1 Samuel 12:1-13:23, John 7:1-30, Psalms 108:1-13, Proverbs 15:4
Today is May 12th welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I am Brian it’s great to be here with you around the Global Campfire. Come on in. Find a place. There’s always room. And we gather here to take the next step forward like we do every day through the Bible, next day forward in life and in this year. And our next step leads us back into the book of first Samuel, where we have met Israel’s first king. His name is Saul, and we will be spending some time now moving through the stories of Saul’s life and there are plenty of things for us to learn along the way. So, let’s dive in. We’re reading from the New International Version this week. First Samuel 12 and 13.
Commentary:
Okay. So, we’re getting to know Israel’s first king, king Saul and I mentioned that there’s a bunch of stuff for us to examine in his life because it becomes a mirror into our own lives. And Saul as the king as a leader has a bit of weakness and that is the fear of man. He is very interested in what people are thinking about him, how things are appearing and that clouds his leadership. And that is not to say that leaders shouldn’t be aware or even concerned with what people that their leading think or feel. Like, that’s important. But Saul is the king. His loyalty is supposed to be to God on behalf of the people. But he’s more concerned with what the people are thinking and saying, then obeying God, which is not going to work out. Like, if there’s anything we’ve learned so far from our time in the Bible is that following those pathways, they don’t end up anywhere good. So, yesterday as Saul is anointed the king of Israel we found that the tribes…the tribe of Benjamin was called forward then the clan then the family and then Saul and Saul’s hiding. In today’s reading Saul’s son Jonathan, the prince of Israel has stirred up some trouble with the Philistines and so there’s going to be a battle and Saul has assembled some troops and they are preparing but Samuel had said wait until I get there for a sacrifice. Saul waits a week, notices that some of his men are beginning to withdraw. Maybe they have a little bit of a gossip session going around. Who knows, but Saul sees that his strength seems to be diminishing as the king while they wait for the prophet Samuel. And, so, Saul decides to offer these sacrifices to God in front of his men to sort of hold things together. About the time that he completes the sacrifice Samuel shows up and is wondering what in the world is going on, because God had commanded Saul to wait for Samuel. And, so, Samuel inquires, like what’s happening and that’s where we see in Saul’s defense. That’s where we see what’s motivating him. So, Saul says, and I quote, “when I saw that the men were scattering and that you did not come at the set time, and that the Philistines were assembling at Mikmash I thought now the Philistines will come down against me and Gilgal and I have not sought the Lord’s favor, so I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering. And, so, Saul basically gives his recipe for disobeying God, right? I mean, he saw that the men were scattering, that Samuel didn’t show up at the time he said, and that the Philistines were assembling at Mikmash and those three things together whipped up into his mind, allowed him to make a decision to disobey the Almighty God who had made him king of Israel. What is the recipe for us? What sets of circumstances would need to happen in order for us to override what we know is right in disobey God? What has to happen to trigger us to start doing things in our own strength again? Probably a lot less than an assembling army of Philistines. We are all guilty, but if we look into Saul’s life, if we see what happens right here we see that it goes nowhere good. Samuel replies to Saul, you have done a foolish thing. You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you. If you had, He would’ve established your kingdom over Israel for all time, but now your kingdom will not endure. And he goes on to tell him that the Lord is looking for someone pure in heart, someone after God’s own heart, someone who won’t have a recipe for disobedience. And that is what’s going to happen. So, Saul just got anointed in yesterday’s reading as the king and in today’s reading it’s all over. Now, from today’s reading week we learn that Saul was 30 years old we he became the king and he reigned for 42 years. And, so, what Samuel is telling Saul that is going to happen didn’t happen that very day. It took some time to happen, but the idea that Saul would have a dynasty and that his son would sit in his place on the throne as king and then his grandson and then his great-grandson, and so on and so forth, Saul will be the only one of his family to ever be king. And, so, it allows us to just kind of wonder, what if Saul didn’t have that weakness? What if his heart was after God and obeying God above all things? What would this story look like? Which allows us to look at our own story and wonder the same kinds of things and those are worthy of considering. We’ll get to sort of see the answer to that question. It’s gonna take some time, but there’s gonna be another king, and the next king is a very flawed very human person but is a man after God’s own heart. So, not only do we have Saul as a mirror into our own lives and the things that we fear in the things that kind of pull us in all sorts of directions, but we’ll be able to contrast that with the next king. And it’s gonna to take it little bit of time like I said, but his name will be David and we’ll meet him soon and we’ll get to know him long before he ever becomes King.
