Marriage Issues Again!

From II Chronicles 17 - 19:

1. Jehoshaphat was a wise leader (at least in the beginning), as he sent out teachers to further instruct the Israelite people in the way they should walk before the Lord. This is important, because just expunging the evil within the country was not enough (by destroying the idols - Asa did this). We have to do the same things in our lives. Not only should we rid our lives of evil habits and sinful behaviors, but additionally, we need to educate and train ourselves to do what is good and righteous. Otherwise we fall right back to doing the evil after a short period of time.

2. Marriage Issues Again! - The story of how Jehoshaphat affiliated himself with Ahab is interesting. First, I think that Jehoshaphat should have not allied himself with such an evil man. Second, I can see the reason that he allied himself with this evil king was due to his marriage relationship. He should not have allied himself through this marriage. God was merciful and did not allow Jehoshaphat to be killed in the battle with the Arameans, even though Jehoshaphat should not have been there at that time.

Finish strong!

From II Chronicles 13 - 16:

1. It is interesting to see how God helped Judah gain the victory over Israel in the battle mentioned in II Chronicles 13. Abijah trusted God and pointed out the error of the way that Israel had taken. He did not ignore the Israelites, but put God first. Even though Jeroboam used the time to set up a superior battle position, he still lost because of a lack of God's help. It illustrates that sometimes, when we are too busy worrying and planning to trust in God and call upon God to help, we still can lose the battle. Alternatively, if we just trust God and do what we can but always put Him first in what we are doing, he will provide us the victory.

2. Abijah, although he was more honorable than Jeroboam, still committed a sin similar to David and Solomon by taking on so many wives - exactly what the Lord told the Israelites not to let their kings do.

3. It is recorded here in II Chronicles 13 that God struck down Jeroboam. It is so sad to see that Jeroboam had the chance to pick up where David / Solomon left off, but instead had to build golden calves. He should have done what was pleasing to God.

4. Finish strong! - Asa started out right by destroying the idols that were leading people away from worshiping the one and only true God. Then, when he went into battle against the Cushites, he also did the right thing by calling upon the Lord at the start and seeking God's help. That is why he was successful in his conquest / campaign against them. Additionally, it also records that at another point he deposed his grandmother as queen mother because of an idol she had erected. However, he did not finish strong because he did not continue to call upon the Lord, instead relying on his own strength. Such a pity!

Did God do this?

From II Chronicles 10 - 12:

1. I wonder why Jeroboam fled while Solomon was alive, but was not afraid to come back during at the beginning of the reign of his son? I mean, when Solomon took the reign from David, David instructed him about certain individuals that were a threat to the kingdom - see I Kings 2:5-10 for a reference. As a result of this, these enemies of the kingdom were put to death when Solomon took over the reign. One would think that Solomon would do likewise and instruct his son about his enemies (these are recorded in I Kings 11:14-40). I am guessing that Solomon had begun to lose the wisdom that God blessed him with. This began when he began following after the gods of his wives. God gives talents and blessings, but many forget that He can take them away just as easily as He gives them (Job 1:20b - "...The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away...") Otherwise one would think that Solomon would instruct his children about who his enemies were (and thus, enemies of the government). Then, when Jeroboam came back, he would have been walking right back to his demise.

2. We can see from Rehoboam and the way in which he chooses to respond that he is following the evil desires of his youth when he decides to follow the ill advice given by his young friends. Psalms 94:3-4 says this: "How long will the wicked, O LORD, how long will the wicked be jubilant? They pour out arrogant words; all the evildoers are full of boasting." Rehoboam was doing exactly this when he responded to the Israelites, being arrogant and boasting instead of being compassionate. (Psalms 112:4 emphasizes the importance of compassion and how God blesses those who are compassionate.)
Notice that both of the verses that I cited about the situation were found in Psalms. These were (likely) writings from David, or at least were likely available by the time of Rehoboam. Too bad that he did not read them.

3. Did God do this? - In II Chronicles 11:4, God tells the kingdom of Judah (as it would become after this split) not to go to war with what would become the kingdom of Israel. He says it is His doing (the split). Perhaps the appropriate way to phrase this would be that He allowed it because of Solomon's sins (and Rehoboam's subsequent arrogance / boasts). It is important to understand that all good things come from God. This was not a good thing for the Israelite nation, but it was as a result of sin, so God allowed it. This is similar to some of the bad things that have happened recently to the US. The planes that ran into the World Trade Centers were allowed to do this because the US (as a nation) has continued to walk apart from God (and continues to get further away).

