A future King looking for donkeys

 1 Samuel 9:3-9

Have you gotten to the point in this life where you realize this fact; you are never going to understand God’s ways?  How often Scripture has said, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not My ways.” This is the Lord’s declaration.  “For as heaven is higher than earth, so My ways are higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.”  (Isaiah 55:8-9) 

My pastor, Ray Still loves his people too much to not remind us that when we have God all figured out and believe He is pleased with all our actions, we have become the creator, for he is a god of our making. 

As we look into chapter 9, it is titled Saul anointed King, but no man would have  done it God’s way.  Verse three begins with some donkeys of Saul’s father wandering off, and dad was sending Saul and a young man to search for them.  And it seems when God hides your donkeys you are not going to find them, in fact, Saul was ready to give up and told the young man who was his attendant to pack up, we are heading home.  The donkeys had value to Saul’s dad, but he also knew that he was of greater worth to his dad than all the donkeys, and feared his father would be worried about him.

Now, this is when the story gets interesting, Saul is from a family of affluence, and well connected to the movers and shakers, and yet it seems he has no knowledge of Samuel.  

 But the servant has knowledge of Samuel, and Saul probably knew who had the record for throwing the spear the farthest and who owned the best horses, and what the latest model of the chariot looked like.  As one of my business associates would often say, Saul had a mindset on the unimportant, whereas the attendant knew that Samuel was highly respected and his word was respected.  Remember they are not looking for spiritual help but donkeys, and so Saul is wondering how they can compensate this seer, for at that time people would refer to a prophet in that way. 

You might find this interesting, Saul was only looking at this as good business, but in a business deal, one is expected to come with compensation for the service rendered.  He was not prepared, but the servant offered his own money to help close the deal for his master’s son.  Does that bring Jesus to your mind?   We could not approach God with our sins and all our good deeds to earn a spot in His kingdom, God referred to them as filthy rags.  Jesus the only Son of God loved His creations so much, He took on flesh and became like us in all ways but sin, for God was His Father.  And like the servant of Saul, Jesus paid the price required, not in a coin but with his life and his blood to cover our sins, and the lost donkeys of our lives no longer have importance, only doing the will of our Father.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Do not confuse me with Truth

 1 Samuel 8:19-22 – 9:1-2

I want what I want do not confuse me with truth or facts. That is the attitude of many a person, in a relationship, in making life-changing decisions, and it is not a new approach, it is precisely what the people were telling both Samuel and God.  We find their reply in verses19-20, after Samuel has spelled out the price tag that comes with a king.  “The people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We must have a king over us. Then we’ll be like all the other nations: our king will judge us, go out before us, and fight our battles.”

Samuel cannot believe the foolishness of his people, so he repeats all they have said to the Lord, and we find God’s answer in verses 22, “Listen to them,” the Lord told Samuel. “Appoint a king for them.”

Then Samuel told the men of Israel, “Each of you, go back to your city.”

Have you ever wondered how did we get into this mess, and the answer is lack of leadership, we have eight years of weak leadership, and the people said enough, we do not trust either party, we want an outsider.  The people had witnessed Eli’s sons, and now Samuel’s sons and they were saying, not again, we want a king!

When you have never had a king what does the portfolio of a king look like, what qualities does one look for in a king?  Well let’s see, he’s not going to be a shepherd who has no resume and all that will follow him is sheep.  He needs to have wealth and that way he will know how to make a wise investment.  He should be handsome, and it might be good that he is a little taller than most of us so the world will be impressed.  Yes, that is the kind of king we are looking for, smart, religious, and he can fight our wars for us.

Now in the ninth chapter of 1 Samuel we are introduced to an influential man of Benjamin named Kish, son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Becorath, son of Aphiah, son of a Benjaminite.  A man with an excellent bloodline and he has respect, what else does he have, a son by the name of Saul?  1 Samuel 9:2, gives us this insight into Saul; “Kish had a son named Saul, as handsome a young man as could be found anywhere in Israel, and he was a head taller than anyone else.”   Now that is King material, he is rich, handsome, a head taller than anyone else, and has excellent political ties.  A guy like Saul is what we are looking for, in fact, he may be an organizer and bring some control over the kingdom.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice 

I want what they have

1 Samuel 8:10-18

I want what they have, would seem to be an appropriate statement for a small child, but to our shame that is not even close, it’s the cry of our culture.  And the old is forever new; it was the cry of the people of Israel in Samuel’s time.  All the other nations had a king; a king who fought battles or sent his army to fight the battles.

