#1 Samuel

[heart-for-god]

1 Samuel 3:10

#Jesus #1 Samuel

[booksofthebiblebracketpoll]

1 Samuel propaganda: none

Joshua propaganda: none

#round 2 #1 samuel #joshua

[versiculosbiblicos]

#1 Samuel #1 Samuel 2:6-7 #quote #frase #cristão #cristao #versículos bíblicos #versiculos biblicos #versículosbíblicos #versiculosbiblicos

[dylanadreams]

" 'Do not be afraid,' Samuel replied. 'You have done all this evil; yet do not turn away from the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart. Do not turn away after useless idols. They can do you no good, nor can they rescue you, because they are useless. For the sake of his great name the LORD will not reject his people, because the LORD was pleased to make you his own.' "

- 1 Samuel 12:20-22

#1 samuel #bible verse #scripture

[craigtowens]

Just Knowing Or Really Knowing?

I wonder how well you know the word “know”? Let’s find out on this episode of The Podcast.

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.  https://craigtowens.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/just-knowing-or-really-knowing.mp3 I wonder how well you know the word “know”? Let’s find out. Check out this episode of The Podcast. Here are some helpful resources from this episode: The Scriptures I referenced are 1…

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#1 Samuel #Bible study #Ephesians #Genesis #Good Friday #Gospel of John #Heavenly Father #Holy Spirit #Hophni #intimacy #Jesus Christ #Phineas #prayer #Psalm #relationship #video

[sag-dab-sar]

Deity Dagan

Originally a god of West Semitic speakers from the Levant, but worshipped widely throughout the Near East, including Mesopotamia.

Deity of grain, as well as its cultivation and storage. Indeed, the common word for "grain" in Ugaritic and Hebrew is dagan. According to one Sumerian tradition and to the much later Philo of Byblos, Dagan invented the plow. In the north, he was sometimes identified with Adad. Thus, he may have had some of the characteristics of a storm god. In one tradition his wife was Ishara, in another Salas, usually wife of Adad. Salas was originally a goddess of the Hurrians. Dagan also had netherworld connections. According to an Assyrian composition, he was a judge of the dead in the lower world, serving with Nergal and Misa-ru(m), the god of justice. A tradition going back at least to the fourth century BCE identified Dagan as a fish god, but it is almost certainly incorrect, presumably having been based upon a false etymology that interpreted the element "Dag" in Dagan as deriving from the Hebrew word dag "fish."

The earliest mentions of him come from texts that indicate that, in Early Dynastic times, Dagan was worshipped at Ebla. Dagan was taken into the Sumerian pantheon quite early as a minor god in the circle of Enlil at Nip-pur. Kings of the Old Akkadian peri-od, including Sargon and Narām-Sin, credited much of their success as conquerors to Dagan. Sargon recorded that he "prostrated (himself in prayer before Dagan in Tutul [sic]" (Oppen-heim, ANET: 268). At the same time, he gave to the god a large area of the country he had just conquered, including Mari, Ebla, and larmuti in western Syria. A number of letters from the Mari archives, dated mainly to the reign of Zimri-Lim, record that Dagãn was a source of divine revela-tion. The letters reported prophetic dreams, a number of which came from Dagan, conveyed by his prophets and ecstatics. In his law code, Hammu-rapi credits Dagan with helping him subdue settlements along the Euphrates.

The Assyrian king Samsi-Adad I commissioned a temple for him at Terqa, upstream from Mari, where funeral rites for the Mari Dynasty took place.

In the Old Babylonian period, kings of the Amorites erected temples for Dagan at Isin and Ur. In the Anzû(m) myth, Dagan was favorably coupled with Anu(m). At Ugarit Dagan was closely associated with, if not equated to, the supreme god El/I(u). Although he is mentioned in the mythic compositions of Ugarit as the father of the storm god Ba'lu/ Had(d)ad, Dagan plays only a very minor role. His popularity is indicated by his importance in offering and god lists, one of which places him third, after the two chief gods and before the active and powerful god Ba'lu/ Had(d)ad. Dagan is attested in Ugaritic theophoric names. In Ugaritic texts the god is often referred to as "Dagan of Tuttul." It might also be the case that one of the two major temples of the city of Ugarit was dedicated to him, and he might there have been identified with the chief god I(u) / El.

