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Snapshots of 1 Samuel
I wanted to jot down some quick observations of the characters in 1 Samuel: Hannah — the picture of desperation. This is a woman who wouldn’t let go until God answered. We need Hannah’s in our day. Eli — a man losing control. He couldn’t get his sons in line and favored them over the duties of his job as…
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The Mark of a Leader
2 All those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him, and he became their commander. About four hundred men were with him. (1 Sam. 22:2, NIV) The mark of a great leader isn’t that they seem to be able to hire great people. The mark of a great leader is that they take the people they have…
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The days we flee to Gath
1 Samuel 21 David was on the run from Saul. There is a show on cable I’ve not watched but a friend of mine loves it. It’s called “Dog the Bounty Hunter.” This guy named Dog is a bounty hunter in Hawaii. My friend loves that plotline because if you’re a criminal who jumped bail… where do you go? You’re on…
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The Presence of God is NOT a Good Luck Charm
1 Samuel 4 When Israel was pummeled by the Philistines yet again, they turned to the ark of the covenant. They didn’t turn there to seek God. They turned to it as a good luck charm. They thought if they took it into battle it would bring them the luck they needed to defeat the Philistines. When the ark came…
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Holding back what is best
1 Samuel 15 Saul was commanded to take out the Amalekites and give ALL over to sacrifice. They were to keep nothing for themselves. Everything needed to be destroyed. Instead, they kept out the best spoils for themselves and burned the rest. Saul’s downfall was disobedience as a leader. He was commanded by God to do something and he thought…
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What’s an Ebenezer?
I too often get a picture of Scrooge in my head when I read in 1 Samuel about the Ebenezer. One of my favorite hymns is “Come Thou Fount” and it refers to the Ebenezer: Here I raise my Ebenezer Hither by Thy help I come And I hope by Thy good pleasure Safely to arrive at home Jesus, sought…
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The Willingness to Hear
In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions. (1 Sam. 3:1) The word of the Lord was rare in Israel in those days because no one was listening. Everyone was into their life. It’s not a matter of God “not speaking” in our world. It is a matter of us not listening.
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WE are the immigrants
11 Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul.12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. (1 Peter 2:11-12, NIV) Our allegiance is not here. Not TRUE allegiance. We are to…
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Gideon — Lost vision
Gideon is a great example of what happens when the people of God lose the vision of who they are in God. They were called to take out the inhabitants of the land. That was the command from God. They simply did not obey. Oppressed, we find Gideon hiding out. To grind grain, he was using a winepress to fool…
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Ruth — Beauty Among the Ashes
The Book of Ruth should be read when you read the Book of Judges. The biggest advantage is realizing that among the blood lust of Judges there is a beautiful story of redemption. Reading Judges will be a tough read. Realize it’s not about the book telling us what is “right.” It is giving us a story of what is…
Category: Bible Study
