Saturday, March 13, 2004
1 Samuel 10 – Saul’s Christening
The search is over and Saul is now “found.” Samuel privately anoints (the Greek word here is “christens”) Saul as ruler, and offers him three "signs" (1 Samuel 10:7), presumably to confirm that what is happening is from God:
1. Saul will meet two men with a message from his father that the donkeys have been found
2. Saul will then meet three men, who have three kids, three loaves of bread, and a skin of wine, and they will offer two of the loaves of bread which Saul is to accept (perhaps recalling that prior to meeting Samuel, Saul and his servant had run out of food);
3. Saul will then meet a band of prophets with music and they will be (NRS) "in a prophetic frenzy" (or TNK "speaking in ecstasy", or, simply NAU, NIV, "prophesying", 1 Samuel 10:5)
As all these things begin to happen, just as Samuel said they would, Saul must be amazed and, perhaps, filled with fear. We do not have much information about Saul’s inner life, so this is speculative. However, a bit later, when Samuel stages a public ceremony for choosing the new king by lot, Saul is not to be found, until God tells Samuel:
1 Samuel 10:22 "See, he has hidden himself among the baggage."
That may provide a clue as to how out-of-control Saul feels events have become. The double nature of the search is ended; God’s hand is now stronger than Saul’s. Continuing the instructions that Samuel is privately giving Saul, we read:
NRS 1 Samuel 10:6 “Then the spirit of the LORD will possess you, and you will be in a prophetic frenzy along with them and be turned into a different person.”
The phrase about the Spirit, “will possess you”, may better be rendered “rush upon you” or, as in TNK, “grip you,” because God does not “possess” people against their will. Nevertheless, this is an almost violent event, and a cataclysmic one for it means that Saul wll “be turned into a different person.”
Does Saul want to be turned into a different person? Do you or I want that? If we are so “turned” do we lose our essential personality? Do we lose the freedom that makes us human?
Samuel reassures Saul at this point,
1 Samuel 10:7 Now when these signs meet you, do whatever you see fit to do, for God is with you.
Samuel is telling Saul that he is being invited into the freedom of the children of God. But, the truth is, that this is not a total freedom; Saul is still to be accountable to the community and, most importantly, he is to be accountable to the word of God through the prophet:
1 Samuel 10:8 And you shall go down to Gilgal ahead of me; then I will come down to you to present burnt offerings and offer sacrifices of well-being. Seven days you shall wait, until I come to you and show you what you shall do."
This passage is a type of Christian christening. Samuel concludes with a verse that strikes me as the most amazing statements of all the Saul cycle:
1 Samuel 10:9 As he turned away to leave Samuel, God gave him another heart; and all these signs were fulfilled that day.
God's gift of a new heart is, of course, the promise that Ezekiel later promised to the exiled community after the line of kings ended in disaster:
Ezekiel 36:25 I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. 26 A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 I will put my spirit within you, and make you follow my statutes and be careful to observe my ordinances.
In fear and trembling – even hiding amongst the baggage – Saul submitted himself to this inner operation of the Spirit.
1. Saul will meet two men with a message from his father that the donkeys have been found
2. Saul will then meet three men, who have three kids, three loaves of bread, and a skin of wine, and they will offer two of the loaves of bread which Saul is to accept (perhaps recalling that prior to meeting Samuel, Saul and his servant had run out of food);
3. Saul will then meet a band of prophets with music and they will be (NRS) "in a prophetic frenzy" (or TNK "speaking in ecstasy", or, simply NAU, NIV, "prophesying", 1 Samuel 10:5)
As all these things begin to happen, just as Samuel said they would, Saul must be amazed and, perhaps, filled with fear. We do not have much information about Saul’s inner life, so this is speculative. However, a bit later, when Samuel stages a public ceremony for choosing the new king by lot, Saul is not to be found, until God tells Samuel:
1 Samuel 10:22 "See, he has hidden himself among the baggage."
That may provide a clue as to how out-of-control Saul feels events have become. The double nature of the search is ended; God’s hand is now stronger than Saul’s. Continuing the instructions that Samuel is privately giving Saul, we read:
NRS 1 Samuel 10:6 “Then the spirit of the LORD will possess you, and you will be in a prophetic frenzy along with them and be turned into a different person.”