Festivals for Dagãn took place at Ter-ga and Tuttul, both of which were cult centers of the god. He was certainly worshipped at Ebla and also at Mari.

At Mari, in Old Babylonian times, he appears as fourth deity on a god list; that is, he was very important. He was venerated also at Emar. There a "Sacred Marriage" ritual between Dagan and the goddess Nin-kur was celebrated.

At the same city, a festival was held in honor of "Dagan-Lord-of-the-Cattle," at which the herds of cattle and prob. ably sheep were blessed.

According to the Hebrew Bible, Dagan was the national god of the Philistines. I Samuel:5-6 tells of the capture of the Ark of the Covenant by the Philistines. It was customary in the Ancient Near East for the conquerors to carry off the deity statues of the conquered to mark the surrender not only of the people, but also of their deities.

So the Philistines took the Ark, the symbol of the god of the Israelites, into the temple of Dagan at Ashdod. Since the Israelites had no statues of their deity, the much revered Ark was an obvious substitute. In this way, the Philistines marked the submission of the Israelite god to Dagan. However, on the next day, the people of Ashdod found the statue of Dagan lying face down in front of the Ark. The following day the same thing happened except that the head and hands of Dagan's statue lay broken on the temple threshold. This biblical account seems to be an etiology for a practice of the priests of the temple of Dagan at Ashdod, for it states that for this reason it is the custom of the priests of Dagan not to tread on the threshold as they enter the temple of Dagan. The best-known of the biblical stories that mention Dagan is in Judges 16, the tale of Samson and Delilah. After Delilah arranged for the Philistines of Gaza to capture Samson, they blinded him, shackled him, and made him a slave at a mill. During a festival to Dagan, the Philistines took Samson to be exhibited in Dagan's temple, where thou sands of Philistines had gathered for the celebrations. After praying to the Israelite god, the now long haired Samson got back his old strength. By pushing against two central pillars, he brought the temple crashing down on himself and on more Philistines than he had killed in his whole lifetime of killing Philistines.

— From a Handbook to Ancient Near Eastern Gods & Goddesses by Frayne & Stuckey page 67-69

#pagan #polytheism #levpag #philistines #israelites #canaanites #assyrians #1 samuel #tanakh #mesopotamians #dagan #dagan deity #deity #god #quote #sumerian polytheism #levant #ancient near east #landof2rivers #quote pile #put this in text for someone so thought id post it #eblaite #ebla

[trustandobedience]

Trust & Obey – Thoughts from January 1, 2023. 

            As we enter the new year, I’m reflecting on the weight those two words have had on me since September. Trust and Obey – they seem like simple things on the face of it, something every “good” Christian will tell you is a part of life. However, when faced with actual challenges in life, I’ve found that trust and obedience are harder than the words imply. As is often the case with following Jesus, things do not always go the way we would have them go, especially with regards to our future plans and the things we want for ourselves. His plan doesn’t always line up with ours, and that’s hard to come to terms with.

            If you’re anything like me, you love having a plan for literally any situation that comes your way. You’ve got that Type A, practical personality that means your every move is well thought out and considered before being made. And, if you’re like me, then you are absolutely devastated when things don’t follow the established plan. Whether it’s missing the plane you were meant to be on or something as simple as waking up an hour later than you’d planned, you just can’t handle the uncertainty and anxiety that comes with deviance from the plan.

            And that’s an okay way to be! The world needs thinkers like us to hold it together and keep it spinning on time. Although we often get a bad rap for not being as easygoing or agreeable as the “free thinkers,” the world’s creative types, we are needed at the end of the day to make sure that the dog gets fed on time and the clocks keep ticking in tandem. We are important; valued for combating the very things that often cause us distress. That bring the order and stability that we are uniquely and unquestionably able to bring to a chaotic world. We show God’s orderliness, His plan and pattern through the way we establish our own structure in our day to day lives. We are living evidence of a Creator who refuses to leave things up to chance, who establishes order in keeping with His character.

