Dei Time

Give Us A King

Dei Break

1 Samuel 7:1 – 8:5

Twenty years after the return of the ark, Israel again pursued the worship of idols, as well as their God. They could not overcome the pagan belief in multiple gods, performing multiple purposes. Idol worship permeated the land.

Samuel, acting as a bridge between two ages was both a prophet and a judge. In the beginning he was the boy prophet; now he was the judge chosen by God to lead the people. As the Philistine domination grew he stood before the people, commanding them to repent, demanding that they give up their idols, return to God, and be rescued from the Philistines. They genuinely repented or God would not have delivered them from their enemy.

Mizpah had apparently replaced Shiloh as a favored meeting place for the nation, probably because the latter had been destroyed by the Philistines.

After the miraculous victory over Philistia, Samuel set up a rock of remembrance and named it "Ebenezer", or "stone of help", the same name of a different campsite occupied over twenty years before when the Philistines had taken the ark. This time, they camped in victory. The Philistines would continue, but God had again shown His people His grace and protection. All of Israel's cities were restored.

Chapter 8 tells us that, like Eli, Samuel's sons brought grief to their father. They were crooked and unjust. The leaders of the people, angered by their behavior, demanded that a king be appointed to rule them, just as the surrounding nations.

The evil sons of Samuel were part of the reasoning of the leaders, but It may also be that the Israelites observed the pomp of the city-kings around them. They certainly had observed the power of the Philistines and their chariots and mighty army. Though God had miraculously given them victory time after time, Israel was ready to take a step away from God and into what they may have considered a more "cooperative" form of government. They did not ask God for another personal leader like Samuel, Moses, or Joshua.

Next time: He will take…

The Power of Stone Gods

Dei Break

1 Samuel 5:1 - 6:21

Dagon was a Babylonian import to the area of the Philistines. He was represented as a beast with the torso and head of a man but the body of a fish, from his waist down to his non-existent feet. His priests sometimes wore fish-like capes. He was supposed to provide all the needs of the peoples of the sea, especially in the area of agriculture. Unlike many Canaanite gods whose fame was limited to a few city-states, Dagon was well known and worshiped as a national god.

The story of Dagon's destruction is great. The Ark had been stored in the idol's "house". Every morning, Dagon was fallen to the ground and broken. According to the writer, "to this day" the priests of Dagon would not step on the threshold of the idol's house.

After Dagon's strange destruction, the Philistine leaders decided to bless the other Philistine cities with the strange ark of Israel's God. Finally, the decision was made to just get it out of the territory. They credited the ark, not the God of Israel, for ongoing plagues. (Remember "Raiders of the Lost Ark"?)

The Philistines finally realized that God's power overwhelmed Dagon's but they continued to worship the idol. In a world of rebellion the same crazy thing continues today. People see the power and love of God; hear the witness of neighbors and the Holy Spirit, but return to their own devices for life. Some trust in themselves; others seek advice from television mediums. Others turn to false religions. We may have fewer idols made of stone and clay, but our idols are still numerous.

The Israelites who didn't treat the ark properly died for defying the law that only a Levite priest could touch the ark and not die. It's a sad reminder that even believers can suffer the result of sin, but the punishment of these Israelites did not necessarily indicate God's condemnation. As odd as it seems in the flow of time, Jesus paid for their sins on the cross as well as our own.

Next time: Give us a king!

The Philistines Win

Dei Break

1 Samuel 4:1 – 22

The Philistines had been in the area for hundreds of years and had established five city states along the west side of Canaan along the Mediterranean coast. While a number of Israelite enemies were longtime cousins, the Philistines probably came from the area of Crete. From the time of Samson, any enemy of Israel could find an ally in Philistia. The Philistine army with its chariots, iron weapons and military power would soon influence Israel toward a monarchy form of government. In a few years David would meet one of their champions, Goliath.