God was their king, and they were His chosen people from all the people of the earth, and yet they had never been faithful to their King, and we know this because God told us so in 1 Samuel 8:7-8.  Though they rejected God as their king, He still loved them and sent Samuel to warn them about what a high price tag an earthly king brought with him.

Listen and reflect on verses 11-18, “He said, “These are the rights of the king who will rule over you: He will take your sons and put them to his use in his chariots, on his horses, or running in front of his chariots. He can appoint them for his use as commanders of thousands or commanders of fifties, to plow his ground or reap his harvest, or to make his weapons of war or the equipment for his chariots. He can take your daughters to become perfumers, cooks, and bakers. He can take your best fields, vineyards, and olive orchards and give them to his servants. He can take a tenth of your grain and your vineyards and give them to his officials and servants. He can take your male servants, your female servants, your best young men, and your donkeys and use them for his work. He can take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves can become his servants. When that day comes, you will cry out because of the king you’ve chosen for yourselves, but the Lord won’t answer you on that day.”

Our choices always have a payday, and they wanted a king, you wanted the beauty queen of the high school and had no understanding she loved herself too much to love anyone else.  Or you married the quarterback, but the only place he was ever a leader was on the high school football field, he never honored his promises, nor could he keep a job.  You wanted never to have to depend on anyone, not even God, so you worked and became the CEO, but lost your wife and family, your sons and daughter will have nothing to do with you.  

And that may not be your story, you may not have acquired wealth, but have always resented those who have, and have become an older person, full of anger and hate.  Yes, payday always comes, so the choice is, do you want to be a Samuel or a member of the group that wants an earthly king?

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

The ramifications of Confession and repentance

1 Samuel 7:7-17

Have you ever given thought to the ramifications of confession and repentance?  First, let's look at the negative, the one who has had control of your life is now on the outside looking in, and the old thief or Satan is not at all happy that you are no longer his child.  Jesus was very clear about this when he was talking to some religious Jewish people.  You’re doing what your father does.”  “We weren’t born of sexual immorality,” they said. “We have one Father—God.”

Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me because I came from God and I am here. For I didn’t come on My own, but He sent Me. Why don’t you understand what I say? Because you cannot listen to My word. You are of your father the Devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and has not stood in the truth because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of liars.”

So when we come by faith to an understanding of the cost of the Cross, that our redemption was paid in full by the blood of Jesus Christ and it is by grace through faith that we leave the control of Satan and enter into Christ.  That is salvation and victory, but it is also the beginning of the battle, not to recover us, but to render us unusable to our Lord.  It's often referred to as living a defeated life as a follower of Christ.

That is where we find the children of Israel, they are the chosen of God, but they live in fear of the Philistines, and they have allowed the gods of the Philistines to be part of their lives much like so many in todays church.   Now today they do not look like gods, we call them sports, IRA’s, 401K’s, children, or grandchildren, even government, and lifestyle, and the list is very long.  But a god is anything you spend more time with and give more thought to than God.

Today the fear factor is off the charts, as it was with the people of Israel, and yet they remember and once more put their trust in the living God and that’s when Satan got excited and aroused the Philistines to attack the people of God.  Now the people of Israel were smarter than most of us.  They did not go and buy a gun to defend themselves; they went to the man of God, Samuel and said, “Do not cease to cry out to the LORD our God for us, that he may save us from the hand of the Philistines.” 

This is the rest of the story; Samuel took a young lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the LORD.  And Samuel cried out to the LORD for Israel, and the LORD answered him.  “Samuel was offering the burnt offering as the Philistines drew near to fight against Israel. The Lord thundered loudly against the Philistines that day and threw them into such confusion that they fled before Israel. Then the men of Israel charged out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines striking them down all the way to a place below Beth-car.