4. In II Chronicles 12:13 it records that Rehoboam was 41 years old when he became king. If you refer back to item #2 you will see that Rehoboam acted immaturely and rashly. It is interesting to see how he acted so immaturely at the age of 41. I have always maintained that age is not always the best indicator of maturity, but rather the degree to which one follows God's word is more of an indicator. This is why I Timothy 4:12 instructs Timothy not to worry about his age, but rather to be an example for others to follow.

No Dewey Decimal System

From II Chronicles 7 - 9:

1. Can you imagine making a prayer and then seeing fire come down from heaven and consume the offering that you were making? Wow!!!! I think I would be talking about that for years and years in my testimony!

2. God promised to bless David's descendants. However, what God promised to Solomon (by speaking to him - another thing I would be talking about for years in my testimony) had definite conditions. He had to continue to follow God and not worship idols. God already knew what would happen, because I am sure that by this point Solomon had already begun taking too many wives.

3. I think II Chronicles 8:11 pretty much tells where the problem was going to be, as he built a separate place for his wife from Egypt, in spite of the fact that he had admitted by doing this that she would not be pleasing to God.

4. No Dewey Decimal System - It says that all the things Solomon did were recorded in the records of Nathan the prophet, the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite and the visions of Iddo the seer. I wonder what happened to all these records. Did the royal librarian not do their job and keep these accounts safe? Or was it because they did not yet have the Dewey Decimal system?

5. I also wonder why it lists Iddo the seer's account regarding Jeroboam as having information about Solomon.

Indiana Jones Notes

From II Chronicles 4 - 6:

1. II Chronicles 3:18 says that there was quite a large number of bronze items made - to the point that the weight of the items could not be determined. I read recently that a group of archeologists found a place in Israel that was originally a place where there was a large amount of metal processing (perhaps it was bronze - I can't recall) and they directly attributed it to Solomon's time based upon some form of dating / aging.

2. It is interesting that it mentions bringing the Ark of the Lord's Covenant from Zion to Jerusalem. I wonder if that meant from a particular place in Jerusalem (like the forbidden city in China - bringing something into Beijing to there), or if there was some other meaning.

3. It again mentions that the Ark and Tent of Meeting were brought up - not sure from where. Another idea is that (since Jerusalem is on a hill, as I understand it) the Tent of Meeting / Ark were down below - maybe at the base of the hill or something along those lines.

4. It says that the amount of animals sacrificed could not even be counted. Now that is amazing! I wish everyone were as excited about serving God and giving to Him as they were at this time.

5. Indiana Jones Notes - At this point there was only the two tablets contained in the Ark. This might be valuable information if you are Indiana Jones - as you will be able to identify the real Ark vs. a fake.

6. The prayer recorded that Solomon made to God is really awesome. He mentions that only God can see the heart. This goes hand in hand with I Samuel 16:7.

7. It is interesting that Solomon even intercedes on the behalf of foreigners - that they also have the privilege of praying there to God and having their prayers be heard.

Meet Bob, my fireplace! And here is Charlene, our sofa!

From II Chronicles 1 - 3:

1. God was pleased that Solomon was interested in doing a good job with the task he had been given by God - that of being king. It is important that we try to do our best at the tasks that God gives us too, whether they include raising children, being a missionary or minister or working in a workplace somewhere. We should seek to do it with all of our heart, as unto the Lord - so that He will be pleased and His name will be glorified. It was because of this attitude that God blessed Solomon greatly with many other things.

2.Solomon does a great job of being a good witness early on - even the king of Tyre praises God for the fact that Solomon is a wise king. That should be the purpose of us doing a good job - not for our own praise, but rather so that God will be praised.

3. Being an alien in Israel meant hard work. However, I am wondering about this, because later we will see that the people of Israel complained to his son Rehoboam about all the work they had to do for Solomon. I am certain that the number of people listed is aliens, because God would have punished Solomon if he had counted the fighting men that David wanted to count (also the number is too small), but I am wondering what the rest of the Israelite people had to do in this effort (other than supervising).

4. I wonder what is significant about the gold of Parvaim. Is it more pure, of a better quality, or just harder to obtain? Could one tell from inspection that the gold was of this type?

