We elect leaders who may embarrass and disappoint us. When Toronto’s mayor makes Time magazine’s list of “Top 10 Apologies of 2013,” voter cynicism can’t be far behind. We aren’t unlike the early Israelites in this regard.
The people of ancient Israel lived in a time much like ours, rife with great fear and conflict.
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Judges had been God’s representatives to the Israelites for about 350 years. Samuel, the current judge took it personally when the nation’s leaders told him they now wanted a king, like the other nations. The Lord knew that the leaders weren’t rejecting Samuel as judge, they were rejecting God as their King.
There were going to be consequences to having a king, but they didn’t want to listen to Samuel as he laid it out for them.
Read More king, second best, insistenceHave you ever tried to resist what you clearly knew was God’s plan? What were the results? Frustration? Loss? Disappointment? Confusion? All of these and more?
In this text, we read of the final resolution of the leaders of Israel to accept God’s directive to have David serve as king of his chosen people. But reaching this resolution took years and cost plenty.
Read More blessing, king, planCan you imagine what a difference it would make in our nation if our leaders acted as God’s representatives – spiritual leaders who inspire us to pray, seek justice and live lives dedicated to God! This was God’s intention for the leaders of his people.
Moses began leading as God’s representative when he went to Pharaoh with the message: “Let my people go!”
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Read Reflect The Book of Proverbs is normally attributed to King Solomon (probably with some bits added from elsewhere) who was a divinely appointed, absolute monarch. The point of v14 is that there is a permanent ethical responsibility for the king to treat people generally, and the poor in particular, justly. Through the timeline of […]
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Doesn’t it sometimes feel like the world is falling apart? The morning news brings reports of murders, bombings, warfare, financial trouble and more. Our own lives experience illness – our own and that of others, fractures in relationships, difficulties at work. The list goes on and on.
Read More trouble, king, water, Near Eastern imageryDo I thank God only for what he has done for me? Do I see nothing but corruption and depravity in all the rest of the world? Many Christians do.
It’s easy to grumble at God for all that’s wrong in this world …
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Zechariah’s prophecy opens with a vision of a team of four mounted messengers sent into the world on a reconnaissance mission (1:7-11). Their report that there is “peace” angers the Lord, however, because it indicates that the nations believe that they have got away with their perpetration of evil against God’s people.
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Hebrews is often referred to as an ‘epistle’ or letter, despite the fact that it jumps straight into things without the customary greetings and introductions. And straight away, we get the sense we are reading someone else’s mail. Hebrews is clearly addressing a Jewish audience …
Read More king, angels, divine nature of Jesus, underestimating Jesus