Ethan: Welcome to Immerse: the daily bible reading experience.
Day 100 and 88
Later, Samuel called all the people of Israel to meet before the Lord at Mizpah.
And he said, This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, has declared, I
brought you from Egypt and rescued you from the Egyptians and from all of
the nations that were oppressing you.
But though I have rescued you from your misery and distress, You have
rejected your God today and have said, no, we want a king instead
now, therefore, present yourselves before the Lord by tribes and clans.
So Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel before the Lord and the
tribe of Benjamin was chosen by lot.
Then he brought each family of the tribe of Benjamin before the Lord.
And the family of the Maitrites was chosen.
And finally, Saul, son of Kish, was chosen from among them.
But when they looked for him, he had disappeared.
So they asked the Lord, Where is he?
And the Lord replied, He is hiding among the baggage.
So they found him and brought him out, and he stood head and
shoulders above anyone else.
Then Samuel said to all the people, This is the man the
Lord has chosen as your king.
No one in all Israel is like him.
And all the people shouted, Long live the king!
Then Samuel told the people what the rights and duties of a king were.
He wrote them down on a scroll and placed it before the Lord.
Then Samuel sent the people home again.
When Saul returned to his home at Gibeah, a group of men whose hearts
God had touched went with him.
But there were some scoundrels who complained, How can this man save us?
And they scorned him and refused to bring him gifts.
But Saul ignored them.
Nahash, king of the Ammonites, had been grievously oppressing
the people of Gad and Reuben, who lived east of the Jordan River.
He gouged out the right eye of each of the Israelites living there, and he didn't
allow anyone to come and rescue them.
In fact, of all the Israelites east of the Jordan, there wasn't a single one
whose right eye Nahash had not gouged out.
But there were 7, 000 men who had escaped from the Ammonites, and
they had settled in Jabesh Gilead.
About a month later, King Nahash of Ammon led his army against the
Israelite town of Jabesh Gilead.
But all the citizens of Jabesh asked for peace.
Make a treaty with us and we will be your servants, they pleaded.
All right, Nahash said, but only on one condition.
I will gouge out the right eye of every one of you as a disgrace to all Israel.
Give us seven days to send messengers throughout Israel.
Replied the elders of Jabesh, If no one comes to save us,
we will agree to your terms.
When the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul and told the people about their
plight, everyone broke into tears.
Saul had been plowing a field with his oxen, and when he returned to
town, he asked, What's the matter?
Why is everyone crying?
So they told him about the message from Jabesh.
Then the Spirit of God came powerfully upon Saul, and he became very angry.
He took two oxen and cut them into pieces and sent the messengers to carry them
throughout Israel with this message.
This is what will happen to the oxen of anyone who refuses to
follow Saul and Samuel into battle.
And the Lord made the people afraid of Saul's anger, and all
of them came out together as one.
When Saul mobilized them at Bezek, he found that there
were 300, 000 men from Israel.
and 30, 000 men from Judah.
So Saul sent the messengers back to Jabesh Gilead to say, We will
rescue you by noontime tomorrow.
There was great joy throughout the town when that messenger arrived.
The men of Jabesh then told their enemies, Tomorrow we will come out to you, and
you can do to us whatever you wish.
But before dawn the next morning, Saul arrived, having divided
his army into three detachments.
He launched a surprise attack against the Ammonites and
slaughtered them the whole morning.
The remnant of their army was so badly scattered that no two
of them were left together.
Then the people exclaimed to Samuel, Now where are those men who said,
Why should Saul rule over us?
Bring them here and we will kill them.
But Saul replied, No one will be executed today, for today
the Lord has rescued Israel.
Then Samuel said to the people, Come, let us all go to Gilgal to renew the kingdom.
So they all went to Gilgal, and in a solemn ceremony before
the Lord, they made Saul king.
Then they offered peace offerings to the Lord, and Saul and all the
Israelites were filled with joy.
Then Samuel addressed all Israel, I have done as you asked, and given you a king.
Your king is now your leader.
I stand here before you, an old, gray haired man.
And my sons serve you.
I have served as your leader from the time I was a boy to this very day.
Now, testify against me in the presence of the Lord and before his anointed one.
Whose ox or donkey have I stolen?
Have I ever cheated any of you?
Have I ever oppressed you?
Have I ever taken a bribe and perverted justice?
Tell me, and I will make right whatever I have done wrong.
No, they replied, you have never cheated or oppressed us, and you
have never taken even a single bribe.
The Lord and his anointed one are my witnesses today, Samuel
declared, that my hands are clean.
Yes, he is a witness, they replied.
It was the Lord who appointed Moses and Aaron, Samuel continued.
He brought your ancestors out of the land of Egypt.
Now stand here quietly before the Lord, as I remind you of all the great things the
Lord has done for you and your ancestors.
When the Israelites were in Egypt and cried out to the Lord, He sent Moses
and Aaron to rescue them from Egypt and to bring them into this land.
But the people soon forgot about the Lord their God.
So he handed them over to Sisera, the commander of Hazor's army, and also
to the Philistines, and to the king of Moab, who fought against them.
Then they cried to the Lord again, and confessed, We have sinned by turning
away from the Lord, and worshiping the images of Baal and Ashtoreth.
But we will worship you and you alone, if you will rescue us from our enemies.
Then the Lord sent Gideon, Bedan, Jha and Samuel to save you, and you lived
in safety, but when you were afraid of Nahash, the King of Amon, you came
to me and said that you wanted a king to reign over you, even though the
Lord your God was already your king.
All right?
Here is the king.
You have chosen.
You asked for him, and the Lord has granted your request.
Now, if you fear and worship the Lord and listen to his voice, and if you do
not rebel against the Lord's commands, Then both you and your king will show
that you recognize the Lord as your God.
But if you rebel against the Lord's commands and refuse to listen to Him,
then His hand will be as heavy upon you as it was upon your ancestors.
Now stand here and see the great thing the Lord is about to do.
You know that it does not rain at this time of the year during the wheat harvest.
I will ask the Lord to send thunder and rain today.
Then you will realize how wicked you have been in asking the Lord for a king.
So Samuel called to the Lord.
And the Lord sent thunder and rain that day, and all the people were
terrified of the Lord and of Samuel.
Pray to the Lord your God for us, or we will die, they all said to Samuel.
For now we have added to our sins by asking for a king.
Don't be afraid, Samuel reassured them.
You have certainly done wrong, but make sure now that you worship
the Lord with all your heart, and don't turn your back on Him.
Don't go back to worshiping worthless idols that cannot help or rescue you.
They are totally useless.
The Lord will not abandon His people, because that would
dishonor His great name.
For it has pleased the Lord to make you His very own people.
As for me, I will certainly not sin against the Lord by ending my
prayers for you, and I will continue to teach you what is good and right.
But be sure to fear the Lord and faithfully serve Him.
Think of all the wonderful things He has done for you, but if you continue to sin,
you and your King will be swept away.
This
concludes today's Immerse Reading Experience.
Thank you for joining us.