5. Meet Bob, my fireplace! And here is Charlene, our sofa! - I also wonder why the pillars were named. Just suppose that we went around naming architectural features of our houses. What a different world it would be.

A Note and three chapters

I again want to thank my faithful readers for reading more faithfully than I have been writing. I apologize. We will see how long I can sustain the effort to blog this time. God bless.

From I Chronicles 27 - 29:

1. In Chronicles 27:23 it says that David did not take the number of men below the age of 20. That is an interesting fact.

2.I had no idea that David had an uncle named Jonathan who was a man of insight.

3. I also never realized that David had a great hand in the original design of the Temple, though he did not actually build it himself.

God promised to exalt Heman

From I Chronicles 24 - 26:

1. We are reminded in the start of Chapter 24 about Nadab and Abihu again. Refer to Leviticus 10 for the details on how they died if you do not recall. When they died God also instructed the priests serving before the Tabernacle that they were not to drink any wine or other fermented drink whenever they went to the house of meeting or they would die. He used them as an example to all the Israelites. God wants perfect holiness, as God is perfectly holy.

2. God promised to exalt Heman - And I always thought that meant that Heman would be really strong and powerful, but in reality it meant he had 14 sons and three daughters.

3. Each family had their own responsibilities. Some were prophets, while others were musicians, while others had to offer sacrifices at the temple, some had to tend the gates, and some even were assigned to care for the treasuries (similar to a modern-day banker, I guess). We are truly blessed in this country nowadays, as we can choose any profession that we so desire, independent of what our parents did. Back in the time that this was written, you were assigned a profession and you and your entire family then was responsible for that during one's entire life. No one asked if you wanted to do it.

Something that costs nothing

From I Chronicles 21 - 23:

1. It is interesting that King David spoke to the Lord and God answered him with fire from heaven on the altar that David had built. This is very similar to what happened much later to Elijah when he had the showdown with the prophets of Baal. It must have been awesome to behold.

2. Something that costs nothing - I like how David would not take a freebie from Araunah when getting the threshing floor that he was using. Instead, in spite of Araunah's urging to the contrary, he paid a great amount of gold for it. David did not want to offer to God something that cost him nothing.

3. Apparently, according to this passage, David pleaded with God and asked God not to harm the people because, as he stated, "I am the one who has sinned, not the people". Yet God had exacted his justice on the people. I wonder why.

4. Although Job is in many places described as very violent, etc. - in this passage in Chapter 21 he is a voice of reason from God. He does not agree with numbering the fighting men and tells David. He also does not fully carry out David's command by not counting the Benjaminites and Levites.

5. David really helped Solomon greatly in getting everything prepared for the building of the temple of God.

Just and Right

From I Chronicles 18 - 20:

1. Just and Right - I like how it tells that David "reigned over all Israel, doing what was just and right for all his people". I wish we could get a President who would do this. "Just" and "right" have left our culture due to special interest groups and lobbyists. I don't care which side of the fence you are on, that is a REAL issue that we face today.
Declining morality within the masses of this country, however, is a direct reflection upon the church's failure to effectively set a good example and actively seek to spread the gospel locally.

2. Hanun reminds me of Rehoboam - a grandson of David - who would become king in the future. He listened to the wisdom of his nobles but did not try to think about it for himself. Both Rehoboam and Hanun were big losers because they miscalculated how their actions would change the outcome. And both of them learned the hard way at a very early point in their careers.

3. It is neat to see how in many battles that were fought, there was someone who was instrumental in the victory. In I Chronicles 20 it talks about different battles with the Philistines and how someone each time stood up to a tough adversary and was successful. It shows that we just need to trust God, not fear and be willing to stand up in the face of death and danger.

What about you, God?

From I Chronicles 15 - 17:

1. It is obvious from reading I Chronicles 15 that David learned his lesson after the incident with Uzzah. We always need to go back to the bible, God's word, and prayer when something happens we don't understand.

2. It is unfortunate that Michal was more concerned with appearances than heart matters. David was sincere, while Michal was keyed into appearances.

3. David was also generous and caring. He offered food to all the people after the blessing - something he did not have to do.

