David’s kindness to the sons of his allies proves almost detrimental to his own ambitions. While the one who was lame, subdued himself to David for a seat at his table but the one who had an army of his own looked at David’s offer of peace with suspicion. The latter’s arrogance resulted in a…
Tag: Israel
The Victories of King David – 2 Samuel 8
This chapter focuses on David’s victories over the neighbouring territories and subsequent extension of the borders of his kingdom. The author’s intent does not seem to be to record the military conquests of David and his army in chronological order but is to evidence the overarching theme of the entire book that God was with…
House of David – 2 Samuel 7
Chronologically this chapter would have been best suited to read after the next chapter’s events which recounts David’s victory over the neighbouring countries. After David had secured his capital, brought the Ark of God to Jerusalem and built himself a luxurious palace with the choicest wood, he wanted to build a House for God to…
The Missing Piece – 2 Samuel 6
David had garnered the support of all the tribes of Israel, had Michal (his first wife and Saul’s daughter) back in his corner and had even seized the fortified hill city of Jerusalem. The next logical step for him was to retrieve the Ark of God from Kiriath Jearim and secure, both his political and…
The Fortress of a Socialite – 2 Samuel 5
After the death of Abner and Ish-Bosheth, the elders of the tribes of Israel came to meet David at Hebron to ask him to be the ruler of their land. David was thirty-seven years old at this time and had been serving as the king of Judah for seven years by now. But now the…
A Blood Soaked Transition – 2 Samuel 3&4
As the war between the respective camps of David and Saul waged on, the house of David grew stronger day by day. By this time, David had been married seven times and had an heir through each of his six wives who were currently with him (2 Samuel 3:2-5). On the other side, Saul had…
Fool, Foil and Follies – 1 Samuel 25
Sandwiched between the two assassination opportunities of Saul that were presented to David, his encounter with Nabal and Abigail shows us a different side of him. Samuel was the one true ally that David had by his side as it was he who had anointed him as the king of Israel. After his death, David…
From Evildoers Come Evil Deeds – 1 Samuel 23 & 24
David and his men were hiding in Judah when word came to them that the Philistines were raiding the threshing floors of Keilah. Even though strategically Keilah was part of Judah, its close proximity to Philistine territory made it a frequent target for looters who would raid the town during the harvest season. When David…
A Not So Holy Mission – 1 Samuel 21 & 22
David was now officially on the run as Saul had placed an open bounty on his head. He went to Nob, a town just a few miles northeast of Jerusalem to meet Ahimelek, the priest. After the destruction of Shiloh, the town of Nob had taken its place as the religious capital of Israel, housing…
A Sworn Friendship – 1 Samuel 20
After evading Saul and his men at Naioth, David returned to Jerusalem to meet Jonathan. He narrated all that he had been through over the last few days and how Saul tried to kill him. While Samuel believed David when he told him the same account, Jonathan found it hard to believe that his father…
The Plot to Kill David – 1 Samuel 18 & 19
The tales of David’s conquest of the giant spread throughout the land, garnering the love and respect of all the people of Israel. Even the soldiers in Saul’s army respected David as he led them in countless battles, and with God by his side, they would always come out victorious. The admiration for David was…
The Stone Is Mightier Than The Sword – 1 Samuel 17
One of the most popular narratives in the Bible, the battle between David and Goliath has made its way into pop culture and is often referred to in sports when an underdog beats the defending champion. But what the world does not realize, something that Goliath and the Philistines learned the hard way, David was…
Time To Move On – 1 Samuel 16
After the fallout with Saul, Samuel had shut himself in his hometown of Ramah and spent his days mourning for the king of Israel. Though their relationship was going through a rocky patch, Samuel had played an important part in Saul’s life and in the transformation of his heart. Saul even started prophesying soon after…
Obedience Over Offerings – 1 Samuel 15
The failure to follow instructions had already put Saul in hot water as God did not respond to him either through the prophet or through the Urim and the Thummim. Saul was also on the outs with Samuel but after some time had passed, Samuel came to Saul with a message from the Lord. This…
Panic Sent By God – 1 Samuel 14
Now that the relationship between Saul and Samuel had deteriorated beyond repair, he appointed himself a priest from the family line of Eli. Ahijah was the priest who had accompanied Saul’s army in their pursuit of the Philistines and was wearing the ephod that housed the Urim and the Thummim. Saul needed a man of…
Saul’s Haste – 1 Samuel 13
The Philistines had all their soldiers and chariots, “numerous as the sands of the seashore”, and the Israelites were running scared and running out of places to hide. Somehow Saul managed to muster up his troops who were still quaking in fear. He patiently waited seven days for Samuel to arrive and perform his priestly obligations, but after waiting for so long in fear, he finally gave up on waiting for Samuel and performed the offertory ceremony himself. I’ve often asked myself, why was Samuel late and why does Saul after having waited for seven days couldn’t wait a few more hours for Samuel to arrive?
