Transcript 1 Samuel - GodsCharacter.com

“Do what they want and give
them a king.” (1 Samuel 8:22)
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“In those days, when the boy Samuel was
serving the LORD under the direction of
Eli, there were very few messages from
the LORD, and visions from him were
quite rare.” (1 Samuel 3:1)
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“At that time the Philistines gathered to
go to war against Israel, so the Israelites
set out to fight them...The Philistines
attacked, and after fierce fighting they
defeated the Israelites and killed about
four thousand men on the battlefield.
When the survivors came back to camp,
the leaders of Israel said, ‘Why did the
LORD let the Philistines defeat us today?
Let’s go and bring the LORD’s Covenant
Box from Shiloh, so that he will go with us
and save us from our enemies.’
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“So they sent messengers to Shiloh and
got the Covenant Box of the LORD
Almighty, who is enthroned above the
winged creatures. And Eli’s two sons,
Hophni and Phinehas, came along with
the Covenant Box. When the Covenant
Box arrived, the Israelites gave such a
loud shout of joy that the earth shook.”
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“The Philistines heard the shouting and
said, ‘Listen to all that shouting in the
Hebrew camp! What does it mean?’ When
they found out that the LORD's Covenant
Box had arrived in the Hebrew camp, they
were afraid, and said, ‘A god has come
into their camp! We’re lost! Nothing like
this has ever happened to us before! Who
can save us from those powerful gods?
They are the gods who slaughtered the
Egyptians in the desert!’”
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“Be brave, Philistines! Fight like men, or
we will become slaves to the Hebrews,
just as they were our slaves. So fight like
men!’ The Philistines fought hard and
defeated the Israelites, who went running
to their homes. There was a great
slaughter: thirty thousand Israelite
soldiers were killed.” (1 Samuel 4:1-10 –
GN)
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“The messenger answered, ‘Israel ran away
from the Philistines; it was a terrible defeat
for us! Besides that, your sons Hophni and
Phinehas were killed, and God’s Covenant
Box was captured!’ When the man
mentioned the Covenant Box, Eli fell
backward from his seat beside the gate. He
was so old and fat that the fall broke his
neck, and he died. He had been a leader in
Israel for forty years.” (1 Samuel 4:17-18 –
GN)
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“After the Philistines captured the Covenant Box,
they…took it into the temple of their god Dagon,
and set it up beside his statue.
Early the next morning the people of Ashdod saw
that the statue of Dagon had fallen face downward
on the ground in front of the LORD’s Covenant
Box. So they lifted it up and put it back in its place.
Early the following morning they saw that the
statue had again fallen down in front of the
Covenant Box. This time its head and both its arms
were broken off and were lying in the doorway;
only the body was left. (That is why even today
the priests of Dagon and all his worshipers in
Ashdod step over that place and do not walk on
it.) (1 Samuel 5:1-5 – GN)
"only the form of a fish
was left"
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“What better heralding, as a divinely sent
messenger to Nineveh, could Jonah have
had, than to be thrown up out of the
mouth of a great fish, in the presence of
witnesses, say on the coast of Phoenicia,
where the fish-god was a favorite object of
worship?” (H. Clay Trumbull, “Jonah in
Nineveh.” Journal of Biblical Literature, Vol. 2,
No.1, 1892, p. 56)
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“The LORD punished the people of Ashdod
severely and terrified them. He punished
them and the people in the surrounding
territory by causing them to have tumors.
When they saw what was happening, they
said, ‘The God of Israel is punishing us and
our god Dagon. We can’t let the Covenant
Box stay here any longer.’ So they sent
messengers and called together all five of the
Philistine kings and asked them, ‘What shall
we do with the Covenant Box of the God of
Israel?’ ‘Take it over to Gath,’ they
answered; so they took it to Gath, another
Philistine city. But after it arrived there, the
LORD punished that city too and caused a
great panic.”
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“He punished them with tumors which developed
in all the people of the city, young and old alike. So
they sent the Covenant Box to Ekron, another
Philistine city; but when it arrived there, the people
cried out, ‘They have brought the Covenant Box of
the God of Israel here, in order to kill us all!’ So
again they sent for all the Philistine kings and said,
‘Send the Covenant Box of Israel back to its own
place, so that it won't kill us and our families.’ There
was panic throughout the city because God was
punishing them so severely. Even those who did not
die developed tumors and the people cried out to
their gods for help.” (1 Samuel 5:6-12 – GN)
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The advice of the priests and magicians:
“You must make these models of the
tumors and of the mice that are ravaging
your country, and you must give honor to
the God of Israel. Perhaps he will stop
punishing you, your gods, and your land.
