David is being pursued by Saul, who is deranged and jealous. He visits the priest Ahimelech and deceives him into giving him food and a weapon. One of Saul's shepherds is there, and reports this back to Saul. Saul summons Ahimelech, and accuses him of conspiring with David against him, and orders his death. All the priests are killed, and Saul sends soldiers to their town Nob to kill all the families and animals.
So what is the lesson that the writer (and the Holy Spirit) is trying to communicate through this story?
1) Just because our hero David decides to lie to the priest, this is not an instruction for us to lie when we need to. The Bible is full of instruction to us to "tell the truth" (Ex.20:16, Ps 15:2). Remember that in the Bible there is a difference between a narration of what occurred and an instruction of how we are to behave.
2) David's sin of lying and deception resulted in the death of Ahimelech, the other priest, and their families. Our sins often have consequences for those around us. As David said to Abiathar, the sole survivor of Ahimelech's family "I have brought about the death of every person in your father's household."
Some lessons of life are hard ones. That is why God's word is full of examples for us to learn through their mistakes rather than our own.
This month, we cover the time where "everybody did what was right in their own eyes" along with a story of God emptying a cup so that He could fill it. We also follow a very personal letter from Paul to his friends in Corinth, and we begin Matthew's account of the Life of Jesus.
Here is the co-author of Living ni the Spiritual World in ancient Corinth near The Temple of Apollo.
1 Judges 11, 12 Ps 50 2 Cor 1
2 Judges 13-16 2 Cor 2
3 Judges 17-18 Ps 89 2 Cor 4
4 Judges 19-21 2 Cor 4
5 Ruth 1-2 Ps 53,61 2 Cor 5
6 Ruth 3-4 Ps 64,65 2 Cor 6
7 1 Sam 1-2 Ps 66 2 Cor 7
8 1 Sam 3-5 Ps 77 2 Cor 8
9 1 Sam 6-7 Ps 72 2 Cor 9
10 1 Sam 8-10 2 Cor 10
11 1 Sam 11-12 1 Chronicles 1 2 Cor 11
12 1 Sam 13 1 Chron 2-3 2 Cor 12
13 1 Sam 14 1 Chron 4 2 Cor 13
14 1 Sam 15-16 1 Chron 5 Matthew 1
15 1 Sam 17 Ps 9 Matt 2
16 1 Sam 18 1 Chron 6 Matt 3
17 1 Sam 19 1 Chron 7 Ps 59 Matt 4
18 1 Sam 20-21 Ps 34 Matt 5
19 1 Sam 22 Ps 17, 35 Matt 6
20 1 Sam 23 Ps 31 54 Matt 7
21 1 Sam 24 Ps 57 58 1 Chron 8 Matt 8
22 1 Sam 25-26 Ps 63 Matt 9
23 1 Sam 27 Ps141 1 Chron 9 Matt 10
24 1 Sam 28-29 Ps 109 Matt 11
25 1 Sam 30-31 1 Chron 10 Matt 12
26 2 Sam 1 Ps 140 Matt 13
27 2 Sam 2 1 Chron 11 Ps 142 Matt 14
28 2 Sam 3 1 Chron 12 Matt 15
29 2 Sam 4-5 Ps 139 Matt 16
30 2 Sam 6 1 Chron 13 Ps 68 Matt 17
Here is one of the places in this section:
The Judean Desert near Arad
Here is the valley of Elah where the David Goliath battle took place.
Here are some Photos and videos for this month's reading
Exodus describes the building of the Tabernacle in the WIlderness. A few years ago, our friend Dr. Randall Smith built an exact replica of the Tabernacle, and set it up in a desert setting near the Dead Sea just south of Jericho. For many years the Tabernacle in the Wilderness Study Center provided many students a realistic model of the structure, and a quiet place to mediate on how we are to approach God.
Here are a few photos taken by us over the years.
The court yard of the Tabernacle featured a bronze laver, an altar for the sacrifices, a place for the preparation of the animals, and the Tent of Meeting.