Prayer:
Father, we thank You. We thank You for where we are in the Scriptures, we thank You for where we are in the yearly and we thank You for Your love and kindness and graciousness and compassion for us as we take this journey. And Holy Spirit as we consider even what we were just talking about today, what three things would need to happen for us to decide that the best move in our lives is to be disobedient to You and willingly do what we know is not right? That’s a hard question. It’s a very situational thing but the answer should be, we would never do anything. It would be the most unsafe thing to do, to openly rebel against You. And yet we’ve done that so many times we wouldn’t even be able to keep track. And thankfully You’re not keeping track either or we would be utterly doomed. But You have loved us and forgiven us and restored us and You continue to restore us, and You continue to sanctify us and set us apart. And, so, as we embrace that process, part of that is to reflect upon our own lives and our own motivations. What are we afraid of that would make us disobey You? Holy Spirit, we invite You into that question as we consider today, and we pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen.
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And that’s it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.
Community Prayer and Praise:
Good morning DABber family this is the Burning Bush that we not be devoured for the glory of our God and king. I’m calling to wish China Jill and all the DABber family moms happy Mother’s Day. I pray to God that you’re having a blessed day, that you’re acknowledging the blessing that God has given to you to be able to birth humans on this planet or to parent humans on this planet. So, God bless you. For those who are estranged from their kids right now, I am praying for you that God will fill that gap in your heart and that God will warm the hearts of your kids towards you. I pray for healing in those relationships. For those of us who have lost our mothers and are struggling how to celebrate this day, I pray for all of you and all of us that God will continue to assure us of His presence and that He’s a parent of all the parentless. But anyway, I just wanted to share that with all my family today. I love you guys. Love you, love you. May God bless and keep you. Amen.
Hey, my DAB family this is big shoes tiny feet from Norway. I just want to thank you for the work you’re doing Harden family and also DABC for doing an amazing job. And it brings me really closer to God and it changes me every day. And also, I just want to shout out to God’s Smile in Cheeky Peter. You guys, you lift my spirit every time. It doesn’t matter how bad of a day I’m having you guys just cheer me up. So, just thank you for calling in and being who you are. Bye.
Mother’s days coming to a close and I hope that all you mothers out there have had a very blessed day, any mother who is not just biological there have been those who have been adopted moms. Some are waiting to be moms, and some are care givers for other children. Whatever kind of a mom you are may the Lord bless you and keep you strong as you continue to care for the children you love. Today I’m asking for prayer for my friend and sister, God’s Yellow Flower. She had to be taken to hospital by ambulance this afternoon and she may have had or in the process of having surgery at this moment. Her daughter and son-in-law are away on a cruise and it’s her son Keith with the fourth stage cancer and her two grandsons that are at home. She may be in hospital anywhere from two to five days. Could you please send a concert prayer up to our heavenly Father for her? This is a difficult moment. And, you know, she will be concerned about Keith and Keith will be concerned about her. But please just pray with me for her.
Father God thank You for this day You have given us. Thank You for the weekend. Thank You for all of the ways in which You have blessed us and all the opportunities we have had to serve. Open our eyes Lord to see what You are doing and how we can help. Help us to be salt and light. Help us to be Your ambassadors and to be a good witness to our communities and our work colleagues and our family. Please be at work in their hearts and minds. Lord, we lift up the care givers to You thinking especially of our brother David and his wife penny and son Zach. Thank You, Lord for their love and desire to help and to care. Please be giving them what they need. Lord, please be giving guidance and wisdom on what to do. We ask You just to be at work in the whole situation. We do pray for healing Lord and for restoration. Please be blessing their marriage and the other caring relationships out there. Please be at work Lord in just giving them what they need and restoring them and guiding them. In Jesus’ holy and precious name. Amen.
Good morning. First, I’d just like to say what a blessing and a gift from God this ministry is to me and how thankful I am to hear the word of God being read to me in this season of life. It’s just bringing great understanding and teaching me to really listen and pay attention. So, I’m so thankful Brian for your gift in this ministry to read the word to us. Thank you. Praying for many of you as I hear your voices and your hearts and believing and standing in agreement as you lift your prayer requests up to us and the praises. Just so thankful I can rejoice when we hear the praises and the testimonies. This morning as I heard the little girl call in about her brother, they had called a while back, and I just thought of the scripture, out of the mouth of babes God has ordained praise. And, so, this morning I stand with this little girl as she’s asking prayer for her brother who it sounds is a prodigal, that he would come home. And I was reminded that the Lord sees her brother and knows exactly where he’s at. And, so, Father, we thank you this morning that you hear the hearts of this little girl and her family, their prayers. You hear them. There’s not one thing that they care about that you don’t care about. And, so, we stand with her and her family today believing for the return of the brother, that his heart will be totally surrendered to you, living for you, and there will be a testimony behind their prodigal life that says you reached into the depths of his darkness and brought him back into the light. And, so, we thank you this morning God for his return in Jesus’ name. Amen.