Today our passages are 1 Samuel 12:1–13:22;
John 7:1-29; Psalm 108:1-13; and Proverbs 15:4. The readings are from The Message by Eugene H.
Peterson.
1 Samuel 12-13:22 (The Message)
1 Samuel 12
"Don't Chase After Ghost-Gods"
1-3 Samuel addressed all Israel: "I've
listened to everything you've said to me, listened carefully to every word, and
I've given you a king. See for yourself: Your king among you, leading you! But
now look at me: I'm old and gray, and my sons are still here. I've led you
faithfully from my youth until this very day. Look at me! Do you have any
complaints to bring before God and
his anointed? Have I ever stolen so much as an ox or a donkey? Have I ever taken
advantage of you or exploited you? Have I ever taken a bribe or played fast and
loose with the law? Bring your complaint and I'll make it right."
4 "Oh no," they said, "never. You've never
done any of that—never abused us, never lined your own pockets."
5 "That settles it then," said Samuel.
"God is witness, and his anointed
is witness that you find nothing against me—no faults, no complaints."
6-8 And the people said, "He is witness."
Samuel continued,
"This is the God who made Moses
and Aaron your leaders and brought your ancestors out of Egypt. Take your stand
before him now as I review your case before God in the light of all the righteous
ways in which God has worked with
you and your ancestors. When Jacob's sons entered Egypt, the Egyptians made life
hard for them and they cried for help to God. God sent Moses and Aaron, who led your
ancestors out of Egypt and settled them here in this place.
9 "They soon forgot their God, so he sold them off to Sisera,
commander of Hazor's army, later to a hard life under the Philistines, and still
later to the king of Moab. They had to fight for their lives.
10 "Then they cried for help to God. They confessed, 'We've sinned!
We've gone off and left God and
worshiped the fertility gods and goddesses of Canaan. Oh, deliver us from the
brutalities of our enemies and we'll worship you alone.'
11 "So God sent Jerub-Baal (Gideon), Bedan
(Barak), Jephthah, and Samuel. He saved you from that hard life surrounded by
enemies, and you lived in peace.
12 "But when you saw Nahash, king of the
Ammonites, preparing to attack you, you said to me, 'No more of this. We want a
king to lead us.' And God was
already your king!
13-15 "So here's the king you wanted, the
king you asked for. God has let
you have your own way, given you a king. If you fear God, worship and obey him, and don't
rebel against what he tells you. If both you and your king follow God, no problem. God will be sure to save you. But if you
don't obey him and rebel against what he tells you, king or no king, you will
fare no better than your fathers.
16-17 "Pay attention! Watch this wonder that
God is going to perform before you
now! It's summer, as you well know, and the rainy season is over. But I'm going
to pray to God. He'll send thunder
and rain, a sign to convince you of the great wrong you have done to God by asking for a king."
18 Samuel prayed to God, and God sent thunder and rain that same day.
The people were greatly afraid and in awe of God and of Samuel.
19 Then all the people begged Samuel, "Pray
to your God for us, your servants.
Pray that we won't die! On top of all our other sins, we've piled on one
more—asking for a king!"
20-22 Samuel said to them, "Don't be
fearful. It's true that you have done something very wrong. All the same, don't
turn your back on God. Worship and
serve him heart and soul! Don't chase after ghost-gods. There's nothing to them.
They can't help you. They're nothing but ghost-gods! God, simply because of who he is, is not
going to walk off and leave his people. God took delight in making you into his
very own people.
23-25 "And neither will I walk off and leave
you. That would be a sin against God! I'm staying right here at my post
praying for you and teaching you the good and right way to live. But I beg of
you, fear God and worship him
honestly and heartily. You've seen how greatly he has worked among you! Be
warned: If you live badly, both you and your king will be thrown out."
1 Samuel 13
"God Is Out Looking for Your Replacement"
1 Saul was a young man when he began as
king. He was king over Israel for many years.
2 Saul conscripted enough men for three
companies of soldiers. He kept two companies under his command at Micmash and in
the Bethel hills. The other company was under Jonathan at Gibeah in Benjamin. He
sent the rest of the men home. 3-4
Jonathan attacked and killed the Philistine governor stationed at Geba (Gibeah).
