In Which She Muses about Imposter Syndrome...

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

 Unrelated sunset post for Facebook thumbnail

Tonight I took part in an online chat for an online artistic community that I kind of follow.  I had difficulties getting my computer to talk to Zoom for some reason and I was a couple of minutes late...and kind of quickly got asked to share about my current wins/struggles/ inspiration/ etc.  Didn't really have time to come up with something eloquent, so I just went with my gut and confessed to dealing with imposter syndrome...like, I am here hanging out with creatives to try and convince myself that I really am one.

Now, I do have some objective evidence that at least a few people appreciate my creativity, but I always kinda brush it off as 'yeah, well they're friends/ family so it doesn't really count' (Hi, Mom...).  A number of my closest friends/ family are NOT fans of my creative efforts, so that kinda cancels it out, right?  I mean, folks in the online community I was chatting with have artwork in shows, are published authors/ songwriters/ have actually gotten formal education in their area of talent and I'm...just out here winging it.  And often getting shot down.  Which makes me think, hey, maybe what I'm creating just really isn't that good.  I mean, it's a possibility, right?

But when I confessed to Imposter Syndrome tonight, the chat moderator offered his thoughts... remember, we are accepted in the beloved. It's not about how my art/ creativity compares to any one else, or even if it gets a big audience.  It may just hit one person and inspire them in some way, and ...that's worth it.

And suddenly I remembered a moment at a women's conference back in 2008...the very conference that gave me the impetus to start this blog, now that I think about it...at which Wellington Boone himself gave me a prophetic word, with the central theme that I was 'Accepted in the Beloved'.  I hadn't thought about that moment in a long, long time.

There are some challenges coming in the next couple of months...I'll talk about them when I have to...but it's good to remember that whether or not the end product gets published or performed or even recognized, it's still creativity, it's still my voice...and we all know from reading Dr Seuss that even the tiniest 'Yop' makes a difference, right?.

So...for anyone who happens to stumble on this post who may be struggling with creativity or whatever is in your heart, and you are starting to think that you don't measure up...just remember, if it's your way of sharing what God stirs in you, it's not fake or cheap or bad.  He hears; He sees; He smiles.  

Because you, too, are Accepted in the Beloved.  Whether you have any kind of audience or not.  

You are not an Imposter.  Just a different sort of The Real Thing.

Blogging Bible Study: The Heart of the Matter - 2 Samuel, part 1...David is King

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

Heart/ Hearts doesn't have nearly as many mentions in 2 Samuel as it did in 1 Samuel...in fact, nearly all of them are involved in one particular narrative arc, so I am going to put all those together next week. 

Which means this week we're looking at two completely unrelated references.

At the start of 2 Samuel, both Saul and Jonathan had been killed in the battle with the Philistines at Mount Gilboa. The tribe of Judah declared David to be king, but there was still a faction loyal to the house of Saul, led by Saul's general, Abner.  Abner made the next son of Saul, Ish-Bosheth, king over pretty much everything else. There was, of course, war, and David's nephew Asahel tangled with Abner and Abner killed him, even though it seems he didn't mean to.   Unfortunately, Asahel was Joab's younger brother...which comes into play later.  After some time, David's support grew stronger while the support for Ish-Bosheth dropped.  Finally, Ish-Bosheth accused Abner of sleeping with one of his father's concubines.  Now, there is no evidence given as to whether or not this was a valid accusation, but Abner got disgusted with Ish-Bosheth and declared that he was going to support David as king, and bring all of Israel with him.

Abner sent straight away to David offering to support him and, in response to David's request for proof of his intentions, returned David's first wife, Michal, to him after she had been given to another one of Saul's allies. Abner also conferred with leaders of the other tribes, declaring to them that they should make David king. Finally, Abner and David met at Hebron, over a feast David had prepared in Abner's honor.