4. What about you, God? - Even though God had blessed him tremendously and given him victory on all sides, as well as tremendous success, yet he still was more concerned about the things of God. I hope that I can have this same attitude for all of my life also. God needs to be first in my life, and deserves to be. Anything and everything I have is because of His blessing. Nothing I have is because of anything that I have done. What is even better is that when God promises to bless David even further, he says, "Who am I that you should consider me?" David was a wonderful role model.

Too many wives?

From I Chronicles 12 - 14:

1. It is amazing that even among those who were from the same tribe as Saul defected to David and even became some of his most staunch supporters, becoming listed among the thirty (thirty of his most valiant men). It shows that David was more honorable than Saul, as even people from Saul's own tribe would "betray" him.

2. The way that David began to bring the ark to Jerusalem is depicted as being near the start of his reign. When Uzzah was killed by God for touching the ark, I bet it made David very concerned. God made David look bad in front of everyone. However, God is not concerned with a man's image - rather, he is concerned with his own holiness. God had commanded that the ark be carried by the Levites, not pulled on a cart drawn by oxen. Since His will was not followed, it is no surprise that bad things happened. Fortunately, after this incident blew over, David came to his senses and went ahead and brought the ark into Jerusalem.

3. It is neat to see that God blesses those who respect Him and serve Him. We see that while the ark was with Obed-Edom the Gittite, God blessed his house. This is in direct contrast to the Philistines, who served other gods and yet had the ark with them. Though they were both from other nations - if I am not mistaken, Gittites were not Israelites - God only blesses those who worship and honor Him.

4. Too many wives? - It could be argued that David did something improper in I Chronicles 14:3 when it talks about him taking more wives. The Lord had commanded the Israelites not to take many wives - specifically the kings - see Deuteronomy 17:16-17. Although David's wives did not lead him to serve other gods, his son Solomon emulated him and ended up taking many wives. In the end, Solomon's wives led him astray.

5. Fear is a powerful weapon. The bible tells us in the end of I Chronicles 14 that the Lord made all the nations fear David. Fear will cause people to do things that are not always rational.

Did not hold fast

From I Chronicles 9 - 11:

1. This passage begins by giving us some insight into who is writing this book and when it is being written. It states that the people of Judah (someone among them must be writing this) had been taken captive to Babylon. So it is being written some time after that fact occurred.

2. I wonder why the author of Chronicles decided to start with the fall of Saul. I suppose it would illustrate how David became king and talk all about his reign - as he was arguably the greatest king that Israel ever had (to this point, anyways).

3. Did not hold fast - The end of Chapter 10 says clearly that Saul died because he was unfaithful to God. He did not remain true in his faith. However, I would point out that originally God chose him - so at one point he was doing what was pleasing to God.

4. It is really interesting to read about the mighty men that served David and helped to protect him / fight wars for Israel. Some of these guys did some amazing things.

Nothing bad will ever happen to me

I hope that all of my loyal readers have not given up on me. I had been quite busy this week and did not get many chances to post. I apologize. We will see how the coming week goes.

From I Chronicles 4 - 8:

1. Nothing bad will ever happen to me - I have not read the books about this particular passage, but I notice that I Chronicles 4:9-10 is what has been termed "The Prayer of Jabez". Whole books have been written regarding these two verses. Although I cannot speak to the content within the books, I want to point out some facts as recorded in this passage to my loyal readers.
First, Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. The passage does not tell us why, but it does tell us that he was more honorable.
Second, Jabez cried out to God for blessings. I think that there is not a person on earth who believes in God that does not do this. Everyone wants to be blessed. And anyone who truly believes in God prays to God asking for protection, blessing, etc.
Third, God granted his request. This is actually the key point. God is sovereign and all-knowing. In God's mercy and grace, he chose at that time to bless Jabez. However, consider the thoughts listed below.
A. As I mentioned, all believers cry to God for blessing. However, though it is not wrong to ask for God's blessing, many people are wrong in doing so because they are ONLY interested in God's blessing. They do not want to serve God, follow God, obey God, or be a living sacrifice for God.
B. I am relatively certain that Paul, Peter, John, James, Thomas, etc. asked for God's blessing too. Each one was tortured for their faith, and except for John, all died at the hands of evil men. (Actually, this is the greatest blessing if you read the beatitudes.)
C. Job was blessed by God, but at a certain time in his life, God removed all these so-called "blessings" to grow his faith and test him.
D. Lazarus in the story Jesus told was greatly blessed by God because he died and went to Abraham's side. However, in his life he "received bad things".
Our problem is that we misunderstand what it means to be blessed. Perhaps the beatitudes should be included in the Prayer of Jabez book. To be truly blessed does not always mean having plenty and living a life of luxury. The bible records this about the rich man who went to hell : There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. So think about what you mean when you ask for God's blessing. If you lose your job or you find yourself being persecuted because of your prayers, it is then that you should be praising God.
(I do not mean to infer that having wealth / comfort is wrong. However, one should refer to I Timothy 6:6-9,17-19, as well as James 1, paying special attention to verses 9-10.
The greatest blessing one can have is to be welcomed into heaven, to spend all eternity with our Lord Jesus Christ , while worshiping God the Father.