The Bronze Laver was a place of cleansing- something required before a meeting with God.
The animals were brought to the Tabernacle (Leviticus 1) and prepared for sacrifice. Sharp knives were required!
The Altar was for burning the sacrifice.
The Olah offering (Burnt Offering) was a completely consumed offering, painting the picture of us giving it all to God.
Inside the Tent of Meeting, was a 7 candle Menorah which represented the "Light of The World" which Jesus used later to describe Himself.
The Table of Shewbread was a place to keep some of the Manna. It was a reminder of God's provision to His people.
The Table of Incense was a reminder of how our prayers go up to God.
The Ark was the place where Atonement took place. Dr. Smith used the designers of the Paris Disneyland to make this copy of the Ark, and the Gold used was over $10,000.00.
How do we understand all this? Here is one suggestion:
An excerpt from Echoes Into Eternity
“As we come
into the Scriptures and try to understand what is going on in the pages, we
have to realize when I open my Bible, I step out of my 21st century world and
go to another culture in another time.So it is a little more than just reading it and believing it. Mark Twain
is the one who said, “We know a lot of things that just ain’t so.”
“The reality
is this: There is not one word of Scripture written to me personally, but every
word of Scripture was written for me.”
“When God
spoke, He spoke to a specific people at a specific time in a specific place to
benefit me much later- but not to me.He
said it to them in a way that they would understand it.I’ve got to do something more than just read
it and believe it.
It’s like
putting a tea bag into hot water- I’ve got to allow the Scripture to permeate
my “water” and change who I am by the principles involved in it. It is the
principle behind the cultural practice that I am after.What everlasting truth can I draw from this
story that is relevant and applicable to my life today? We believe that there
is a simple and direct manner to understand Scripture.
We call it:
The Principle Approach to Scripture.
Look at a
simple example from Leviticus 1:
Then the Lord called to Moses and spoke to him from
the tent of meeting, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to
them, ‘When any man of you brings an offering to the Lord, you shall bring
your offering of animals from the herd or the flock.
‘If his offering is a burnt offering from the
herd, he shall offer it, a male without defect; he shall offer it at the
doorway of the tent of meeting, that he may be accepted before the Lord.Leviticus 1:1-3
In verse
one, we see God calling out to Moses.From this I know God often takes the initiative in His fellowship with
mankind.This is an important principle
for me to remember when I am feeling far from God.
In verse
two, God orders the people to bring an offering from their own herd or flock.I can conclude that God wants me to return to
Him some of the things He has freely given me.This is a good principle of relationship between God and me, and an
important principle of God’s economics.
In verse
three, God says to bring an animal without defect.From this I see God wants my best; He will
not be happy with a half-hearted response from me.If He asks me to give $100 to the
missionaries, He will not be pleased if I give only $50. If I am to paint the
widow’s house, He wants me to use the best paint I can afford.
According to some teachings, I could throw out
Leviticus by saying “We are not under the Law!”, but I then would miss many of
God’s Truths that apply very well to my life today.If we read the Scriptures, searching for the
principles and truths behind the specific cultural practices, then we begin to
receive life from the Word of God, not just dusty, out-of-date commandments.”
One thing to realize is that the Bible is a library
of 66 books.This library, like many
modern libraries, contains different types of literature.The “Type” of literature determines the steps
to take to understand and extract the everlasting truths and principles.Let’s face it, we read a court document much
different that we would read the lyrics to a love song.It is the same with the Bible.
Since we are wandering around the desert in Exodus & Leviticus & Numbers, here are some pictures of a recent trip to the Negev Desert.
We also have a video of that trip in a YouTube format at the bottom of the page. Enjoy!!!
These scenes are from a trip to the Negev Desert in southern Israel. The Camel Team included Pat & Kandi Obrien, Carlie & Luke Broadhurst, Moselle, Arielle, Lukas, and Mikaela Bagby, Shai (our guide) as well as Laura & Maik Bagby.
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