The phrase about the Spirit, “will possess you”, may better be rendered “rush upon you” or, as in TNK, “grip you,” because God does not “possess” people against their will. Nevertheless, this is an almost violent event, and a cataclysmic one for it means that Saul wll “be turned into a different person.”
Does Saul want to be turned into a different person? Do you or I want that? If we are so “turned” do we lose our essential personality? Do we lose the freedom that makes us human?
Samuel reassures Saul at this point,
1 Samuel 10:7 Now when these signs meet you, do whatever you see fit to do, for God is with you.
Samuel is telling Saul that he is being invited into the freedom of the children of God. But, the truth is, that this is not a total freedom; Saul is still to be accountable to the community and, most importantly, he is to be accountable to the word of God through the prophet:
1 Samuel 10:8 And you shall go down to Gilgal ahead of me; then I will come down to you to present burnt offerings and offer sacrifices of well-being. Seven days you shall wait, until I come to you and show you what you shall do."
This passage is a type of Christian christening. Samuel concludes with a verse that strikes me as the most amazing statements of all the Saul cycle:
1 Samuel 10:9 As he turned away to leave Samuel, God gave him another heart; and all these signs were fulfilled that day.
God's gift of a new heart is, of course, the promise that Ezekiel later promised to the exiled community after the line of kings ended in disaster:
Ezekiel 36:25 I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. 26 A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 I will put my spirit within you, and make you follow my statutes and be careful to observe my ordinances.
In fear and trembling – even hiding amongst the baggage – Saul submitted himself to this inner operation of the Spirit.
Friday, March 12, 2004
1 Samuel 9 - The Double Search
God's response to the rejection that he suffered from the people shows God's remarkable generosity and grace. It also shows a correspondence between heaven and earth. God is responsive to the people, and instead of walking away,
1 Samuel 8:22 The LORD said to Samuel, "Listen to their voice and set a king over them."
Chapters 9 and 10 are the story of how Samuel and God consipire together to answer the request of the people.
The story is fairly complex. It involves lost donkeys, a fruitless search for them by Saul and his servant, the decision prompted by the servant to seek out the help of "the man of God" who was rumored to be in some unnamed town in the region of Zuph, and some very talkative girls who instruct Saul in Samuel's whereabouts. Behind the scenes, God has been talking to Samuel, forewarning him that the man who is coming is the one God wants Samuel to anoint as ruler.
Here is the interplay between earth and heaven. A misunderstanding of how this works gives rise to crude notions of predestination. Did God preordain that the donkeys would be lost? that the girls would meet the servant? that Samuel would be offering sacrifice at this town on this day? That would reduce all of these actors to the role of robots, or puppets, in the hand of God. It is enough to see that, in heaven, God has decided to answer the request for a king, and, on earth, as each of these individuals go about their business, events eventually coalesce so that Saul and Samuel can meet. There has been a double search: a search for donkeys on the part of Saul; a search for a king on the part of God. When the two searches come together, the key is the ability of Samuel, as "a man of God," "a seer," "a prophet" to hear the inaudible word of God, and thus to seize the moment:
1 Samuel 9:17 When Samuel saw Saul, the LORD told him, "Here is the man of whom I spoke to you. He it is who shall rule over my people."
With the inner certainty built on a lifetime of responding to the inner prompting of the Spirit and having the "word of the Lord" confirmed in subsequent events (1 Samuel 3:19; 9:6), Samuel acts.
The first thing he does is reassure Saul that the donkeys have been found. Then, without a break, Samuel continues:
1 Samuel 9:20-21 And on whom is all Israel's desire fixed, if not on you and on all your ancestral house?"
21 Saul answered, "I am only a Benjaminite, from the least of the tribes of Israel, and my family is the humblest of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin. Why then have you spoken to me in this way?"
