Tag: Bible

1 Samuel 1-3 Deep Diving Bible Study by Gordon Ramsay

Good Morning Siblings!

Today we begin the book of 1 Samuel!

Our readings are 1 Samuel 1-3

About this book:

This is one of 12 books categorized as a historical book in the Bible.
1 Samuel and 2 Samuel were originally one book, but translators divided it into two.
Samuel is the prophet YHWH used to establish a kingship for Israel.
Samuel was a Levite, a descendant of the Kohathites. (1 Chron 6:26 1 Chron 6:33)
First Samuel is named after its main character, not its author, although Samuel is considered to be the author of some but certainly not all of it (some is recorded after his passing).
1 Samuel covers about 100 years and 2 Samuel covers about 40 more.

🌿We’ve seen that the era of the Judges proved disastrous for the tribes of Israel. When people begin doing what is right in their own eyes in as little as a generation they can become so far removed from YHWH’s ways that they are unrecognizable as His people. Imagine what several generations away look like! Again, they saw no problem with it and we can see by their actions that in their hearts they thought were doing fine in YHWH’s eyes, as long as they worshipped Him as one of their gods and as long as their ways were something of a loose adaptation of His. Of course, YHWH has shown us repeatedly how He feels about this.

🌿Now the era of Judges has come to a close (or is in the process of doing so) and we are about to begin a time of God’s people being governed by kings. We will see, over time, the Father moving His people towards the day when they will be given the ultimate king, our Messiah. Oh glorious day when He returns!!

🌿Word Time!

There are two common words you may see me write about a lot coming up so I wanted to define them in the manner in which I am using them:

-Apostasy: the abandonment or renunciation of a religious belief

-Syncretism: the combining and blending of different religions, cultures, or schools of thought.

🌿OH ELI !

From what we see, Eli’s reproach of his children was half hearted at best and clearly the root of their problem began with lack of reverence for YHWH in their upbringing. In his role as a priest, to know and allow his own children to behave this way, desecrate YHWH’s property, abuse His temple and His people in a role in which they claim to represent YHWH Himself- it is a high handed sin. High handed is intentional sin, one we know is wrong, committed after having been given grace and salvation. It’s a very grave thing. Speaking with his children wasn’t enough. It was time to be in there flipping tables and sending them outside the camp so to speak – and that would have been the least he should have done. Again we are seeing the contrast of the unfaithful and the faithful – with Hannah and Samuel being examples of those who are living among the unfaithful while maintaining faithfulness to YHWH. We are going to discuss high handed sin again in a minute.

🌿It is worth noting that historically and moving forward all attempts of YHWH’s people to govern themselves will fail. Whenever they cry out for a savior to rise up from among them, YHWH may give them what they ask for in the interim but ultimately this will serve to show them that the only leader that will not fail them is the coming/returning (depending on where you are in history) true King. Of course, I am referring to our Messiah.

🌿Another note: See how, even though the temple and its priests are corrupt, still there is a remnant to join with. There are those that remain faithful, the Bible tells us that there will always be a remnant to join with. Always, peoples, always! 🙌❤️#BetheRemnant

🌿Something to think on: Remnant means a small quantity remaining. Take a moment to think about words and phrases like “remnant”, “narrow path”, and “few will find it”. All of these stand in direct contrast to thoughts of “mega”, “masses”, “popular”, etc.

🌿Have you noticed how many things we’ve found which are out of place and out of line with YHWH’s will now that we have the foundational knowledge of Scripture? After studying the “old” testament, so much going forward is going to make a lot more sense because we have this wonderful knowledge and wisdom which YHWH always meant for us to have. This aids our ability to discern what is good and bad in the eyes of YHWH rather than just what is good and bad in our own eyes.

🌿1 Samuel 1:24 Recall that weaning age for tribal societies is not what we think of it today. A weaned child could easily be 5-7 years old. We are specifically told that Samuel was young so he could have been on the lower range of this, or perhaps even a bit younger.

🌿1 Samuel 2:3 This stood out to me

For YHWH is a God of knowledge, and by Him actions are weighed.

Who weighs our actions? YHWH. Him alone. So we should ask ourselves, against whose standards will our actions be weighed? His, of course. No one else.

