King James Bible Study – [And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. – Mark 8:34]
Date: Thursday, April 11, 2024
Chapters: I Samuel Chapters 12-14
Message: The Demise of A Nation
Hello My Friend,
As I was reading the chapters for today I started thinking about the demise that is taking place not only in my own nation, but in once God centered nations all over the world. The demise of a nation does not happen over night, but it does happen quicker than you think. I mean just twenty years ago Christians were considered to be the best people to have work for you, but today they are looked at as terrorists, narcissists, and haters. This happened because the majority of Christians are afraid to “offend” people so they not only condone immoral behavior, they are allowing it in their churches. In fact, they are creating perversions of Bible and making up their own rules and saying that it is coming from God, [Ephesians 5:6-8 Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. 7 Be not ye therefore partakers with them. 8 For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:]
Let me tell you, I have heard some perversions of the Bible that are tolerable, but some of them have chopped up the Word of God so badly that it is not even His Word any more. One cannot take the Law of God into their own hands, yes, we need discernment as we are not going to understand everything written in His Word, but we also need to understand that God is serious about the words that He has in His Word, [Revelation 22:18-19 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: 19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.]
[Demise; Termination of existence or operation; To transfer sovereignty as by the death or abdication of the sovereign; Collapse; Departure; Dissolution.] When the Israelites came to Samuel and demanded a king like the other nations, it was God that granted their request, but that request would come with a clause, God’s Law supersedes mans law. As we continue in the reading of I Samuel, God had chosen Saul to be their king, it was now official, Samuel, gathers the people together, and presents Saul to them, and he was not happy at all. First of all, he wanted to make sure that if he had done something to offend them to let him know now.
[1 Samuel 12:1-5 And Samuel said unto all Israel, Behold, I have hearkened unto your voice in all that ye said unto me, and have made a king over you. 2 And now, behold, the king walketh before you: and I am old and grayheaded; and, behold, my sons are with you: and I have walked before you from my childhood unto this day. 3 Behold, here I am: witness against me before the LORD, and before his anointed: whose ox have I taken? or whose ass have I taken? or whom have I defrauded? whom have I oppressed? or of whose hand have I received any bribe to blind mine eyes therewith? and I will restore it you. 4 And they said, Thou hast not defrauded us, nor oppressed us, neither hast thou taken ought of any man’s hand. 5 And he said unto them, The LORD is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, that ye have not found ought in my hand. And they answered, He is witness.]
[The LORD is witness against you, and his anointed] By their own acknowledgment that he had done no wrong to them his entire time as judge the blame of desiring a change of government rested with themselves. The only ones to blame for a nations demise are the ones who trusted earthly authority over God’s authority, [Psalms 33:16-18 There is no king saved by the multitude of an host: a mighty man is not delivered by much strength. 17 An horse is a vain thing for safety: neither shall he deliver any by his great strength. 18 Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy;]
Now, Samuel, goes on to remind the Israelites of their demise from the start when their fathers had turned on God time and time again since they left Egypt, and yet He was always faithful to send them help when they cried out to Him.
[1 Samuel 12:8-12 When Jacob was come into Egypt, and your fathers cried unto the LORD, then the LORD sent Moses and Aaron, which brought forth your fathers out of Egypt, and made them dwell in this place. 9 And when they forgat the LORD their God, he sold them into the hand of Sisera, captain of the host 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 unto the LORD, and said, We have sinned, because we have forsaken the LORD, and have served Baalim and Ashtaroth: but now deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, and we will serve thee. 11 And the LORD sent Jerubbaal, and Bedan, and Jephthah, and Samuel, and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side, and ye dwelled safe. 12 And when ye saw that Nahash the king of the children of Ammon came against you, ye said unto me, Nay; but a king shall reign over us: when the LORD your God was your king.]
[when the LORD your God was your king.] With disgust and sadness, Samuel, introduces them to the king they have chosen. And to prove to them that what they did was a grave mistake and that God was not pleased either he called on God to send a thunder storm.
