Jews in a Russian town celebrating an engagement at a bar, and their dancing is interrupted by Russians, who respond with well-wishes and join them in celebration. This is particularly significant as the plot's setting is shortly before the Holocaust.
And one more scene from Fiddler....sorry, can't help it.... This is a beautiful and very intimate gaze at the Jewish family Sabbath during that era....
A note to readers: I've come to realize that most of the page views are my own views of the blog. I don't really know if there's anyone out there reading this. I'm trying to work out how to use the "gadgets" function to drive more traffic to the blog, but until then, I just want to say that the primary reason I am blogging is for my own study, because writing about the readings helps to sink it deeper into my mind/memory. That being said, we pick up 1 Samuel 11 -
Saul's first order of business as Israel's new king is to defeat the Ammonites, who have threatened the people of Jabesh-gilead. And there was much rejoicing.
Samuel gives a farewell address to Israel, as he is growing quite old. He reminds them of their history and warns them that if they turn from God, they will suffer, but if they obey, all will be well. He anounces that God will send thunder & rain to further convey the seriousness of this message, and God does.
Saul begins mustering up troops to go against the Phillistines. All the people of Israel were very afraid. At one point, Saul is waiting for Samuel to arrive in order to offer some burnt sacrifices to the Lord before battle. Samuel doesn't arrive in the 7 days agreed upon, and so Saul, thinking he needs to speed things up somehow, offers the sacrifices alone. Samuel shows up and condemns the unlawful sacrifice, and tells Saul that God will put an end to his reign and seek a man who is after His heart.
Jonathan, Saul's son, and Jonathan's armor-bearer secretly decide to take a stab at attacking the Phillistines. They decide that based upon what the Phillistines say to them, they will know whether or not God has delivered them into their hands. This test proves that God is giving them into their hands, so the two of them kill 20 men on their own. The earth quakes, and the Phillistines go into a mad panic and begin to flee. Saul and his army follow them. Saul demands that nobody eats until he is avenged on his enemies, lest he be cursed. Jonathan, having not heard the order, takes some honey off the ground and eats it. His eyes then "become bright", because he is under his father's curse. (I assume that he gets better, because they don't mention his eyes again after this....)
So Saul continues to acheive military victory fighting against Israel's enemies. They kill, they plunder, they claim land.
We have already seen that Saul, though he is experiencing some sucess, happens to have some weakness in his personal character. Chapter 15 stood out to me as an unfortunate turning point for Saul. God orders Saul to exterminate the Amalekites. Kill/destroy everything and everyone- man, woman, child, animals. Saul musters his army and they capture King Agag, keep him alive, and keep the best of the cattle, and everything that was good, while destroying everything that was "worthless." In other words, they partially obeyed God's command.
God tells Samuel that He regrets making Saul king, as Saul has disobeyed His commandments. Samuel is deeply grieved over this, and harshly confronts Saul, telling him that rebellion is as the sin of divination (witchcraft), and God has rejected him. Saul admits to his sin and asks Samuel to come with him to worship the Lord, but Samuel refuses. Then.... Samuel orders king Agag to be brought before him, and Samuel "hacked Agag to pieces."
God sends Samuel to Jesse's house, telling him that He has chosen a new king for Israel from Jesse's sons. They all offer a sacrifice together. Samuel notices Jesse's son Eliab, and assumes this is the king - but God tells Samuel not to judge on looks/stature, because the Lord looks at the heart. Fact is, none of the sons present are the chosen son. Samuel asks if there's another, and Jesse sends for David, the youngest, who is tending the sheep. Samuel anoints David, and the Spirit of the Lord fills David.
Saul becomes filled with a harmful spirit. One of his servants suggests bringing in a musician who plays the lyre to help, and recalls a certain son of Jesse who can play. In short order, David arrives and is playing the lyre to soothe Saul. And at first, Saul loved David, and ordered Jesse to allow David to stay with him and so he did.
Israel prepares to fight the Phillistines again. This time, a great Phillistine warrior named Goliath challenges Israel to send it's best man to fight against him. He was very, very tall. There is evidently some argument about his exact height across different translations of the Bible, but he is evidently somewhere between 7 and 10 feet tall. At any rate, he suggests that if he wins the battle, Israel shall become servants of the Phillistines, but if Israel is victorious, the Phillistines will become their servants. Israel's army was frightened, and no one wanted to go up against him. Goliath waited forty days for an opponent. David was bringing some food to his brothers and caught wind of the situation. So great was his faith in God's protection, he had no fear of going against Goliath. His brothers scoff at him, and Saul has no faith in him, but David tells Saul that he fought off bears & lions who attacked his father's sheep, and God will protect him against Goliath. Saul puts his armor on David, but it's too heavy and David isn't used to moving around in it, so he takes it off. So he takes his staff and five smooth stones and his sling, and he's good to go. Goliath says, "Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?", obviously jesting over the fact that a seemingly helpless youth has come to fight him. David announced that he has come in the name of the God of Israel, and that he will defeat Goliath, and cut off his head, and the people will fear Israel's God. Goliath charges toward him. David puts a stone in the sling, slings it at Goliath. It goes straight into his forehead, and Goliath falls dead. David takes Goliath's sword and cuts his head off. The Phillistines flee, and Israel pursues them.