🌿1 Samuel 2:17 tells us that the men treated the offering, which belonged to YHWH, with contempt. They treated it as if it were theirs to do with as they wished. We see this more often than not in our culture today. Today, offerings made to the Father are used to fund all manner of man’s pursuits while charity is not extended to those the Father has commanded it be extended too. This is also a sobering consideration when it comes to making offerings. All too often we tend to feel that if we make an offering to someone who states that they represent the Father, our duty is done and the responsibility for that offering is now on someone else, but that is simply not the case in the Father’s eyes. One of these days we may have a long talk about offerings vs tithes, the Biblical definition of a tithe, and who is entitled to receive what according to YHWH’s Word.

🌿1 Samuel 3:1 tells us that it was a rare thing for YHWH to speak to people in those days and also for Him to give visions to His people. Why is this? Israel had fallen so far away from the Father that their tendency was not to hear Him, much less obey Him. Eventually, those who refuse to hear find themselves no longer being spoken to. This brings great understanding to us today, in much the same situation.

🌿1 Samuel 3:7 is something we need to pause on a minute.

Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.

Samuel did not recognize the voice of YHWH, that is clear, but now we have even more insight as to why. Samuel had not yet come to know YHWH and His Word! This is stunning for a few reasons. #1. His care had been entrusted to the high priest and clearly, the high priest had not been tutoring Samuel as he should have. That is a tragedy. I’m sure they were going through the motions, serving in the temple, showing up and doing the do’s, but Samuel didn’t understand why he was doing what he did. He was simply doing what he was expected to do. #2 SAMUEL WAS SERVING IN THE TEMPLE and didn’t even know YHWH! This is a not at all subtle reminder that someone can serve in a role of prestige in a place operating under the banner of YHWH and not even know Him!

🌿Sidenote: To His credit, Eli did instruct Samuel to hear and obey YHWH, even though he himself did not. If you’re going to go astray, at least don’t encourage others to do the same.

🌿1 Samuel 3:10 and 1 Samuel 3:21 – Notice that text is telling us that YHWH physically appeared to Samuel!

🌿1 Samuel 3:13-14 Back to high handed sin: These are hard verses to read and we often dismiss them because they are “Old Testament” and “God doesn’t punish people anymore because of Jesus” but both of these lines of thinking directly contradict YHWH’s word, and Messiah’s as well.

Let’s read these verses and unpack it a bit:

13 And I declare to him that I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them. 14 Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.”

1 Samuel 3:13-14

Did you catch that? Eli’s sons were blaspheming YHWH and Eli did nothing to stop them, therefore he is complicit. But the kicker comes in verse fourteen – the sin that is on Eli’s house is a sin that cannot be atoned for – forever. We see in 1 Samuel 2:25 that Eli knew this all too well and saw it coming.

How can a sin not be capable of being atoned for? YHWH tells us there is one type of sin that fits this bill and that is High Handed Sin. Let’s read a bit:

³⁰But the person who does anything with a high hand, whether he is native or a sojourner, reviles the Lord, and that person shall be cut off from among his people. Numbers 15:30

Native or sojourner = Native Israelite or Gentile.

but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— Mark 3:29 <“New” testament passage.

What does it mean to blaspheme the Holy Spirit? What does it mean to commit a high handed sin? This, like so much of our understanding of the Word, is something that our knowledge needs time to mature in.

I saw one simple definition of high handed sin that I think puts it into a good context to todays thought pattern: “ I can do whatever I want and I demand that YHWH bless it.”

In other words:

I can decide how I worship and what worship means to me (Exodus 32:1-5)
I can decide what part of Scripture I want to follow (see Matthew 5:19)
I can decide that I don’t like the mean God of the old testament and just worship the God of the New Testament (see Malachi 3:6)
I can just live my life however I want and demand blessings (see Genesis – Revelation)

For a more in depth look into High Handed sin, including references to it in the “new” testament, see my notes on Numbers 14-15 by clicking here. Whether we take the time to understand this or not does not take away our responsibility should we be found in a high handed sin.

🌿1 Samuel 2:35 contains a very important definition of how YHWH determines faithfulness.

35 And I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who shall do according to what is in my heart and in my mind

How does the Father define a faithful priest? As one who will do what is in HIS (YHWH’s) heart and HIS (YHWH’s) mind. Are they following their own heart and their own mind? No. They are following YHWH’s, and a person who is faithful to YHWH understands that there is a distinct and vast difference between the two.

These next few books are some of my favorites and us reading them together is going to be fast paced and exciting so fasten your seatbelts and get ready for more adventure!

Begin at the beginning with our Genesis notes

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Ruth 1-4 Deep Diving Bible Study by Gordon Ramsay

Good morning brothers and sisters!

