1 Samuel 7 tells once again of the Israelites returning to the Lord. They realize they have been living in the wrong and that is why they are under the Philistines. Samuel tells them to get rid of their other idols and then I like what I read they put them away. To me that says you said get rid of them but I think I will throw it in this lock box for now and get it back out when I am ready to play again. Under the leadership of Samuel they conquered the Philistines and leaved peacefully with the Amorites.
In chapter 8 we find out that Samuel is getting old. He appoints his sons as judges only to find out that they do now believe the way that he did. They are both wicked men and not worthy of the title that they hold. The people come to Samuel because they still respect him and ask for a king. Samuel gives them a warning from the Lord on what will happen if they take a king over God. They do not care about what God has told Samuel and ask for a king still.
Chapter 9 has an interesting story. I kind of enjoyed the way God picked the king of Israel. Who would have imagined going on a journey to find a herd of lost donkeys only to become a king. How would you respond to something like that? And think he was ready to turn back but thankfully to his servant he kept on going to the next town.
Our last bit of Luke 18 starts out with a few things that I like and a few that I do not. I like that the fact that He says with men it is impossible but with God all things are possible. The part that really gets me down is it sounds like He wants us to leave everything behind including our family. I do not understand how anyone could say well I love you but I have to go off and serve the Lord. Was it not possible in those times to take your family with you? If God was calling me to go somewhere and preach I would hope that He would allow me to bring my family with me. To end the chapter we see Jesus traveling to Jerusalem to what He knows will be his end. While on His way He still finds time to stop and heal a blind man. The blind man had faith that Jesus would heal him even though the people leading the way were telling him to be quiet. Then of course as soon as Jesus heals him the group worships even more.
Tomorrow's reading is:
1Samuel 10, 11, 12 and Luke 19:1-27
7. Seriously, the Isrealites see like the kind of Christians who are only faithful when they need something. Makes you wonder why God choose them doesn't it?
ReplyDelete8. I don't really understand why God gives them a king if he doesn't want them to have one.
9. I'm with you. It seems like this should just be an incredibly overwhelming moment for Saul, but he seems to take it very well.
18. I don't understand walking away from your family, even for God, either. In today's society it is a very bad thing to leave your family, is that not the case in this time period. If I heard of someone today, who had abandoned their family to serve the Lord, I still think I would think it was terrible. I'm confused about how God would feel about it.