Afterward, Samuel took a stone and set it upright between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, explaining, “The Lord has helped us to this point.” So the Philistines were subdued and did not invade Israel’s territory again. The Lord’s hand was against the Philistines all of Samuel’s life. The cities from Ekron to Gath, which they had taken from Israel, were restored; Israel even rescued their surrounding territories from Philistine control. There was also peace between Israel and the Amorites.”

Faith and fear or like oil and water they will not mix, and in the Scriptures, 366 verses tell us; Fear not.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

You Want What?

1 Samuel 8:1-9

Have you said or has it been said to you; you want what, do you have any understanding of what you just said?  I grew up playing sandlot football and baseball, as did many my age, it was not organized it had no adult supervisors, but it worked, and we had fun.  It went something like this; the best two players picked the teams, and the best players were the pitcher or quarterback, next came the hitting order, or the running backs and so on.  If the smallest and poorest athlete ask to be the pitcher or quarterback, the others would have said; you want what?  As a parent when your child wanted to go and do something that was harmful, dangerous and even could take their life, what came from your mouth; you want what, do you have any understanding of what you just said, do you have any knowledge of the ramifications of doing that?

Chapter eight is about Israel demanding a king, Samuel is an old man, and his sons Joel, and Abijah have not modeled dad, they seem not to fear God, it is as if Samuel was so busy in the Judging of Israel that he forgot to invest in his sons.  In verse three, “Yet the sons did not walk in his ways but turned aside after gain.  They took bribes and prevented justice.”

In Psalm 1:1-2, “Blessed is the man that walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law, he meditates day and night.”  But this was not the heart of the sons of Samuel, and Proverbs 29:18 states; “Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint but blessed is he who keeps the law.”  So the elders gathered together, I’ve been in that small Baptist church, they had a quick prayer, that’s the religious thing to do, and then they did what was in their minds already, and fired the preacher.  That is what is taking place, Samuel, you are an old guy and its been fun but no way are we going to allow those worthless sons of yours to rule, we want a king like all the other nations.

Do you understand God appointed Samuel and placed Samuel in the position of Judge of Israel, not the elders?   And God made it very clear to Samuel, it's not you the people are rejecting but me, so listen to them and allow them to have a king like all the other nations, but make sure you share the price of their actions.

I believe we live in a time of “it is not my fault” and yet that has no relevance to the ramification of one's actions.  The Scriptures well define that we reap what we sow and today we are receiving the product of dads who did not teach and spend time in prayer for their sons.  We look to little gods, blind gods like government, and social acceptance and not to the Lord our God.  And God is telling us awake and count the cost of your sins and repent, maybe He will hear and bring us out of this slavery?

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

What would my Life look Like If?

1 Samuel 7:1-6

Have you ever pondered on the question; what would my life look like if I got rid of or did not allow the stuff flesh craves to have prominence in my life?  Now think bigger, what if all who are a follower of Christ in the USA would set their hearts and minds on doing so?   I can see some well-meaning person putting a program together to change the nations, but it is not a program we need, nor will one work. 

What is needed are men and women, boys and girls who have a mature understanding of God, and a knowledge of Satan’s ways.  Many a person has written on this subject, and the Scripture is full of the light of God and Satan’s identity and attributes.  Satan is not to be feared, but understood, for he is not the guy with the horns and pitchfork but an angel of light, a deceiver, who hates all that God calls good and holy.

Once we grasp that Satan is a created being of an angelic realm and that he was defeated at the Cross, but God has allowed him access and permission to each of us for a time, it should make us run to the Lord for only He is the mighty God.  One other truth that is important, religion desires people with a zeal for God, but no real understanding or knowledge of God.  Paul, the apostle, was such a person, and the church is full of such people today, they teach, they preach, they serve, but much of it is in the flesh. 

I read a simple prayer in three parts in “Faith is the Victory” page 126; (1) He said, in substance, “Lord I do not question your providence.  Just give me the grace to bear whatever you permit.”  (2) He said, “Lord, help me to understand what you are trying to say to me in this trial.”  (3) He said, “Lord, help me to be a good witness in this trial, and let the people see what God can do for a man who trusts in thee.”