Then Abner said to David, "Let me go at once and assemble all Israel for my lord the king, so that they may make a compact with you, and that you may rule over all that your heart desires."  So David sent Abner away, and he went in peace. - 2 Sam. 3:21; 'Heart' is Strong's H5315 - nephesh; 'properly, a breathing creature, i.e. animal of (abstractly) vitality; used very widely in a literal, accommodated or figurative sense (bodily or mental):—any, appetite, beast, body, breath, creature'. 'Heart' here is the seat of David's ambition. And Abner fully intended to support him.

Well, no sooner had Abner left than Joab and a number of other soldiers came in from a raid, carrying plunder. And Joab had a fit, stating that Abner was there just to spy out David's camp and movements. He left David, sent messengers after Abner so that Abner, thinking Joab had some important information for him, returned.

And Joab took him aside privately and stabbed him to death to avenge his brother Asahel.

This is the first of Joab's 'I know better than the king' dealings that left someone dead. David mourned Abner and honored him and, furious with Joab, pronounced a curse against Joab and his house, demonstrating to anyone that David was not responsible for Abner's death. Ish-bosheth was murdered in his bed shortly after, and there was no longer anyone to oppose David. All of Israel united to make him king.

David captured Jerusalem from the Jebusites and began the process of making it his capitol; and, as part of making Jerusalem the focal point of the nation, decided to bring the Ark of the Covenant to the city. Now, the Ark had been stashed at the house of Abinidab since the Philistines had sent it back to Israel; Saul, in his entire reign, never considered doing anything else with it. David wanted it in Jerusalem. He constructed a tabernacle to house it and went to bring it back. Of course, they botched the first attempt, treating the Ark as cargo instead of as the holy thing it was, and it landed at the house of Obed-Edom while they researched the proper way to move it. After about 3 months, they tried again...this time, carrying it on the shoulders of the priests, as Moses had directed. David had a massive worship service to move the Ark, sacrificing a huge number of cattle as the Ark progressed down the road. Ultimately, he stripped down to his skivvies ('a linen ephod') and 'danced before the LORD with all his might' (2 Sam 6:14).

As the ark of the LORD was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD, she despised him in her heart. -- 2 Sam 6:16; 'Heart' is the familiar Strong's H3820, leb.

To be honest, I really hadn't considered Michal very much. It's always been easy to scorn her bad attitude, but as I read this just now I thought a bit about her story.  It may not have taken much to push Michal over the line to judging David here.  She had loved him, back before all the crazy happened with her dad (1 Sam 18). But David had more or less abandoned her, leaving her in an unsafe place...if Saul had thought for a moment that Michal had aided David in escaping him, he could very well have killed her (1 Sam. 19:11-17) .Now, I don't know that it would have been possible for David to have done anything else; circumstances being what they were.  But she basically said that David would have killed her if she hadn't aided him...which wasn't the truth.  In any case, Saul didn't kill her for helping David.  Instead, he gave her to be another man's wife (1 Sam 25:44), which may have been his way of punishing both David and Michal. But the other dude, Paltiel,  apparently loved her and did not want to let her go (2 Sam 3:16).  As the time passed, Michal may have been happier with Paltiel than David.  For David, she was a symbol and a token.  Now, don't get me wrong, her spewing her bitterness on him was not the way to deal with the situation...I am just saying I kinda get where she was coming from.  But David was done with her after that.  Her bitterness cost her any hope of a future.  To live as a childless woman, in that society, was a life of failure. Was her life fair?  No. Not in the least.  She hadn't had much of a say in any of the things that had happened to her.  But she allowed it to make her bitter.  David was coming to bless his household at the moment she threw her venom on him.  He was excited, happy, rejoicing.  Had she rejoiced with him in that moment...it could have been a whole new start for her.  But she didn't see what he saw.  He saw the triumph of God and celebrated.  She saw a man acting a fool  and was embarrassed by him.  And what was in her heart came flying out of her mouth and she ruined whatever future she might have had.

I'm having trouble writing a summation here...I feel really sorry for Michal, which is a switch from my previous smug dismissal of her...and hope I can learn from her mistakes.

