Category: Building a Faith-filled Life

Two Kings among the Sheep

Old Testament: 1 Samuel 15 & 16

Poetry: Psalm 68 (day 1 of 4)

New Testament: 2 Corinthians 12

We read it yesterday: “If you had obeyed…” 

Saul committed disobedience. But was the kingdom taken from Saul because of one act of disobedience? 

In 1 Samuel 15, God commands Saul, through Samuel, to kill and destroy everything of King Amalek. That is gruesome, but it is the command of God; you will kill all the people and destroy all their stuff. In warfare of the ancient world, after an enemy army was defeated you would take their survivors as slaves, their flocks as property, and their land as your own. To win a war was to become wealthy. But that is not the reason God desires the Israelites to go to war; they go to war because they are listening to the Lord, because he is creating a people for himself, not for their gain and profit. 

Saul disobeys God because he spares a man and the best animals. What our world, our culture might consider “mercy” is considered an act of disobedience. Samuel comes to Saul at Gilgal, and after the Lord told Saul to explicitly kill the sheep, the bleating carries across the hills of the region. After the Lord told Saul to explicitly kill the oxen, their lowing can be heard. Saul had set up a monument for himself (15:12) and even declares that he had completed the will of the Lord! Samuel has to clue him in that in declaring that he intended to sacrifice these animals, he was in fact disobeying God’s direct orders.  

To obey is better than sacrifice. 

To heed is better than the fat of rams. 

The Lord regretted he had made Saul king over Israel. 

However, in the town of Bethlehem, a young boy, ruddy, beautiful, and handsome, also stands among sheep. A young boy who has been slinging stones at predators, not knowing he would need to fell giants. A young boy who is learning obedience, learning hearing and obeying the word of the Lord. A boy, a man, after God’s own heart. 

David. 

Imagine you are Samuel. The last time you smelled lanolin, you had a king crying at your feet, ripping your robes, and it breaks your heart. You had anointed this tall man while he was chasing donkeys, through the desert, but he never truly learned how to be king, how to follow the commands of God. And you grieve.

And now, the boy covered in the smell of sheep walks in through the front door and the Lord speaks to your spirit “Arise, anoint him; for this is he.”

With a sense of irony you realize that you have seen the Lord change the times and the ages. 

He took the kingdom of a king, and he gave the kingdom to another. 

Two Kings among the sheep…

-Jake Ballard

Reflection Questions

  1. Worship and Obedience: Because it is Sunday, there is just one difficult question for you. Today will be or was a day of worship. In Christ, our sacrifice is our heart and our praise to God. (Romans 12, Hebrews 13) However, have you been obedient to God? Have you done all that he has commanded? Are there any broken relationships that need to be mended? Are there any hurts for which you should ask for forgiveness? How can you be obedient to the prompting of the spirit, or to the commands of scripture? Or are you simply “worshipping” God, content that you are giving him something subpar, something less than the obedience he demands? 
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Your Kingdom Forever

Old Testament: 1 Samuel 13 & 14

Poetry: Psalm 67

New Testament: 2 Corinthians 11

Saul fails as a King. 

Sorry for the lack of “spoiler warnings”. He doesn’t make it. 

What’s more sad and more of a shocker, is that he *could* have succeeded at being king. At building a dynasty for himself and his children. The language of 1 Samuel 13:13-14 is pretty clear. 

“You have done foolishly. You have not kept the command of the Lord your God, with which he commanded you. For then the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.” (ESV)

The foolish action of Saul was… sacrifice. Worship. How can that be wrong? Because it was not in accord with the commands of God. Saul was not supposed to do the sacrifice; he was supposed to wait for Samuel. Saul’s impatience and his presumptuous attitude caused him to fall into sin, because he did not obey the word of the Lord. He was keeping the “outward” signs of the law (the sacrifice) but not the details (who, how, when). He wanted the armies to see the sacrifice, rather than keeping it the way God wanted. This impatience and presumption becomes worse later in the story (chapter 15). 

Saul is told that another is rising up in his kingdom. A man after God’s own heart, who would obey the word of the Lord. That is who will replace Saul. 