If we, who go by the name of Christ, would adopt that heart attitude, I believe we would experience what Israel is experiencing in chapter seven.  But we need to study and explore what took place first with the men of Kiriath-jearim as they came and took the ark of God to Abinadab’s.  And why Abinadab’s house, Scripture does not tell us, but we do know it was on a hill and that his son Eleazar was given the job of caring for the ark.  Now the name Eleazar was a typical priestly name, and it may be they were of a family with a Levitical connection.

God uses people, often it was a man to awaken the people of God, and the Scripture does not give much help in all that is taking place, but verses 2-6 provide this insight.  “Time went by until 20 years had passed since the ark had been taken to Kiriath-jearim. Then the whole house of Israel began to seek the Lord. Samuel told them, “If you are returning to the Lord with all your heart, get rid of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths that are among you, dedicate yourselves to the Lord, and worship only Him. Then He will rescue you from the hand of the Philistines.” So the Israelites removed the Baals and the Ashtoreths and only worshiped the Lord.

Samuel said, “Gather all Israel at Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord on your behalf.” When they gathered at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out in the Lord’s presence. They fasted that day, and there they confessed, “We have sinned against the Lord.” And Samuel judged the Israelites at Mizpah.”

WOW, it is clear what is needed in each of our lives, first, an understanding of God, then of our enemy.  And yes, we must awaken to this fact, we are the mess, it’s not our brother or our sister but it is me oh Lord, I need to remove the little gods I run to.  Yes, we need confession and repentance and brokenness about our sins.  Do not worry about God sending a Samuel; He has already sent His Son, His only Son.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Both Rejoycing and Sorrrow

 1 Samuel 6:7-21

Have you wondered what the odds makers in Vegas would have put on this plan of taking two milk cows that had never had a yoke, and placing the yoke on them, and taking their calves’ home away from them?  No one would believe that could work, two milk cows that were not trained, would not work together it would be a disaster.

The world is always going to have an impossible plan that has almost 100% odds against it working.  But they were not going to take any chances if the milk cows did not go directly to Israel’s village.  They also knew that a dairy cow would not leave their calves behind, if all of this happened, then it was the God of Israel pulling strings.  Once all of this came together, it was clear to the leaders and priests of the Philistines that the God of Israel was God, and greater than Dagon the one they trusted.  They did not turn and put trust in God, no they wanted him out of town so things could be like they always were.

It sounds like they were doing what many of us in today's church does.  They were amazed at what God had done, but they already had a lot invested in a religious system with the little god Dagon.

The Philistine rulers followed the cart to the territory of Beth-shemesh, and we can assume this was the border between the two nations.  It left no doubt in the minds of these Philistine rulers that only God would have done this, so they went home. 

When God shows up His people rejoice, and that is what is taking place in Beth-shemesh.  It was harvest time, and they saw the cows pulling the cart, but that is not what brings the excitement, the ark of God is back!  So they remove the ark to a huge rock and the box with the gold tumors, one for each city of the Philistines and the same number of gold mice.  

Next, the people of the city chopped up the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord.  It is the Levites that removed the ark of the Lord, along with the box containing the gold objects.  It also is of interest that Beth-shemesh is one of the cities appointed for the Levites, and though the offering was not a male without a blemish, it does not seem to have been a sin.

The ark of God was very holy, and God had given explicit instructions about moving it.  Look at Numbers 4:5-6, When the camp is to set out, Aaron and his sons shall go in and take down the veil of the screen and cover the ark of the testimony with it. Then they shall put on it a covering of goatskin and spread on top of it a cloth of blue, and shall put in its poles.  

But it seems 70 men did not follow God’s instructions, and they looked upon the ark, and God killed them.  Now the people mourned for the men who God had killed and asked; who is able to stand before the LORD, this Holy God?  And they sent messengers to the people of Kiriath-jearim, saying, “The Philistines have returned the ark, of the LORD.  Come down and take it up to you.”

What amazing things happen when God’s people come in the presence of a Holy God, first rejoicing, then sorrow, and why, because they wanted to have it their way, and did not follow God’s instructions.  So we see joy turn to sadness and fear.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Bring God into the house of your idols?

