Creative Space for Wanderers
Moab Defeated by Joint Armies Chapter 3 recounts a time when the kings of Israel (Joram), Judah (Jehoshaphat) and Edom (well…governor of Edom) united to confront Moab. Joram was a notch better than his ancestors, but still far from being good in God’s eyes. Still, for some reason, this union was allowed and the unified …
Finally, the Lord sends a true prophet, Elijah to speak some truth into to kings of Israel. Jeroboam began in 930 b.c. and Ahab in 874 b.c., something like 60 years of depravity, of fake religion that misled all the people of Israel (Northern Kingdom). Elijah enters the scene and speaks to Ahab, “As the …
Continue reading “Elijah, the Widow and the Test on Mount Carmel”
The beginning of chapter 9 includes words from the Lord when He appeared to Solomon a second time. I haven’t kept track, but it is rare that we read, “the Lord appeared…” to anyone. The Lord speaks to prophets through visions, but rarely do we read about direct interaction. The Lord said to him, “I …
and Chapter 8 contains three sections: 1) the Ark is brought into the temple, 2) Solomon’s prayer and 3) the initial sacrifices and celebration. 1. The Ark Brought to the Temple Solomon certainly knew the history behind transporting the Ark, its proper transport and the problems that would arise if not handled well. The poles …
The NIV Study Bible notes that this section is like an appendix to the story of 1st and 2nd Samuel. It contains narrative descriptions of David dealing with God’s wrath as a result of Saul, and his own errors, . Dealing with Saul’s Mess – The Gibeonites Avenged There was a famine during David’s reign …
Continue reading “David’s Kingdom Reestablished; The Census”
Another Ephramite story, this time we read about Elkanah and Hannah. Elkanah truly loved Hannah. Even though she was barren, he gave her extra portions of food and spoke kindly to her, “Why are you downhearted? Don’t I mean more to you than ten sons?” (). One day, in Hannah’s misery, she began to pray …
Forty good years with Deborah leading the Israelites is followed by, “The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord…” Here we go again! The Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples were tormenting the Israelites by destroying crops and killing livestock “like swarms of locusts…they invaded the land to ravage it” (). Finally, the …
The Gibeonites devised a ruse to trick Joshua into making a treaty with them. They sent a contingent with donkeys, old wineskins, moldy bread, and sold the Israelites on their story, “Your servants have come from a very distant country because of the fame of the Lord your God.” () It took three days before …
Continue reading “Gibeonite Deception and God’s Faithfulness”