A King is Crowned – 1 Samuel 11&12
In his farewell speech Samuel recounted all the good that God had done for His people and how they had always reciprocated His grace on them with betrayal at every corner. He warned them not to test the anger of the Lord and reminded them of all the destruction that came upon them when they walked away from God and held on to their precious idols.
The Hunt for a King – 1 Samuel 9-10
Israel’s desire to be like other nations led them to reject God and have a mortal human ascend the throne. Samuel was handed the task of finding Israel a new king, one that would lead them to battles. Among the twelve tribes of Israel, the tribe of Benjamin was one of the smallest with a history of seditious revolt against the other eleven tribes. However, God’s ways are unfathomable to us, as no one would have expected the first king of Israel to come from the tribe of Benjamin.
Israel Rejects God – 1 Samuel 6-8
The Israelites put away all their gods and gave their loyalty to Yahweh, but a plot to overthrow their eternal king was soon to enter their minds.
The Glory Departs – 1 Samuel 4-5
The Israelites mourned that the Ark had departed from them but the Glory had long been departed from their midst.
Eli Rejected, Samuel Accepted – 1 Samuel 2-3
Eli was a Levite from the priestly clan of Israel and was used by God to lead Israel for forty years. But along the way something happened in his life that He had started taking the Lord for granted and not payed heed to His warnings.
Humble Beginnings – 1 Samuel 1
For all the accounts of great wars and conquests recorded in the book of Samuel, it still starts with the story of humble beginnings from a lowly town in the hill country of Ephraim.
Genesis 50 – God our Guarantor
Our lives are not perfect and oftentimes we too mess up like these people, but if we allow God to work in our lives he will transform our mess into something beautiful. And that’s the story of Genesis!
Genesis 48 & 49 – The Scepter Will Never Depart
The final chapters of the book of Genesis don’t really give us any insights into the lives of Jacob and his sons in Egypt but if we read carefully they do give us a glimmer of hope for a promise to come.
The Leap of Faith
In the land of Aram (Syria in Greek) there lived a valiant soldier highly regarded by the king and was the commander of his forces. The lord had brought victory to Aram through this man. His name was Naaman. He had a perfect life, respected in his community and feared amongst his enemies. However with his great wealth he also had an incurable disease – Leprosy, the disease which caused one to be shunned from society and live as an outcast.
God calls Anyone
Main Reading: Genesis 41 In this given passage we read about the dream that Pharaoh dreamt of and how Joseph interprets it. Pharaoh gets really troubled in his spirit after seeing the dream and calls for the magicians and wise men but none could interpret it. Then the chief butler remembers how Joseph had interpreted the…
Give It Time
Readings: Luke 5: 33-39 How often do we find ourselves much like the Pharisees, criticizing others regarding their spiritual activities rather than focusing on our own? The Pharisees [1] questioned Christ as to why his disciples don’t fast while they fasted. The disciples were all common men with common occupations whom Christ chose to carry out…
Patience
One of the most confusing passage and yet it has been cited as the beginning of the end of Saul’s reign, due to his ‘Impatience’. The Philistines had all their soldiers and chariots, “numerous as the sands of the seashore”, and the Israelites were running scared ….
The Jordan Valley 