I Samuel 5&6 - God Has a Sense of Humor (but not everyone is laughing)
My God is better than your god
So, the Philistines defeated Israel and stole the Ark of the covenant, the symbol of the presence of God, as a trophy. The resulting events struck me as funny-even though many people suffered (forgive me Lord for laughing at the Philistines). First, they placed the ark alongsideRead more
I Samuel 4 - Why Didn't I Just Ask?
Losing is not fun!
Samuel is growing into a young man and moving closer to assuming leadership in Israel as a Judge, (Israel was led by "Judges" during this era before the era of Kings. See book of Judges). Eli is the current Judge and his wicked two sons are the priests. The Philistines are introduced to the narrative in I Samuel 4 and Israel (somewhat arrogantly) goes into battle with them. They are handily defeated in battle losing 4000 men.Read more
My Dreams or His Plans
I Samuel 3
Lead, follow or get out of the way!
The Bible is full of men and women who are specially used of God for a unique purpose in His plan to redeem and raise up a Godly people - whether Israel in the OT or the church in the NT. Samuel was such a man. 2:18 says, "Now Samuel was ministering before the Lord, as a boy...". God called Samuel at a young age and gave him a large measure of grace to love and serve God.Read more
The Prayer of a Godly Woman
(Pictures from my ministry trips to Malawi, Africa)
I Samuel 2
A high commitment from Hannah
Samuel is born through the adversity of Hannah; her barrenness, her heartfelt pleading and petitions, her commitment to dedicate her son to lifetime ministry should God answer her and then the blessings of God to open her womb. Samuel is born and Hannah praises God with an amazing song of thanksgiving in 2:1-11.Read more
The Prayer of Hannah
(Pictures from my ministry trips to Malawi, Africa)
I Samuel 2
Hannah is the real deal
At the end of chapter 1, once Samuel has been weaned, Hannah takes Samuel back to the priest, Eli, who thought she was drunk. Hannah said to Eli "for this boy I prayed, and the Lord has given me my petition which I asked of Him. So, I have also dedicated him to the Lord; as long as he lives he is dedicated to the Lord." Read more
I Samuel - Promise and Fulfillment
A monumental story of promise and fulfillment
I Samuel has three main characters; Samuel, Saul and David. These men, with all their various flaws (especially Saul and David), provide leadership to the nation of Israel as it goes from a loosely knit group of tribes to a United nation under a centralized monarchy. The key themes that will emerge areRead more