Saul, having obviously forgotten who David was (his servant had already told him, over the whole lyre situation), asks Abner, the army commander. Abner doesn't know, and brings David before Saul. David explains that he is Jesse's son.
And as soon as he finished speaking with Saul, "the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David." In teen speak, they are BFFs. Jonathan gives David his armor and his sword and bow and belt. Israel begins singing in the streets that Saul killed his thousands, and David his ten thousands, and this angers Saul. From then on, Saul feared and despised David, but Israel loved David.
Saul offers David his oldest daughter for marraige in exchange for promising to be valient in war. The oldest daughter somehow winds up being given to someone else. A younger daughter, Michal, loves David, and so Saul offers her to him in exchange for a hundred Phillistine foreskins. So David and his men went out and killed two hundred Phillistines, rather than one, and brought their foreskins to Saul. I guess he really went above and beyond..... So, he takes Michal in marraige. They're quite happy together, and it irritates Saul.
In my imagination, I can just see Saul stomping around, robes flapping in the breeze, "Sure, David is so great and such a fierce warrior. David this, David that.... "
So Saul tells his buddies (including his son, Jonathan) that they are going to kill David. Naturally, this doesn't sit well with Jonathan, and so he warns David. David hides, and Jonathan intercedes on David's behalf, and Saul swears not to kill David.
War commences again, and again David is victorious over the Phillistines. Later, David plays the lyre for Saul, and Saul attempts to kill him with a spear, but David evades him. David's wife helps him escape through a window, and stuffs the bed and puts hair at the top so that it looks like David is there, sleeping. David goes and reports what's happened to Samuel, and the two flee together to Naioth. Saul gets tipped off and sends messengers there, but they become filled with the Spirit and come back prophecying. He sends a second group, and the same thing happens. Then Saul himself goes, and the same thing happens to him. David flees again and comes to Jonathan and basically says, "What have I done wrong? Why does your father seek to kill me?" and Jonathan's all, " No, no, no, he would have told me if he was still going to try to kill you. Don't worry." But David insists it's true. So Jonathan and David devise a plot of protection. So later on, when David is missing from a feast, and Saul asks where's at, Jonathan tells him that David has gone to offer sacrifice. (in fact, David is hiding). The king becomes angry and accuses Jonathan of being....a little MORE than friends with David. Now Jonathan perceives that David is correct about his father. So he goes toward the stony area where David is hiding, and shoots arrows in a way that signals to David that he was correct and must flee for his safety.
David flees to Nob, and comes to the priest, Ahimelech, and asks him for bread. The only available bread is holy bread, so it is given to David. One of Saul's men, Doeg, is nearby and sees this. David asks for a sword, but the only available sword is Goliath's sword, and so David takes it. David flees again, this time to Gath, but is frightened there, and so pretends to be mentally insane to protect himself from harm. (it states that he made markings on doors and purposely drooled on himself). He flees again, to Mizpeh in Moab, and asks Moab to keep his parents and watch over them. A prophet tells him to flee again, and so he does, to the forest of Hereth.
Saul, sitting under a tamarisk tree in Gibeah, is confronting his men about David's whereabouts, and Doeg tips him off that he saw David in Nob with Ahimelech the priest. Saul confronts Ahimelech and has him killed. That wasn't enough to calm Saul's anger, however, and has Doeg kill 85 priests. Still, this wasn't enough, so Saul has the entire city of Nob innihalated, man, women, child, animals. But one son of the priest escapes, and goes and tells David what's happened.
In the midst of all this, the people of Keilah are being attacked by the Phillistines, so David goes and saves the day there. Saul tries to corner him in Keilah, but he flees just in time, and hides out in the wilderness of Ziph. Jonathan goes to him and encourages him. Unfortunately, the Ziphites betray David and tell Saul that David is hiding there. Saul closes in pretty close on David, but suddenly a messenger comes to Saul and tells him the Phillistines are attacking, so he gives up pursuit for the time being and David escapes once again. Later on, Saul is hunting around for David, and unknowingly enters the cave where David is hiding to relieve himself. David is encouraged to kill him, but changes his mind at the last moment because Saul was anointed king under the authority of God. He cuts stealthily cuts off a piece of Saul's robe, and as Saul is leaving the cave, David confronts him, and explains that he had the opportunity to kill him, "look, see, I cut off a piece of your robe, I was that close!", but spared his life. Saul thanks him for saving his life, and confesses that David has repaid him good, whereas he was repaying David evil. So for the moment, it seems they are reconciled.