2. It is interesting to note that although Reuben was the firstborn of Jacob, he was not given the rights accompanying this position because he had slept with one of his father's wives. Instead, this position was given to Joseph's sons.

3. It is really cool to see how the Reubenites and Gadites were successful in battle because they cried out to the Lord. It says that many of their enemies were slain because "the battle was God's". Cool! That is how God responds to those who call upon him out of a pure heart!

4. I Chronicles 7:24 records that Sheerah, the daughter of either Ephriam or Beriah built Lower and Upper Beth Horon, as well as Uzzen Sheerah. Wow, the first female construction manager / general contractor! Additionally, we see shortly before this a mention of Zelophehad. His daughters were the ones who went before Joshua to successfully requested ownership of the land that was allotted their family, since their father had no sons.

Just a story

From I Chronicles 1 - 3:

1. Just a story - There is extensive "page real-estate" attributed to genealogy - showing (in this case) from Adam up through King David's line. This not only gives us some idea of the amount of time passing, but it also lends credibility to the bible. If the bible were just a bunch of stories that someone made up, they would not bother with three chapters of genealogies explaining about people we had never heard of and the entire line. The writer would just give the details that were useful in the telling of the story. If you look at any story written, (successful, anyways) the author focuses on things that will lend to the story. Genealogy does none of this. In fact, it breaks it up unnecessarily.

2. I was recently doing research on some topics for a youth talk and I discovered some interesting things about our genetic makeup that I was not aware of before. There are two terms that all Christians should find extremely interesting:

Y-Chromosomal Adam

mitochondrial Eve

Now tell me that Adam / Eve and the Noah flood were just stories.

Neither before nor after

I hope that all of my readers had a wonderful weekend. I am very thankful for this last weekend. I was able to re-wire the lights for a portion of the hallway and upgrade from a T12 to a T8 ballast, hopefully saving the church a good bit of money on electric in the process. I know that the lights were at least brighter. I also discovered, through God's help, that the dimmers in the church sanctuary are having issues because (it would appear) of a problem with the communication wire going back to the sound "booth". I will test it another week or so to be sure.
We now get to observe one of my favorite kings in the history of Judah - Josiah.

From II Kings 22 - 25

1. We see that at the age of 24 (or so) Josiah was already very committed to following God whole-heartedly. What a great example to the young people of today. Today many youth forsake attending church and following God, and they only come back to God when they get into their 30s and have children / a family.

2. Neither before nor after - After reading up to II Kings 23:25, one can see why the bible says that there was neither a king before or after him who turned to the Lord with all of his heart, soul and strength. He went so far as to destroy the altars made by Solomon (destroying bad traditions) and even getting rid of household gods (even Rachel had one of these back before the twelve patriarchs were born). He also declared that the people should celebrate the Passover - something that had not been done in a very, very long time.

3. Unfortunately, Josiah could not turn God from the wrath that He had harbored due to the exceeding evil that Manasseh had committed. But God did note his extreme faithfulness. I wonder - if Josiah's son had been as committed as his father - would that have caused God to reconsider? Three or four generations of people continuing to follow God that whole-heartedly should make a difference.

4. I know that typically (especially in the US) it is thought to be bad if one is poor. However, those who were exceedingly poor during the time of the invasions of Babylon were blessed, because it was these very poor people who left behind to farm the land. However, even they were unfaithful and went to Egypt after there was a uprising against the leader left in the land by the Babylonians.

5. It is interesting that God had mercy upon Jehoiachin and allowed him later in life to eat at the king's table and have an allowance. Perhaps he was repentant after all that happened.

I don't care about the future

From II Kings 19 - 21:

1. It is awesome to see how God works. Hezekiah fully trusted the Lord that he would protect them and save them from the armies of Assyria, and he did!