But notice the end of verse 13 : “For then (if you had kept his commands), the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever.” I don’t think Samuel is stating his own personal opinion here nor do I think he is speaking falsely. God was willing to allow Saul to have a kingdom dynasty. He would have allowed him and his children to sit upon the throne… if Saul had obeyed. 

Far too often, we think all things are set in stone, that our days are done, that the story of our life is written. Before all time, before all actions, either God has claimed us or rejected us. 

In glorious praise and holy fear, that is not true. 

God would like to allow you to reign with Christ in God’s Kingdom. However, you have choices to make. Will you obey? Will you heed the word of the Lord? 

If you do, then all your sins can be forgiven. God will forgive, God will restore, God will empower. 

But, if you do not obey… “he would have established your kingdom”? More “he would have established you in his kingdom.”

You have choices to make. Rather a choice: will you obey the Word of the Lord.

-Jake Ballard

Reflection Questions

  1. The Law We Obey: 1 John 3:23 tells us the commandment that we are called to obey now. What is new about this commandment? What is ancient about this commandment? How can you live out the commandment today?
  2. The Perseverance We Have: In John 10:29, we are promised protection by the Father and that we, as sheep, are not going to be stolen away. How does this promise of protection relate to the story of Saul and the removal of his Kingdom? How does it relate to the choices we are called to make and the salvation we are called to have?
  3. Once Saved, Always Saved?: While some people find comfort in phrases like “there is nothing you did to earn your salvation, so there is nothing you could do to lose it,” is that phrase true? Can people who have “seen the light” reject the salvation of God? (Check out  Hebrews 6:4-6.) It seems obedient relationship with Christ through the power of the spirit is necessary for salvation! (1 John 5:2) Have you asked God to give you his spirit, so that you can obey the commands of Jesus?
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“But can God Love Me?”

Old Testament: 1 Samuel 11 & 12

Poetry: Psalm 67

New Testament: 2 Corinthians 10

If you’re like me, that is, *if you are human*, then you have made mistakes. Some of those mistakes are major; not just a small white lie, but sins that harm others and put us out of sync with God. Sometimes, when we make those big sins, we feel like God could never forgive us, could never love us. The words of Samuel to the Israelites from the end of 1 Samuel 12 should give us hope in those moments.

“Do not fear.” “It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31), and we should not excuse the sins we commit. The first command given to the Israelites is to not let fear make them flee from the Lord. Instead, we should listen more closely to God than ever. If we recognize our sin, we also recognize that God’s ways are higher than our own, and  his ways are better than the ways of the world. If we flee from God, we turn toward things that cannot give us hope, cannot give us a future, cannot redeem us. As Samuel says, they cannot profit or deliver. They are futile. 

This all seems very good. “Maybe our sin wasn’t so bad”… we might say, foolishly. God does not ignore your sin because he is ignorant of it, or because he doesn’t care. Instead, “God will not abandon His people *on account of His great name*.” God has chosen a people to be his own possession. In the ancient world, it was Israel, those who were born from the line of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, children of the promise. Today, he has also chosen a people, also those born according to a promise, but now, it is all who have a faith like Abraham’s, who trust God like Isaac, who believe and wrestle with the Lord like Jacob, those who choose to trust in the final and ultimate descendant of the Patriarchs, Jesus Christ. God has made you a part of his people when you trusted in Jesus. Now, the reality is that we are not merely performing the law, but the law of God has been enacted in the life of Jesus, and by connecting with him, we both enact the law and go beyond it to the truth Christ taught! Christ taught us the truth of God, Christ showed us the life that God wants us to live, Christ died so that we might have life. “Consider the great things the Lord has done for you.” It is now more true than ever. Our sin was nailed to the cross with Christ. It was so terrible it cost Christ everything and he willingly paid it all. 

We are called to avoid sin, and we are warned by Christ himself that if we live wicked lives, his words will judge us in the last day. But now, if we do sin, we do not need to fear because we have an advocate who loves us, who gives us a spirit who can change us from the inside out, so we might stop sinning and stop desiring to sin. That is the glory and the power of living in the age of grace, of living in the shadow of the cross. 

“As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you.”

And so, this day and every day, may you be blessed as you “Seek, Grow, Love”. Far be it from me to cease praying for you!