Actually, the narrator told us at the top of the chapter that Saul's family was wealthy. But, if you went out looking for lost donkeys and were greeted this way, how would you react? Earth has been assaulted by heaven. When that happens, an attitude of humility and credulity tempered by doubt is the appropriate response.
1 Samuel 8:22 The LORD said to Samuel, "Listen to their voice and set a king over them."
Chapters 9 and 10 are the story of how Samuel and God consipire together to answer the request of the people.
The story is fairly complex. It involves lost donkeys, a fruitless search for them by Saul and his servant, the decision prompted by the servant to seek out the help of "the man of God" who was rumored to be in some unnamed town in the region of Zuph, and some very talkative girls who instruct Saul in Samuel's whereabouts. Behind the scenes, God has been talking to Samuel, forewarning him that the man who is coming is the one God wants Samuel to anoint as ruler.
Here is the interplay between earth and heaven. A misunderstanding of how this works gives rise to crude notions of predestination. Did God preordain that the donkeys would be lost? that the girls would meet the servant? that Samuel would be offering sacrifice at this town on this day? That would reduce all of these actors to the role of robots, or puppets, in the hand of God. It is enough to see that, in heaven, God has decided to answer the request for a king, and, on earth, as each of these individuals go about their business, events eventually coalesce so that Saul and Samuel can meet. There has been a double search: a search for donkeys on the part of Saul; a search for a king on the part of God. When the two searches come together, the key is the ability of Samuel, as "a man of God," "a seer," "a prophet" to hear the inaudible word of God, and thus to seize the moment:
1 Samuel 9:17 When Samuel saw Saul, the LORD told him, "Here is the man of whom I spoke to you. He it is who shall rule over my people."
With the inner certainty built on a lifetime of responding to the inner prompting of the Spirit and having the "word of the Lord" confirmed in subsequent events (1 Samuel 3:19; 9:6), Samuel acts.
The first thing he does is reassure Saul that the donkeys have been found. Then, without a break, Samuel continues:
1 Samuel 9:20-21 And on whom is all Israel's desire fixed, if not on you and on all your ancestral house?"
21 Saul answered, "I am only a Benjaminite, from the least of the tribes of Israel, and my family is the humblest of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin. Why then have you spoken to me in this way?"
Actually, the narrator told us at the top of the chapter that Saul's family was wealthy. But, if you went out looking for lost donkeys and were greeted this way, how would you react? Earth has been assaulted by heaven. When that happens, an attitude of humility and credulity tempered by doubt is the appropriate response.
Wednesday, March 10, 2004
1 Samuel 8 - to be like everyone else
Of all the judges, only Eli and Samuel, the last of the judges, expected that their sons would be judges after them. Gideon's son Abimelech also attempted to make himself king. In each case, the sons were scoundrels. In Samuel's case, his sons (1 Samuel 8:3) "took bribes and perverted justice."
In every other case, the selection was based on charisma -- the appointment by God, "who raised up judges, who delivered" (Judges 2:16) the people from their enemies. How the appointment happened was not regularized, but it happened in each generation when their was need. Then, why did the people, in the very process of rejecting Samuel's sons as judges, seek a dynastic system almost guaranteed to inflict on them unworthy sons as rulers?
At the beginning of this chapter and again at the end, (after Samuel reminds them of the character of monarchy) "the elders" demand:
1 Samuel 8:5 appoint for us, then, a king to govern us, like other nations.
1 Samuel 8:19 "No! but we are determined to have a king over us, 20 so that we also may be like other nations...”
The urge is to be "like other nations." In this, God tells Samuel, the people are rejecting God.