When Israel lost the battle at Aphek, they did ask the right question, ""Why did the Lord bring defeat upon us today before the Philistines?" They knew that God could defeat any enemy if He chose to do so. They had seen it many times. However they answered the question by their own wisdom, which they seemed to be doing regularly. They decided that if the Ark of the Covenant was on the battlefield, God would have to crush the enemy. The ark was in Shiloh about 25 miles away, a huge distance in those days, but men were immediately dispatched to bring the box. It didn't help—the Philistines beat them again. The Philistine victory was as big a surprise to them as to the Israelites (vs.7).

What was wrong with Israel's logic? Israel believed that God was in that little box and that by controlling the box, they controlled God. Israel had adopted the attitude toward their God as the Canaanites had toward their own. When the Philistines captured the ark, Israel believed that their God had gone with it. Eli's daughter-in-law also accepted that superstition. When she named her son "Ichabod" ("there is no glory"), she believed Israel's power was gone and that the glory of God had been removed with the capture of the ark.

The Philistines also believed that, along with the ark, they had captured their enemy's God. They would soon discover that the God of Israel was not as easy to control as they believed.

Next time: The Power of Stone Gods

God’s Plan for Samuel

Dei Break

1 Samuel 3:1 – 21

"And word from the Lord was rare in those days, visions were infrequent." But God was about to change that through his servant Samuel. Though he was an assistant to the priests, Samuel had not yet personally experienced the presence of the Lord (vs.7) and at first the boy didn't realize that it was God speaking to him.

Just before dawn ("The lamp of God had not yet gone out") the Lord spoke to Samuel for a third time. Eli had instructed the lad to listen to God, and God's first message to Samuel was hard—the prophecy against Eli's family (2:30-31) would not be revoked. His family, over the coming years, would be removed from the priesthood.

Eli reacted to God's pronouncement like a servant of God. In today's culture, it is likely that a man would rebel, stomp, and deny any chastisement from God, even though justified. People don't like the idea that God has the right to do as He sees fit in our lives. As poor a leader as Eli had been, he knew God and knew that even in the midst of punishment God would be his God. He knew that his sons were evil and that he had failed to control their sin.

Much was about to happen in Israel. Samuel grew into the man who would be a bridge between the age of Israel's judges and priests and the age of God's prophets. In a few years, the first king in Israel would be crowned.

The prophets, like Samuel, sometimes announced the future as revealed to them by God in dreams and visions. That was part of what a prophet did, but their primary mission was to be God's spokesmen to the people, telling them the truth, no matter how painful. Sometimes the prophets' messages could even endanger their lives. They told the people God's messages concerning not only the future of the nation, but the current condition of the nation's relationship with God. Unlike the priests, they were of no specific family, but were individuals simply chosen by God to serve Him.

Next time: The Philistines Win

Eli and the Boy

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1 Samuel 2:1 – 36

    Hannah's praise song is another instance of a woman praising God for His gracious love toward her. When Hannah indicates that she has had seven children, we notice right away that she only had six children. Remembering that this is Hebrew poetry, we realize that seven was just a number that indicated completeness. God had restored her joy completely. Hannah's song is all poetry. As poetry, phrases like "…the pillars of the earth are the Lord's, And He set the world on them" aren't meant to be taken literally.

Eli's sons were evil. We don't know why they chose their way. Notice that the story doesn't say that they were raised in a dysfunctional home; they were deprived; or that society didn't accept them. These men made evil choices and God held them responsible for their actions and attitudes.

Their choices were intensely rebellious toward God who had instructed that the fat of the offering was His. It was to be burned as a sacrifice to God before the priests took any of the meat to eat themselves, but Eli's sons demanded the best for themselves (vs.16) Having sexual relations with the women serving at the tent of meeting was a custom of the pagan Canaanite religions, but Eli's sons did the same in God's presence vs.22) . Verse 12 says that these men "did not know the Lord", but this doesn't mean that they didn't understand their sin. We see later in the passage that they knew the law but chose to rebelliously desecrate the priestly office. For their sin, Hophni and Phinehas would die on the same day.

Eli failed to control his sons with his admonitions. There were other things that he could have done to prevent the abominations going on in the priesthood, but He placed peace with his sons above his duty to God. God promised to destroy Eli's entire family and raise another priestly leader among His people.