            However, sometimes it just feels like we’re getting in our own way, doesn’t it? I mean, life would be so much easier if I could just go with the flow, let things like disrupted plans roll off my shoulders, shrug it off and keep moving. But I can’t. I haven’t ever been able to, and I don’t see that changing any time soon. So, how do we navigate our lives in a way that glorifies God when it feels like the things we plan won’t come to fruition?

            We have to trust His plan. I know, I know – it’s trite, and even I’m tired of hearing it on my bad days. Trust me, I would rather manipulate a situation until no semblance of the original plan remains than move forward without one. Giving my plans over to Jesus and trusting that He will do infinitely more with them than I ever could is HARD. It’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do, and it’s made harder by the fact that it isn’t a one-time deal. We have to give up our own sense of control, our ideas for what we want or deserve out of life, and we have to keep doing that time and time again until the end of our days. As Isaiah 55:8-9 says, “‘My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.’” There will never be a time when His plans are not better than ours. There will never be a day where what we think we want is better than what God wants for us. If our wants and desires are not aligned with His plan for us, then we will continue to be disappointed, and we will end up disillusioned with Him if we aren’t careful. 

            If you grew up in the church, or have attended church for any stretch of time longer than, like, three weeks, there are several verses on this topic that you’ve probably heard multiple times and memorized at one point in your life. We can start off with Jeremiah 29:11 - “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’” We don’t even have to look past the very words of this verse to get confirmation that He not only has plans for us, but that they are plans for our good, to give us hope. Psalm 33:11 confirms this once again, saying that “the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of His heart through all generations,” and Psalm 32:8 tells us that He will “instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; [counseling] you with my loving eye on you.” 

            Of course, the “poster child” (or poster verse, if you will) of trusting in the Lord is Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.” This verse is about as clear as it gets! We are not meant to trust our own thoughts and opinions over the Lord’s, no matter how wise we think we are or how much we know about a situation. When the Lord calls us out of a situation we want to be in, there is always something else going on that He knows about and we cannot see. Since we know that His ways are higher than our ways, His thoughts are higher than our thoughts, He has plans for us, and that those plans work for our benefit even when we can’t fathom how, we can rest in Him and give Him our trust, our thoughts, and our plans for the future. 

            Indeed, we can even see implications in scripture of where a lack of trust in the Lord caused Him to delay the enactment of His plans (Matthew 13:58, “And He did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.”). This does not mean that the Lord’s plan is in any way derailed or misplaced, but rather that the Lord wishes to partner with us in the fulfillment of His plans for us. He wants our trust and obedience before He gives us the good things He has in store.

            So, since we can see clearly at multiple points in Scripture that the Lord has good plans for us, how then should we live? How can we live out the trust we are meant to have in His plans and provision? Well, that’s where obedience comes into play. No matter what the Lord says, no matter where He wants us to go, what He wants us to give up, or who He wants us to forgive, we are called, as His people, to obey Him in all things. A point in the Bible where this idea is made clear that has stood out to me is the story of Jonathan and his armor-bearer from 1 Samuel 15. At this point in Israel’s history, Saul is king and the Philistines have dominated the Israelites completely, making God’s nation subservient to them in more than one respect. Jonathan, Saul’s son, decides to attack a Philistine outpost without informing his father and taking only his armor-bearer, a personal assistant of sorts, with him. Jonathan shows tremendous faith and trust in what the Lord would have him do, and obedience to what God said, by taking a step back and asking for His guidance before going through with what he wanted to do (verse 10). The Enduring Word Commentary on this chapter names Jonathan as having a “Romans 8:31 heart: ‘If God can be for us, who can be against us?’” 