When the Philistines heard the news, they raised the alarm: "The Hebrews are in
revolt!" Saul ordered the reveille trumpets blown throughout the land. The word
went out all over Israel, "Saul has killed the Philistine governor—drawn first
blood! The Philistines are stirred up and mad as hornets!" Summoned, the army
came to Saul at Gilgal.
5 The Philistines rallied their forces to
fight Israel: three companies of chariots, six companies of cavalry, and so many
infantry they looked like sand on the seashore. They went up into the hills and
set up camp at Micmash, east of Beth Aven.
6-7 When the Israelites saw that they were
way outnumbered and in deep trouble, they ran for cover, hiding in caves and
pits, ravines and brambles and cisterns—wherever. They retreated across the
Jordan River, refugees fleeing to the country of Gad and Gilead. But Saul held
his ground in Gilgal, his soldiers still with him but scared to death.
8 He waited seven days, the time set by
Samuel. Samuel failed to show up at Gilgal, and the soldiers were slipping away,
right and left.
9-10 So Saul took charge: "Bring me the
burnt offering and the peace offerings!" He went ahead and sacrificed the burnt
offering. No sooner had he done it than Samuel showed up! Saul greeted him.
11-12 Samuel said, "What on earth are you
doing?"
Saul answered,
"When I saw I was losing my army from under me, and that you hadn't come when
you said you would, and that the Philistines were poised at Micmash, I said,
'The Philistines are about to come down on me in Gilgal, and I haven't yet come
before God asking for his help.'
So I took things into my own hands, and sacrificed the burnt offering."
13-14 "That was a fool thing to do," Samuel
said to Saul. "If you had kept the appointment that your God commanded, by now God would have set a firm and lasting
foundation under your kingly rule over Israel. As it is, your kingly rule is
already falling to pieces. God is
out looking for your replacement right now. This time he'll do the choosing.
When he finds him, he'll appoint him leader of his people. And all because you
didn't keep your appointment with God!"
15 At that, Samuel got up and left Gilgal.
What army there was left followed Saul into battle. They went into the hills
from Gilgal toward Gibeah in Benjamin. Saul looked over and assessed the
soldiers still with him—a mere six hundred!
Jonathan and His Armor Bearer
16-18 Saul, his son Jonathan, and the
soldiers who had remained made camp at Geba (Gibeah) of Benjamin. The
Philistines were camped at Micmash. Three squads of raiding parties were
regularly sent out from the Philistine camp. One squadron was assigned to the
Ophrah road going toward Shual country; another was assigned to the Beth Horon
road; the third took the border road that rimmed the Valley of Hyenas.
19-22 There wasn't a blacksmith to be found
anywhere in Israel. The Philistines made sure of that—"Lest those Hebrews start
making swords and spears." That meant that the Israelites had to go down among
the Philistines to keep their farm tools—plowshares and mattocks, axes and
sickles—sharp and in good repair. They charged a silver coin for the plowshares
and mattocks, and half that for the rest. So when the battle of Micmash was
joined, there wasn't a sword or spear to be found anywhere in Israel—except for
Saul and his son Jonathan; they were both well-armed.
John 7:1-29 (The Message)
John 7
1-2 Later Jesus was going about his
business in Galilee. He didn't want to travel in Judea because the Jews there
were looking for a chance to kill him. It was near the time of Tabernacles, a
feast observed annually by the Jews.
3-5His brothers said, "Why don't you leave
here and go up to the Feast so your disciples can get a good look at the works
you do? No one who intends to be publicly known does everything behind the
scenes. If you're serious about what you are doing, come out in the open and
show the world." His brothers were pushing him like this because they didn't
believe in him either.
6-8Jesus came back at them, "Don't crowd
me. This isn't my time. It's your time—it's always your time; you have nothing
to lose. The world has nothing against you, but it's up in arms against me. It's
against me because I expose the evil behind its pretensions. You go ahead, go up
to the Feast. Don't wait for me. I'm not ready. It's not the right time for me."