-Jake Ballard

Reflection Questions

  1. Do Not Fear: We are commanded “do not fear” again and again in scripture. We are even told that perfect love drives out fear. But the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Moreover, Jesus did not encourage his disciples out of their fear when they were in awe and terrified when the winds and waves obey him. With all those confusing passages in mind, what is the Christian relationship with fear? What should we fear? What should we not fear?
  2. Consider the great things the Lord has done for you: Make a list throughout the day today of all the blessings that God has given you. What are the big, great amazing things, and what are the small, everyday good. Consider them all and see that the Lord is good. 
  3. Far be it from me…: Would you take the next few minutes, and pray earnestly, for those who are reading Seek Grow Love. Pray for the blessings of God to be upon them. Amen. 
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By Choice, By Prophecy, By Lot

Old Testament: 1 Samuel 9 & 10

Poetry: Psalm 66

New Testament: 2 Corinthians 9

Before David, Saul becomes king of Israel. 

How does a person become king? 

Romulus, the “first king” of Rome, supposedly built Rome with his followers and then asked for the consent of the people who lived in the city. I guess being raised by wolves is helpful in courtly duties. 

Arthur Pendragon pulls a sword from a stone, whether his horse was simply two halves of a coconut or Merlin’s owl spoke. 

T’Challa took a heart-shaped herb and fought a Panther I think? I don’t quite remember that movie. 

“Charles the Third, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of His other Realms and Territories, King, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith”, boringly, inherited it from his mother. 

At least one of those kings is fake, the historicity of two others are greatly debated, and personally, I still have my doubts about Charles. 

How does someone become king?

In 1 Samuel 8:19-20, the people cried out for a king. 

In 1 Samuel 9, Saul is chosen by Samuel. 

In 1 Samuel 10:20-24, Saul is chosen by lot. 

In 1 Samuel 11:14-15, *Saul* is chosen by the people.

So, how did he become King? 

People’s choice award? 

Pulling the short straw?

One old guy’s decision?

Saul’s reign is not because the people demanded it, or because Saul got lucky at dice (or pot shards). God is involved in the process. In 1 Samuel 9:17 is was not Samuel but GOD who chose Saul. 

In every authority, in every government, this is true. “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.” (Rom. 13:1) It is clear that God does not approve of every leader and certainly not of their actions. God lets humans make their bad and destructive choices (including, in democracies, choosing bad leaders). Then he works with, and in spite of, those choices. God works to bring about glory for himself; he works toward the coming of the Messiah and his Kingdom. 

Saul was given an opportunity by God to be a person who would bring God’s plan into fruition. God took Saul from chasing donkeys to ruling a nation. God gave Saul every opportunity to be a ruler “after God’s own heart” and yet Saul chose to disobey. 

Kings, rulers, presidents, emperors are only ruling because God has given them the opportunity; the opportunity to obey or disobey, to listen to his voice and to his commands. The same choice he gives to each of us.

Remember, no matter who sits upon any throne, any seat, or behind any desk…

God is on his throne and in control.

-Jake Ballard

Reflection Questions

  1. Preempting “Godwin’s Law”: “What about Hitler?” “What about Mao?” “What about Pol Pot?” Yes those leaders were truly awful. Still, Paul wrote Roman’s to the people who were in the heart of one of the most powerful, most militaristic empires the world has ever known. Paul died by beheading in Rome, and yet he still was inspired by God to write Romans. What is the Christian response to wicked leaders? How much should we obey leaders who are acting against our values? (Maybe check Acts 5:27-32 to compare to Romans 13)
  2. The Lion from Benjamin?: From prophecy in Genesis (Gen. 49:10), it seems like a Benjaminite should never have been king. We see God chose Saul. Now a question for you to chew on for a long time, why Saul? David was a man after God’s own heart and a descendant of Judah. Was Saul always destined to failure? Why THIS choice? (There is not a clear cut reason in scripture, but having read through this chapter, what do you make of it?)
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A Tale of Two “PKs”

*Old Testament: 1 Samuel 7-8

Poetry: Psalm 66

New Testament: 2 Corinthians 8

As a preacher with kids, married to the daughter of a preacher, who was the son of a preacher, I know a fair share of PKs. You’ve heard the term, or maybe something like it : preacher’s kid, pastor’s kid. It is at once a purely descriptive term and a stereotype; his father is a pastor, so he must have problems. I think any such stereotypes are untrue; again I am married to a pastor’s daughter and have my own! But, the stereotype comes from somewhere. Often kids of prominent figures must do more than the average kid to “find themself” and feel like they are being defined by their family of origin. This can lead to precocious behavior and rebellion. I have also heard sad stories of men and women who “gave everything to the church,” to the work they were called to do, forget that their first calling was to their home, to love and raise their children first. 