            Jonathan showed wisdom and complete trust in the Lord in this instance. He knew that his heart might be wrong, that his human emotions and thoughts were fallible and might be leading him astray, and so sought the Lord’s guidance before making a move. Enduring Word makes the important distinction that he did not doubt a word from God, as had other figures earlier in 1 Samuel (cough cough, Saul), but rather doubted his own heart and mind. Jonathan was content in knowing his part of the plan without demanding to hear the whole one, taking one step at a time and trusting that the Lord knew everything that was to come. He showed an obedience fueled by his trust when he attacked the more than twenty Philistines stationed there with only his armor-bearer by his side. 

            We can take Jonathan’s example for how we should respond to our own thoughts, emotions, and plans, and take a step back to evaluate them next to what the Lord says to make sure they are sound before moving forward. When we realize that His plans work together for our good (Romans 8:28), that His plans will come to pass regardless of how much planning and strategizing we do for ourselves (Proverbs 16:9), and that He is working in His own time to keep the promises He has made to His people so that all may come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9), we really have no choice but to give Him the reins and see where He takes us. 

            Well, I say we have no choice, but what I really mean is that we have no logical choice but to obey Him. We can fight, and push back, and rage against His plans, but at the end of the day, we are only hurting ourselves. When it feels like all we’re doing is getting in our own way by trying to be in control, that’s because we are. Things will run so much more smoothly with Him in control, since He knows not only the future, but our hearts and the hearts of those around us. When we can fully trust in His ability to work things together for our good, the only choice that makes sense is to obey Him when He speaks to us and believe Him when He says that He will see us through to the end. 

#trustandobey #trustinggod #christian #christianthoughts #happynewyear #2023 #scripture #bibleapp #1 samuel #jonathan #trust #obedience #christianblog #christianliving #christianity #faith #planner

[apenitentialprayer]

1. detail of David and Jonathan stained glass window, found in St. Mark's Portobello Episcopal Church, Scotland. 2. David and Jonathan in an illuminated manuscript, La Somme le Roy, circa 1290s.

It is also a law of friendship that a superior must be on a plane of equality with the inferior. For often, indeed, persons of inferior rank or order of dignity or knowledge are assumed into friendship by persons of greater excellence. In this case it behooves them to despise and esteem as nothing and as vanity what is but an addition to nature, and always to direct their attention to the beauty of friendship, which is not adorned with silken garments or gems, is not expanded by possessions, does not grow fat with delicacies, does not abound in riches, is not exalted by honors, is not puffed up by dignities. Coming back to the principle of friendship's origin, let them consider with care the quality which nature has given, rather than the external trappings which avarice affords to human kind. Therefore in friendship, which is the perfect gift of nature and grace alike, the lofty descend, the lowly ascend; the rich be in want, the poor become rich; and thus let each communicate his condition to the other, so that equality may be the result. [...] Jonathan, that excellent youth, paying no heed to a royal crown or to the hope of regal power, entered upon a covenant with David. He made the servant, David, an equal in friendship in the Lord. He preferred him to himself, when David was driven into flight before Saul, when he was hiding in the desert, when he was condemned to death, when he was destined for slaughter; thus Jonathan humiliated himself and exalted his friend. [...] And see how Saul, the father of the youth, strove to arouse envy in him against his friend, heaping him with reproaches, terrifying him with threats, reminding Jonathan he would be despoiled of a kingdom and deprived of honor. But when Saul had uttered the sentence of death against David, Jonathan did not fail his friend. "Why shall David die? Wherein has he sinned? What has he done? He put his life in his hands and slew the Philistine, and you rejoiced. Why, therefore, shall he die?" [1 Samuel 20:32, 19:5ac]. [...] Tullius says that some have been found who think it mean to prefer money to friendship; but that it is impossible to find those who do not put honors, civic offices, military commands, power or riches before friendship. For nature is too weak to despise power. "For where," he says, "will you find one who prefers the honor of his friend to his own?" [De Amicitia, 64a]. Behold, Jonathan was found victor over nature, a despiser of glory and of power, one who preferred the honor of his friend to his own, saying: "You shall be king, and I will be next after you" [1 Samuel 23:17b]. This is true, constant, and eternal friendship; which envy does not corrupt, nor suspicion diminish, nor ambition dissolve; which thus tempted does not yield, thus assailed does not fall; which is perceived to be unyielding though struck by reproaches innumerable and though wounded by injuries manifold. Therefore, "go and do you in like manner" [Luke 10:37b]. But if you think it hard and even impossible to prefer him whom you love to yourself, do not fail at least to hold him on an equal footing with yourself if you wish to be a friend. For they do not rightly develop friendship who do not preserve equality. "Defer to your friend as an equal," says Ambrose, "and be not ashamed to anticipate a friend in service. For friendship knows no pride. Indeed, 'a faithful friend is the medicine of life, the charm of immortality'" [On the Duties of the Clergy, 3.22.128a, cited verse Sirach 6:16].