Samuel dies.
David's men have been helping out the servants of a very rich goat & sheep-owner named Nabal. (Nabal has a wife named Abigail.) David tells his men to politely greet Nabal and ask for whatever food they can spare to them for feast day in exchange for the help they've been giving his servants. Nabal scoffs at them and sends them away. David tells his men to strap on their swords, it's time for an attack. So four hundred of them start heading to Nabal's house.
Abigail is told by the servants of what has happened. She very quickly puts together all kinds of bread and raisens and figs and other foods and straps it all on a donkey and starts heading towards David & his men, to reach them before they get to the house. She does all this without her husband's knowledge. She comes to David and falls on her face and begs and pleads forgiveness and offers him the food. David blesses her and thanks her for saving him from being guilty of selfish revenge. The next day, Abigail tells all of this to her husband, and judging from the description in the text, it sounds as though he has a stroke. Ten days later, the Lord strikes him dead. David takes Abigail as his wife. Oddly, David's wife Michal (Saul's daughter), has been given away to another husband.
Sauls seeks after David again to kill him. David and some men approach Saul, Abner, and their army while they are sleeping. (evidently no one is awake/keeping guard). Saul's spear is in the ground just by his head. David perceives he has the perfect chance, once again, to kill him, but does not. He takes Saul's spear and a jar of water nearby, and walks away, up onto a hill. Once again, David calls out to Saul and is like, "Look! I spared your life once again. What have I done and why do you want to kill me?" and Saul is like, "I'm so sorry. You're right. It won't happen again!". And they go their separate ways.
David, who seems to be quite a nomad I might observe, goes to live amongst the Phillistines. He continues his military career with one victory after another, so much so, that the leader Achish frequently asks him, "So....what place did you raid today?"
So the Phillistines and Israel are preparing to war again. Achish orders that David will be his bodyguard. And now we come to a really wierd part of the book that I can't make head nor tail of, to be honest......
Saul is very troubled about the war and goes to a medium. (psychic, necromancer, whatever you want to call them). It seems that since Samuel has died, there is no one Saul completely trusts to give him mysterious truths, so he figures a medium is his best shot. So he goes to this lady, and she......seriously, now.....summones Samuel's ghost! I'm telling you, at this point, I put my Bible down and just stared blankly at the wall for a few moments. Anyhow, so Saul and Samuel's ghost have a chat. The first thing Samuel says is, "Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?" Saul explains why, and Samuel tells him that God is against him because he disobeyed the Lord concerning the Amalekites, and that God will give the kingdom into David's hand, and yes you will absolutely be defeated by the Phillistines.
David tries to go into battle with the Phillistines, but the Phillistines send him back to their leader. They're all like, "How do you expect him to fight his own people? He'll turn on us. Take him away!" So David leaves and goes back to the land of the Phillistines, while the Phillistines press on toward battle. When he gets there, he finds that the Amelekites have attacked and they killed no one, but took people captive, David's wives amongst them.
So David finds them and fights the Amelekites and rescues the captives, and gets his wives back safe & sound. He also takes some loot from the Amelekites, and sends it off to his Israeli friends in various parts of the land.
The Phillistines beat down Israel. Saul knows his death is at hand, and asks one of his own men to kill him, but is refused. Saul commits suicide by falling onto his own sword. Saul's sons and all his men died together that day. Many people of Israel took wind of this and fled, and the Phillistines came and settled in their land. The Phillistines cut off Saul's head. They put his armor in Ashtaroth's temple and his body on the wall of Beth-shan. The people of Jabesh-gilead recovered his body and his son's bodies and burned & buried them under a tamarisk tree in Jabesh, the same type Saul was sitting under when he once conspired against David's life.
Here is a video playing lyre music - an example of the sound David made while playing for Saul. My apologies to the musician, but I believe David's playing was probably much better....
