Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
(Philippians 2:5-11 ESV, to be continued)
The National Cathedral, Washington DC
I Samuel 7
Return to Yahweh
•After the Ark of the Covenant made it back into Israel it stayed in the Levitical city of Kiriath-jearim for 20 years.
•The whole time the Ark is in the city the people of Israel lament because they realize how good they had it when they worshipped the Lord and just how much better things were under his watch.
•We have met the Canaanite fertility goddess Ashtaroth before. Ashtaroth was the female counterpart of the fertility god Baal of the Canaanites. In the book of Judges the Israelite people frequently end up worshipping Asherah poles which were exactly what they sound like- poles either carved from trees or made of stone that occupied some sort of “holy” high place that the Canaanites would worship.
•Asherah poles were dedicated to the goddess Ashtaroth.
•The prophet Samuel offered the Israelite people a promise that if they stopped their pagan worship of Baal and Ashtaroth and rededicated themselves to Yahweh that Yahweh would deliver them from suffering under the Philistines.
•The Israelites had suffered under oppression for a long time and were ready to govern themselves so they took Samuel’s advice and got rid of the idols.
•When the Israelites gathered at Mizpah Samuel prayed to the Lord for the people. Samuel, much like Moses, was a praying prophet.
•When the people pour water on the ground it is to simulate repentance.
•The Philistines through their gathered intelligence (most likely spying) knew that the Israelites had gathered at Mizpah and must have felt that this was when they would be at their most vulnerable. They tried to attack during the assembly.
•In the midst of the oncoming Philistine attack Samuel makes a sacrifice and cries out for deliverance and the Lord fights back the Philistines with a loud sound. That day they were defeated.
•Samuel goes on to judge Israel as a traveling judge, making stops in four different cities yearly.
•After the Ark of the Covenant made it back into Israel it stayed in the Levitical city of Kiriath-jearim for 20 years.
•The whole time the Ark is in the city the people of Israel lament because they realize how good they had it when they worshipped the Lord and just how much better things were under his watch.
•We have met the Canaanite fertility goddess Ashtaroth before. Ashtaroth was the female counterpart of the fertility god Baal of the Canaanites. In the book of Judges the Israelite people frequently end up worshipping Asherah poles which were exactly what they sound like- poles either carved from trees or made of stone that occupied some sort of “holy” high place that the Canaanites would worship.
•Asherah poles were dedicated to the goddess Ashtaroth.
•The prophet Samuel offered the Israelite people a promise that if they stopped their pagan worship of Baal and Ashtaroth and rededicated themselves to Yahweh that Yahweh would deliver them from suffering under the Philistines.
•The Israelites had suffered under oppression for a long time and were ready to govern themselves so they took Samuel’s advice and got rid of the idols.
•When the Israelites gathered at Mizpah Samuel prayed to the Lord for the people. Samuel, much like Moses, was a praying prophet.
•When the people pour water on the ground it is to simulate repentance.
•The Philistines through their gathered intelligence (most likely spying) knew that the Israelites had gathered at Mizpah and must have felt that this was when they would be at their most vulnerable. They tried to attack during the assembly.
•In the midst of the oncoming Philistine attack Samuel makes a sacrifice and cries out for deliverance and the Lord fights back the Philistines with a loud sound. That day they were defeated.
•Samuel goes on to judge Israel as a traveling judge, making stops in four different cities yearly.
I Samuel 8
Israel Asks for a King
•As Samuel grows older he decides that his 2 sons Joel and Abijah will take over the family business of judgeship.
•As was a common theme throughout the book of Judges, whenever a judge tried to pass on his judgeship to his children it would not turn out very well for the children.
•Starting with Gideon whose judgeship by the end turned into near idolatry in itself, Gideon’s children were corrupt.
•Another judge, Jair, had 30 sons who judged during a peaceful time but during this time the Israelites become so idolatrous that they are described as Baal worshippers.
•Back to Samuel’s 2 sons Joel and Abijah- it says that they judged from Beersheba which was a town in extreme southern Israel, where they could more easily take bribes.
•There are 3 reasons that the people come to Samuel and ask for a king:
•1) The corruption of Samuel’s children (understandable)
•2) The desire to conform so they could be like other nations (unacceptable)
•3) The wish for a more permanent military commander (sort of like Joshua had been for them)
•There was a provision given in the Law of Moses that allowed for a king but Samuel was unhappy with the reasons that the people were giving for wanting a king and for their failure to accept God Almighty as their king.
•Basically Yahweh was going to allow the people a taste of what absolute power does to men when they become kings.
•Next Samuel tries to warn the people that having an earthly king would have some downsides:
•The drafting of their sons into military service, the appointing of some of the sons as field workers, and the taking of the daughters to work as well. Then the king would take from their fields the crops that he wanted and their crops and flocks would be taxed.
•Samuel warned them that they would not be happy with their decision and would cry out to the Lord, but the Lord would not listen to them because they made their decision.
•Why does Yahweh allow the appointment of a king? It was within his law for a king to be chosen and even though the people had poor motive, he knew what the outcome would be.
•As Samuel grows older he decides that his 2 sons Joel and Abijah will take over the family business of judgeship.
•As was a common theme throughout the book of Judges, whenever a judge tried to pass on his judgeship to his children it would not turn out very well for the children.
•Starting with Gideon whose judgeship by the end turned into near idolatry in itself, Gideon’s children were corrupt.
•Another judge, Jair, had 30 sons who judged during a peaceful time but during this time the Israelites become so idolatrous that they are described as Baal worshippers.
•Back to Samuel’s 2 sons Joel and Abijah- it says that they judged from Beersheba which was a town in extreme southern Israel, where they could more easily take bribes.
•There are 3 reasons that the people come to Samuel and ask for a king:
•1) The corruption of Samuel’s children (understandable)
•2) The desire to conform so they could be like other nations (unacceptable)
•3) The wish for a more permanent military commander (sort of like Joshua had been for them)
•There was a provision given in the Law of Moses that allowed for a king but Samuel was unhappy with the reasons that the people were giving for wanting a king and for their failure to accept God Almighty as their king.
•Basically Yahweh was going to allow the people a taste of what absolute power does to men when they become kings.
•Next Samuel tries to warn the people that having an earthly king would have some downsides:
•The drafting of their sons into military service, the appointing of some of the sons as field workers, and the taking of the daughters to work as well. Then the king would take from their fields the crops that he wanted and their crops and flocks would be taxed.
•Samuel warned them that they would not be happy with their decision and would cry out to the Lord, but the Lord would not listen to them because they made their decision.
•Why does Yahweh allow the appointment of a king? It was within his law for a king to be chosen and even though the people had poor motive, he knew what the outcome would be.