Next time: God's plan for Samuel

Giving A Son to God

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1 Samuel 1:1 – 28

According to most Samuel was born around 1120 B.C. That dates at least part of the writing, since Samuel seems to have either written much of 1 Samuel or at least conferred with the writer. This is pretty certain because of the personal details included. 1100 B.C. would have been about 350 years after the exodus from Egypt and around 300 years after Joshua led the people across the Jordan into the new land. 1 Samuel concerns the time just before kings began to rule in Israel and some of it was written down after the kings came to power. You can sometimes see the transition between one author and another by the phrase "…until this day" because "this day" (or a similar phrase) may describe a time after Samuel's death. This doesn't question the validity of the writing, but just points to the possibility that one author built on the beginnings of another to finish the story. Joshua, for instance, probably wrote the end of Deuteronomy since that part of the book describes Moses' death.

Elkanah was a pretty neat guy. Not bearing children stressed Hannah greatly, and the second wife (probably married because of Hannah's infertility) constantly reminded her of her supposed curse from God. Yet, Elkanah had not divorced this barren wife and was a constant support for Hannah. Her loving husband said, "Hannah, why are you weeping? Why don't you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don't I mean more to you than ten sons?" (vs.9).

At last greatly blessed by God, Hannah did literally what every Christian parent does spiritually. She pledged her child over to God's care and service (vs.11). How hard must it have been for Hannah to give her child to the priest at the tabernacle, knowing that she would rarely see him the rest of her life. Eli the priest, finding his error in assuming that the desperate woman was drunk, promised her to intervene with the Lord in her behalf (vs.17).

Next Time: Eli and the Boy

The Kinsman-Redeemer

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Ruth 3:1 - 4:22

Naomi had a plan for Boaz and Ruth, and it would appear that Boaz was not without his own thoughts about Ruth. When she showed up lying near the foot of his bedding, he seems to have already had a plan to provide for both Ruth and Naomi.

Some commentators suggest that Ruth was offering sexual favors to Boaz, but the language of the passage along with Boaz's repeated statement of Ruth's honor makes this scenario unlikely.

Boaz met with a closer relative of Naomi the next day, calling on ten other men to act as witnesses.

The closer relative ultimately chose not to act as kinsman-redeemer for the women, probably for a couple of reasons. If Naomi had been alone, no sons would have come into question since she was beyond childbearing age. But Ruth was another story. Hearing that she was part of the deal, the relative realized that the firstborn son of Ruth would be considered the grandson and son of Elimelech's line, because one job of the kinsman was to raise a child of his own as though he had been born to the deceased. That way, the name and the family of the deceased would go on. This first son, legally (though not physically) the son of the deceased, would inherit the property that was about to be purchased by the kinsman-redeemer. This custom kept the property in the same family. Not only would the kinsman-redeemer lose the property that he had purchased, he would probably lose some of his existing land as an additional inheritance to Ruth's firstborn. In addition, he would have the added expense of caring for Ruth and Naomi. At this realization, the closer relative backed off and allowed Boaz to take on the task of the kinsman-redeemer for the women.

The story of Ruth and Naomi was probably very popular because it told the story of King David's ancestors. Not only would Ruth of Moab be an ancestor of the king of Israel, her descendants would include Jesus, King of all creation!

Next time: Giving a Son to God

Ruth and Israeli Custom

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Ruth 1:1 - 2:23

The story of Ruth takes place during the time of the judges, perhaps Gideon, but was probably written down during the reign of King David. Some scholars think that David's prophet, Nathan, may have been the author, or a scribe in Solomon's reign; a few suggest that it may have been written by a woman, but no one knows for sure.

In times of famine national lines and cultural differences, however important, seemed to have been set aside—at least in the case of Elimelech. He took his family to the land of Moab, (descendants of Lot excluded from the tribes of Israel). Contrary to the law, the sons of Elimelech married Naomi and Orpah, Moabite women. When all of the men of the family died, Naomi was in trouble. Women could not go out and get a job, nor was there much of a welfare system. She was destitute, so she urged her daughters-in-law to return to their families. Naomi prayed for God's blessing on the two women, perhaps understanding God's recurring statement that all people should be brought into His family. Ruth insisted on staying. (interestingly, many are familiar with her statement of loyalty to her mother-in-law, but believe it relates to a bride's statement of devotion to her groom. [1:16])

According to Levitical law, farmers were to leave the field corners unharvested. This was to be left for the poor to collect (2:2). Boaz (an owner of the fields) was impressed by Ruth and made special arrangements with his servants to assist her in her task. His assistance was gracious and also protected her from going to other fields where she might have been abused by the ruffians so prevalent in the time of the judges in Israel.