Blogging Bible Study: The Heart of the Matter - 1 Samuel, Part 5 -- A Man After God's Own Heart

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

I'm going to finish 1 Samuel in our cruise through the Bible looking at 'Heart/ hearts' today; there's a lot of ground to cover so buckle up, lol.  We'll start with a reference from the Part 4 post...1Sam 13:14...

"But now your kingdom will not endure; the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his people, because you have not kept the LORD's command."

The 'man after his own heart' was, at that time, likely still a teenager slinging rocks at trees and stumps and such in the hills around Bethlehem.  His name was David, the youngest of 8 sons of a fellow with a questionable reputation named Jesse.  I say 'questionable reputation', because whenever anyone wanted to discredit or downplay David, they referred to him as the 'son of Jesse'....which makes me think Jesse was not highly regarded in the area.

After Saul's disobedience regarding the spoil from the Amalekites, God sent Samuel to Bethlehem, to Jesse's house, to anoint the new king.

Samuel, still mourning Saul's downfall, went, even though he believed Saul would kill him should he get wind of it. (1 Sam. 16:2).  He told the elders of Bethlehem he had come there to make a sacrifice, and asked the elders of the town to consecrate themselves and join him.  Then he specifically consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them. (1 Sam. 16:5).

When everyone had arrived, Samuel saw Jesse's oldest son, Eliab, and, impressed by his height and strength and bearing, believed this was the man he'd been sent to anoint. But God told him no, this was not the one, explaining

"The LORD does not look at the things man looks at.  Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."  - 1 Sam. 16:7; 'Heart' is Strong's H3824, the same word used in 13:14 above.

David's heart...his innermost being...was his qualification for the kingship. All seven of David's older brothers appeared before Samuel, and he announced over each of them, 'God has not chosen this one.'  I am not sure if he ever really told them WHAT God was choosing at this point...did they assume it was the kingship? Or could they have assumed it was some other task or office?  Samuel is not recorded as mentioning the kingship anywhere in the narrative. But after the seventh brother, he turned to Jesse and asked, "Are these all the sons you have?"  (1 Sam. 16:11)  Jesse rather sheepishly replied (no pun intended but I will take it, lol), "There's the youngest, but he's tending the sheep."  Of course, David is fetched and comes in and Samuel dumps the oil on him.  We still do not know what was said, but the Spirit of God came upon David and he...went back to the sheep.  Until one of Saul's aides happened to remember that he knew of a young shepherd who sang and played the harp really well, and David got a sporadic music gig playing for Saul when his demonic depression/ anxiety came upon him.  Apparently Saul never thought of him as anything but a background servant/ hired musician because he literally didn't even look at him enough to recognize him later.  David would come and play for Saul for a bit and then...go back to the sheep.  Nobody seems to think of David as one who was anointed to be king...which is why I think Samuel was really vague about just what exactly God was choosing David to do.  Perhaps this was to protect David should Saul hear anything about it.  And maybe they all decided he had been anointed to be a ministering musician/ worship leader, as that seems to be all anyone associated with him at the time.

Until the Israelites and the Philistines went to battle again, setting up camps opposite each other in the Valley of Elah.  The Philistines had a big ol' dude named Goliath, who was descended from those Anakites the Israelites were so afraid of back in Numbers 13, and who came out daily to hurl insults at Israel and their God, trying to provoke someone to come out and battle him one on one, which would certainly be suicidal.  Jesse sent David with some provender to his brothers, and David got there in time to hear that day's jeering and insults.  He, of course, was ticked at the insults and began to ask the soldiers what would be the reward of the man who killed Goliath and removed the disgrace.  I don't think that he, at that moment, was considering doing it himself so much as he was trying to motivate the actual soldiers into standing up to the oversized bully.  But his older brother heard David's questioning...

When Eliab, David's oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger at him and asked, "Why have you come down here?  And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the desert?  I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle." -- 1 Sam. 17:28  (Also Strong's H3824)

Oh, but Eliab didn't know David's heart at all. Yet he was convinced he knew the 'why' behind what David was doing.  