[1 Samuel 12:13-18 Now therefore behold the king whom ye have chosen, and whom ye have desired! and, behold, the LORD hath set a king over you. 14 If ye will fear the LORD, and serve him, and obey his voice, and not rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then shall both ye and also the king that reigneth over you continue following the LORD your God: 15 But if ye will not obey the voice of the LORD, but rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then shall the hand of the LORD be against you, as it was against your fathers. 16 Now therefore stand and see this great thing, which the LORD will do before your eyes. 17 Is it not wheat harvest to day? I will call unto the LORD, and he shall send thunder and rain; that ye may perceive and see that your wickedness is great, which ye have done in the sight of the LORD, in asking you a king. 18 So Samuel called unto the LORD; and the LORD sent thunder and rain that day: and all the people greatly feared the LORD and Samuel.]
[Now therefore behold the king whom ye have chosen,] Wow! What a powerful statement, and I can hear the tone in Samuel’s voice too. So why was this considered wickedness? They were putting trust in a man to save them rather than God. God, sent the thunder and rain during the time of the year when it does not rain. This was done to convince them that their sin was in asking for an earthly king to save them. And it worked too, they begged Samuel to pray for them, and He does give them some hope, [1 Samuel 12:22-25 For the LORD will not forsake his people for his great name’s sake: because it hath pleased the LORD to make you his people. 23 Moreover as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you: but I will teach you the good and the right way: 24 Only fear the LORD, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things he hath done for you. 25 But if ye shall still do wickedly, ye shall be consumed, both ye and your king.]
[but I will teach you the good and the right way:] Since God loves us, He wants the best for us, and if we obey His Law, then He will take care of us, everything from our freedom to prosperity is given to us from God Himself. They key to receiving them is to ask Him for them the good and right way, in other words, according to His will, [Romans 8:26-27 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.]
We may not like it, but we need to continually pray for country, the president, vice president, Congress, hopefully, something will sink in and they will do the right thing. For two years, Saul had it good, there was no fighting, he had a son named, Jonathan, he was the head of the army of their tribe, Jonathan attacked a camp where the Philistines were stationed, it was then that Saul boasted about it. When the Philistines hear the noise, they gathered a huge army together in retaliation.
[1 Samuel 13:1-4,6 Saul reigned one year; and when he had reigned two years over Israel, 2 Saul chose him three thousand men of Israel; whereof two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and in mount Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin: and the rest of the people he sent every man to his tent. 3 And Jonathan smote the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geba, and the Philistines heard of it. And Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, Let the Hebrews hear. 4 And all Israel heard say that Saul had smitten a garrison of the Philistines, and that Israel also was had in abomination with the Philistines. And the people were called together after Saul to Gilgal. 6 When the men of Israel saw that they were in a strait, (for the people were distressed,) then the people did hide themselves in caves, and in thickets, and in rocks, and in high places, and in pits.]
[When the men of Israel saw that they were in a strait,] So, here is this army scattered all over the nation and even crossed over the Jordan to escape the Philistine because the only people who had weapons were Jonathan and Saul. Saul, knew that he needed God’s help in this and called for Samuel, but he was late getting there, so, Saul took it upon himself to start offering sacrifices to God.
[1 Samuel 13:10-14 And it came to pass, that as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might salute him. 11 And Samuel said, What hast thou done? And Saul said, Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that thou camest not within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered themselves together at Michmash; 12 Therefore said I, The Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication unto the LORD: I forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt offering. 13 And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the LORD thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the LORD have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever. 14 But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee.]
[thou hast not kept the commandment of the LORD thy God,] This was a huge mistake because this was not some ordinary sacrifice to give honor to God and get His attention, these were ceremonial sacrifices that only a consecrated priest or at the least a Levite was allowed to perform. Sadly, right at that moment God saw that Saul’s heart had changed and He would not only strip him from his reign as king, He would also take the throne away from his heritage all together. Now, we heard mention of Jonathan at the beginning of our reading, he was the only God fearing son that Saul had, and he was a warrior at that, we learn more about Johnathan, and how he had led the Philistines to fight another while his father made an even more mess of things.
[1 Samuel 14:1-3,6 Now it came to pass upon a day, that Jonathan the son of Saul said unto the young man that bare his armour, Come, and let us go over to the Philistines’ garrison, that is on the other side. But he told not his father. 2 And Saul tarried in the uttermost part of Gibeah under a pomegranate tree which is in Migron: and the people that were with him were about six hundred men; 3 And Ahiah, the son of Ahitub, Ichabod’s brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the LORD’S priest in Shiloh, wearing an ephod. And the people knew not that Jonathan was gone. 6 And Jonathan said to the young man that bare his armour, Come, and let us go over unto the garrison of these uncircumcised: it may be that the LORD will work for us: for there is no restraint to the LORD to save by many or by few.]