The book of 1 Samuel focused on Samuel, Saul, David and Jonathan. Samuel was Israel's judge, deeply in tune with the Lord. Saul was Israel's first king - who did not please the Lord. David was Saul's opposite, and would be anointed Israel's second king. Jonathan, Saul's son, shared a deep, brotherly friendship with David. Their four stories intertwine into a manly drama of sorts, all front & center of Israel's push & pull with God. Here's how it went down, according to my humble interpretation: A man named Elkanah had two wives - Peninnah, who had given him children, and Hannah, whom he loved more, but could not give him children. Hannah prays silently at the temple, asking God for a son. Eli, the priest, thinks she's muttering drunk, but she explains that she has been pouring her heart out to God. He blessed her that her prayer will be answered, and she goes on her way. Hannah conceives & gives birth to Samuel. After he is weaned, she brings him to the temple and offers him to the Lord, and so he will spend his life in God's service. She leaves him with Eli, the priest, and visits him yearly. Eli the priest happens to have worthless men as sons. They disgrace the Lord's offering in the temple by breaking rules regarding the eating of sacrificial meat. (something about the fat being burned off....). Eli rebukes his sons, but evidently it wasn't punishment enough to fit the crime. He was rather indulgent in his simple rebuke. A man of God condemns Eli's household for his son's wickedness. Samuel, one evening, is lying down in the temple near the Ark of the Covenant. He hears the Lord calling his name but doesn't realize that it's the Lord, so he gets up and goes to Eli, assuming Eli was calling him.This happens three times before Eli ascertains that the Lord is calling Samuel, and so he orders Samuel to respond to the Lord, instead. So Samuel answers God, and God tells Samuel of the pending punishment hanging over the head of the Eli & Co. Samuel is afraid to tell Eli, but is honest with him when he asks Samuel for a report of what the Lord said. This, to me, seems to be a test of faithfulness for Samuel. He had to be made of pretty tough stuff to be able to judge an entire nation. Samuel grows. The Lord is with him. He develops a reputation as a prophet amongst Israel. Israel goes to war with the Phillistines, and Israel is defeated(thirty thousand die). Amongst Israel's casualties are Phinehas and Hophni, Eli's sons. The Phillistines capture the Ark of the Covenant, and decide to keep it in the temple of Dagon (their false god) as a war trophy. A man reports back to Eli of his sons death, and then Eli keels over dead upon hearing the news that the Ark of the Covenant has been captured. (Unsurprising. He was 98, obese and blind. I'm young and healthy and my pulse went rapid when I read that the Ark was taken...) Phinehas' pregnant wife goes into labor upon hearing the news, and evidently dies shortly after giving birth to Ichabod, whom she named so because "the glory has departed from Israel!" The Phillistines commenced to learn a lesson about messing around with the God of Israel. Every morning when they entered Dagon's temple, they found Dagon face down on the ground in front of the Ark. Then one day they found him face down with his head and hands broken off. The people were afflicted with tumors, and the Phillistines become desperate to get rid of the Ark. They return it to Israel with a "guilt offering" of five golden tumors and five golden mice. Samuel charges Israel to put away their foreign gods, specifically mentioning Ashtaroth. (Of all people, why are the Israelites concerned about fertility?.....) The Phillistines try to stir up some battle against Israel, but for the moment, God holds them back. Samuel is getting on in years, and appoints his sons Joel and Abijah as judges over Israel. Joel and Abijah do not walk in the ways of the Lord, however, and Israel, disappointed in them, demands to be given a king "like all the other nations." Samuel warns the people that being under the reign of a king means making themselves vulnerable to oppression. Still, they demand a king. Samuel consults God, who tells him to go ahead and give them a king if that's what they want, since they have rejected their God as king. (I had a bad feeling this would turn out like the quail incident....) Now we introduce Saul. He and his servant are roaming around looking for his father's lost donkeys. They have heard that a "seer" is about , and decide to pay him a visit. They enquire with a lady about Saul's whereabouts, who informs them that he is busy on temple business, and to hurry if they expect to see him. God had already told Samuel to expect to meet Saul, who he would anoint as king, and through whom God would save Israel from the Phillistines. Samuel tells Saul not to worry about the donkey's, that they have been found already. They eat together, Saul spends the night, and as they are leaving the next day, Samuel tells Saul to let the servant go on ahead of them, so that he can make known to Saul what God has instructed. Samuel proceeds to take a flask of oil and anoints Saul as king of Israel. Then he gives him some specific instructions of where to go and what to do - meet two people by a tomb, they will say this & that to you, come to the Oak of Tabor, meet three people who are carrying bread and you take the bread from them.... Then he is to go toward the temple, and people will be coming toward him, playing instruments. Then he will be filled with the Spirit of God, and will prophesy, and will be changed into another man. All these things came to pass. But......... when Saul's uncle questioned him about where he'd been and what had been happening -- He gives his uncle only a small portion of the truth. He tells his uncle that he was seeking the donkeys, and went to see Samuel, and that Samuel told him the donkeys had been found...... And that's all he says. Before we get into comparing Saul and David, we have a comparison between Saul and Samuel. When God called Samuel, he was faithful and honest about it. When God called Saul, he hid the truth. Saul didn't just hide from his uncle, however. When Samuel was about to present Saul to Israel as their new king, he wasn't able to find Saul. The Lord said to Samuel, "Behold, he has hidden himself among the baggage." Can you imagine??? Hiding at your own coronation??? They fish him out from his hiding spot, and the people commence to shout "long live the king!". Samuel explains and records the rights & duties of kingship for the people. (to be continued...)