 1 Samuel 5:1-12

Have you given thought to what happens when you try to bring God into the house of your idols?  The apostle Paul gives this insight in 1 Corinthians 3:16, “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?”  Maybe you are like me, always needing more clarity on the subject being discussed; then go to 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”

An Idol defined from the dictionary, Idol: an image or representation of a god used as an object of worship.  A person or thing that is greatly admired loved or revered.  That is close; but is it not anything, church, denomination, parents, children, money, stuff, sports, travel, politics, anything that takes the place of God?  So if any of those and so many more can be added, like grandchildren, and government, anything you run to or long for more than a relationship with Jesus Christ and the Father, you have brought the Spirit of the living God into your house of Idols.

Shall we explore how that worked for the Philistines?  First, after capturing the ark of God they brought it to Ashdod, and put it into the house of Dagon and set it up beside Dagon.  Now Ashdod was one of five major cities of the Philistines, and Dagon is the head god of the Philistine nation.  We do not know why they put the ark of God next to this statue of Dagon, maybe to show it was more significant than God.

In verse three we find that early the next morning as the people arrived, they found Dagon fallen face down before the ark of God.  So they did like many of us, they restored their god to a proper upright position and left believing they were safe.  The next day their god was on its face once more, but this time its head was off and so were its hands.  But they, like many in the church who keep honoring people and stuff above God, did not turn away from a God who could not hear, nor seek, much less meet any real needs.  Nor did they turn to the only God; no they kept seeking their idol.  God brought judgment on the people of Ashdod by bringing plagues on them as He had done to the Egyptians.  The Scriptures tell us they got tumors, not sure what that was, not something that brought comfort, but pain.  Now the men of Ashdod were smarter than many in the church, who have seen what the world's gods have done to their families, and yet have taken no action to remove them. 

Verses 7-12, “And when the men of Ashdod saw how things were, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for his hand is hard against us and against Dagon, our god.” So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?” They answered, “Let the ark of the God of Israel be brought around to Gath.” So they brought the ark of the God of Israel there. But after they had brought it around, the hand of the Lord was against the city, causing a very great panic, and he afflicted the men of the city, both young and old so that tumors broke out on them. So they sent the ark of God to Ekron. But as soon as the ark of God came to Ekron, the people of Ekron cried out, “They have brought around to us the ark of the God of Israel to kill us and our people.” They sent therefore and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines and said, “Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it return to its own place, that it may not kill us and our people.” For there was a deathly panic throughout the whole city. The hand of God was very heavy there. The men who did not die were struck with tumors, and the cry of the city went up to heaven.”

Why do pagans get it and many who go by the name of Christ, keep allowing the “Tumors” into their homes and families?

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

A Lesson from Pagan Priests

 1 Samuel 6:1-6

As one who has entered into a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, it seems incredible to me why a follower of Christ would not have a passion for the Word of God.  I’ve heard people say dumb things like we read or studied that book two years ago as if it was a book written by a man, and not God breath, and a living document.  

So as I ponder on that it makes one wonder, why has it not come alive, why has it not brought about change, why is not conviction and application?  It requires the Spirit of God to understand the word of God, and if you go to 1 Corinthians 2:12-14, that is made very clear.  “Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.

The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.”  

The ark of God has been in the country of the Philistines for seven months and to say it not been good fall short of the situation; it has been a disaster.  So the leaders call the priest and diviners and ask how do we solve this problem.  Now we find this counsel in verses 3-6, “They said, “If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it empty, but by all means return him a guilt offering. Then you will be healed, and it will be known to you why his hand does not turn away from you.” And they said, “What is the guilt offering that we shall return to him?” They answered, “Five golden tumors and five golden mice, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines, for the same plague was on all of you and on your lords. So you must make images of your tumors and images of your mice that ravage the land, and give glory to the God of Israel. Perhaps he will lighten his hand from off you and your gods and your land. Why should you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts?”

What are these pagan priests telling them?  What can we learn from these Philistines priest?  First to acknowledge you are at fault, and make confession and that is what they did with a guilt offering, now I know that is a novel thought in our culture of it is not my fault.  They were giving something of value to God, something of worth, and when we confess, if it not from a broken and contrite heart it has no worth to our Father.  But something else jumps off the page, they were watching, and the council did not do as the Egyptians; we have seen what happens to people who harden their hearts as Pharaoh did.