1 Samuel 8:7 the LORD said to Samuel, "Listen to the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them."
At God's instruction, Samuel describes the oppression that accompanies monarchy:
1. conscription
2. hierarchy
3. diversion of workers into war industry
4. expropriation of the best land for his cronies
5. heavy taxation
6. slavery
1 Samuel 8:19 But the people refused to listen
because they wanted to "be like other nations." It is with this tragic chapter in the history of God's covenant that we need to hear Jesus:
Mark 10: 42 So Jesus called them and said to them, "You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. 43 But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. 45 For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many."
The urge to be like “others” is strong and devastating. More than in any other area, it is in the area of power and security that people fear to follow the way of faith. It may be that God has demonstrated, time and again, his power to save in many practical ways. It may be that we have seen the destruction and oppression that comes from seeking security in military power.
Proverbs 26:11 Like a dog that returns to its vomit is a fool who reverts to his folly.
Who will walk by faith? Who will believe, day by day, that the Holy Spirit really will turn up again, and that we really will be delivered again? Who will believe that it is better to reject the ways of the nations, and to become a servant of all?
In every other case, the selection was based on charisma -- the appointment by God, "who raised up judges, who delivered" (Judges 2:16) the people from their enemies. How the appointment happened was not regularized, but it happened in each generation when their was need. Then, why did the people, in the very process of rejecting Samuel's sons as judges, seek a dynastic system almost guaranteed to inflict on them unworthy sons as rulers?
At the beginning of this chapter and again at the end, (after Samuel reminds them of the character of monarchy) "the elders" demand:
1 Samuel 8:5 appoint for us, then, a king to govern us, like other nations.
1 Samuel 8:19 "No! but we are determined to have a king over us, 20 so that we also may be like other nations...”
The urge is to be "like other nations." In this, God tells Samuel, the people are rejecting God.
1 Samuel 8:7 the LORD said to Samuel, "Listen to the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them."
At God's instruction, Samuel describes the oppression that accompanies monarchy:
1. conscription
2. hierarchy
3. diversion of workers into war industry
4. expropriation of the best land for his cronies
5. heavy taxation
6. slavery
1 Samuel 8:19 But the people refused to listen
because they wanted to "be like other nations." It is with this tragic chapter in the history of God's covenant that we need to hear Jesus:
Mark 10: 42 So Jesus called them and said to them, "You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. 43 But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. 45 For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many."
The urge to be like “others” is strong and devastating. More than in any other area, it is in the area of power and security that people fear to follow the way of faith. It may be that God has demonstrated, time and again, his power to save in many practical ways. It may be that we have seen the destruction and oppression that comes from seeking security in military power.
Proverbs 26:11 Like a dog that returns to its vomit is a fool who reverts to his folly.
Who will walk by faith? Who will believe, day by day, that the Holy Spirit really will turn up again, and that we really will be delivered again? Who will believe that it is better to reject the ways of the nations, and to become a servant of all?
Tuesday, March 09, 2004
1 Samuel 7 Ebenezer
Eben (stone) ezer (help). This is a story about the true source of help. In the hymn, we sing, "here I raise my Ebenezer." The key is "hither by thy help I'm come."
The chapter opens after an interlude of twenty years, but by the end of the chapter we've been reminded that the whole story of the wandering of the ark started at the town of Ebenezer. Now, twenty years later, the ark is lodged in a private house in Kiriath-jearim. For some reason unknown, the people of Israel are caught up in a spirit of lament:
1 Samuel 7:2 and all the house of Israel lamented after the LORD.
This time of renewal was not initiated by Samuel's preaching, but he speaks to their condition:
1 Samuel 7:3 Then Samuel said to all the house of Israel, "If you are returning to the LORD with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Astartes from among you. Direct your heart to the LORD, and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines."
The people agree and they have an interesting renewal ceremony that consists of three things:
Symbolic pouring out of water before God.
Fasting.
Confession of sin.