The Book of Ruth is so poignant and meaningful, I decided it needed it's own post, even though it's only four chapters long. There are so many strong, fabulous women in the Old Testament, but Ruth is one of only two women who have a book named after them.
The background of the story is described as such: It is the days of the judges, and there is a famine in the land. A man named Elimelech (an Israelite from Judah), his wife Naomi, and their two sons - Mahlon and Chilion - go to Moab. (Now we must remember that Moabites are not on the up & up with the Israelites.....). Elimelech dies, and Mahlon & Chilion take Moabite wives, who are named Ruth and Orpah. They remained there ten years, and then Mahlon & Chilion die also, leaving Naomi widowed, without her sons, and leaving her daughters in law widowed as well.
So Naomi prepares to leave Moab, having heard that God has blessed Judah (where she was originally from) with food. But then Naomi tells Ruth & Orpah, "Go, return each of you to her mother's house. May the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. The Lord grant that you may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband!"
To put it simply, Naomi doesn't see any hope for them in Judah. At least in Moab, the girls could perhaps find some security and compassion from their own parents. It wasn't easy in that culture for widows to get by, unless they had a next of kin to marry them. (remember the man who gets his sandal taken off!!!) They would have zero social status, work their fingers to the bone for every meal, and on top of that - be entering Judah not only as widows without hope, but as MOABITE widows without hope.
The daughers in-law tell Naomi that they will go with her. She once again pleads with them, reminding them that she has no more sons for them to marry. There is much weeping, and Orpah kisses Naomi and leaves. Naomi beckons to Ruth to do the same, but Ruth "clings" to her and says the following - which, honestly, I doubt if the full effect is really conveyed, this is a VERY strongly worded bit -
"Do not urge me to leave you or return from following you. For where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die, I will die, and there will I be buried. May the Lord do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you."
What's really profound about this is that Ruth is embracing another culture, religion, a whole new set of laws, in addition to facing an uncertain future due to being widowed. What I can only assume is that Ruth has gleaned some kind of inspiration from her time with this Israeli family, and her desire is to serve the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob..... And also that she must really love Naomi.
As it were, Naomi does in fact have a relative on her husband's side who may act as "redeemer" for Ruth. The scripture doesn't say why this didn't occur to Naomi previously. I suppose it could be any number of reasons. Perhaps she had mistakenly heard that he was married or that he died. Maybe her husband didn't speak of him often and she simply forgot about him. It doesn't say....
What it does say is that in Judah, Ruth goes out to "glean" in the fields. What this means is that servants are harvesting (in this case, it's grain), and Ruth is going along behind them, picking up bits off the ground.( God commanded Israel to leave these bits on the ground for the poor, so that none of Israel would go hungry, so what she is doing is not stealing, but would definately be a sign that she is needy.)
Ruth "happens" to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz (Naomi's husband's relative). He is a good man, and we see him blessing his reapers: "The Lord be with you!" and they bless him back. He asks one of them who Ruth is, and they explain that she is the young Moabite woman who came back from Moab with Naomi, and that she asked permission to glean in the field, and has worked very hard all day doing so. Boaz arranges for her to safely glean without being bothered by the servants, and provides for her access to water. Ruth falls down and asks him why she has found favor in his eyes, being a foreigner. He says that he has heard all she has done for her mother in law, and that she has come from everything she knows to an unknown land.... And he blesses her, saying, "The Lord repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!" He feeds her supper, gives her extra food on top of what she gathered. She heads home to Naomi and reports of what happened during the day. Naomi tells Ruth that Boaz is a relative, and a possible redeemer. Ruth continues gleaning in Boaz's field through the barley and wheat harvests.
And so, one day, Naomi says these words to Ruth: "My daughter, should I not seek rest for you, that it may be well with you?" She wants Ruth to find rest and a better life with Boaz. She tells Ruth to wash, anoint herself (perfume, I would assume), put on her cloak, and go down to the threshing floor, where Boaz is. To wait until he has finished eating & drinking before appearing to him.... That after he has laid down, to uncover his feet, and that from there, he will tell her what to do.
