1 Samuel 8-9
8 When Samuel was old, he named his sons judges of Israel to rule over the people and be their deliverers. 2 His first son, Joel, and his second son, Abijah, were judges in Beersheba, 3 but they were not like Samuel. They profited from dishonesty, took bribes, and fostered injustice. 4 So the elders of Israel gathered and came to Ramah to tell Samuel.
Elders: 5 You have grown old, Samuel, and your sons do not administer justice the way that you did. Before things worsen, appoint a king to rule us, as other nations have.
6 This request—“appoint a king to rule us”—bothered Samuel, so he prayed to the Eternal One 7 and received an answer.
Eternal One (to Samuel): Listen to what the people are asking you to do. It is not a rejection of you—it is a rejection of My rule over them. 8 It is what they have always done, from the day I brought them out of Egypt until today, rejecting Me and serving other gods. Now they are just doing it to you. 9 So listen to what they are asking you to do, but make it plain to them what they are asking. Warn them about what will happen if a king is appointed to rule them.
10 So Samuel told the people who were asking for a king what the Eternal One had said.
Samuel: 11 If a king rules over you, things will be different from now on. He will make your sons drive his chariots, be his horsemen, and go into battle ahead of his chariots. 12 Your king will select commanders over 1,000 and commanders over 50. He will make some of you to plow his fields and collect his harvest; some of you will be the blacksmiths forging his shields and swords for battle and outfitting his chariots. 13 He will force your daughters to make perfumes, to cook his meals, and to bake his bread. 14 He will seize the choicest of your fields, vineyards, and olive orchards to give to his courtiers, 15 and a tenth of your grain and your vineyards to give to his court eunuchs and servants. 16 This king you ask for will take your slaves, male and female, as his own and put the choicest of your donkeys and your young men to do his work. 17 He will take a tenth of your flocks. You will essentially become his slaves. 18 One day you will cry for mercy from the Eternal One to save you from this king you have chosen for yourselves, but be assured, He will not hear you on that day.
People of Israel (ignoring Samuel): 19 We have decided that we will have a king who will rule over us 20 so that we will be like all other nations and will have someone to judge us and to lead us into battle.
21 After Samuel had heard their demands, he told the Eternal One what they had said.
Eternal One (to Samuel): 22 Do as they have asked. Give them a king.
So Samuel told the people of Israel to go back to their cities until he would call them together to anoint them a king.
9 A powerful man named Kish, who descended from Abiel, Zeror, Becorath, and Aphiah (the son of a Benjaminite), lived among the people of Benjamin. 2 Kish had a handsome young son named Saul. Now Saul was not only the most handsome man in Israel, but he was also the most imposing, standing taller than all others.
3 One day Saul’s father Kish had lost his donkeys, having wandered away, so he told his son Saul to take one of the servants and look for them. 4 They traveled through the hill country of Ephraim, through the land of Shalishah, and through the land of Shaalim, but they did not find them. Then they passed through the land of Benjamin, and still they did not see the donkeys.
5 At last, when they came to Zuph, Saul told the servant who accompanied him,
Saul: We had better turn around. If we keep going, my father will stop worrying about his donkeys and start worrying about us.
Servant: 6 I hear there is a man of God in this village, a man who is respected because what he predicts is always true. Before we go home, let’s go and talk to him; maybe he will have some guidance about this journey we have begun.
Saul: 7 But if we go, what will we bring to this man? We can’t show up empty-handed, but even the bread in our sacks is gone. I have nothing to give the man of God. Do you have anything?
Servant: 8 I have a tenth of an ounce of silver. I will give it to the man of God, and maybe he can tell us where to go.
9 It used to be in Israel that when people wanted to ask God a question, they would say, “Let’s go talk to the seer.” Now they are most commonly referred to as prophets, but they were called seers.
Saul: 10-11 Very good. Let’s go, then.
As they traveled up to the city to visit the man of God, they saw some girls on their way to draw water at the well.
Saul: Can we find the seer here?
Girls: 12 Yes, he’s just ahead of you. He has come here because there is a sacrifice today at the altar on the high place. You can catch him if you hurry. 13 Look for him just as you come into the city, and you should catch him before he goes up to the high place to eat. No one will eat until he gets there, since he is the one who will bless the sacrifice. After he does that, those who have been invited can eat. Now go on. You should encounter him right away.
14 They went immediately, and as they entered the city, Samuel was walking in their direction on his way up to the high place.
15 Now the Eternal One had told Samuel on the previous day,
Eternal One: 16 Tomorrow at about this same time I will send you a young man from Benjamin. You will anoint him to be a ruler over all Israel. I will give him strength to save My people from the Philistines because I hear their cries in their misery.
17 When Samuel saw Saul walking toward him, the Eternal spoke to him.
Eternal One: Look! This is the young man I told you about. I’ve chosen him to rule over My people.
18 There inside the gate, Saul walked up to Samuel.
Saul: Can you tell me, please, where I might find the seer’s house?
Samuel: 19 You have found him. Come with me to the high place, and eat with me today. Tomorrow morning I will tell you what you need to know and then send you on your way. 20 As for those donkeys that wandered off three days ago? Don’t give them any further thought. Someone has found them. Israel is more concerned today with you and your family.