Today we read the book of Ruth in it’s entirety! Don’t panic, it’s a very short book and a wonderful read.

Rabbit Trails

🌿There are only 4 chapters in the Book of Ruth so don’t feel overwhelmed reading it on one day, it’s easy peasy! In fact, if you check out my Bible Reading Times Checklist, it is estimated that you can read Ruth in about fifteen minutes.

🌿Ruth was written in the time of the Judges and after having just finished that book it should be seen as incredibly encouraging. Even during this time when so many of YHWH’s chosen people worshipped other gods alongside Him (a worship He does not accept), when we come to Ruth we see that there are still those who are faithful and obedient unto YHWH, even to the extent of Gentiles joining themselves to God’s people in order to serve and follow Him. 🙌

🌿How fitting that we are reading one of the many stories foreshadowing our Messiah today, the story of His great grandmother, Ruth. This book is very special to me personally because it is one that I landed on when I decided to dive deeper into the word and really learn to pick the meat off the bones, several years back when I was traveling on my own on one of my book tours. Ruth got me to questioning some of the things I had been taught and where I fit into the plan of our Father. It drew me in and helped direct me to the novel idea of beginning the book at the beginning of the book – and giving the words of our Creator the authority they are due.

🌿Ruth is one of only two books in the Bible named after Gentiles. The other book is Job. Whether or not Luke was a Gentile is still pretty debatable and there are opinions on both sides of the fence.

🌿Ruth is also one of only two books of the Bible named after women, the other being Esther. Esther and Ruth actually have a lot of parallel contrasts, beginning with Ruth being a Gentile living among Jews and Esther being a Jew living among Gentiles.

🌿It was important to Naomi that her daughter in laws marry again because in Hebrew custom the first son born to their next marriage would be dedicated to their deceased husbands, carry their name, and be able to carry on their line rather than it die out. This would also provide security for both the wives and for Naomi.

🌿Ruth makes five promises to Naomi.
1. Where you go I will go
2. Where you stay I will stay
3. Your people will be my people
4. Your God will be my God
5. Where you die, I will die
This is a beautiful moment that has no doubt made an impression on many of you as it has me. It is important to realize that in this moment, Ruth is making a covenant with Naomi.
Not only that, but she is joining herself to Israel, promising to worship YHWH, and leaving her old life and ways behind. We tend to look at this book as one of dedicated friendship and even romance, and both elements are certainly there. But I feel an even greater theme is that of Gentiles joining themselves to YHWH’s people through covenant relationship.

🌿It is important to note that gleaning was a right that each land owner was required to offer to the less fortunate. It was a Torah prescribed form of social welfare at the time and owners were explicitly instructed not to harvest all of their land but to leave a certain portion and amount set aside for those in need (Lev 23:22). This was provided for the poor and especially for widows.

🌿In chapter 3 where Ruth goes to find Boaz on the threshing floor, some believe that she did something very forward and even lewd with regards to that interaction. My personal opinion is that this is absolutely not true. We should take the time to note the character of both Ruth and Boaz throughout this book and we will find their behavior honorable towards each other and towards YHWH, both before and after this encounter.

🌿And lastly, Ruth is a foreshadowing (as so much of what we read is) of our Messiah as the kinsman redeemer. This is a great rabbit trail for you to look into if you’ve a mind to.

Thank you for being here today as we honor our Father, Creator, the one true God, YHWH.

Begin at the beginning with our Genesis notes

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Judges 19-21 Deep Diving Bible Study by Gordon Ramsay

Today we finish the book of Judges!

Today’s readings are Judges 19-21

What a joy today! I’ve got another double header in Rabbit Trails for ya, thanks to our friend, Debbie Ingle! We’ll begin with Debbie’s notes and then finish off with mine.

Debbie’s rabbits

Judges 19-21

🌿How I wish this portion of Israel’s history did not happen! I think this is a good time to repeat something that Christy has told us before. Just because people in the Bible did something, does not make it good.

🌿I believe that these final chapters of Judges give us a truthful glimpse into the hearts of the people of Israel during the times of the judges. We have read over and over about their cycles of sin and repentance. As exhausted as I am reading about it, can you imagine how exhausting it must be to The Father to see His people…His special inheritance (Deut 4:20) being so unfaithful!

🌿Notice that, not for the first time, we are reminded that “in those days, there was no king in Israel” (19:1) While there was no human king, YHVH was their king and desired their obedience. Think back to the blessings and curses we recently read in Deuteronomy. If Israel had been obedient, those blessings would have been a guarantee. How incredibly sad to think of that missed opportunity!