Now, this part can seem a little fishy. From first, second, and third glance, I really thought that Naomi was asking Ruth to seduce Boaz. That's not the conclusion I came to, after much thought and study. I think what's really going on here is that Ruth is making a big statement to Boaz. In essence, asking him for redemption. Symbolically, I believe this points to lying ourselves/our burdens at the feet of our Redeemer, Jesus Christ.
Ruth obeys Naomi. Boaz wakes up at midnight, and finds Ruth lying there. He asks her who she is, and she responds, "I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer."
The symbolism doesn't end there, though. Boaz has a price to pay in order to redeem Ruth. He must purchase all the land which was owned by Alimelech, Mahlon and Chillion from Naomi. There is another relative who is closer in relation than he, so he visits him in front of witnesses to ask and see if he will act as redeemer. But the other relative wants the land, but does not want the Moabite wife, Ruth. So Boaz pays the purchase price, and redeems Ruth, just as Christ paid the price to be our Redeemer.
And so Boaz and Ruth marry, and a new life has begun for them, and for Naomi. And so the women say to Naomi, "Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a redeemer, and may his name be renowned in Israel!" Ruth gives birth to a son, and his name is Obed, who is the father of Jesse, who is the father of David...... Meaning.... that someone to follow in their lineage would be none other than THE Redeemer their story points to - Jesus Christ :-)
I like this stained glass depiction of Ruth & Boaz. They look tired, and I bet they were, after a long day during harvest season. Barley harvest was an exciting time for Israel, and even had a related feast which they celebrated. Nonetheless, it must have been alot of hard work...
We pick back up in chapter 14 of Judges. Samson has been born, blessed by the Lord, and the Spirit is stirring him.
Samson visits a place called Timnah, and finds a Phillistine woman that lights his fire. (so to speak.) He asks his parents to fetch her for him, to be his wife. His parents are appalled that he would marry a Phillistine woman. Nonetheless, the three of them go to Timnah together to settle things. On the way, a lion attacks Samson, and he tears it to pieces. After a few days, he returned again to take the Phillistine woman, and saw the carcass on the side of the road. There was a swarm of bees in the carcass, and he scooped some honey out and ate it as he went along, giving some to his parents, who didn't know he took it from a caracass. (I'm not sure how this violates the Israeli diet laws, but I'm thinking it must, somehow....). So he goes back to fetch her, and he and his father throw a customary feast. He makes an outlandish bet with his companions, challenging them with this riddle:
"Out of the eater came something to eat,
Out of the strong came something sweet."
Samson's wife begged and pleaded for seven days to hear the answer. Samson finally gives in and tells her. (we will note again later on that Samson's weakness is obviously women). Naturally, she runs off and informs the other fellows of the answer. So Samson loses his bet, and kills some people to acquire the goods he needs to pay up for the bet, then he hauls butt out of town. Samson's wife was given to his best man.
He goes back for her, but her father will not allow Samson into her room. In response, Samson makes a string of live foxes and sets their tails on fire, and lets them loose in the grain & orchards, destroying the Phillistine's crops. When the Phillistines discover the reason behind this action, they "burn with fire" Samson's wife and her father. Now the Spirit of the Lord comes over Samson, and when he is tied up and given to the Phillistines, the ropes "melt" off his body, and he proceeds to kill a thousand Phillistines with a donkey's jawbone.
He is noted to be Israel's next judge, and judges for 20 years. He goes to Gaza, and finds a prostitute that tickles his fancy. The Gazites decide to kill him in the morning. But Samson decides to leave in the middle of the night, and simply picks up the doors to the city's gate and carrys them up a hill. (Hey, you do what you gotta do.....)
Finally, Samson meets the lovely Delilah, who is in dirty business with the Phillistine leaders to find out the source of Samson's strength.
Seduction is her main tool. First, Samson tells her that if he is tied with seven bowstrings, he will be incapacitated. She proceeds to tie him with the bowstrings, with the Phillistines hiding in the next room, ready to pounce. He easily breaks them. Next, he tells his sweetheart that he must be bound with new ropes. She binds him with new ropes. But that was a lie......(this would have made a great Maury Povich episode with the lie detector tests...). He lies again when he tells her that for him to lose his strength, she must weave his hair into a web.
But finally, Samson comes clean with his buttercup when he tells her that he is a Nazarite, and that his hair must be cut for him to lose his strength. You know how this will end. She cuts his hair while he sleeps with his head on her lap, and the Phillistines capture him. They gouge out his eyes and set him to work at a grinding mill.
And then one day, all the leaders of the Phillistines are gathered together to offer a great sacrifice to their god "Dagon." Blind Samson is made to entertain the crowd of 3,000. He is put between two pillars. He prays and asks God for strength, God grants it, and Samson pushes the pillars apart, the building collapses,killing the 3,000 Phillistines (and also himself.)