Saul: 21 I come from the tribe of Benjamin, the smallest of the tribes of Israel, and I belong to the poorest family in Benjamin. Why are you saying these things to me?
22 Samuel took Saul and his servant up to the hall where around 30 people waited, and he made them sit in the places of honor.
Samuel (to the cook): 23 Bring the portion I gave you and asked you to set aside.
24 The cook brought the thigh along with other select parts and set them in front of Saul.
Samuel (pointing to the meat): Take a look. This was set aside for you. Eat and enjoy it all because this has been reserved for you until the appointed time. I have invited these people to be our guests.
So Saul feasted with Samuel the rest of the day. 25 When they returned to the city from eating at the high place, Samuel spoke with Saul on the roof.
26 The next morning, at the break of dawn, Samuel shouted up to Saul on the roof.
Samuel (to Saul): Wake up! It is time for me to send you on your way.
Saul rose, and he and Samuel walked out into the street. 27 When they reached the edge of the city, Samuel told him,
Samuel: Send your servant on ahead. When he’s far enough away, stop and let’s talk. I need to give you a message from the True God.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
John 6:22-42
22 The following day some people gathered on the other side of the sea and saw that only one boat had been there; they were perplexed. They remembered seeing the disciples getting into the boat without Jesus.
23 Other boats were arriving from Tiberias near the grassy area where the Lord offered thanks and passed out bread. 24 When this crowd could not find Him or His disciples, they boarded their small boats and crossed the sea to Capernaum looking for Him. 25 When they found Jesus across the sea, they questioned Him.
Crowd: Teacher, when did You arrive at Capernaum?
Jesus: 26 I tell you the truth—you are tracking Me down because I fed you, not because you saw signs from God. 27 Don’t spend your life chasing food that spoils and rots. Instead, seek the food that lasts into all the ages and comes from the Son of Man, the One on whom God the Father has placed His seal.
Crowd: 28 What do we have to do to accomplish the Father’s works?
Jesus: 29 If you want to do God’s work, then believe in the One He sent.
Crowd: 30 Can You show us a miraculous sign? Something spectacular? If we see something like that, it will help us to believe. 31 Our fathers ate manna when they wandered in the desert. The Hebrew Scriptures say, “He gave them bread from heaven to eat.”[a]
Jesus: 32 I tell you the truth: Moses did not give you bread from heaven; it is My Father who offers you true bread from heaven. 33 The bread of God comes down out of heaven and breathes life into the cosmos.
Crowd: 34 Master, we want a boundless supply of this bread.
Jesus: 35 I am the bread that gives life. If you come to My table and eat, you will never go hungry. Believe in Me, and you will never go thirsty. 36 Here I am standing in front of you, and still you don’t believe. 37 All that My Father gives to Me comes to Me. I will receive everyone; I will not send away anyone who comes to Me. 38 And here’s the reason: I have come down from heaven not to pursue My own agenda but to do what He desires. I am here on behalf of the Father who sent Me. 39 He sent Me to care for all He has given Me so that nothing and no one will perish. In the end, on the last day, He wants everything to be resurrected into new life. 40 So if you want to know the will of the Father, know this: everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him will live eternally; and on the last day, I am the One who will resurrect him.
41 Some of the Jews began to grumble quietly against Him because He said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.”
Crowd: 42 Isn’t Jesus the son of Joseph? We know His parents! We know where He came from, so how can He claim to have “come down from heaven”?
Footnotes:
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
Psalm 106:32-48
32 Again they stirred up His anger at the waters of Meribah,
and serious trouble came to Moses because of them;
33 Because they stood against the Spirit,
Moses spoke rashly with them.
34 Later, after they entered the promised land, they did not eradicate the peoples,
as the Eternal had ordered them to do,
35 But they mixed and married with the outsider nations,
adopted their practices,
36 And worshiped their idols,
which entrapped them.
37 They even offered their sons
and daughters as sacrifices to the demons.
38 The promised land was corrupted by the innocent blood
they offered to the idols of Canaan,
The blood of their very own sons and daughters.
39 They became impure because of their unfaithful works;
by their actions, they prostituted themselves to other gods.
40 Therefore the Eternal’s anger was ignited against His people;
He came to despise the people of His inheritance.
41 So He handed them over to the control of foreign nations,
to be ruled by people who hated them.
42 Their enemies exploited them, victimized them,
and restrained them by abusive power.
43 He delivered them over and over again;
however, they were slow to learn and deliberately rebelled.
Their sins humbled them and nearly destroyed them.
44 Nevertheless, He saw their great struggle, took pity on them,
and heard their prayers;
45 He did not forget His covenant promises to them
but reversed their fortune and released them from their punishment
because of His loyal love.
46 He changed the hearts of all who held them captive
so that they would show compassion on them.
47 Save us, O Eternal One our God,
and gather us who are scattered among all the nations,
That we may give thanks to Your holy name
and celebrate Your amazing greatness with praise.
48 Blessed be the Eternal, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting.
And let everyone say, “Amen!”
Praise the Eternal!
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
Proverbs 14:34-35
34 Living according to God’s instructions makes a nation great,
but sin colors those who commit it with disgrace.
35 The king shows kindness to a servant who acts wisely,
but his anger burns toward one who brings shame.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.