2. I like how Hezekiah did not worry, but he immediately took his concern to the temple and spread it out before God to show God.

3. It is really amazing that God even extended the life of Hezekiah. He was truly blessed, because God gave him this type of extension. I cannot imagine any person who knows they are going to die not crying out to the Lord. Yet, typically God does not grant this type of request. I think that it illustrates where Hezekiah was in his walk with the Lord - how close he was and how devoted.

4. I don't care about the future - II Kings 20:19 is very troubling. I understand that Hezekiah was only worried about things during his lifetime. However, it is somewhat troubling that he would not inquire further of the message and try to do something to prevent the eminent demise of the nation. Not that I am sure there was anything that could be done, but he did not give it a second thought - rather, he only decided that it was good that there would not be trouble during his lifetime. I wonder: Was he having trouble with a rebellious son? Perhaps he felt that there was nothing he could do to reign in his son.

5. In II Kings 21 we see that it was indeed Hezekiah's son who really turned away from the Lord. He did not follow in God's ways, but rather turned the Israelites fully away so that they committed terrible things even worse than the nations that God helped the Israelites drive out when they possessed the promised land. I wonder if this could have been avoided if Hezekiah had taken a different attitude when God spared his life and then revealed to him a glimpse of the potential future.

Why would you want to do a thing like that?

From II Kings 16 - 18:

1. Why would you want to do a thing like that? I wonder why Ahaz would decide that it was better to worship idols than to serve the living God. And what would possess him to decide that sacrificing his own son would be a good idea? But yet I see our country, bolstered by a great abundance of God's blessings, following the ways of the world. I'm not talking about Republican / Democrat (because people who think that electing one over the other is going to change the world are suffering from an illusion - we've tried both parties and yet the country continues to slide downhill), I'm talking about everyday citizens who have decided that immoral practices are okay (living together out of wedlock, homosexuality) and that their own pleasures are more important than God's will. This is a direct result of the church not having done the job of spreading the gospel. And that means everyday Christians. I'm also not talking about beating people over the head with a bible. Show them God's love. Show them the pure life that comes as a result of being in tune with His will. And be prepared to give an answer.
I hope that it is not too late for Christians to make an impact in this country for good. But many "Christians" want to legislate Christianity instead. (Sorry, I'll get off my soapbox now.)

2. I wonder what Hoshea - the last king of Israel - did that made him unlike the kings of Israel before him. See II Kings 17:2.

3. It is interesting to see that when the Lord sent lions in among the new settlers of the land where the Israelites had previously been, they immediately realized that they needed to honor the "god" of the land. That is why they had a priest come back and teach them about the Lord. Although they did not worship only the one true God, they identified the source of the problem immediately. I wonder why the Israelites could not have identified the fact that they were falling away from God as the source of their problems. Perhaps it was the same as today in our country - we have rejected God, so we cannot see our problems are due to this very fact.

4. One of my biggest hopes in life is that God could record of me the same as he recorded of some of the kings like Hezekiah. It says, "Hezekiah trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. He held fast to the LORD and did not cease to follow him; he kept the commands the LORD had given Moses." How cool would that be if God said there was no one like you among all the people of the US.

5. The king of Assyria's fatal flaw was that he thought that he was all powerful, when in reality we all know that only God is all powerful. He should have given the glory to God. But, since he did not, God chose to have mercy upon Judah and rescue Hezekiah and the nation of Judah.

God is merciful and slow to anger

It was a particularly busy day yesterday, but I did not get to enter anything. I apologize to all of my loyal readers. Such is the spiritual battle that we face every day.

From II Kings 13-15:

1. God is merciful and slow to anger - It is neat to see that even though the bible says that Jehoahaz was evil because he did not turn away from the sins that Jeroboam led the Israelites into, God still had mercy on him when he sought God's face (see II Kings 13:4). It goes to show that God is an extremely merciful God, slow to anger and abounding in love. (See Psalms 86:15, Psalms 103:8 or Joel 2:13) (By the way, try reading Psalms 103 without being touched...it is hard.)
Additionally, I did a search for "slow to anger abounding in love" and the interesting thing is that it turned up all the results in the old testament. We tend to think of God as being much more unforgiving in the Old Testament; however, I think that it could be argued that the rules are much more stringent in the New Testament. See the sermon on the mount speech if you doubt this. However, God does not change, so he is always merciful and loving.

