1 SAMUEL 8:1-9:27
THE REJECTION OF GOD: The people were actually ruled by prophets during this era (actually a theocracy). They rejected Samuel, but were actually rejecting God.
Their Excuses:
(1) Samuel was too old to fight and his sons betrayed him by not walking in his ways.
(2) They preferred the ways of the world - a king.
Their Real Reasons:
(1) Unbelief.
(2) Self-will.
(1) It will use your children for itself.
(2) They will plow and reap your harvest (taxes).(4) Your daughters will be their slaves.
(5) They will take your best stuff.(6) They will take your tithe (more taxes) and spend it on their executives (bonuses).
(7) They will use you as slaves.
This is all because we want someone to tell us what to do and take care of us so we don't have to take responsibility for ourselves.
KING SAUL: "Saul" means "demand". He was from the smallest family of the smallest tribe, Benjamin.
RESPONSE: Just like Jesus went UP the mountain for the "Sermon on the Mount", Samuel took Saul UP on the rooftop for the same purpose. Abraham went Abraham went UP Mt. Moriah to worship God. Samuel separated Saul from the servants to "show him the Word of God". We separate ourselves for intimate times with God.
JOHN 6:22-42
"LABOR FOR WHAT ENDURES FOR ETERNITY": (V.27) How does Jesus say you do that? "BELIEVE on Him Whom God has sent." (v.28-29). To believe all Jesus said, means to feed on Him - satisfy our abysmal hungers with Him. Teach your heart to delight in the Lord and satisfy yourself with His beauty and His hope. NOT DOING THAT causes us to "labor” for things that are NOT eternal and so on Judgment Day, they are worthless and useless. Jesus is not saying that we shouldn't work for our food and shelter, etc. What He IS saying is that our "treasure" (what truly motivates us) must be Jesus Himself. How we view the world and our work in it should be with eternity in mind. Jesus came to GIVE us those eternal goods - "THE Life" that is characterized by our connection to God.
"I AM": Remember that as the LOGOS, Jesus is the root-source of all meaning in life. He is what grounds reality and gives it meaning. Apart from God, life is just mere existence. "I AM" means "the Ultimate individual". In Exo 3:14 God revealed Himself to Moses as "I AM". It expresses God's complete freedom to be what He will be. It is the MOST EXALTED of all the Names of God.
The people around Jesus, on this occasion, wanted to USE HIM for PHYSICAL BREAD that fills their stomachs. But Jesus knows that isn't the real source of our unrest. The answer to the longing soul, the unrest in our hearts, must come from heaven in the form of Jesus. God is the source of the hunger, and God is the answer to it, too. We must come to Jesus WHEN and IF He draws us. And what does He give us to fill that hunger and thirst? ETERNAL LIFE. It is that "something" beyond the here-and-now. This is referring to the life I enter NOW by faith, a quality of life. It's distinguishing characteristics are fullness of life, unrestrained by human-ness, and a connection with God as we live in our eternal life NOW. It is a gift of fullness and completeness.
RESPONSE: Whenever my brothers and I would argue, my mother would say, "if it won't matter in 100 years, it doesn't matter." We had to learn perspective. Many of the things that upset us don't really matter in the long-run.
We have to learn to trust God to give us enough of His Presence to keep us from turning to substitutes ("junk food") to fill our hunger and thirst for Him. The process of doing this is called repentance. We MUST cling to God with all we have or He won't be close enough to reassure us and we'll feel like we still need something else. His closeness is the only real place of safety and satisfaction. My only hope of ever being happy and fulfilled is to repent from living apart from God and submit and come closer to Him.
PSALM 106:32-48
PEOPLE'S FAILURE AND GOD'S FAITHFULNESS: This is the last of the "Numbers" Psalms. Some reasons given for failure are:
(1) Allowing people to "provoke" us. In v.33 the Hebrew word is "marah", which we know means "to be bitter and angry". And when Moses let that get into his soul, "he spoke unadvisedly with his lips." The Hebrew word for "spoke unadvisedly" means "he spoke in anger". And that disqualified him from the Kingdom.
(3) They "were bent on rebellion". That's what all sin is - "red-handed rebellion". They wanted to do what they wanted to do when they wanted to do it. They lived apart from God, in self-sufficiency and thus disqualified themselves from the Kingdom.
PROVERBS 14:34-35
What makes a nation great is "righteousness" (justice and compassion). Sin will curse it and make it despicable to other nations. Those who represent the nation that behave themselves wisely shall be respected, but those who behave shamefully shall be displaced (at least in our affections).
RESPONSE: When Moses "vented", he forfeited the Kingdom. Even the Apostle Paul was worried about that. "I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize." (1 Cor 9:27) In order to really enjoy the benefits of eternal life, we must stay close to God, delighting ourselves in Him, teaching our hearts to fear Him and love Him.
HOW? Through repentance and faith. I must daily instruct my heart about God's sovereignty and that all I do has consequences. That God is good and God is great - proof is all around me. Therefore He can be trusted to have my best interests at heart. I make a clear-headed CHOICE every day to listen for God's voice and obey Him. To watch for His "nudges" throughout the day. To practice being delighted and overjoyed with just Him! Anything else just disqualifies me for the good life and I get caught in problems that are never resolved.
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