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Take a breath, find your place, and read deeply. Discover the joy of reading God’s word with the Immerse New Living Translation (NLT) Bible.
This daily Bible podcast will take you through the Bible in a year following the Immerse Bible Reading Experience. So grab your family and small group and go through the Bible in a year together with Immerse. Each of the 6 volumes is available online or at your favorite Christian bookstore.
Ethan: Welcome to Immerse: the
daily bible reading experience.
Day 100 and 87
as Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons
to be judges over Israel, Joel and Aja.
His oldest sons held court in Beersheba,
but they were not like their father
for they were greedy for money.
They accepted bribes
and perverted justice.
Finally, all the elders of Israel met at
Rama to discuss the matter with Samuel.
Look, they told him, you are now
old and your sons are not like you.
Give us a king to judge us like
all the other nations have.
Samuel was displeased with their request
and went to the Lord for guidance.
Do everything they say to you, the Lord
replied for they're rejecting me, not you.
They don't want me to be
their king any longer.
Ever since I brought them from
Egypt, they have continually
abandoned me and followed other gods.
And now they are giving
you the same treatment.
Do as they ask, but solemnly warn them
about the way a king will reign over them.
So Samuel passed on the Lord's
warning to the people who were asking
him for a king, this is how a king
will reign over you, Samuel said.
The king will draft your sons and assign
them to his chariots and his charioteers,
making them run before his chariots.
Some will be generals
and captains in his army.
Some will be forced to plow in his fields
and harvest his crops, and some will
make his weapons and chariot equipment.
The king will take your daughters
from you and force them to cook
and bake and make perfumes for him.
He will take away the best of your
fields and vineyards and olive groves.
And give them to his own officials.
He will take a 10th of your grain and
your grape harvest and distribute it
among his officers and at attendants.
He will take your male and female
slaves and demand the finest of your
cattle and donkeys for his own use.
He will demand a 10th of your
flocks and you will be his
slaves when that day comes.
You will beg for relief from this king.
You are demanding.
Then the Lord will not help you.
But the people refuse to
listen to Samuel's warning,
even so we still want a king.
They said, we want to be
like the nations around us.
Our king will judge us
and lead us into battle.
So Samuel repeated to the Lord with the
people had said, and the Lord replied,
do as they say and give them a king.
Then Samuel agreed and
sent the people home.
There was a wealthy, influential man
named Kish from the tribe of Benjamin.
He was the son of a b l son
of zero, son of Borth, son of
Aya, of the tribe of Benjamin.
His son, Saul, was the most handsome
man in Israel, head and shoulders
taller than anyone else in the land.
One day, K's donkeys straight away.
And he told Saul, take a servant
with you and go look for the donkeys.
So Saul took one of the servants and
traveled through the hill country of
Efram, the land of Shalisha, the Shalim
area, and the entire land of Benjamin, but
they couldn't find the donkeys anywhere.
Finally, they entered the region of Zf and
Saul said to his servant, let's go home.
By now, my father will be more worried
about us than about the donkeys.
But the servant said, I've
just thought of something.
There is a man of God who
lives here in this town.
He is held in high honor by all the people
because everything he says comes true.
Let's go find him.
Perhaps he can tell us which way to go,
but we don't have anything to offer him.
Saul replied, even our food is gone
and we don't have a thing to give him.
Well, the servant said, I
have one small silver piece.
We can at least offer it to the
man of God and see what happens.
In those days, if people
wanted a message from God, they
would say, let's go and ask.
The seer for prophets
used to be called Sears.
All right, Saul agreed.
Let's try it.
So they started into the town
where the Man of God lived.
As they were climbing the hill
to the town, they met some young
women coming out to draw water.
So Salin, his servant asked,
is the SS seer here today?
Yes.
They replied, stay right on this road.
He is at the town gates.
He has just arrived to take part
in a public sacrifice up at the
place of worship, hurry and catch
him before he goes up there to eat.
The guests won't begin eating
until he arrives to bless the food.
