Monday, March 12, 2018

TCN's Biblical Journey March 12th

Today's reading is 1 Samuel 15-19

Pretend the doctor comes to you and says “The reason you are sick is because of your appendix. I want to remove it immediately.” You may wonder if it is really necessary and when the doctor confirms that if it isn’t removed you will be dead in a week or two at the most. You know that you trust the doctor and you know she isn’t doing it to be vicious or mean, so you allow the surgery to take place.

Verses 1-3 of Chapter 15 are some of those verses which disturb a lot of people. Like the dropping of the bomb on Hiroshima, there are people who want to argue it was unnecessarily vicious for God to order this done.  Unlike the doctor wanting to remove a sick appendix, God has something Truman, the doctor, or we will ever have a perfect view of eternity. God knew what would happen if even one person escaped. Let me tell you later we find out in the book of Easter that at least one person and probably many people escaped, and it almost caused the extinction of Israel.

Also, why kill everything and take nothing for spoils?  This was a reminder to Israel this was God’s judgment and not a raiding mission (pirating was common in those times, as is it is still today in some places). This wasn’t to be a way to gain wealth. When the people walked away there should have been a sense of dread and a reminder of the consequences of what happens when you fight against God. This lesson wasn’t taught, and we will never know what might have changed in the hearts of Israel if Saul would have been obedient. 

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