� Reading 5 - 1 Samuel 6-8

6 - Chapter 6 combines common sense on the Philistines’ part with divine activity. Why do the Philistines make golden tumors to return with the ark (verse 4)? Some see sympathetic magic - sending away what had struck at them, while others argue that at this time the custom was to make a model of the healed part of the body. The appearance here of mice cause some to see bubonic plague here, as the tumors, rats and plague are all linked here. Verse 9 shows wonderful common sense - something Israel seems to of- ten lack. The number of men struck in verse 19 varies in different translations because the Hebrew is un- certain.

7 - Chapter 7 looks like a return to the book of Judges. Some 20 years pass (verse 2) before the people of God, oppressed by the Philistines, finally ask God for help and God provides them a deliverer in Samuel after their repentance. Note the conviction and confession that Samuel draws from the people in verse 3. Why they poured out water in verse 6 is unknown. It may have been an offering or symbolic of repentance. Just as in Judges, God fights for them (verse 10). He demonstrates that He is the real God of the storm, not Baal. Verse 12 is where the well known hymn “Here I Raise My Ebenezer” comes from. We all need a place where we mark out and remember God’s great deliverance and help, don’t we?

8 - Chapter 8 shows the hard fought lesson at Ebenezer is soon forgotten. The people lapse back into the cycle of the Judges and this time their solution is not repentance but a new kind of leader. They want a king (verse 5). It is important to remember that having a king was not out of the question for God’s people. The blessings of Jacob hint at a king (Gen. 49:10), Balaam prophesied it (Num. 24:17-19), and Moses posi- tively says it will happen (Deut. 17:14-20). How would we understand Jesus as King if Israel had never had a king. The trouble here is the kind of king that Israel wants: a military leader (note verse 20) who can win them victories in battle (12:12 shows the imminent threat of Ammon figures into this). It is clear they have lost faith in God to give them victory, and are attempting to mimic the pagan nations around them. Thus they reject God (verse 7). Samuel warns them about kings (verses 10-18 - underline the repetitive term “take” in your Bible) but the people are determined to have a king. Verse 22 shows that sometimes God gives us what we want even when it’s not good for us because we are just too stubborn to listen to Him!

7 - Stephen’s sermon stresses two themes: the Jews have been continuously blessed and they have con- tinuously rejected God. He develops this by tracing out Jewish history, something his audience would have loved to hear, but it is a history full of warts and blemishes. Verse 9 begins the theme of rejection. It is fur- thered in verses 25, 35, 39, and brought to a head in verses 51-52. For Stephen it is not ignorance (as Pe- ter said in 3:17) but willful rebellion that is at work here. Stephen is often portrayed as seeing Jesus as he died but verse 56 is prior to being stoned, and the vision may not have continued during the stoning. This is the equivalent to a lynching, as the Sanhedrin did not have the power of capital punishment.

Applications from This Week’s Readings

Did you notice how much praying was going on in these chapters? How is the praying here different from your praying? Reread the prayer of 4:24-30. Can you adapt that prayer to be yours, so that you will be asking God for more courage to speak of Him and His way?