Latest / A Chapter a Day Bible Reading / February 12 - 1 Samuel 28

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February 12 - 1 Samuel 28 · A Chapter a Day Bible Reading

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  Hello, friends. It's shown here.
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  It is the 12th of February. That's right, the 12th of first
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  thinking. It can't be Valentine's Day yet.
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  No. Still two more days to go.
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  That's right. Talk to your florist.
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  You'll be fine. You'll be fine.
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  Yes, it is the new week. It is a Monday, and this is the
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  week when you and I are going to finish reading through the book
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  of First Samuel. And we are going to get to the
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  end on Thursday before our Sam on Friday.
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  And sadly for Saul, this will not end well for him.
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  It will be his demise as we see how the story plays out.
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  And then of course in the second half of this book in Second
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  Samuel, we will see the rise of David to the throne and on from
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  there. But we are not going to get to
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  2nd Samuel for a little while actually, because we will be
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  heading into some New Testament territory with a couple of
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  epistles and then a gospel as we lead up to Easter.
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  But boy, that is still a little ways ahead.
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  Here we are going to finish off the story of First Samuel.
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  So let us put down everything that's coming this month, that's
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  coming this week, that's coming today.
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  Settle ourselves before our God and prepared to hear what he has
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  to say to us today. All right, friends, won't you
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  join me? Let us read First Samuel Chapter
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  28. About that time, the Philistines
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  mustered their armies for another war with Israel, King
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  Akish told David. You and your men will be
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  expected to join me in battle. Very well, David agreed.
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  Now you will see for yourself what we can do then, Akish told
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  David. I will make you my personal
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  bodyguard for life. Meanwhile, Samuel had died and
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  all Israel had mourned for him. He was buried in Rama, his
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  hometown, and Saul had banned from the land of Israel all
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  mediums and those who consult the spirits of the dead.
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  The Philistines set up their camp at Shunem, and Saul
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  gathered all the army of Israel and camped at Gilboa.
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  When Saul saw the vast Philistine army, he became
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  frantic With fear. He asked the Lord what he should
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  do, but the Lord refused to answer him, either by dreams or
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  by sacred lots, or by the prophets.
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  Soul then said to his advisors, Find a woman who is a medium so
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  I can go and ask her what to do. His advisors replied there is a
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  medium at Endor, so Saul disguised himself by wearing
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  ordinary clothing instead of his royal robes.
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  Then he went to the woman's home at night, accompanied by two of
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  his men. I have to talk to a man who has
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  died, he said. Will you call up the spirit for
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  me? Are you trying to get me killed?
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  The woman demanded. You know that Saul has outlawed
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  all the mediums and all who consult the spirits of the dead.
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  Why are you setting a trap for me?
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  But Saul took an oath in the name of the Lord and promised as
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  surely as the Lord lives. Nothing bad will happen to you
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  for doing this, finally, the woman said.
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  Well, whose spirit do you want me to call up?
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  Call up Samuel? Sole replied.
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  When the woman saw Samuel, she screamed.
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  You've deceived me. You are soul.
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  Don't be afraid, the king told her.
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  What do you see? I see a God coming up out of the
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  earth, she said. What does he look like?
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  Saul asked. He is an old man wrapped in a
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  robe, she replied. Saul realised it was Samuel, and
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  he fell to the ground before him.
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  Why have you disturbed me by calling me back, Samuel Assal?
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  Because I'm in deep trouble, soul, replied.
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  The Philistines are at war with me, and God has left me and
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  won't reply by prophets or dreams.
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  So I have called for you to tell me what to do, but Samuel
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  replied, Why ask me? Since the Lord has left you and
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  has become your enemy, the Lord has done just as he said he
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  would. He has torn the Kingdom from you
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  and given it to your rival David.
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  The Lord has done this to you to day, because you refuse to carry
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  out His fierce anger against the Amalekites.
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  What's more, the Lord will hand you and the army of Israel over
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  to the Philistines tomorrow, and you and your sons will be here
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  with me. The Lord will bring down the
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  entire army of Israel in defeat. Soul fell full length on the
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  ground, paralysed with fright because of Samuel's words.
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  He was also faint with hunger, for he had eaten nothing all day
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  and all night when the woman saw how distraught he was, she said.
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  Sir, I obeyed your command. At the risk of my life now, do
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  what I say and let me give you a little something to eat so you
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  can regain your strength for the trip back.
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  But Saul refused to eat anything.
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  Then his advisors joined the woman in urging him to eat.
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  So he finally yielded and got up from the ground and sat on the
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  couch. The woman had been fattening A
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  calf, so she hurried out and killed it.
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  She took some flour, kneaded it into dough, and baked unleavened
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  bread. She brought the meal to Saul and
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  his advisors, and they ate it. Then they went out into the
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  night. Lord, this Bible reading can
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  sound so strange to our modern ears when we read that Saul was
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  so distressed that he did not know your will for his next
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  move. And that crippled him, paralysed
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  him, unable to move forward. And here we are.
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  No, we are not the king of your nation, But we are your people.
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  And each day we live our lives, we make decisions.
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  We do what we believe is the right thing to do.
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  But Lord, I know for myself, and I'm sure all who are praying now
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  that so often we find ourselves just relying on our own
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  intuition, our own ideas, our own logic, our own sense of what
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  should be continue to humble us so that we come to you and we
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  seek your will and thank you that you do not sit on a throne
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  aloof and far away. But you give us your son who has
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  rescued us, and you give us your spirit who resides here in US,
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  that you can prompt us and guide us and lead us.
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  So I just pray for your guidance as we go about our daily lives.
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  Lead us. Show us your heart so that we
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  can know our identity in you, our place in your family, and
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  the way that you would have us live our lives.
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  We just offer ourselves to you, Jesus.
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  We want to do your work and follow your will, So we lift you
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  up. We praise you and we pray all of
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  this in your name. Amen.