In today’s readings we see that Saul starts off well and does in fact look like he will be a good king and protect the people. Take a look.
1 Samuel 11: Saul Defeats the Ammonites
1 Then Nahash the Ammonite went up and besieged Jabesh-gilead, and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, "Make a treaty with us, and we will serve you."
2 But Nahash the Ammonite said to them, "On this condition I will make a treaty with you, that I gouge out all your right eyes, and thus bring disgrace on all Israel."
3 The elders of Jabesh said to him, "Give us seven days' respite that we may send messengers through all the territory of Israel. Then, if there is no one to save us, we will give ourselves up to you."
4 When the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul, they reported the matter in the ears of the people, and all the people wept aloud.
5 Now, behold, Saul was coming from the field behind the oxen. And Saul said, "What is wrong with the people, that they are weeping?" So they told him the news of the men of Jabesh.
6 And the Spirit of God rushed upon Saul when he heard these words, and his anger was greatly kindled.
7 He took a yoke of oxen and cut them in pieces and sent them throughout all the territory of Israel by the hand of messengers, saying, "Whoever does not come out after Saul and Samuel, so shall it be done to his oxen!" Then the dread of the LORD fell upon the people, and they came out as one man.
8 When he mustered them at Bezek, the people of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand.
9 And they said to the messengers who had come, "Thus shall you say to the men of Jabesh-gilead: 'Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, you shall have deliverance.'" When the messengers came and told the men of Jabesh, they were glad.
10 Therefore the men of Jabesh said, "Tomorrow we will give ourselves up to you, and you may do to us whatever seems good to you."
11 And the next day Saul put the people in three companies. And they came into the midst of the camp in the morning watch and struck down the Ammonites until the heat of the day. And those who survived were scattered, so that no two of them were left together.
The Kingdom Is Renewed
12 Then the people said to Samuel, "Who is it that said, 'Shall Saul reign over us?' Bring the men, that we may put them to death."
13 But Saul said, "Not a man shall be put to death this day, for today the LORD has worked salvation in Israel."
14 Then Samuel said to the people, "Come, let us go to Gilgal and there renew the kingdom."
15 So all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul king before the LORD in Gilgal. There they sacrificed peace offerings before the LORD, and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.
1 Samuel 12: Samuel's Farewell Address
1 And Samuel said to all Israel, "Behold, I have obeyed your voice in all that you have said to me and have made a king over you.
2 And now, behold, the king walks before you, and I am old and gray; and behold, my sons are with you. I have walked before you from my youth until this day.
3 Here I am; testify against me before the LORD and before his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Or whose donkey have I taken? Or whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed? Or from whose hand have I taken a bribe to blind my eyes with it? Testify against me and I will restore it to you."
4 They said, "You have not defrauded us or oppressed us or taken anything from any man's hand."
5 And he said to them, "The LORD is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything in my hand." And they said, "He is witness."
6 And Samuel said to the people, "The LORD is witness, who appointed Moses and Aaron and brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt.
7 Now therefore stand still that I may plead with you before the LORD concerning all the righteous deeds of the LORD that he performed for you and for your fathers.
8 When Jacob went into Egypt, and the Egyptians oppressed them, then your fathers cried out to the LORD and the LORD sent Moses and Aaron, who brought your fathers out of Egypt and made them dwell in this place.
9 But they forgot the LORD their God. And he sold them into the hand of Sisera, commander of the army of Hazor, and into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab. And they fought against them.
10 And they cried out to the LORD and said, 'We have sinned, because we have forsaken the LORD and have served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. But now deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, that we may serve you.'
11 And the LORD sent Jerubbaal and Barak and Jephthah and Samuel and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side, and you lived in safety.
12 And when you saw that Nahash the king of the Ammonites came against you, you said to me, 'No, but a king shall reign over us,' when the LORD your God was your king.
13 And now behold the king whom you have chosen, for whom you have asked; behold, the LORD has set a king over you.
14 If you will fear the LORD and serve him and obey his voice and not rebel against the commandment of the LORD, and if both you and the king who reigns over you will follow the LORD your God, it will be well.
15 But if you will not obey the voice of the LORD, but rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then the hand of the LORD will be against you and your king.
16 Now therefore stand still and see this great thing that the LORD will do before your eyes.
17 Is it not wheat harvest today? I will call upon the LORD, that he may send thunder and rain. And you shall know and see that your wickedness is great, which you have done in the sight of the LORD, in asking for yourselves a king."
18 So Samuel called upon the LORD, and the LORD sent thunder and rain that day, and all the people greatly feared the LORD and Samuel.
19 And all the people said to Samuel, "Pray for your servants to the LORD your God, that we may not die, for we have added to all our sins this evil, to ask for ourselves a king."
20 And Samuel said to the people, "Do not be afraid; you have done all this evil. Yet do not turn aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart.
21 And do not turn aside after empty things that cannot profit or deliver, for they are empty.
22 For the LORD will not forsake his people, for his great name's sake, because it has pleased the LORD to make you a people for himself.
23 Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by ceasing to pray for you, and I will instruct you in the good and the right way.