A man in the hill country of Ephraim, named Micah and his mother make a carved image out of silver. A Levite man comes to Michah's house, looking for a place to stay, and Micah offers to hire him as his priest. The Levite accepts. The Israeli tribe of Dan, who had not yet received their inheritance (allotted place to live), send five men to spy out the land. The five "Dans" come to Micah's house, and recognizing the priest is Levite, ask what business he has there.
Then the five Dans travel to a place called Laish, where the residents are living comfortably, set quite far apart from any neighbors. They decide it's a good idea to capture the land of Laish. So they get 600 Dans together, and on their way to Laish, they pay a visit to Micah's house, and steal his carved image, his ephod, and his priest. The people in the houses surrounding Micah try to go after the Dans, but the Dans were too strong for them. So the Dans easily capture Laish, and rename it "Dan." Jonathan (Moses' grandson), and Jonathan's sons were their priests.
In those days, when there was no king over Israel, a Levite acquired a concubine from Bethelehem. The concubine cheated on him, and left him to go to her father's house. He followed (after some 4 months) to fetch her, but the girls' father convinces him to stay several days. Finally he leaves, with his concubine and his servant. As they are traveling together, they accept the hospitality of an old Benjaminite man in Gibeah who has offered them a place to stay for the night. The men of the city come to the house that night and begin banging on the door, and demand to be given the male visitor for their sexual pleasure. The master of the house is appalled, and offers them his daughter and the visitor's concubine, instead. The men take the concubine and "abuse" her all night. In the morning, she is found dead, lying on the doorstep. The man takes a knife and divides her into twelve pieces, and had each piece delivered to Israel's tribes.
Israel decides to attack Gibeah, and orders the tribe of Benjamin to remove it's people from Gibeah, and help in the battle. The Benjaminites refuse. It becomes a war between the tribe of Benjamin (who muster 26 thousand men) and the rest of Israel (who muster 400 thousand). Carnage ensues, and 25 thousand of the 26 thousand Benjaminites are killed on the third day of fighting.
Israel feels bad that one of their 12 tribes has been nearyly obliterated. They decide to round up some wives for the remaining Benjaminites. So they destroy the city of Jabesh-gilead, who failed to attend their assembly, and take 400 virgins from them for Benjamin. But alas, this was not enough wives. So they decide to have the Benjamins ambush girls at a yearly feast in Shiloh. So the men hide in some vineyards, and as the girls came out to dance, they "snatched" them away for wives. I've got to wonder how exactly this went. Did they dress up nicely, as though they were guests of the party and say, "May I have this dance?" and after showing off some killer moves, ask them to dance with them forever? or did they just toss them over their shoulder and run?
At any rate, at the end of "Judges", Israel is still without a king, and everyone does what is right in their own eyes.
Back in the book of Joshua, there were a few peoples who were not put to death or driven out of the Promised Land by Israel.
In Judges, there are a whole lot more. I don't know if they're just getting tired of the war (I know I'm getting tired of reading it.....), if their motivation is dying down, or if perhaps they are seeing benefits (temptations) of keeping these people around. The Caananites, the Amorites, The Jebusites, and the Phillistines, to name a few... Judges is a book of the Bible where things are happening fast & furiously. It's tough to summarize, but I will try.
After Joshua dies in chapter one, and the generation that was with him, the next generation is said to "not know the Lord." They do evil in the sight of the Lord, and serve Baal and Ashtaroth. (seems that anyone who was anyone back then had idols of these gods in their house......). Undoubtedly, Israel is under the influence of the other peoples living in the land. God pulls back some of his protection, and Israel becomes very distressed.
God raises up "judges" to......well, judge Israel. To convict them of their sin. Tell them to repent. Lead them back to God. As soon as each judge dies, Israel begins intermarrying with all the other "ites" and serving idols again.
God allowed Israel to serve under Mesopotamian rule for 8 years. God raises up Othniel to deliver Israel. For forty years after, all is well.
Again, Israel rebels, and falls under Moabite rule for eighteen years. God raises up Ehud (who, for some reason, is noted to be left-handed) to deliver Israel. Ehud had a funny way of doing it too. He plunged a sword into the fat belly of the king and left the room, locking the doors. The servants assumed the king was taking a #2, and so they left him be for awhile. (I'm not joking....chapter 3, y'all...). All is well with Israel for eighty years.
