March 17 – Day 77 – 1 Samuel 15-17; Mark 13 Day 352 – Hebrews 1-4; Luke 11

[NOTE: For those who are continuing the 1-year Bible reading plan we started on April 1, 2018, just go to the end of this entry and you will find the Day 352 – Hebrews 1-4; Luke 11 summary!]

In 1 Samuel 15, King Saul makes his “final” mistake as King of Israel. I put “final” in quotes, because Saul would remain king over Israel for decades and would make many more mistakes and commit many more sins, but when he failed to carry out the LORD’s commands in his battle against the Amalekites, God determined to take the throne from Saul and his descendants.  The clear message of 1 Samuel 15 is God prefers obedience more than sacrifice or more than anything else. One of my mentors, Dr. Dale Milligan said, “To love God is to trust Him enough to obey Him.” That quote helped me see obedience to God is not merely a religious requirement–although it can be that. Obedience to God is an act of love. When I trust God enough to do what He says, regardless of what it is, then He knows I love Him. And I know I love Him. The next time the LORD sets a challenge before us, may we trust Him enough to obey Him, and thus show him our love!

We could title 1 Samuel 16: Moving On! The LORD commanded Samuel to anoint one of Jesse’s sons as the new king of Israel. In doing so, Samuel shows us even a powerful prophet of God can rely on his own understanding, instead of the Holy Spirit and the LORD when carrying out the LORD’s work. Jesse had many sons, so Samuel asked Jesse to have them come before him. Samuel chose the oldest, who was also the tallest and most “king-like” in stature. (Saul had been a head taller than anyone in Israel and look how that ended up!) As son after son came before Samuel, none of them measured up to God’s standard. Finally, Jesse sent for the youngest, David, who was out in the field watching the sheep. Jesse hadn’t even thought to include David in the list of candidates for king, but the LORD selected him immediately. The Holy Spirit came into David’s life when Samuel anointed him and remained with him throughout his life.

In the remainder of the chapter, David ends up being called to serve King Saul as a “music therapist.” The Holy Spirit was replaced in Saul’s life with an evil spirit, and when he would be depressed or violent, he would call for David to come and play the harp, which would sooth him. Ironic, that the newly anointed king of Israel, would become a servant to the reigning king. Then again, the best way to learn to lead in the Kingdom of God is to learn to serve. Jesus told us He did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many.

1 Samuel 17 offers us what may be the most familiar account of the Old Testament to many: the battle between David and Goliath. The salient points of the chapter are: 1) Goliath, a champion of the Philistines challenges the Israelites to send out one man against him in battle. The winner of the battle wins the “war” for his side, and the other side will capitulate in defeat and become servants of the winner. For forty days Goliath went out every day and stood before the Israelite army, and for forty days no one was willing to take on Goliath. Then Jesse sent David to bring supplies for two of his brothers who were serving in the army and for the king. 2) When David heard the challenge from Goliath, he was incensed that a pagan would challenge the armies of God and saw it as a battle between the LORD and the pagan gods of the Philistines. 3) David offers to take on Goliath with only a sling and five smooth stones.  4) In desperation, King Saul agrees. 5) David takes on Goliath and Goliath never stood a chance.  6) David’s victory brings him fame and favor among the people of Israel. It will also create a tremendous jealousy in King Saul, who will be at odds with David until the day Saul dies.

In Mark 3, we read once again of Jesus’ healing a man on the Sabbath. That simple act of love and power resulted in the Pharisees joining forces with the Herodians, fellow Jews who collaborated with Herod. Ordinarily these men would not have stood in the same room with each other, but because of their common interest in getting rid of Jesus before He caused so much of an uproar among the people that it caught the Romans’ attention, they joined forces in determining how to kill Him. While Mark’s Gospel is 16 chapters long, we find it took only until the third chapter for the beginning of the end to come for Jesus, in terms of the plot to kill Him being developed. In our lives, we must be certain we don’t unwittingly take the same approach as the Pharisees and the Herodians, which means we must make certain we don’t put what is good for us or what is expedient in front of putting Jesus first in all areas of our lives.

Day 352 – Hebrews 1-4; Luke 11

Today we move to the letter to the Hebrews.  We don’t know who authored this book. While many believe it was the Apostle Paul, the letter doesn’t contain his name at the beginning or the end. The topics also don’t align with Paul’s common teaching material in that they focus a great deal on the Jewish heritage of our faith. Some consider it to be a book of history, because it contains so much reference to the Jewish Scriptures and particularly to aspects of the Law of Moses. Jesus is considered the greatest priest, who unlike all the other priests in Israel’s history did not need to offer a sacrifice for his own sin, before becoming the once and for all sacrifice for us.

In Hebrews 1, the author introduces us to the reality that while God spoke to us through prophets in previous times, in these times He has spoken to us through His Son. This Son is not only superior to the prophets, but also superior to the angels!

In Hebrews 2, we are told of the amazing truth that because of what Jesus has done, we are His “brothers” (and sisters). We get to be part of God’s family, because Jesus died in our place and paid the penalty for our sin. We also read Jesus was tempted in His body, so we know we can resist when we are tempted, too.

In Hebrews 3, we are told Jesus is greater than Moses. Moses is compared to the “house,” and Jesus is the “builder.” The builder is greater than the house. Consider Moses was seen as the greatest prophet in the Old Testament, and Jesus is greater.  The author of Hebrews is building the case for Jesus’ sufficiency to serve as our prophet, priest and king once and for all.

In Hebrews 4, the author speaks of our Sabbath rest, which is purchased by Jesus. Then we have the amazing and often quoted words about God’s word being sharper than any two-edged sword, which reminds us of why we must read, learn and live it in the power of the Holy Spirit. At the close of the chapter we’re told Jesus is our great high priest. This is the point of the book of Hebrews: we have a new and eternal high priest in Jesus.

As we return to Luke 11, the disciples ask Jesus to teach them to pray, and He offers what we call “The Lord’s Prayer.” Some of have said it would better be called “The Disciples’ Prayer,” because Jesus told them to pray it. In reality, Jesus wasn’t telling them to pray those specific words, but to incorporate the aspects of the prayer in their prayers. That doesn’t mean we ought not pray it, but we must always remember prayer is an opportunity to listen to God’s voice as well as to offer words to Him. Jesus then offered them an example about the importance of persistence in prayer. Jesus then went on to respond to those who said He cast out demons by the power of the devil. He condemned such thinking in the strongest possible way.  Jesus offered a brief parable about the importance of not simply having a demon cast out of our lives and leaving ourselves “empty.” The implication is we must replace the emptiness with the Holy Spirit. Jesus avoided receiving the accolades for Himself or His mother when someone in the crowd shouted that His mother was blessed. Jesus responded anyone who does God’s will is blessed.  Jesus then proceeded to condemn the Pharisees for their lack of doing what they taught. Jesus often made this distinction when condemning the Pharisees. They were hypocrites, because they knew the truth, but didn’t practice it. We want to make certain the “hypocrisy factor,” which is the difference between what we profess to believe and how we live decreases daily as we live into the new life of Jesus in the Holy Spirit’s power!

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