That, my friends, is judgment.  The kind we are instructed NOT to engage in.  Because we do not know the heart at all. God saw David's heart and chose him to be king.  Eliab had not a clue of what was in his younger brother's heart.

Word, of course, got back to Saul about the young man who was going through the camp talking about slaying the uncircumcised Philistine who was insulting the armies of the living God and sent for David.  David, seeing no one else seemed to be willing, apparently decided he was going to have to do it.

David said to Saul, "Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him."  1 Sam. 17:32; 'heart' is Strong's H3820.

David, of course, kills the Philistine and becomes Saul's general and son-in-law.   The people start praising David over Saul and Saul becomes insanely jealous, leading David to ultimately flee to the Philistines, looking for a place to hide from Saul.  But his reputation has preceded him, and the servants of the king of Gath, Achish, report it to him in David's hearing.

David took these words to heart and was very much afraid of Achish king of Gath. - 1 Sam 28:24; 'heart' is H3824 again.

David then proceeded to behave as if he were a madman having a fit, and Achish had him thrown out.  So David became a fugitive, living in the Judean desert and moving from place to place, defending Israelite towns and people as he moved about.  One such person, a wealthy landowner named Nabal, spurned giving David and his men any provisions during a festival, despite the fact that David's band had actively protected Nabal's holdings. David, furious over Nabal's scorn, called for his sword to go to battle against him.  Nabal's wife, Abigail, intervened with provisions from her own allowance and prevented David and his men from slaughtering the household.  But Nabal was a stingy, ill-tempered fellow and Abigail waited until he was sobered up after the feast to tell him what she'd done.

Then in the morning, when Nabal was sober, his wife told him all these things and his heart failed him and he became like a stone.  About ten days later, the LORD struck Nabal and he died. -- 1 Sam 25:37-38 (Heart: H3820 again.  I thought it would be a word that specified the physical organ, but, no, this is still the innermost part...heart, mind, will, etc.  Referencing the emotional center...the same as 1 Sam 17:32.  I believe he was so angry he had a stroke.)

David married Abigail, had a run-in with Saul after being betrayed by the Ziphites and, for the second time, refused to kill the king.  But he knew he couldn't trust Saul and he'd been too close to capture, so he returned to Achish...who, this time, believed David to be Saul's enemy and therefore a good ally.  He gave David Ziklag for his base, and reveled in the reports of David raiding Israelite villages.  Only, of course, David was raiding Geshurite, Girzites, and the Amalekite villages instead, leaving no survivors to send reports back to Achish.  The Phililstines planned a big assault against Israel, and Achish was counting on David and his men to fight for them...and David and his men actually traveled to the Philistine camp as if they were part of that force.

Saul and the Israelites set up camp at Giboa, and Saul looked over the enemy camp from his vantage point.

When Saul saw the Philistine army, he was afraid; terror filled his heart.  He inquired of the LORD, but the LORD did not answer him by dreams or Urim or prophets. --  1 Sam 28:5-6; 'Heart' is, again, Strong's H3820

The terror Saul was experiencing and the silence from God drove him to a medium to inquire of Samuel's dead spirit...which terrified the lady, as she clearly did not expect an actual supernatural response to her inquiry.  The apparition...whether it was actually Samuel or not is kind of open to interpretation...confirmed that God had rejected Saul and that the Philistines would defeat him and his army on the next day.

Meanwhile, while Achish was confident David would fight against Saul, the other Philistine leaders were just as certain that he would turn against them in battle and had him sent away. So David was not it the battle that saw both Saul and Jonathan slain and the Israelite army routed.  He had his own problems, but as 'heart' is not mentioned again in 1 Samuel, I'll just refer you to the scripture if you want to see what happened.

So...God knows the hearts of people; other people do not.  And deep-seated, intense emotions can drive our actions...or overwhelm us to actual physical consequences.  All in all, what happens in the heart...matters in many ways.  And that's a good thing to keep in mind when contemplating the new year.

Christmas time is here....