9-11He said this and stayed on in Galilee.
But later, after his family had gone up to the Feast, he also went. But he kept
out of the way, careful not to draw attention to himself. The Jews were already
out looking for him, asking around, "Where is that man?"
12-13There was a lot of contentious talk
about him circulating through the crowds. Some were saying, "He's a good man."
But others said, "Not so. He's selling snake oil." This kind of talk went on in
guarded whispers because of the intimidating Jewish leaders.
Could It Be the Messiah?
14-15With the Feast already half over,
Jesus showed up in the Temple, teaching. The Jews were impressed, but puzzled:
"How does he know so much without being schooled?"
16-19Jesus said, "I didn't make this up.
What I teach comes from the One who sent me. Anyone who wants to do his will can
test this teaching and know whether it's from God or whether I'm making it up. A
person making things up tries to make himself look good. But someone trying to
honor the one who sent him sticks to the facts and doesn't tamper with reality.
It was Moses, wasn't it, who gave you God's Law? But none of you are living it.
So why are you trying to kill me?"
20The crowd said, "You're crazy! Who's
trying to kill you? You're demon-possessed."
21-24Jesus said, "I did one miraculous
thing a few months ago, and you're still standing around getting all upset,
wondering what I'm up to. Moses prescribed circumcision—originally it came not
from Moses but from his ancestors—and so you circumcise a man, dealing with one
part of his body, even if it's the Sabbath. You do this in order to preserve one
item in the Law of Moses. So why are you upset with me because I made a man's
whole body well on the Sabbath? Don't be nitpickers; use your head—and heart!—to
discern what is right, to test what is authentically right."
25-27That's when some of the people of
Jerusalem said, "Isn't this the one they were out to kill? And here he is out in
the open, saying whatever he pleases, and no one is stopping him. Could it be
that the rulers know that he is, in fact, the Messiah? And yet we know where
this man came from. The Messiah is going to come out of nowhere. Nobody is going
to know where he comes from."
28-29That provoked Jesus, who was teaching
in the Temple, to cry out, "Yes, you think you know me and where I'm from, but
that's not where I'm from. I didn't set myself up in business. My true origin is
in the One who sent me, and you don't know him at all. I come from him—that's
how I know him. He sent me here."
Psalm 108:1-13 (The Message)
Psalm 108
A David Prayer
1-2 I'm ready, God, so ready,ready from head to toe.
Ready to sing,
ready to raise a God-song:
"Wake, soul! Wake, lute!
Wake up, you sleepyhead sun!"
3-6 I'm thanking you, God, out in the streets,
singing your praises in town and country.
The deeper your love, the higher it goes;
every cloud's a flag to your faithfulness.
Soar high in the skies, O God!
Cover the whole earth with your glory!
And for the sake of the one you love so much,
reach down and help me—answer me!
7-9 That's when God spoke in holy splendor:
"Brimming over with joy,
I make a present of Shechem,
I hand out Succoth Valley as a gift.
Gilead's in my pocket,
to say nothing of Manasseh.
Ephraim's my hard hat,
Judah my hammer.
Moab's a scrub bucket—
I mop the floor with Moab,
Spit on Edom,
rain fireworks all over Philistia."
10-11 Who will take me to the thick of the fight?
Who'll show me the road to Edom?
You aren't giving up on us, are you, God?
refusing to go out with our troops?
12-13 Give us help for the hard task;
human help is worthless.
In God we'll do our very best;
he'll flatten the opposition for good.
Proverbs 15:4 (The Message)
4 Kind words heal and help;
cutting words wound and maim.
Verse of the Day
“[In Praise of a
Good Wife]A truly good wife is the most precious treasure a man can find! She
takes good care of her family and is never lazy. Her children praise her, and
with great pride her husband says,” - Proverbs 31:10, 27-28
Today's passage is from the
Contemporary English Version.
Thought for the
Day
American author, Philip
Wylie wrote, “Education is not a function of any church — or even of a city
— or a state; it is a function of all mankind.”
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