Boaz was not only related to Naomi and Ruth (2:20), he was a "kinsman-redeemer." In Jewish law if a close family member had to sell his land or his person to pay a debt, the kinsman-redeemer stepped in to buy back the land or person. That law will complicate Boaz' new interest in Ruth.

Next Time: The Kinsman Redeemer

Benjamin Survives

Dei Break

Judges 21:1 – 25

In the last chapter of Judges Israel continues to depend on her own wisdom. Though the tribes gathered to make offerings to the Lord, God doesn't seem to have initiated the solution to the problem of the surviving Benjaminites, nor do we read that Israel even sought His counsel. Instead they initiated their own solution. Sometimes when confronted with what we consider an emergency, do we also tend to strike out on our own, desperate for a quick solution, rather than waiting on God, seeking His wisdom to guide us?

The tribes of Israel had made two oaths; that they would war with any tribe that failed to join in the fight against Benjamin; and that no tribe of Israel would ever give a daughter in marriage to the remaining Benjaminites. Now that the battle was over and the tribes wished to reconcile with Benjamin, they faced a problem—Benjamin would cease to exist without wives to mother new children, but Mosaic law prohibited the men of Benjamin from marrying wives from any non-Israeli family. What would they do?

God's people fell back on their growing tendency to be legally correct, if not particularly moral. First they conquered an Israeli city that had failed to fight Benjamin, thus fulfilling one of the vows. They then gave the virgins of the city to the men of Benjamin to become wives.

Then the other tribes let Benjamin know that some good Israeli girls would be dancing at an upcoming celebration; if some of those girls strayed into the darker paths around the party, no one would blame the Benjaminites if they kidnapped brides from among them. Thus the men of Benjamin would have Israeli wives, satisfying Mosaic law, but no tribe could be said to have "provided" the wives to them contrary to their oath not to do so.

The book of Judges ends with the words, "In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit." And yet God continued to remain faithful to these, His people.

Next Time: Ruth and Israeli Custom

How Far Can Sin Go?

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Judges 19:1 - 20:48

We saw a similar story in Genesis when Lot tried to protect the angels in his home offering his virgin daughters to a mob. It is incomprehensible to us that Lot would have made such an offer as it is that the Levite in this story would have shoved his concubine (called his wife in 20:4), out to the worthless mob of Gibeah (this was about five miles north of Jerusalem) to be raped and murdered. However, this practice of placing the welfare of a male guest above the safety of any women was NOT a part of God's plan for society. It was a custom of men who created their own rules and values.

How can we know this? Because God so often demonstrated His love and grace to women. He rescued Sarah from Pharaoh, and later Rebekah. He protected Hagar when Abraham shunned her; He chose Deborah to serve as the people's leader; He granted grace and blessing to Eve even after she introduced rebellion to the world. Jesus treated the Samaritan woman at the well with a respect and friendship that confounded the disciples. And we could go on….

After the terrible deed to the concubine was done, by Israelites to Israelites, the Levite dismembered her body to be sent to the other tribes. Why? Perhaps to wake up a nation that had become complacent in its attitude toward sin. Was the graphic message sent by the Levite the one thing that finally awoke Israel and led them to fight together against the evil in their midst? In thinking about our own culture, are we also complacent about sin? Do we react differently when finally confronted by the visual evidence of evil?

The tribes gathered and consulted God (20:18), perhaps for the first time in a long time. God directed the battle of brother against brother. The people of Benjamin had been given the opportunity to deal justice against the criminals, but they chose not to do so (20:13). For this sin they paid dearly.

Next Time: Benjamin Survives