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

 It's Christmastime, y'all, and things are...rather disorganized.  Long story, but I ended up with covid a couple of weeks ago and it has put everything out of sorts, because I just didn't have the spoons to keep up with the schedule.  All is better now, but I am woefully behind on my holiday preparations.  I know, I know, what's new...but I thought since I wasn't really participating in the Christmas production at church this year due to the craziness that was the 'two weddings and three out of town trips' fall, my post-Thanksgiving time would be dedicated to making sure All Things Christmas happened in an ORDERLY fashion this year.

Um.  The best laid plans done gone all aglee....

So, I'm not going to try to keep up with the current word study schedule.  It will be there when the holidays are over.

Meantime, I have been posting 'Advent from the Archives' on Sundays on Facebook...from the 2008 'Expectant Season' advent series.  It's linked on the sidebar if you'd like to revisit that series with us!  It was the first Advent series I posted; it's been interesting to look at it again.

So...to all of you who, like me, are trying to maintain a little bit of order in chaos, take a deep breath.  The important stuff will get done, and some of the nonessential stuff might fall by the wayside, but at the end of the year it will all be memories so enjoy the people and don't worry about the stuff. (Advice I am giving myself...)

Taking a deep breath...lol...

Blogging Bible Study: The Heart of the Matter - 1 Samuel, Part 4 -- Saul's Presumption

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

Saul, Saul, Saul...simple obedience would have preserved a dynasty.  But Saul proved himself incapable of simple obedience.

Now, I honestly don't know how much time has passed between chapters 12 and 13.  Chapter 13 says that Saul was 30 when he became king...but we start off with Saul's son, Jonathan, attacking a Philistine outpost.  We kinda  have to assume Saul was really, really young when he became a dad, and Jonathan was really, really young when he led the attack... like, both in their teens...and even then, it could easily have been a couple...or even five...years later.  In any case, Jonathan effectively swatted the bees nest and all the bees were out for blood, converging on the Israelites as they waited at Gilgal for Samuel to come and make the proper sacrifices before they headed into battle.  But, for whatever reason, Samuel was delayed and he didn't arrive at the set time.  The soldiers started to scatter and Saul, worried that he would not have enough men to fight if they waited any longer,  made the sacrifices himself.  And of course, Samuel arrived just as they were finishing up.

"I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering," Saul protested...and Samuel responded

"You acted foolishly," 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 leader of his people, because you have not kept the LORD's command." 1 Sam. 13:13-14: 'Heart' is H 3824

On the surface, this doesn't look so awful...Saul made an offering.  But the problem was that Saul wasn't authorized to make that specific offering.  And, as we saw back in Numbers, authority matters in these things.  Samuel represented the guidance of God, and by offering the sacrifice himself, Saul actually dishonored both Samuel and God; he ignored the holiness of the sacrifices, treating them as a rather mundane thing.  Waiting for Samuel to offer the sacrifice was a symbol of waiting for God to act on their behalf.  But Saul couldn't wait.

Then, in the next chapter, Saul does another foolish thing, but it's not related to the verse mentioning 'heart'...or, at least, not directly.  Johnathan once again takes the initiative to attack a Philistine outpost, slipping out of camp with only his armor bearer, saying 'Perhaps the LORD will act in our behalf....'

"Do all that you have in mind, " his armor-bearer replied.  "Go ahead; I am with you heart and soul."  - 1 Sam. 14:7, 'heart' is also H 3824

He had the complete support of his armor bearer, and the two of them, with God's help, actually decimated the outpost, which God used to incite a panic attack amongst the Philistines who began what appears to have been a chaotic retreat.  Amazing what God does with someone who is fully committed.  The Israelites in the area noticed the retreat, they began to pursue them...and Saul spoke a curse against any man who would stop and eat before the battle was over.  Jonathan, who wasn't there, didn't hear this, and at one point he ate some wild honey...which none of the other men would touch, because of the oath of Saul.  Needless to say, the men were fainting from hunger after pursuing the enemy while fasting, which lead to other problems besides just fainting soldiers...the men gorged themselves when they were finally allowed to eat, dishonoring God again by eating meat with the blood still in it.  And, of course, when Saul found out what Jonathan had done, he intended to kill him for breaking the fast but the men prevented it.  However, they had to cease their pursuit of the enemy because of Saul's oath...which was completely unnecessary. The men did not need any more incentive to pursue their enemies.  Saul was still trying to be the one in control...the one who is calling the shots.   Contrast that with Jonathan, who just wanted to give God a chance to do something.