- Aelred of Rievaulx (Spiritual Friendship, 3.90-91a, 92ab, 93ab, 95-97a), trans. Sr. Mary Eugenia Lakker, SSND.

#Christianity #Catholicism #friendship #altruism #kenosis #equality #monarchy #King David #Aelred of Rievaulx #Saint Ambrose of Milan #love #agape #Cicero #David and Jonathan #Ben Sirach #1 Samuel

[thisbibliophiile]

And Samuel said, “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.

1 Samuel 15:22 ESV

#quotes #reading #bible #1 Samuel

[larissa-the-scribe]

🧙‍♀️

Response to a question from this ask game!

Question: favorite part of 1 Sam 28?

The continuation of the background subplot wherein David is in hiding from Saul and lying to Achish's face about having RuN aWaY from Israel he is Against them now for Sure he has packed his rucksack and left and will Fight Them meanwhile Achish is like. "David. this dude. He's the best."

Specifically verse 2 where Achish decides to make David his bodyguard for life ✨

Honorable mentions:

Samuel ratting out Saul's undercover identity to the medium from beyond the grave

The medium and Saul's men having to browbeat him into accepting food because he was being angsty again (seriously Saul you gotta eat why do you keep doing this last time you almost got your son killed)

#scribe answers #ask game #the David “serves” Achish subplot is so funny to me sometimes I wonder if Achish ever found out about what David was Actually doing #bible #1 samuel #saul #david #salt and light #halloween ask games

[heart-for-god]

1 Samuel 2:2

#Jesus #1 Samuel

[booksofthebiblebracketpoll]

#1 Samuel #Haggai #round 1

[versiculosbiblicos]

#1 Samuel #1 Samuel 2:2 #quote #frase #cristão #cristao #versiculosbiblicos #versículos bíblicos #versiculos biblicos #versículosbíblicos

[dylanadreams]

"When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, 'Surely the LORD's anointed stands here before the LORD.'

But the LORD said to Samuel, 'Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.' "

- 1 Samuel 16:6-7

#1 samuel #bible verse #scripture

[roshaac]

Hannah's Prayer

Why did Hannah not go to God on the first place? Was she too comfortable with her husband's love? Was she too content with the double portion she received from him? Why did it take a Peninah for her to go to God?

Hannah carried God's promise. Not just for her a child, but for the nation a prophet. Do not mistake your temporary barrenness to absence of God's promise. If He closed her womb, He knows when to open it.

Do we like, Hannah have our sorrows turned into joy even before we see the answer come to pass?

Do not Hush you Peninah, take it to God!

Image: Pexels

#Hannah's prayer #jesus loves us #scripture #jesus #bible #prayer #1 samuel #hannah bible

[devotionals15]

Devotional 207: Take Heed, All You People

Ahab wanted the truth, and still had the prophet struck for saying it. What we want to hear is seldom what we need to know.

1st Kings 22:13-23 13 The messenger who had gone to summon Micaiah said to him, “Look, the other prophets without exception are predicting success for the king. Let your word agree with theirs, and speak favorably.” 14 But Micaiah said, “As surely as the Lord lives, I can tell him only what the Lord tells me.” 15 When he arrived, the king asked him, “Micaiah, shall we go to war against Ramoth…

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#1 John #1 Kings #1 Samuel #Luke