So they entered the town and as
they passed through the gates,
Samuel was coming out toward them
to go up to the place of worship.
Now, the Lord had told Samuel
the previous day about this time
tomorrow, I will send you a man from
the land of Benjamin, anoint him to
be the leader of my people, Israel.
He will rescue them for
the Philistines for.
I have looked down on my people
in mercy and have heard their cry.
When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord said,
that's the man I told you about.
He will rule my people.
Just then Saul approached Samuel at
the gateway and asked, can you please
tell me where the Sears' house is?
I am the Seer.
Samuel replied, go up to the
place of worship ahead of me.
We will eat there together, and in
the morning, I'll tell you what you
want to know and send you on your way.
And don't worry about those
donkeys that were lost three days
ago for they have been found.
And I am here to tell you that
you and your family are the
focus of all Israel's hopes.
Saul replied, but I'm only from the tribe
of Benjamin, the smallest tribe in Israel,
and my family is the least important
of all the families of that tribe.
Why are you talking like this to me?
Then Samuel brought Saul and his
servant into the hall and placed them
at the head of the table, honoring
them above the 30 special guests.
Samuel then instructed the cook
to bring Saul the finest cut of
meat, the piece that had been
set aside for the guest of honor.
So the cook brought in the
meat and placed it before Saul.
Go ahead and eat it.
Samuel said I was saving it for you
even before I invited these others.
So Saul ate with Samuel that day
when they came down from the place
of worship and returned to town.
Samuel took Saul up to the roof
of the house and prepared a
bed for him there at Daybreak.
The next morning, Samuel
called to Saul, get up.
It's time you were on your way.
So Saul got ready and he and
Samuel left the house together.
When they reached the edge of town, Samuel
told Saul to send his servant on a head.
After the servant was gone, Samuel
said, stay here for I have received
a special message for you from God.
Then Samuel took a flask of olive
oil and poured it over Saul's head.
He kissed Saul and said, I am
doing this because the Lord has
appointed you to be the ruler over
Israel, his special possession.
When you leave me today, you will
see two men beside Rachel's tomb at
Zelzah on the border of Benjamin.
They will tell you that the donkeys
have been found and that your
father has stopped worrying about
them and is now worried about you.
He is asking, have you seen my son?
When you get to the oak of Tabor, you will
see three men coming toward you who were
on their way to worship God At Bethel,
one will be bringing three young goats.
Another will have three loaves
of bread, and the third will be
carrying a wine skin full of wine.
They will greet you and offer you two
of the loaves, which you are to accept.
When you arrive at Gibbon of God, where
the garrison of the Philistines is
located, you will meet a band of prophets
coming down from the place of worship.
They will be playing a harp, a
tambourine, a flute, and a liar, and
they will be prophesying at that time.
The spirit of the Lord will
come powerfully upon you and
you'll prophesy with them.
You will be changed into a different
person after these signs take place, do
what must be done for God is with you.
Then go down to Gilgal ahead of me.
I will join you there to sacrifice
burnt offerings and peace offerings.
You must wait for seven days until I
arrive and give you further instructions.
As Saul turned and started to leave,
God gave him a new heart, and all
Samuel's signs were fulfilled that day.
When Saul and his servant arrived
at Gibbon, they saw a group of
prophets coming toward them.
Then the spirit of God came powerfully
upon Saul and he too began to prophesy.
When those who knew Saul
heard about it, they exclaimed
What is even Saul, a prophet.
How did the son of Kish become a
prophet and one of those standing
there said, can anyone become a
prophet no matter who his father is?
So that is the origin of the saying
is even Saul, a prophet, when
Saul had finished prophesying, he
went up to the place of worship.
Where have you been?
Saul's uncle asked him and his servant.
We were looking for the donkeys.
Saul replied, but we couldn't
find them, so we went to Samuel
to ask him where they were.
Oh, and what did he say?
His uncle asked.
He told us that the donkeys
had already been found.
Saul replied, but Saul didn't tell his
uncle what Samuel said about the kingdom.
This concludes today's
immerse reading experience.
Thank you for joining us.