Yes, the world is watching, and when they see us who go by the name of Christ, do and act like the world, it has only the disdain of man.  But when they know our Lord part the Red Sea, they take notice, until His Word comes alive with us and we look only to Him, we will not be a light in this present darkness.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Transition time in Israel’s history

1 Samuel 4:12-22

Do you enjoy reading a good novel or a biography of a great leader?  Then you should read the books of Samuel.  It covers a significant transition time in Israel’s history.  God is going to use Samuel to guide Israel’s transition from a theocracy to a monarchy.  The story begins with a faithful wife who cannot have a child and she goes to the house of God and makes a promise, one that she plans on keeping; the gift of her first child back to God.  It has the same religious hypocrisy we see in our days with the sons of the high priest Eli, as they use the office of priest to gain power and wealth.  And we see how poor spiritual leadership will always bring about spiritually dead people.

Then we see the son of the faithful mother, the lady who was childless, and told God if He would open her womb and give her a son she would bring him back to Eli to be God’s.  The story has battles with the Philistines, the loss of over 30,000 men in battle and the loss of the ark of God.  The remainder of 1 Samuel is about Saul being picked as the king and the story of what happens to a man when God allows him to have wealth and power, and he tries to run the show without God’s direction.

Picking up the story in verse 17, we see a Benjaminite running into town with his clothes torn and dirt on his head, and the message is an expression of mourning, for anyone who can see.  But Eli, who is blind, only hears the people’s outcry.  In that he is the most famous person in the town, the young man comes to him and reports that his sons are dead, the army of Israel is running away, and that seems not to disturb Eli.  But at the moment the man said the Philistines had captured the ark of God, the old fat man plummeted backward and hit the ground breaking his neck dying.

Now I’ve told you this book has a lot of side stories and will keep your attention, let us end today with the story of Eli’s daughter-in-law found in verses 19-22, “Now his daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant, about to give birth. And when she heard the news that the ark of God was captured, and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed and gave birth, for her pains came upon her. And about the time of her death the women attending her said to her, “Do not be afraid, for you have borne a son.” But she did not answer or pay attention. And she named the child Ichabod, saying, “The glory has departed from Israel!” because the ark of God had been captured and because of her father-in-law and her husband. And she said, “The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Attempting to manipulate God

1 Samuel 4:1-11

In the time Samuel lived, there were two methods of battle that come to my mind, the defensive move where a nation that had a walled city withdrew into the city.  An offensive move is going out to meet your enemy, and that is what Israel had done.  The Philistines are first mentioned in Genesis 21, and in Joshua 13 we are allowed into the conversation the LORD is having with Joshua where He is saying there is still more land that needs to be conquered, and you guessed correctly, it was the land of the Philistines and three other Canaanite countries. 

It is good to recall the history of the Judges of Israel and most will remember Joshua, Samson, and Gideon.  And, yes Samuel, the last of the Judges, but what about Jephthah?  In the book of Judges chapter 11:1-2, “Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior. His father was Gilead; his mother was a prostitute. Gilead’s wife also bore him sons, and when they were grown up, they drove Jephthah away. “You are not going to get any inheritance in our family,” they said, “because you are the son of another woman.”  Now Jephthah may not fit the mold you have for the kind of man God would call to lead His people, but He did, and he was one of the Judges of Israel.  I believe often we declare who can serve God and who can’t, that is a perilous place!

The people of Israel lost four thousand men in the first battle with the Philistines, and the people could not understand why God allowed it to happen, and they came up with a plan.  The plan; bring out the ark and who was qualified to carry it by the Law, Eli’s two worthless sons.  A plan is formed but it is God’s and it’s not going to come out the way the people have expected.

Have you ever tried to manipulate God, this was the action of the population of Israel they would bring out the Ark of the Covenant and God will show up and do what God does.  Now when the ark came into the camp, the people shouted, and that unnerved the Philistine army.  It is evident the people incorrectly associated the ark with the will of God and His presence.  It is not clear why the Philistines said gods and not God, but it could have been because of Israel’s worship of so many little gods, and it sent the wrong message to their enemies.  It seems the many who go by the name of Christian also worshipped at the alters of many little gods, and it is evident this has confused the world we are to be light to.