🌿As we get into chapter 19, get ready to blush…I sure did when I read it with my teenage daughter this time last year. I really cannot defend much of anything from this portion of scripture until the very end of Judges. Instead, I am just going to give you a few bullet points of things to notice.

Chapter 19
- Priest has a concubine — already on a slippery slope
- Benjamite men behaved like the men of Sodom
- What a shocking way to spread the word (cutting and sending her body). So…let me get this straight. She was not worth protecting on the night she was mistreated and murdered…but she is worth starting a war and wiping out an entire tribe. Beyond comprehension! ???
Chapter 20
- Battle details — YHVH actually sends Judah to lose the first 2 times. Can I explain that? No. YHVH is God, and I am not.
- 25,100 Benjamites are killed — the remaining need wives — why? Because even with all its faults, Israel was a culture that valued children and saw them as a way to grow their population. For this, I applaud them.
Chapter 21
- Israel had sworn not to allow Benjamin to marry their daughters. (Like most vows, pretty foolish!)
- Israel slaughters Jabesh-Gilead in order to bring virgins to Benjamin…still not enough
- Finally, wives are “carried off” from Shiloh during feast days
  - The point here is that the fathers don’t have to break their vow by “giving” their daughters. The daughters will be “taken.”

What a complete MESS Israel has made in The Land! They do not recognize that YHVH desires to be their king, and everyone does what is right in his own eyes.

🌿Now before we have too much fun pretending to be better than them, let’s hold a mirror up to our own lives and see who is reigning, how our obedience is looking, and whether or not we find “right” to be a relative term.

You see, I often hear those of us in the church talking about how “blind” and “sinful” Israel was during the histories. But I rarely hear any of us willing to acknowledge that given the opportunity, many of us would be the exact same. And speaking of blindness, who says we aren’t? Front Porch Family, I challenge you to reject judging Israel. Leave that to The Father. Instead, let us use this time to reflect on and judge our own sin. How can we turn in repentance in order to align our lives in obedience to the straight edge of His Word? How can we avoid the sinful cycle that we keep seeing repeated within these pages? The blessings and curses are still there. May we choose life! (Deut 30:19)

Christy’s Rabbits

🌿We have been repeatedly met with the sentence “ In those days Israel had no king”. Judges 17:6, Judges 18:1, Judges 19:1, Judges 21:25

There are two places in the book of Judges where this sentence is completed and at the very end we come to one of those where we see the implication of what this sentence is actually telling us. The reason is shown to us in the last verse of Judges where the sentence is complete:
Judges 21:25, the last sentence of this book reads:

“In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit.

And that just sums up so many cultures, so many time frames, and so many people.

🌿We have a shocking story in our reading today so I want to discuss that a bit.
You’ll want to read the passages first before going further
~~~~~~~~
🌿Judges 19 The old man from the hill country of Ephraim: It was custom for the host to protect and defend their guests at all cost, they were treated with the greatest of honor. Why did he offer his daughter and the concubine instead? Up until YHWH, most people (and their gods) viewed women as having little worth. They were expendable.
Note that this is not the way YHWH sees women but this was still a concept that was foreign in many areas. E even if folks were privy to the teachings of YHWH, they still tossed those teachings into their big old religious melting pot along with all the other faiths, beliefs, and gods around them. Clearly, we aren’t dealing with people who considered YHWH’s laws to be of any real authority.

However, It is important to note that the men banging on the door were Benjamites. They were of Israel, and that is what makes this even more shocking. This terrible sin brought shame to all of Israel.

The Levite who decided to cut up his concubines body and send pieces out brought further shame. He showed grave disrespect for her corpse and an indifference towards her where there should have been grief and love. Perhaps there is and we are simply not told about it but that is hard to imagine given his actions. It is important to note, as we saw yesterday, that all of this behavior – both of the Levite and the Benjamites, went against YHWH’s instructions for His people.

This story continues, illustrating further the last statement in Judges and letting us know how far Israel had fallen away from YHWH. The further we get, the steeper and more slippery the slope. The more normal it feels to us, the easier it is to excuse.

That is why it is so important to read the word firsthand, as we are each responsible for our own behavior, actions, and faithfulness to YHWH.

“In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit.”

❤️By His Grace, we DO have a King! Let us do what is right in His eyes. 🙌🏻🙌🏻

Begin at the beginning with our Genesis notes

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