What happens next? Piety might expect that peace breaks out. The story reverses that expectation. In the narrative, the people were at peace. Their spiritual renewal provokes an attack from their enemies:
1 Samuel 7:10 As Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to attack Israel; but the LORD thundered with a mighty voice that day against the Philistines and threw them into confusion; and they were routed before Israel.... 12 Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Jeshanah, and named it Ebenezer; for he said, "Thus far the LORD has helped us."
It is a peculiar thing that Samuel named the stone, "Ebenezer" which is also the name of the town which began the history of the apparent disaster of the loss of ark to the Philistines twenty some years earlier. The word "Ebenezer" appears only in this story, and brackets it; it must be intended. Here is the reversal (or better) the completion of the action which began at Ebenezer:
1 Samuel 4:1 In those days the Philistines mustered for war against Israel, and Israel went out to battle against them; they encamped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines encamped at Aphek. 2 The Philistines drew up in line against Israel, and when the battle was joined, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men on the field of battle.
What was the difference? In 1 Samuel 4, when the Philistines mustered against Israel, Israel acted like any other country and gathered their army to fight. In 1 Samuel 7, when the Philistines mustered against Israel, they were lamenting and seeking god.
1 Samuel 7:8 The people of Israel said to Samuel, "Do not cease to cry out to the LORD our God for us, and pray that he may save us from the hand of the Philistines."
The difference was that whereas the people had looked to themselves for salvation, they now turned to God. So, God thundered with a mighty voice, and the Philistines were thrown into confusion. May we find a posture of lament and whole hearted worship of God in place of the trust in our own strength. God, as we found during the so-called disaster and wandering of the ark, can save himself. The question is, are we in such a posture that God can save us?
The chapter opens after an interlude of twenty years, but by the end of the chapter we've been reminded that the whole story of the wandering of the ark started at the town of Ebenezer. Now, twenty years later, the ark is lodged in a private house in Kiriath-jearim. For some reason unknown, the people of Israel are caught up in a spirit of lament:
1 Samuel 7:2 and all the house of Israel lamented after the LORD.
This time of renewal was not initiated by Samuel's preaching, but he speaks to their condition:
1 Samuel 7:3 Then Samuel said to all the house of Israel, "If you are returning to the LORD with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Astartes from among you. Direct your heart to the LORD, and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines."
The people agree and they have an interesting renewal ceremony that consists of three things:
Symbolic pouring out of water before God.
Fasting.
Confession of sin.
What happens next? Piety might expect that peace breaks out. The story reverses that expectation. In the narrative, the people were at peace. Their spiritual renewal provokes an attack from their enemies:
1 Samuel 7:10 As Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to attack Israel; but the LORD thundered with a mighty voice that day against the Philistines and threw them into confusion; and they were routed before Israel.... 12 Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Jeshanah, and named it Ebenezer; for he said, "Thus far the LORD has helped us."
It is a peculiar thing that Samuel named the stone, "Ebenezer" which is also the name of the town which began the history of the apparent disaster of the loss of ark to the Philistines twenty some years earlier. The word "Ebenezer" appears only in this story, and brackets it; it must be intended. Here is the reversal (or better) the completion of the action which began at Ebenezer:
1 Samuel 4:1 In those days the Philistines mustered for war against Israel, and Israel went out to battle against them; they encamped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines encamped at Aphek. 2 The Philistines drew up in line against Israel, and when the battle was joined, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men on the field of battle.
What was the difference? In 1 Samuel 4, when the Philistines mustered against Israel, Israel acted like any other country and gathered their army to fight. In 1 Samuel 7, when the Philistines mustered against Israel, they were lamenting and seeking god.
1 Samuel 7:8 The people of Israel said to Samuel, "Do not cease to cry out to the LORD our God for us, and pray that he may save us from the hand of the Philistines."
The difference was that whereas the people had looked to themselves for salvation, they now turned to God. So, God thundered with a mighty voice, and the Philistines were thrown into confusion. May we find a posture of lament and whole hearted worship of God in place of the trust in our own strength. God, as we found during the so-called disaster and wandering of the ark, can save himself. The question is, are we in such a posture that God can save us?