[And Ahiah, the son of Ahitub, Ichabod’s brother…wearing an ephod.] Remember Ichabod? He was the son born during the time that Eli’s died as well as his sons. This man was the great-grandson of Eli, also known as Abimelech, [1 Samuel 4:20-21 And about the time of her death the women that stood by her said unto her, Fear not; for thou hast born a son. But she answered not, neither did she regard it. 21 And she named the child Ichabod, saying, The glory is departed from Israel: because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father in law and her husband.] Since Samuel was not there, Saul, pulled out all the stops to try and stop the Philistines, but at this point God was no longer with him. However, He was with Johnathan.
[1 Samuel 14:8-12 Then said Jonathan, Behold, we will pass over unto these men, and we will discover ourselves unto them. 9 If they say thus unto us, Tarry until we come to you; then we will stand still in our place, and will not go up unto them. 10 But if they say thus, Come up unto us; then we will go up: for the LORD hath delivered them into our hand: and this shall be a sign unto us. 11 And both of them discovered themselves unto the garrison of the Philistines: and the Philistines said, Behold, the Hebrews come forth out of the holes where they had hid themselves. 12 And the men of the garrison answered Jonathan and his armourbearer, and said, Come up to us, and we will shew you a thing. And Jonathan said unto his armourbearer, Come up after me: for the LORD hath delivered them into the hand of Israel.]
[for the LORD hath delivered them into the hand of Israel.] You see, Jonathan knew that if they had any chance to defeat the Philistines it would be from God. Let me tell you, even our defeats are used by God to establish us, not for His Kingdom, but for our leading others to His Kingdom. Like it or not, we are Christ’s ambassadors and the best way that we are able to show Christ is actually by Him picking us back up after we have been defeated, [2 Corinthians 7:10-11 For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. 11 For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.]
Well, Jonathan’s plan actually worked, he and his armourbearer killed twenty men, then something incredible happened, the Philistines started fighting and killing each other. This is another one of those instances where they were killing themselves. Saul, hearing all the commotion, sent his men in and made another mistake.
[1 Samuel 14:14-16,18-20 And that first slaughter, which Jonathan and his armourbearer made, was about twenty men, within as it were an half acre of land, which a yoke of oxen might plow. 15 And there was trembling in the host, in the field, and among all the people: the garrison, and the spoilers, they also trembled, and the earth quaked: so it was a very great trembling. 16 And the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin looked; and, behold, the multitude melted away, and they went on beating down one another. 18 And Saul said unto Ahiah, Bring hither the ark of God. For the ark of God was at that time with the children of Israel. 19 And it came to pass, while Saul talked unto the priest, that the noise that was in the host of the Philistines went on and increased: and Saul said unto the priest, Withdraw thine hand. 20 And Saul and all the people that were with him assembled themselves, and they came to the battle: and, behold, every man’s sword was against his fellow, and there was a very great discomfiture.]
[And Saul said unto Ahiah, Bring hither the ark of God.] Everything was going just fine until Saul showed up, demanding that they bring the Ark of the Covenant. Does any of this sound familiar? Did not they make this mistake before in thinking that the Ark was the very presence of God? All Saul had to do was repent and ask God to forgive him and God would have changed things for him, instead he takes things into his own hands again only to learn that the Philistines were destroying one another with their own swords.
[1 Samuel 14:23-27 So the LORD saved Israel that day: and the battle passed over unto Bethaven. 24 And the men of Israel were distressed that day: for Saul had adjured the people, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth any food until evening, that I may be avenged on mine enemies. So none of the people tasted any food. 25 And all they of the land came to a wood; and there was honey upon the ground. 26 And when the people were come into the wood, behold, the honey dropped; but no man put his hand to his mouth: for the people feared the oath. 27 But Jonathan heard not when his father charged the people with the oath: wherefore he put forth the end of the rod that was in his hand, and dipped it in an honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth; and his eyes were enlightened.]
[put his hand to his mouth; and his eyes were enlightened.] When Jonathan heard that rash vow from his father he thought that it was absurd and encouraged them to eat. Well this caused a huge problem because they were so hungry that the second they saw food they turned into savages, literally killing animals and eating the meat raw.