The sad truth is that, whatever the reason, Samuel’s faith didn’t make it to his sons. Preacher’s kids (prophet’s kids?) through and through, they fit the unfortunate stereotype. They did not follow the ways of their father. We can’t know if Samuel did everything he could and they rebelled or Samuel was absent and they didn’t have the chance to learn. But they were dishonest and greedy. They were being set up to be the next leaders (judges) of Israel, but Israel did not want them. 

Remember the pattern of Israel through Judges. The nation of Israel is oppressed and cries out to the Lord. The Lord provides a judge to crush their enemies and guide them well. Israel thanks God but over time loses sight of his ways. They disobey God and turn away from him and he causes a nation to go in and remind them to follow him. So a nation goes in to oppress Israel and the nation of Israel cries out… and the cycle repeats. The time had come however, when the Israelites didn’t want to rely on the Lord for their deliverance. They want to have a king, a Powerful King (PK) to rule over them. 

Why? Because, though the people of Israel might think they are avoiding those who are greedy and rebellious, the greedy rebellion is happening as they speak: they are rebelling against God by asking for a Powerful King over them. How? Didn’t God want them to have a king? Maybe, in his own time and in his own way, he would bring about a king after his own heart without the elders asking for it, but it was the motive of the elders that was terrible. The elders say “Behold, you have grown old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint a king for us to judge us like all the nations.” (1 Samuel 8:5) They say “God, we don’t want to rely on you. God, we don’t want you to be our king and to speak to us through prophets. God, we want to have a king like everyone else!”

We don’t want to be special. To be different. To stick out. We want to be like everyone else. And God hears their hearts “They have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them.” Samuel warns them kings are powerful, kings are harsh… “Davids” will be the exception; “Sauls” will be the rule. But they say “There shall be a king over us, that we may be like all the nations, that our king may rule us and go out and fight our battles.”

Why talk about prophet’s kids and powerful kings? Both are a rejection of the best God has for us; the sons of Samuel rejected the words of their father and lived lives that were corrupt and evil and despised. They had the opportunity to lead the people of Israel, to be remembered as a judge over God’s people, and they squandered it. But the elders fared no better. Rather than asking for a word from the Lord, they want to get away from God being their only king and have a king like everyone else, to be like everyone else. 

May you today accept that you are called to be different, and accept Jesus Christ as the King who rules over you, to make you different, unique, and not like everyone else.

May you not rebel against the good things taught to you by your parents or parents in the faith. When you learn true thing about the Lord, from whatever source, may you honor it, and not reject the good things that come to you from those who came before. 

May rebellion and rejecting God be far from *us* today. 

The Lord help us, judge us and lead us. Amen.

-Jake Ballard

Reflection Questions

  1. Faithful Kids: Who were your parents in the faith? Was it your mom and dad? An aunt or uncle? A friend or pastor or youth worker? What did they teach you that stuck with you? If they are still alive, do they know the impact they had on you? Reach out and let them know how their life impacted your own!
  2. Not like Everyone Else: How many times have you wished to be like everyone else? That your clothes, your hair, your face, your nose, didn’t make you stick out? That the way you walked or talked or believed didn’t make you weird? The message from scripture is to embrace the weird way Jesus calls us to because normal doesn’t seem to be working! It’s weird to have a full life, a hopeful life, a passionate life. That’s weird… and it’s what Jesus offers!
  3. A Good King: Jesus has the right and ability to take everything, but I have found that the more I give to Jesus, the more he gives back to me. I give him my home for his use, but I have been given the home of every believer who shows hospitality. I give him my money for his use, but I know that if I need support, I will find It. I give him my very life, and he gives me a life worth living. Will you let the good king have all that he demands? Will you be ready to receive the blessings that he will give in return?
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“My God is Bigger than Your God!”