Now it seems that someone, maybe a general told the Philistine soldiers to put on their big boy pants and get ready for the battle.  And they showed up and killed 30,000 of the Israelite soldiers and captured the Ark of God and killed Eli’s two sons.  Not a good time for the people of Israel, they turned tail and ran for home.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Integrity is a lived out action!

1 Samuel 3:19-21

Integrity is a lived out action, its home is the heart of a person who fears God, and it is manifest in all aspects of life.  One does not expect to see this in a child, but Scripture is clear the boy Samuel walked in Integrity before God and man.  1 Samuel 2:26, “Now the young man Samuel continued to grow both in stature and in favor with the LORD and also with man.”

Have you ever said or heard someone say; “what does God require of me?”  I believe the answer is more than your flesh can ever hope to accomplish.  The apostle Paul gives this insight in Galatians 5:16-18, “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.”  So as one who desires to follow Jesus Christ, the first step is to enter into Christ by agreeing that His blood shed for you is your only hope you have for being in right standing with God the Father.  We call that confession, and when we enter into Christ His Spirit comes to us, we call that being born again.  But it is a matter of your will, each day, at every turn it’s a choice, will I trust the Spirit to lead me or will I listen to the best the world offers.

This quote from Major W. Ian Thomas is on the spot, “Lord Jesus, I can't—You never said I could—but You can, and you promised you would.”  And one last quote from the Major, "The measure of a man's worth is the measure in which he no longer lives "to and for himself," but "to and for Jesus Christ." No more and no less!"  So if you deal with the question; “what does God require of me?”  I believe Micah 6:8, has the answer to how one can be a person of Integrity before God and man.  “He has told you, O man what is good: and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.” 

If you are keeping a foot in the world and trying to keep one in the Spirit, I have some bad news; your only hope is a funeral.  Without death to the flesh and its desires you will never live for Jesus Christ.  This is reported about young Samuel in chapter three, verses 19 - 21, “And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established as a prophet of the Lord. And the Lord appeared again at Shiloh, for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the Lord.”

The question has not changed from the beginning; God’s desire is for you to be a person of worth, be a Samuel.  But the other choice is to be independent of God, and foolishly believe you are in charge of things, you then fall into the camp with Eli’s son, and God calls them worthless.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

An attitude of Obedience

 1 Samuel 3:10-18

I often wonder what is the take away from the many Bible Studies that are taught all over the country?  Do the ones attending those studies come with an attitude of obedience, have they set a standard of I will obey and apply the application God shows me in my own life?  If not why go, I believe it is dangerous to do so if you have no resolve to apply the teaching to your life.  For years and even today I fall short of obedience in all season of life, but my goal and desire is application.

Do you recall Jesus sharing this information in Matthew 7:1-3?  “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure, you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?” 

Last Sunday morning on my way to church a white pick-up passed us and I noticed the driver was a man somewhere around my age.  You know the hair was long, had a bandana on his head and a large floating device in the back of the pick-up, I was sure he was heading to the river for a day of drinking and relaxing.  As I was making my judgment of what the man intended to do that day and not worship the Lord, I had one word come into my mind; Pharisee!  And who was the Pharisee, it was me the Holy Spirit was addressing?  I had been to that Scripture often but had not applied it to my life, I was making a judgment on the observed, but I had no understanding of the man’s heart, I was guilty of seeing the speck, but not removing the log from my own eye.

The people informed Eli of the evil his sons were doing and yet he did little about it.  God sends a prophet to confront Eli in this manner, and still, little action was taken, and now God has spoken to Samuel and as the saying goes, “the fat lady has sung, and the party is over.”  No more warning, no time to correct the sons who are now men, for the period of training has long passed, now it is judgment time.

It is clear that Samuel does not want to share the message because he was afraid of the Priest and Judge of Israel and what God had spoken to him on this matter.  Now, this is why Eli’s house is going to judgment, and it is found in verses 12-14, “On that day I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. And I declare to him that I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them. Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.”