[1 Samuel 14:29-33 Then said Jonathan, My father hath troubled the land: see, I pray you, how mine eyes have been enlightened, because I tasted a little of this honey. 30 How much more, if haply the people had eaten freely to day of the spoil of their enemies which they found? for had there not been now a much greater slaughter among the Philistines? 31 And they smote the Philistines that day from Michmash to Aijalon: and the people were very faint. 32 And the people flew upon the spoil, and took sheep, and oxen, and calves, and slew them on the ground: and the people did eat them with the blood. 33 Then they told Saul, saying, Behold, the people sin against the LORD, in that they eat with the blood. And he said, Ye have transgressed: roll a great stone unto me this day.]
[Ye have transgressed: roll a great stone unto me this day] Saul, knew that they were not to eat blood and tries to get God’s attention by building an altar and offering a sacrifice. Once again, he took the Law into his own hands and built another altar.
[1 Samuel 14:35-39 And Saul built an altar unto the LORD: the same was the first altar that he built unto the LORD. 36 And Saul said, Let us go down after the Philistines by night, and spoil them until the morning light, and let us not leave a man of them. And they said, Do whatsoever seemeth good unto thee. Then said the priest, Let us draw near hither unto God. 37 And Saul asked counsel of God, Shall I go down after the Philistines? wilt thou deliver them into the hand of Israel? But he answered him not that day. 38 And Saul said, Draw ye near hither, all the chief of the people: and know and see wherein this sin hath been this day. 39 For, as the LORD liveth, which saveth Israel, though it be in Jonathan my son, he shall surely die. But there was not a man among all the people that answered him.]
[though it be in Jonathan my son, he shall surely die] Saul, thought that the reason why God did not answer was because Jonathan caused the people to become savages. On top of that Saul, was willing to kill his own son for doing what was right than admit that he made a bad decision in how he handled everything.
[1 Samuel 14:41-45 Therefore Saul said unto the LORD God of Israel, Give a perfect lot. And Saul and Jonathan were taken: but the people escaped. 42 And Saul said, Cast lots between me and Jonathan my son. And Jonathan was taken. 43 Then Saul said to Jonathan, Tell me what thou hast done. And Jonathan told him, and said, I did but taste a little honey with the end of the rod that was in mine hand, and, lo, I must die. 44 And Saul answered, God do so and more also: for thou shalt surely die, Jonathan. 45 And the people said unto Saul, Shall Jonathan die, who hath wrought this great salvation in Israel? God forbid: as the LORD liveth, there shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground; for he hath wrought with God this day. So the people rescued Jonathan, that he died not.]
[God do so and more also: for thou shalt surely die,] Even though they were still facing a battle, God, delivered them from the Philistine and would have kept on doing so. Saul, was still willing to have his own son executed over something that he was actually the cause of in order to save his own life. Jesus said this, [John 15:13-14 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. 14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.]
[there shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground;] Does this sound familiar to you? I believe Jesus said something similar to His believers, [Luke 21:15-18 For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist. 16 And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death. 17 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake. 18 But there shall not an hair of your head perish.]
Jesus Christ Revealed/Magnified: [1 Samuel 12:22 For the LORD will not forsake his people for his great name’s sake: because it hath pleased the LORD to make you his people.]
Today’s Prayer: God, Thank You for Your mercy and grace, and for the liberty You have given me when I accepted Your Son as my Saviour. You know that I want to live my life as You would have me, if you were to evaluate me right now I know You will find a willing heart, but I also know there are some things that I need to work on. There are no excuses for disobeying Your commands, especially when I learn of something You do not approve of. Lord, Keep my heart tender and open to You, reveal to me anything that I need to repent of, and forgive me of my sins. Give me Your power to withstand the evils of the world, let me not put my trust in man, rather in You, my God and my King. Lead me and guide me, and train me how to increase my skills to serve You with all my heart, mind, and soul. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
Are You 100% Sure You Are Going To Heaven?: https://imfollowingjesus.com/Biblestudy/ready-to-follow-jesus/
Receive The KJB Daily Devotions In Your Email: http://eepurl.com/2WMzT
Read Previous Devotions: https://imfollowingjesus.com/Biblestudy/
Read The Bible: http://kingjamesbible.imfollowingjesus.com/
Visit I’m Following Jesus: http://imfollowingjesus.com/index.html
Like I’m Following Jesus On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/byhisstrength
Copyright © 2024 I’m Following Jesus, All rights reserved.