Old Testament: 1 Samuel 5-6

Poetry: Psalm 65

New Testament: 2 Corinthians 7

Did you know Marduk had fifty names? 

It’s OK if you don’t, because most people wouldn’t because we don’t normally know the number of names of ancient gods of dead civilizations. 

But Marduk had fifty!

Two of my kids have four names, and sometimes that feels like three too many!

Why did he have that many?

Because scholars rarely agree on anything, there are many different reasons for this, but there was a common idea in the ancient world that what happened in the physical world was merely an echo of what was happening in the spiritual world. When Babylon took over other cities, they would claim that the god of Babylon, that is, Marduk, had defeated the god or gods of the city or tribe they just defeated. Marduk got a lot of name because Babylon overcame many enemies and they merged together the defeated gods with the great god so that he supplanted even their chief deity by the end of the poem of creation of the Babylonians. 

The school-yard-like taunt between the ancient nations was “My god is bigger than your god!”

This is where we make it to our story today. The Philistines worship a god named Dagon/Dagan, and so when they defeat the Israelites, they wheel the Ark into the temple of Dagon. Because he is bigger, better and stronger than YHWH; right? At least, that’s what the Philistines think. But the destroyed, worshipping statue of their god boasts different things. 

The Old Testament is full of imagery of the great power of God over other “gods.” In the Exodus, God is powerful over the Egyptian deities; he turns off Ra and brings low Pharaoh, among others. In the exile, God is shown to be powerful over his foes in both the last part of Job (where YHWH is subtlety compared to many gods) and in the return from exile, where his people walk free in the year he declared he would bring them back. Here in 1 Samuel, Dagan “worships” God by falling prostrate before him, and the Philistines, while trying to taunt and control God, decide the ark is more trouble than it’s worth.

Some ancient gods have no reality at all; the power of other gods seem to come from demons. (1 Corinthians 10:20) But no matter their reality, their falsehood, their existence or the lack thereof, 

Our God is greater. 

Our God is better. 

“My God is better than your god!” And he actually is!

-Jake Ballard

Reflection Questions:

  1. Marduk. Enlil. Baal. Zeus. Jupiter. There are many gods of the ancient world that claim the title of top God. How can we know there can be only one true God? How would you talk to a friend who is open to the existence of multiple gods or even multiple pantheons of gods? How would you tailor your message to speak to them.
  2. We shouldn’t ignore the two different plagues. Why did the Philistines have a plague affect them? Why did the people of Beth Shemesh have a plague affect them? What do these two plagues teach us about God?
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God on Call?

Old Testament: 1 Samuel 3-4

Poetry: Psalm 64

New Testament: 2 Corinthians 6

I want to be very clear from the outset: YHWH, the God who created everything, who spoke the universe into existence, who watches the explosions of supernovas and the random dance of  each of the electrons in the subatomic particles, THIS God is *on your side*. YHWH (usually written as LORD in the Bible) is a *someone* who has relationships, not just a power or a force; he loves you and wants to be with you in the Kingdom, the eternal life after death on the Earth made new. To that end, God gave us his son Jesus of Nazareth, to die in our place and for our sins so that we could be forgiven and live eternally. God did not have to do that but he did because he is on our side, even when we haven’t been on his. 

BUT…

God is not “on call”. 

Have you ever wondered why witchcraft was banned in Israel? (Ex. 22:17, Lev. 19:26) Part of it is that God wanted the Israelites to have a clean break with everything that was in the land of Canaan before them. But there was an ancient belief that by practicing witchcraft, humans could control the supernatural. When God revealed that he is the only God, then witchcraft was a presumption that humans can control God, that we can make demands on the Almighty. This was still the assumption of the culture all the way to the time of the early church (see Simon the Sorcerer in Acts 8:9-24).

Read 1 Samuel 4:2-4 again. The Israelites are defeated by the Philistines. At that point, they probably should have prayed to know the will of the Lord. They could have sacrificed and cast the urim and thummim to discern the wise solution. But what they actually did was to try and control God. “Let’s take the Ark, and it will deliver us!” Or, said another way, “God certainly won’t let us lose if we carry his Ark into battle; he’ll have to let us win!” They don’t look to the God who would deliver them; they were looking to the tools that were used to remind them of God. 