Finally, in chapter 15 Saul's disobedience not only cost him a dynasty, but it cost him the kingship personally.  Sent by Samuel to obliterate the Amelekites, carrying out a long-standing judgement, Saul kept their king and the best of their animals alive, in direct opposition to his instructions.  He set his own standard of obedience, so by his definition, he did obey.  (see 1 Sam. 15:20) Only problem...it wasn't his definition of obedience that mattered.    Samuel pronounced God's judgment on what Saul had done, then left him and went home.

Samuel never visited Saul again, although he mourned for him.  Saul never fully relied on God, and he considered  God's instructions to be more guidelines than actual commands.    And, make no mistake, it cost him.

As it will cost anyone who takes it upon him/herself to  determine what the standard of obedience is or who attempts to define the terms oneself instead of listening to what God has said.  Consider Saul before thinking it really isn't a big deal.

It is.

Blogging Bible Study: The Heart of the Matter - 1 Samuel, part 3 , Israel gets a King

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

Well...I am under drs orders to 'rest and hydrate' ...and take the prescribed meds...for the next few days to try and beat back an ear/sinus infection.  But I don't think writing a blog post is going to be too strenuous; although the foggy brain may make things a little less well ordered than is normal.  But this is intended to be kinda raw anyway, so, it is what it is, lol.  It's a long narrative, but without the narrative the isolated verses don't make much sense.  So bear with me here...

Anyway, our look at the words heart/hearts in the Bible has brought us to a transition point in Israel's history.  Samuel's sons did not serve God and actually perverted justice, accepting bribes and the Israelites (justifiably) rejected them as leaders, but instead of praying and seeking who the new leader should be, they came to Samuel and demanded that he appoint a king to rule over them, 'such as all the other nations have.' (1 Sam. 8:5).

Red flag.  It's always a bad thing if God's people want to be 'like everyone else'.

Samuel is ticked, but God reminds him that the people aren't rejecting him as their leader; they are rejecting the leadership of God.  God is going to allow them to have what they want, but he instructs Samuel to solemnly warn the people just exactly what it will mean to have a king ruling them.

Samuel warns the folks (1 Sam 8: 10 - 18) but the people refuse to listen and insist that they want a king.  God instructed Samuel to give them a king, and Samuel told the people to go home.

Now, a day or two later a guy from the tribe of Benjamin had had some donkeys wander off, and his tall, rather good-looking son, Saul, was out looking for them with one of his father's servants.  Samuel had a word from God on the previous day that a Benjamite would come to him, and Samuel was to anoint this man as king.  So, when Saul and his servant wandered into town looking for the seer, so they could offer a coin and hopefully get a prophetic word about the location of the donkeys, God pointed him out to Samuel as the one he'd spoken about.  When Saul approached him, asking for directions to the seer's house...

"I am the seer," Samuel replied.  Go up ahead of me to the high place, for today you are to eat with me, and in the morning I will let you go and will tell you all that is in your heart." - 1 Sam. 9:19  (Heart : H 3824)

Samuel told him the donkeys had been found, so there would be no problem with him staying. They ate together and talked on the roof of Samuel's house for some time; in the morning, Samuel sent the servant ahead while he privately anointed Saul as king, and gave him some instructions and told him of several prophetic events that would happen that day to confirm the word of God to him.