After Samuel had told him all the LORD had said, Eli said; “It is the LORD.  Let him do what seems good to him.”  That takes me back to my private thoughts in the car, I had not voiced what I was thinking, but my thoughts were not hidden from the Holy Spirit, and He announced a judgment, I was not acting like Jesus, I was acting like a religious Pharisee.  I shared this with you not to once more declare publicly of what a mess I am, but in the hope that we the followers of Christ will apply the Scripture we have read to our daily lives.  For like the house of Eli, we will bring judgment on our families if we do not.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

A time of quietness

1 Samuel 3:1-9

A time of quietness, a period of no frequent vision from God to the leaders of His people, it was a time when men did what was right in their own eyes.  Samuel, a young boy is experiencing such a culture and he is living among the priests who have adopted the ways of the flesh and have rejected God’s law.  Then we have Eli, and his role is the judge of Israel, high priest, and the dad of Hophni and Phinehas, who were evil and worthless priests.

Now let’s be sure we do not put God in one of those boxes we often have the tendency to do.  God will always find a way to communicate His message; it may be a burning bush that is not consumed or a donkey that stops on the road and speaks to us, for God will always find a spokesperson to deliver his message.   

God has a message for Eli and Scripture gives this information; “And there came a man of God to Eli and said to him, “Thus the LORD has said."  Now I’m going to cut this real short for we have covered it, but this is the bottom line, those worthless boys of yours are going to die on the same day. 

Often we are slow, and God is kind and patient and sends the message by another messenger.  The boy Samuel is going to be that source and at this point God has not spoken to the youngster.  Now Eli’s sleeping quarters were away from Samuel’s, and we are told that Samuel slept in the temple where the ark of God was.  The Scripture tells us that Eli’s eyesight was terrible and that he had become fat and spent most of his time sitting in a chair.

But on this night God chooses to speak to the boy Samuel and not knowing it is God he runs to Eli, and this happens three times, and each time Eli sent him back to bed.  But on the third time, Eli understands that it is God speaking to the boy, and he gives Samuel this command.  Picking up the story in verse nine, “Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down, and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place. “

In the culture we live in where there is little understanding of obedience, in that obedience is doing what one is told, at the time you are told, all else is not obedience.  The young boy Samuel had learned obedience not by watching Eli or his sons but from the actions of his mother.  In verse ten we have this act of a faithful and wise young boy; “And the Lord came and stood, calling as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant hears.”

I often wonder in this instant gratification world we find ourselves living in, how often God is speaking, but we have the noise going or our cell phone is ringing, and we do not have time for God?

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Kid & Grandkids take God's place

 1 Samuel 2:27-36

The Lord rejects Eli’s household, and he sends a prophet to deliver the message to Eli.  For me, as a parent and grandparent verse 27 is a key verse. “Why then do you scorn my sacrifices and my offerings that I commanded for my dwelling, and honor your sons above me by fattening yourselves on the choicest parts of every offering of my people Israel?”  It's well defined in Scripture that anything we give more value to than God has become an idol to us.  Eli had allowed his sons to receive the honor that only God has a right to, and now it is going to cause pain and suffering for Eli’s household forever!

It is easy to do this and not have any understanding that the kids or grandkids have filled a place in your heart that is only allowed for the Lord.  So be careful, do not bring judgment on your family.  Eli had many warnings, it was being reported back to him the actions his sons were taking that were against the commandments of God, and he chose sons over God.

Now God had declared that the line of Aaron would be the priestly line forever and it would be the tribe of His priest to go up and offer offerings at His alter for the sins of the people.  

But once more we find a crucial verse in 30;  “Therefore the Lord, the God of Israel, declares: ‘I promised that your house and the house of your father should go in and out before me forever,’ but now the Lord declares: ‘Far be it from me, for those who honor me I will honor, and those who despise me shall be lightly esteemed.”

Be very careful where your theology takes you at this point, this is not God putting us on a performance-based acceptance.  God is not saying I will love you if you perform in the way I desire.  He has shown His love for us while we were His enemy by sending His only Son to pay the penalty for our sins.  This verse is not directed to a non-believer, but to one who is a follower of Christ, a person who God has chosen, and yet they honor stuff and people before God.  Jesus had this to say in Matthew 15:7-9, ^“You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice