Samuel had a struggle between his head and his heart. Mentally he knew that God had rejected Saul. But emotionally Samuel grieved and still longed for God’s blessing on Saul.
The great prophet Samuel now is fearful of his protégé Saul; what if he finds out about this anointing of a new king? I love the fact that God grants this dear servant a “cover” for his trip to Bethlehem. “Take a heifer with you”. It worked perfectly!
Read More heart, God’s purposes, appearancesHow does this story relate to the commandment “Honour your father and your mother”? (Deuteronomy 5:16) What if one of your parents is an addict, mentally ill or demonized? How can you honour them? The obvious and general teaching is to honour your parents, but there are limitations to honouring parents that are incapacitated in some way. Jonathan understood this principle as he respectfully but persistently challenged his father Saul.
Read More protection, God’s presence, God’s purposes
Read Reflect Today’s reading in the last chapter of the first book of the major prophets is echoed in the final chapter of the entire Bible. Not surprisingly, the book of Revelation substantially draws imagery from the book of Isaiah. After many years of many people trying to convince me of the rich benefits of […]
Read More blessing, God’s purposes