Then we have Deborah (a prophetess) and Barak, who God raises up to deliver Israel from the Caananite king Jabin. The commander of Jabin's army is this guy named Sisera, who hops off his chariot and runs away while his army is being defeated. (If the book of Judges was ever made into a musical, they'd have to get John Cleese that role....). Anyway, he runs into a friend's tent, and finds the man's wife, Jael, there. He asks her for water, she gives him milk. He asks her to hide him, she drives a tent spike through his temple. Shortly thereafter, the king is destroyed as well. Deborah and Barak sing a victory song of praise to the Lord which is 31 verses long. All is well in Israel for 40 years.
Israel does evil again, and now they are oppressed by the Midianites. The "angel of the Lord" appears to Gideon, whom the Lord raises up to deliver Israel. I want to take a moment and ponder this "angel of the Lord." When God spoke to Moses, He tended to do so directly. Now we have this "angel of the Lord" business. Is it an angel? Is it the Lord? Who is it? This "angel of the Lord", when speaking, glides back and forth between speaking first person AS God, and speaking as though a separate entity who is delivering God's message. Anyhow, Gideon is a bit chicken because he's considered to be one of the weakest of the weak. He tests God twice to be assured of the victory before proceeding. He lays out a fleece on the ground and asks God for the fleece to be soaked with dew in the morning, but the ground dry. The next day, he wants the ground wet and the fleece dry. Gideon gathers up 32 thousand men. God doesn't want a huge army for this endeavor though, lest Israel should attribute the victory to their own strength, and not God's providential hand. So all the men who are "frightened" are sent packing. Ten thousand remain. Then God whittles the number down to 300 by selecting those who used their hand as a cup to drink from the water. Gideon takes a servant and goes to the Midianite camp, because the Lord tells him that he will feel confident of their victory after doing so. He hears a man speaking about a prophetic dream in which the Midianites are defeated by Israel. So Gideon and his men come to the Midianite camp, blow three hundred trumpets and shout, "A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!". God confuses the Midianites, they turn their swords on each other, and then run away.
As Gideons's army is chasing the Midianites, Gideon asks the people of Succoth for some bread for his troops. Succoth will not give them bread since Israel has not captured the leaders of Midian yet. Gideon vows revenge on them via physical torture with thorns and briers. The same thing happens with the people at Penuel, but the revenge shall be tearing down their tower. Gideon's army captures the Midian leaders, and Gideon gives his promised revenge to Succoth and Penuel.
All is well in Israel for forty years. Then Gideon dies..... Gideon had seventy sons, one of whom was Abimelech, born to Gideon by a concubine (mistress). Abimelech convinces the people of Shechem (land of his mother's clan) to make him a king. He kills all his brothers but Jotham, the youngest, who hides. Then Jotham gives a speech to the leaders of Shechem, speaking in tree metaphors and asking them to think a bit on this King Abimelech shenanigan. Then he runs away to live in "Beer." Surely enough, the people of Shechem begin to turn against Abimelech. War ensues. At one point, Abimelech is arranging to destroy a tower full of people by setting it on fire. A woman drops a millstone on him. He's dying, but not wanting to put killed by a woman, asks his servant to kill him with a sword. The servant obliges.
Another judge is mentioned, by the name of Tola.... then there was Jair, who had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys. Then Israel does evil again, and the Lord gives them up to their desires. They are oppressed by Phillistines, and the Ammonites.
A man named Jephthah, son of a prostitute, was turned out of his father's house by his brothers, sans inheritence. He went away to "Tob" and collected some worthless friends. Some elders go and seek him out as Israel's next deliverer. Jephthah does a really dumb thing, which is that he promises the Lord that if the Lord delivers the enemy into his hands, he will sacrifice the first thing that comes up to him at his house to the Lord. They were victorious. The first thing to greet Jephthah at his house turns out to his daughter, his only child. What a very stupid, stupid man......... Nonetheless, he judged Israel for six years.
Next is Ibzan, then Elon, then Abdon.
Then Israel did evil again, and God gave them into the hands of the Phillistines for forty years. A man named Manoah had a wife who couldn't give him children. (have you ever noticed that in the Bible, infertility is always blamed on the female?) The "angel of the Lord" appears to her and tells her she will conceive a son who will begin to save Israel from the Phillistines. He is to be a Nazarite, and never cut his hair.
Samson is born......
Here is a picture of what the idols might have possibly looked like which Israel and her neighbors were worshipping. (although in the Bible, they are usually made of gold). On the left is a "Baal", which can actually refer to any number of "false god" idols who were popular at the time. On the right is "Astheroth", a Caananite goddess of fertility that Israel was prone to worship alongside Baal. Her name goes by many different spellings like Astarte, Ashtart, etc, and was also worshipped by Egypt, Greece, and much of the Eastern Mediterrean population.