As Saul turned to leave Samuel, God changed Saul's heart, and all these signs were fulfilled that day. -- 1 Sam 10:9 (Heart: H 3020)

Despite all the prophetic confirmation, Saul didn't tell anyone what Samuel had said to him, and when the people were called together so Samuel could introduce them to their new king, he was actually found hiding among the baggage...not a terribly impressive first meeting.  But he was tall and good-looking and most of the people were pleased.  Samuel went over the regulations regarding the king. Then he sent everyone home, including Saul:

Saul also went to his home in Gibeah, accompanied by valiant men whose hearts God had touched. --- 1 Sam 10:26 (Hearts: H 3020) 

Almost immediately, the Ammonites attacked Jabesh Gilead.  With the people of that area under dire threat, word came to Saul and the Holy Spirit fell upon him and with surprising decisiveness for a man who tried to hide from the kingship, he slaughtered the oxen he was working with and sent the pieces throughout Israel, summoning them to battle.  Saul showed himself a capable battle strategist, and the Ammonites were slaughtered in their camp.  This victory convinced the holdouts that Saul was indeed the man for the job of king, and everyone went to Gilgal to reaffirm Saul as king.

As part of the meeting, Samuel released his leadership over to Saul, confirming with the people that he had always acted with integrity, and he went over a bit of the history leading up to Saul's appointment.  After mentioning it was the time of the wheat harvest (apparently that's the dry season?), he asked God to send rain and thunder to show the Israelites that they had actually done a great evil by insisting that God give them a king.

Then Samuel called upon the LORD, and that same day the LORD send thunder and rain.  So all the people stood in awe of the LORD and of Samuel.  The people all said to Samuel, "Pray to the LORD your God  for your servants so that we will not die, for we have added to all our other sins the evil of asking for a king."

"Do not be afraid," Samuel replied.  "You have done all this evil; yet do not turn away from the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart" - 1 Sam 12: 18 - 20 (heart:  H 3824)

Samuel reassured them that God would not destroy them for his own name's sake, exhorted them to resist idolatry, reassured them he would pray for them and continue to teach them 'what is good and right,' then concludes:

"But 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 be swept away."  -- 1 Sam 12:24-25 (heart: H 3824)

So, as I pondered through this story, I had a few thoughts pop up...

1)  How would I respond if a prophet of God told me s/he would 'tell me everything in my heart'?  I kind of think I'd be shaking in my boots.  That's going right to the quick, there.  Oh, it would be a good thing...a marvelous thing... for a prophet to address the hidden questions and desires of my heart and tell me God's perspective on those things, but I don't know if I could handle someone looking into my heart and seeing those things that I'm trying to ignore.  Of course, a true prophet would be doing that sort of thing with the interest of growth and freedom, so it would still be a good thing but...that might hurt a bit, you know?

2) God's change in Saul's heart was something that Saul had to grow into; he prophesied at once, but kinda shook it off and fell back into old patterns (hiding in the baggage).  But when the Spirit of God came upon him, he became a man of action.

3) God gave Saul 'valiant men' who supported him in his position....an aside, I kinda suspect one of these guys was Abner, who became one of Saul's top generals...but God didn't leave Saul to learn the ropes of leadership alone. 

4) The people did, finally, realize what they had done was a serious offence against God.  But God, in his mercy and grace, reiterated the promise that all will be well if the people serve him whole-heartedly.  No compromise with 'useless idols'...things valued by the unbelieving societies around them.

Mayhap next week I will be less rambly, lol.

Blogging Bible Study: The heart of the Matter - 1 Samuel part 2, God defends the Ark

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

We have a couple of chapters now dealing with the ongoing hostilities between the Philistines and the Hebrews, with the captured Ark playing a large part.  The Philistines had captured the Ark and taken it to Ashdod and placed it in the temple of their pagan god, Dagon.  While Israel was mourning the loss of Eli and his sons, and doubtless others, along with the tragic loss of the symbol of God's dwelling with them, the Philistines were learning that the God of the Israelites wasn't to be trifled with.

1) The day after the Ark was placed in the pagan temple, the  statue of Dagon was found fallen facedown in front of the Ark  (1 Sam 5:3).  The Philistines thought, gee, that's odd, and set the statue back in its place.