24 Only fear the LORD and serve him faithfully with all your heart. For consider what great things he has done for you.
25 But if you still do wickedly, you shall be swept away, both you and your king."
Things to think about…
1. Nahash the Ammonite surrounds the city of Jabesh-gilead in 1Sam 11:1-5. He does not seem to give the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead a very palatable choice. He says “I will only make a treaty with you if I can pluck all your right eyes’ out”. Hmmm, doesn’t sound like a good option. Have you ever been put in a situation where you have two very poor options in front of you? Did God break-through for you? If so, how?
2. In 1Sam 11:5-11 Saul proves himself to be the very king they long for. Note that without the Lord’s anointing, he was nothing. Saul it seems has a righteous zeal to help the people. Look at how he motivates people though. Do you think that this type of coercion is appropriate? Is it ever helpful? Does the Lord ever use fear to stimulate people into action? We may fear hell, but the way of salvation is gained through love, mercy and grace. Jesus is our example.
3. Look at Samuel’s address to the people in 1Sam 12:1-15. He gives them a history lesson and says that the Lord has always raised up a deliverer in the past to lead them. He asks them to consider his moral example and asks them if he has fallen morally in any way. The answer is no. Do you believe that Samuel feels that as the last Judge of Israel that he also has been rejected by the people because they have asked for a king? I believe it is the case. He mentions his sons and this must also have been a grief to him. He has lived a blameless life and now that the people have chosen a king instead of a Judge whom the Lord had chosen Samuel asks for the judgement of rain and thunder. Churches must be careful to choose men of the Lord’s calling and not just because they are charismatic or have wonderful people/communication skills.
4. We see in 1Sam 12:11 that Samuel lists himself with the judges that came before him, “the LORD sent Jerubbaal and Barak and Jephthah and Samuel and delivered you”. Samson is listed after Jepthah in the book of Judges then there is a period of moral and spiritual decay over Micah’s idol and the concubine incident with the tribe of Benjamin. It was likely that Samuel began his judging just after or during this period. The period of the kings of Israel had begun.
5. They people of Jabesh-gilead had been delivered by Saul from the Ammonites, but the Lord ends up destroying their wheat crop, 1Sam 12:17, 18. The people still had rebellion in their hearts. Why did the Lord do this? Have you ever felt the Lord’s hand of correction was a little too heavy at times? The Lord often hits us where we put most of our trust. Generally our finances (our wheat crop!). How are your trust levels going?
6. Even though there is rebellion in the heart Samuel comforts the Lord’s people by saying in 1Sam 12:20, “Do not be afraid; you have done all this evil. Yet do not turn aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart.” Even when our hearts go astray, grace covers over a multitude of sins.
Vision Point for cell groups – Cell groups on break over the school holidays
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Sunday’s sermon “Hannah the hero” – reading 1 Samuel 1:1-20
1. Have you ever felt something was not fair? You or a close friend or relative was going through something, yet others seem to be better off. Peninnah was blessed with children and godly Hannah was not, how is this fair?
2. Elkanah didn’t say the wisest thing to his wife here. Elkanah loved Hannah but he didn’t understand her needs here. Why is this a critical issue for the praying husband. Discuss 1Pet 3:7.
3. Hannah is blessed with Samuel and then fulfills her vow. Discuss why this is important and how it involves faith. What happened for Hannah as a result.
4. What is truly fair in this life? Discuss the sacrifice of Christ on your behalf and having a right perspective of fairness as a result. How should we act as a result?
5. Pray for each other, for those cleaning up after the flood and the Ukraine situation.
Prayer Points
1. Pray about your support to the floods in Qld and also to the Polish Baptist Church in Chelm efforts to support Ukrainian refugees. This is the church we will be supporting. You will need google chrome to translate https://baptysci-chelm.pl/kontakt .
2. Pray for the flood clean-up and all those affected a second and third time round.
3. Sally Gauntlett has been admitted to care. Please pray for Richard and the family through this challenging time.
4. Ross Goltz is in constant pain. Has constant hip and joint pain. Seeking specialist help. Please pray for relief.
5. Families that have just started attending CBC.
6. Ukraine to repel Russia and peace to come.
7. Christ to be seen through us in our community.
8. Pray for other building projects – café roof, the repair of the house roof.
9. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to remain and increase.
Praise Points
1. People visiting church on Sunday.
2. Another fine week. Pray for flood clean-up alone the east coast.
3. Joy, peace and grace we see at CBC. Thankyou Lord
4. Covid restrictions lifted – no masks.
Announcements
1. Donation funds will be set up to assist a Polish Baptist Church with Ukrainian refugees. Please label your donation – Ukraine appeal. The same will be the case for those who have gone through the floods in Qld. Label Flood appeal.
2. A new cell group has started at the church for residents around Karalee. Wed 7pm at church.
3. Kidz@Church every Sunday
4. Members Meeting 20th March after the service.
5. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
6. Tune in again this week on our youtube page. Subscribe to the CBC channel Chuwar Baptist YouTube channel.
Catechism question for March...
Q. 1. Did Christ remain in the grave after his crucifixion? A. No; he rose from the grave on the third day after his death.
Bible Reference – Luke. 24:45-47; 1Cor.15:3&4.
“Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known” Jer 33:3