We don’t have the Ark today; maybe it was melted down by the Babylonians, or maybe it was taken to Ethiopia, or maybe it’s on Oak Island. No one knows, and it doesn’t really matter. We don’t want to fall into the same trap that the Israelites did. We shouldn’t presume that God will do what we desire, even though he is on our side. 

Today, we don’t march with the ark, but we think of God in wrong ways. Some of the WRONG ways to think about God are:

  • God is a loving grandfather, who dotes upon his grandkids and makes sure to sneak them candy or a crisp $5 bill when mom and dad aren’t looking. The grandkids may not ask, but they do expect. 
  • God is a genie, who will grant our wishes when we believe hard enough and pray long enough. 
  • God is a vending machine; we put in the “belief” and “prayer” coins and God spits out the requested deliverance. At this point, God has lost all personality.  

What happens to those who presume to demand God show up when and how they desire? Death, destruction, pain, and despair. (1 Samuel 4 is a depressing chapter!)

But there is a better word for you. God is on your side, and you approach him as a father that has the best plans for you, even though that may be painful work to make you full and complete. You must approach him as God, believing that he will work all things for good and knowing that the ultimate good of the universe is His glory and our worship, not our happiness or comfort.  You must approach him as God, that hears and responds to the prayers of his people, but not beholden to us to work like a machine at his request. 

May we honor the God who is not controlled by us, but is on our side!

Questions

  1. If you do not know the saving power and love of God, seek that out today. God REALLY is on your side. He loves you deeply, he wants the best for you, and he knows what you need better than even you do. Will you trust in him to bring you to life and salvation?
  2. How have you treated God in ways other than God deserves to be treated? Have you thought of God as your grandfather, or your genie, or your vending machine? Maybe some other way that you make demands of God? If you have, how can you repent, and trust in God without demanding anything of him?
  3. “God’s ultimate goal is his glory, not your happiness.” This is one of the hardest truths to accept when pride and the flesh is still being worked out of us. How can we give God the glory and worship he deserves, and not get hung up on our own desires, preferences, and pleasures?

Jake Ballard

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1 Samuel – Day 1

Old Testament: 1 Samuel 1 & 2

Poetry: Psalm 63

New Testament: 2 Corinthians 5

People have done so many word studies on the Bible that, based on the translation and the parameters, we know almost everything there is to know about word usage. Take, for example, this link : https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/ken.flerlage/viz/BibleWordAnalysis_0/Books

The guy who made this “tableau” was simply trying to understand all world religions, starting with the Bible; similar to the way someone might analyze the words of a politician to see if they should vote for him or her. What I found fascinating is that if you focus on 1-2 Samuel, the word “Samuel” is used 126 times. The guy the books are named after only shows up that many times, and only a little bit after he dies. I also don’t mean he is *mentioned* after he dies, I mean he literally *shows up*. However, besides “Lord” there is one word used more than any other:

David. 484 times. “Lord” is only used 517. 

Over the next two weeks, we are going to focus on the story of the kingdom of Israel and the earliest part of the story of their kings.

But today, as you read about Elkanah, Hannah, Peninnah, these baby-mamas and their baby-drama, it is important to set the scene for the next few books. The life of Samuel, born to Hannah and raised in the temple, was a time of transition. The people of Israel have been led for hundreds of years (something between 350-410 years) by judges. Judges were men and women who were divinely empowered to rule the people of Israel after they cried out to the Lord. And they ruled well. But the problem, as the Israelites will come to see it, is that Israel is not like the other nations. They wanted a king upon the earth, so that they could look like everyone else. But, in doing so, they rejected God, who was to be the only king who would reign over them.

So, through Samuel, God institutes the first kings of Israel. While this is not the path God wanted for his people (as we shall see), God, ever good and ever wise, allowed his people to make this choice and then used their choice, their rebellion, their sin, to be a way that he would show his glory. He took the people of Israel turning their back on him and worked it into his plan to bring about the Messiah. The judges ruled through empowerment, but the kings ruled through birthright. God indicated that the Messiah would be the child of King David. You have just finished reading Ruth, and God used this Moabitess in order to bring about the Great King of Israel, even the man after God’s own heart. God is in the business of using things we would never think to use in order to bring about greater things than we could ever imagine; he is an artist that strikes the canvas with a color that at first doesn’t look right, but with the right blending, the right technique, and the right eye, turns what seems to be a mistake into a work of art. 