2) The second day after the Ark was placed in the pagan temple, the statue of Dagon had fallen facedown in front of the Ark again...only this time his head and hands were broken off and lying on the doorway. (1 Sam 5:4)

3) The people of Ashdod and the surrounding area were suddenly afflicted by...something.  The NIV 84 says that God 'brought devastation upon them and afflicted them with tumors.' (1 Sam 5:6; some manuscripts add that a plague of rats had also appeared; noted in the margin of the NIV 84)...other translations indicate these tumors were hemorrhoids.  So the people of Ashdod begged the rulers to move the Ark away so it was moved to Gath.

4) Same thing happened to the people of Gath...young and old were afflicted with tumors and the city was thrown into a panic (1 Sam 5:9).  So the Ark was sent to Ekron. 

5) When the Ark was brought into Ekron, the people there began lamenting, and a death plague hit the city.  The folks there, in a panic, requested that the Ark be sent back to Israel; anyone who didn't die was afflicted with the same tumors that had hit Asdod and Gath.

So...7 months after the Ark was captured, the leaders of the Philistines went to to their priests and asked them to figure out how they could return the Ark to Israel (1 Sam 6:1-2)

Their recommendation was to be sure to send the Ark back with a 'guilt offering' of 'Five gold tumors and five gold rats' (1 Sam 6:5).  Then they make an interesting statement:

"Why do you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh did?  When he treated them harshly, did they not send the Israelites out so they could go on their way?" - 1 Sam 6:6

Consulting the timeline of Biblical Events in my Inductive Study Bible, it had been somewhere around 400 years since the Exodus at this point.  But the Philistines remembered.  And their own pagan priests warned them against hardening their heart against the God of the Hebrews, like the Egyptians had done.  They came up with a test: Take a couple of cows who had nursing calves, pen the calves up so their mothers can't get to them.  Then hitch the mama cows to a wagon, put the Ark and the gold offering on the wagon, and let the mama cows go where they will.  Nature would have them head over to their calves in the pen...if they headed down the road to Israel, then everyone would know this was the Hebrews' God at work and they should let it go. (1 Sam 6: 7 -9).

The cows, lowing and mooing all the way, nonetheless headed straight down the road to Israel.  The Philistine rulers followed them all the way to the border, watched them keep going,   Then, no doubt greatly relieved, they turned around and went home, convinced that everything would be ok now that the Ark was no longer in their territory. God returned the Ark 7 months after it had been captured.

But there is another little tidbit here about God protecting the Ark.  We read in 1 Sam 6:19 that 70 men were killed ...Israelites...because 'they had looked into the Ark of God.'

The Philistines had learned from the Egyptians not to try to prove themselves greater than the God of the Hebrews; apparently the Hebrews themselves needed a reminder not to treat the Ark of God like something common. The people of the area sent word to the next city over, Kiriath Jearim, and asked them to take the Ark because...they were not comfortable with it amongst them.  So it went to the house of Abinidab, where it stayed until King David undertook to move it to Jerusalem twenty years later.

But that's another story.

Meantime, the Israelites saw the hand of God in all of this and repented of their idolatry...

And Samuel said to the whole house of Israel, "If you are returning to the LORD with all your hearts, then rid yourselves of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths and commit yourselves to the LORD and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines." - 1 Sam 7:3

So, if I am reading things right (and the reference to the 20 years that the Ark was at Abinidab's is, I think, kind of a parenthetic thing, because Samuel died before the Ark was moved again.), Samuel's speech was right after the Ark was installed at Abinidab's.  So we are somewhere between 7 months and maybe a year or so after the Ark was captured, and the Israelites were still reeling from their losses in that battle.  So Samuel interceded, God intervened,  and we read in 2 Sam 7:13 - "So the Philistines were subdued and did not invate  Israelite territory again.  Throughout Samuel's lifetime, the hand of the LORD was against the Philistines."

Because the Israelites gave up their idols and served God with all their hearts. 

(Both references are Strong's 3824)