Why should you be stubborn, as the king
of Egypt and the Egyptians were? Don’t
forget how God made fools of them until
they let the Israelites leave Egypt. So
prepare a new wagon and two cows that
have never been yoked; hitch them to the
wagon and drive their calves back to the
barn.” (1 Samuel 6:5-7 – GN)
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Blood – Hapi, the god of the Nile who
was thought to bring water and life to
Egypt
Frogs – Heka, the ‘toad goddess’, a
symbol of resurrection
Gnats – Geb, the god of earth and
vegetation
Flies – Khepri, the god of insects
Death of the animals – Apis, the god of
cattle
Boils – Thoth, the god of medicine and
wisdom.
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Hail – Nut, the ‘sky goddess’ of harvest
Locusts – Anubis, the god of the fields
Darkness – Ra, the ‘sun god’ believed to
the physical father of all pharaohs
Passover – “On that night I will go
through the land…punishing all the gods
of Egypt” (Exodus 12:12 - GN)
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“The LORD says, ‘People of Israel, I think
as much of the people of Ethiopia as I do
of you. I brought the Philistines from
Crete and the Syrians from Kir, just as I
brought you from Egypt.” (Amos 9:7 –
GN)
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Rahab and Ruth
Naaman
Nebuchadnezzar and Cyrus
Roman officer
 “I tell you, I have never found anyone in Israel with
faith like this. I assure you that many will come from
the east and the west and sit down with Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob at the feast in the Kingdom of
heaven. But those who should be in the Kingdom will
be thrown out into the darkness, where they will cry
and gnash their teeth.” (Matthew 8:10-12 – GN)
Canaanite woman
 “You are a woman of great faith!” (Matthew 15:28 –
GN)
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“The people of Beth Shemesh were
reaping wheat in the valley, when
suddenly they looked up and saw
the Covenant Box. They were
overjoyed at the sight.” (1 Samuel
6:13 – GN)
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“The LORD killed seventy of the men of
Beth Shemesh because they looked inside
the Covenant Box. And the people
mourned because the LORD had caused
such a great slaughter among them. So
the men of Beth Shemesh said, ‘Who can
stand before the LORD, this holy God?
Where can we send him to get him away
from us?’ They sent messengers to the
people of Kiriath Jearim to say, ‘The
Philistines have returned the LORD's
Covenant Box. Come down and get it.’”
(1 Samuel 6:19-21 – GN)
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“Now, O my God, look on us and listen
to the prayers offered in this place. Rise
up now, LORD God, and with the
Covenant Box, the symbol of your
power, enter the Temple and stay here
forever…When King Solomon finished
his prayer, fire came down from heaven
and burned up the sacrifices that had
been offered, and the dazzling light of
the LORD’s presence filled the Temple.”
(2 Chronicles 6:40-42; 7:1 – GN)
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Why so much display of power
associated with the covenant box?
“The fear of the LORD is the beginning
of knowledge.” (Proverbs 1:7 – GOD’S
WORD)
 “To have knowledge, you must first
have reverence for the LORD.”
(Proverbs 1:7 – GN)
 They were on the brink of disaster
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“So the people of Kiriath Jearim got the LORD's
Covenant Box and took it to the house of a man
named Abinadab, who lived on a hill. They
consecrated his son Eleazar to be in charge of it.
The Covenant Box of the LORD stayed in Kiriath
Jearim a long time, some twenty years. During
this time all the Israelites cried to the LORD for
help. Samuel said to the people of Israel, ‘If you
are going to turn to the LORD with all your
hearts, you must get rid of all the foreign
gods...Dedicate yourselves completely to the
LORD and worship only him, and he will rescue
you from the power of the Philistines.’” (1Samuel
7:1-3)
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“When Samuel grew old, he made his
sons judges in Israel…But they did not
follow their father’s example; they were
interested only in making money, so they
accepted bribes and did not decide cases
honestly.” (1Samuel 8:1-3)
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“Then all the leaders of Israel met
together, went to Samuel in Ramah, and
said to him, ‘Look, you are getting old
and your sons don’t follow your example.
So then, appoint a king to rule over us, so
that we will have a king, as other
countries have.’” (1Samuel 8:4-5)
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“Samuel was displeased with their request
for a king; so he prayed to the LORD, and
the LORD said, ‘Listen to everything the
people say to you. You are not the one they
have rejected; I am the one they have
rejected as their king. Ever since I brought
them out of Egypt, they have turned away
from me and worshiped other gods; and
now they are doing to you what they have
always done to me. So then, listen to them,
but give them strict warnings and explain
how their kings will treat them.’
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“This is how your king will treat you:
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He will make soldiers of your sons…
Your sons will have to plow his fields, harvest
his crops, and make his weapons and the
equipment for his chariots.
Your daughters will have to make perfumes for
him and work as his cooks and his bakers.
He will take your best fields, vineyards, and
olive groves, and give them to his officials.
He will take a tenth of your grain and of your
grapes for his court officers and other officials.
He will take your servants and your best cattle
and donkeys, and make them work for him.
He will take a tenth of your flocks. And you
yourselves will become his slaves.
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“When that time comes, you will
complain bitterly because of your king,
whom you yourselves chose, but the
LORD will not listen to your complaints.’