We have two weeks to cover 1 Samuel, the Kingdom of Israel, and King David. 

Let’s begin. 

  1. Comparing Judges and Kings: While it’s true that God did not want his people to have a King (because they were rejecting God’s Kingship), the book of judges itself does not paint the kingship in a bad light. Read Judges 17:6, 18:1, 19:1, and 21:25. Why does the author use the specific refrain we read in those verses? What is the king implied to bring?
  2. Faith History: Jesus’s family tree includes the neglected Tamar, the harlot Rahab, the Moabite Ruth, the survivor of assault Bathsheba, and the many murderers, liars, cheats and swindlers that make up everyone’s family tree. What stories about your history can you bring to the foot of the cross because it doesn’t define you? God does not care where you came from, only the faith you have today.
  3. Personal History: While it should not cause us to misbehave on purpose, it is an encouraging thought that God can take even our mistakes and use them for our good. What are parts of your life that you would like to forget? Parts that when you tell your story you leave out? The power and goodness of our God and the love and grace of Jesus means that even those parts can become cause for joy about what God has done in spite of our evil, or the wickedness or brokenness of the world. 

-Jake Ballard

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All-Surpassing Power

Old Testament: Ruth 4

Poetry: Psalms 62

New Testament: 2 Corinthians 4

2 Corinthians 4 teaches us that we have the ability to endure hardship. We are able to endure hardships because we have God’s help. As Christians we have to remember that since God has the ability to raise the dead, he also has the ability to give us the strength to handle hard situations or remove us from those situations altogether. 2 Corinthians 4:7 states:

“But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.”

Paul refers to the power that can save us as “treasure in jars of clay”. This treasure cannot be found from worldly things. There is no amount of podcasts or self-help books that will save you the way only God’s power can save us. Paul goes on to remind us that even when we feel the pressure of our problems, we are not broken.

“We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9).

2 Corinthians 4 leaves us with an important reminder. The problems we have to deal with now are only temporary and it is an opportunity for God to work within us. If we remain faithful, we will one day live eternally without worldly troubles.

“For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:17-18)

-Brooke Cisneros

Reflection Questions

  1. What have you done that could only be done with God’s power? Are you using God’s power to the fullest?
  2. When have you felt “hard pressed…but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed”? What makes the difference and gives you hope even in difficult situations?
  3. What temporary or “light and momentary” troubles has God already seen you through?
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A Hope that Makes You Bold

OlD Testament: Ruth 3

Poetry: Psalms 62

New Testament: 2 Corinthians 3

A major theme in 2 Corinthians 3 is boldness. 2 Corinthians 3:12 states:

“Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold.”

In this verse we also see the word hope. Hope is different in the Bible than it is in the English language. Hope as an English word often conveys doubt, but almost always in the New Testament the word hope is the Greek elpis/elpizo. There is no doubt attached to this word. This means that when we see the word hope in the Bible, we know it means confidence and security.

So, if there is no doubt in this type of hope, let me ask you a question. What would change in your demeanor if you knew… I mean really knew that the hope you have is assured? If you already knew you won the game or aced the test, you would be bold and confident in what you are trying to do. Biblical hope is a reality, not just a feeling. It’s a sure foundation that we can build our lives on.

Kirk Cameron once asked the question, if you had the cure for cancer would you keep it to yourself, or would you share it? If you knew you could save someone’s life you would be more bold. As Christians we have the opportunity to save people by being bold with our faith. We are called to give an answer to anyone that would ask.

“But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15).

When was the last time you were bold enough to share your faith?

-Brooke Cisneros

Reflection Questions

  1. What would change in your demeanor if you knew… I mean really knew that the hope you have is assured? How would you explain your hope – and how it is different from a hope with doubt?
  2. When was the last time you were bold enough to share your faith?
  3. How can you boldly share your faith today? Will you?
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