“You have done a foolish thing,” Samuel said. “You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time. But now your kingdom will not endure; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him […]
Read More Sam’s 1st Epic 13 – Forgetting Your PlaceBut be sure to fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you. Yet if you persist in doing evil, both you and your king will perish.” (1 Samuel 12:24-25 NIV) It must have been a very emotional occasion. Samuel wasn’t dying. One of the […]
Read More Sam’s 1st Epic 12 – Samuel’s WarningSamuel said to all the people, “Do you see the man the Lord has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people.” Then the people shouted, “Long live the king!” (1 Samuel 10:24 NIV) Chapters 9-11 form a neat trilogy of the rise of the king. Chapter 10 is the truly transformative […]
Read More Sam’s 1st Epic 10 – The Appointment of SaulBut the people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want a king over us. Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.” (1 Samuel 8:19-20 NIV) Samuel took it personally. After years of his wise […]
Read More Sam’s 1st Epic 08 – Rejecting the KingYeah, when I read the word I could only remember A Christmas Carol and Ebenezer Scrooge. (In fact there was also a house tune that had a line that said ‘He’s a scrooge, He’s a scrooge, He’s Ebenezer Scrooge.’ Not that I was into house music much in the past, but a good friend of mine […]
Read More Sam’s 1st Epic 07 – EbenezerThere was a thinking in the day that said that the battle of nations was also a battle of the gods. It’s not too dissimilar to the thought that the Cold War of the second half of the 20th Century was about whose nation’s god/idea was greater capitalism or communism. Thus when one nation conquered […]
Read More Sam’s 1st Epic 05 – Whose God is Greater?The Lord was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of Samuel’s words fall to the ground. (1 Samuel 3:19 NIV) The call of Samuel is a very intriguing one. Lots of elements can be explored in it and others have done a great job outlining them. What this encounter says to […]
Read More Sam’s 1st Epic 03 – Here I Am; You Called MeIf someone sins against a man, God will mediate for him, but if someone sins against the Lord , who can intercede for him?” But they would not listen to the voice of their father, for it was the will of the Lord to put them to death. … And I will raise up for […]
Read More Sam’s 1st Epic 02 – Consequences of ContemptApril is done. I didn’t hate April, quite a lot of good things happened in that month. I am grateful for it and I am glad it’s done. In the past week I had not written much in the way of a Bible Study. The break was good and posting some interesting videos I came […]
Read More Brief Dryden Update & About Sam’s 1st EpicIn her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the Lord , weeping bitterly. (1 Samuel 1:10 NIV) Hannah’s description of her circumstances is challenging. Provoked sorely by a rival who is able to have children, Hannah’s barren state creates a tension that not even the devotion of her husband can settle. This episode of Scripture is […]
Read More Sam’s 1st Epic 01 – Heard by God