The people paid no attention to Samuel,
but said, ‘No! We want a king, so that we
will be like other nations, with our own
king to rule us and to lead us out to war
and to fight our battles.’” (1 Samuel 8:1120)
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“Samuel listened to everything they said
and then went and told it to the LORD.
The LORD answered…
‘Do what they want and give them a
king.’ Then Samuel told all the men of
Israel to go back home.” (1 Samuel 8:1-22
– GN)
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“After you have taken possession of the land
that the LORD your God is going to give you
and have settled there, then you will decide
you need a king like all the nations around
you. Be sure that the man you choose to be
king is the one whom the LORD has
chosen…The king is not to have a large
number of horses for his army, and he is not
to send people to Egypt to buy horses…The
king is not to have many wives, because this
would make him turn away from the LORD;
and he is not to make himself rich with silver
and gold.
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When he becomes king, he is to have a copy
of the book of God's laws and teachings
made from the original copy kept by the
levitical priests. He is to keep this book near
him and read from it all his life, so that he
will learn to honor the LORD and to obey
faithfully everything that is commanded in
it. This will keep him from thinking that he
is better than other Israelites and from
disobeying the LORD’s commands in any
way.”(Deuteronomy 17:14-20)
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“If a man takes a second wife, he must
continue to give his first wife the same
amount of food and clothing and the
same rights that she had before.”
(Exodus 21:10 GNB)
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Manna – list of clean and unclean meats
Private Vengeance – Cities of Refuge
Slavery
Women
Fighting
Eye for an eye…
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“Some Pharisees came and tried to trap Him
with this question: ‘Should a man be allowed to
divorce his wife for just any reason?’ ‘Haven’t
you read the Scriptures?’ Jesus replied. ‘They
record that from the beginning 'God made them
male and female.' And He said, 'This explains
why a man leaves his father and mother and is
joined to his wife, and the two are united into
one.' Since they are no longer two but one, let no
one split apart what God has joined together.’
‘Then why did Moses say in the law that a man
could give his wife a written notice of divorce
and send her away?’ they asked.
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“Moses permitted divorce only as a
concession to your hard hearts, but it was
not what God had originally intended.”
(Matthew 19:3-8 NLT)
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“When that time comes, you will
complain bitterly because of your king,
whom you yourselves chose, but the
LORD will not listen to your complaints.’
The people paid no attention to Samuel,
but said, ‘No! We want a king, so that we
will be like other nations, with our own
king to rule us and to lead us out to war
and to fight our battles.’” (1 Samuel 8:1120)
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“Happy are those who are humble…
“Happy are those who are merciful to
others…
“Happy are those who work for peace…
“Happy are those who are persecuted…
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“And if one of the occupation troops forces you to
carry his pack one mile, carry it two miles.”
(Matthew 5:41 – GN)
“But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do
good to those who hate you, bless those who curse
you, and pray for those who mistreat you.
If anyone hits you on one cheek, let him hit the
other one too;
if someone takes your coat, let him have your shirt
as well.
Give to everyone who asks you for something, and
when someone takes what is yours, do not ask for it
back.
Do for others just what you want them to do for
you.
Love your enemies and do good to them
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Lend and expect nothing back.
Do not judge others….
do not condemn others….
forgive others…” (Luke 6:27-37 – GN)
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Until 313 AD – “the blood of the martyrs
was the seed of the Church” - Tertullian
312 AD, Constantine legalized
Christianity: “By this sign you shall
conquer”
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The first time anyone ever associated the
Christian faith with violence
380 AD the official religion of the Roman
empire – a crime not to be a Christian.
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“…I happened to visit a July Fourth worship
service at a certain megachurch. At center stage
in this auditorium stood a large cross next to an
equally large American flag. The congregation
sang some praise choruses mixed with such
patriotic hymns as “God Bless America.” The
climax of the service centered on a video of a
well-known Christian military general giving a
patriotic speech about how God had blessed
America and blessed its military troops…
•
“Triumphant military music played in the
background as he spoke. The video closed with
a scene of a silhouette of three crosses on a hill
with an American flag waving in the
background. Majestic, patriotic music now
thundered. Suddenly, four fighter jets appeared
on the horizon, flew over the crosses, and then
split apart. As they roared over the camera, the
words, “God Bless America” appeared on the
screen in front of the crosses. The congregation
responded with roaring applause, catcalls, and
•
A standing ovation. I saw several people
wiping tears from their eyes. Indeed, as I
remained frozen in my seat, I grew teary-eyed
as well – but for entirely different reasons. I was
struck with horrified grief. Thoughts raced
through my mind: How could the cross and the
sword have been so thoroughly fused without
anyone seeming to notice? How could Calvary
be associated with bombs and missiles...How
could the kingdom of God be reduced to this
sort of violent, nationalistic tribalism? Has the
church progressed at all since the Crusades?” –
The Myth of a Christian Nation, Greg Boyd