2. Jehoash is also recorded as having done evil in the eyes of the Lord for not having turned from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat. Nothing is mentioned about what these kings did wrong besides continuing in the idol worship that had been instituted generations before. I think it again re-iterates the need to evaluate customs and traditions to make sure that they are pleasing to God.

3. It is interesting to note that the king was judged according to his own actions. In chapter 14 it says that Amaziah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord; however, it also says that the people continued to worship at the high places that Solomon had built. Amaziah could have done even better if, in addition to what he did himself, he had led the people to also leave their lives of idol worship. This is in contrast to Jehoash, who not only allowed the people to worship idols, but participated in it also.

4. What a thing to be known for: Menahem ripped open all the pregnant women of Tiphsah. I wonder if the word Mayhem comes from Menahem.

Such a pity!

From II Kings 10 - 12:

1. Such a pity! - Jehu was very zealous for the Lord. He completely wiped Ahab's descendants off the face of the Earth. Because of this the Lord was pleased with him. However, he could've had so much more if he had only had enough wisdom, foresight and vision to destroy the evil traditions that Jeroboam had instituted. It just shows that in following God, we should examine even our traditions to make sure that they are pleasing to God. If they are not, we need to cast them aside and form new traditions.

2. I wonder why Ahaziah's sister Jehosheba was so interested in preserving Ahaziah's legacy, risking her own life to hide one of his children to be a future king. Was she at odds with her mother, Athaliah? One would've thought she would be happier with her mother reigning without contest, especially since it might mean that in the future she might get a shot at the throne.

3. I am guessing that at seven years old the king did not really make many decisions of any import, as he was so young. Likely the officials surrounding him took care of all the matters of state and such. I wonder - this likely being the case - why they didn't declare the baby king shortly after Athaliah took control. Why wait seven years?

4. The bible tells us that Joash took all of the sacred objects that were dedicated to the Lord, as well as many things of value out of the temple in order to pay off Hazael so that he would not besiege Jerusalem. I wonder what would have happened if he had sought out God to protect them instead of buying out his enemies. Would God have honored his requests for protection? Because although the people had continued in their evil, idol-worshiping ways, God typically would honor those who sought Him first.

Reunited!

From II Kings 7 - 9:

1. I wonder when the Arameans discovered that they were not actually being chased by other armies. What did they do at that point? Go back to Aram and make excuses? Or did they never figure out that there was not actually an army, but rather that God was fighting for the Israelites?

2. God really took great care of the woman who provided for Elisha. It is neat to see that she even got all the income from her land during the time she was absent.

3. It is interesting that Elisha tells Hazael about what he will become and do in the future, especially with regard to the Israelites. Seems almost like a self-fulfilling prophecy.

4. In II Kings 8:19, it says that God was not willing to destroy Judah because of the promise made to King David. However, later he did destroy Judah. Was this promise broken then? Or were there conditions put on the promise? Obviously the people of Israel continued to stray from God's commands, so that God would finally decide destroying Judah was the only solution.

5. It sure seems like Elisha was stirring the pot when he had Jehu anointed king. Otherwise I am guessing that Jehu would not have rebelled against his master. However, at the same time, it seems that at least Jehu was God-fearing, unlike Joram.

6. Reunited! I wonder why Jehu did not pursue Ahaziah and try to re-unite the two nations of Israel after making sure Ahaziah was dispatched. It was the perfect opportunity.

Famine and War are Terrible Things

From II Kings 4-6:

1. God ALWAYS takes care of those who love Him. It is neat to see how God took care of the lady whose husband was a man of God and had died. In this case, he caused a miracle with the oil. It is also interesting to note that he was among the company of prophets. So I really wonder why Catholics would declare that priests cannot marry. Upon what basis do they issue this edict?

2. God really tested the faith of the Shunammite woman. He gave her something very precious and then took it back to see how she would react. As we can see from the story, she placed all of her trust / hope in God and his servant. Additionally, she was persistent in calling out to God to help her. And she had great faith, as she told her husband everything would be fine. (It is interesting to note that the boy's symptoms are consistent with that of a stroke / aneurysm - which is not something you just get up from.)

3. In chapter 4 we have yet another story of God causing a little food to become much. And yet we (I include myself in this) worry about what we will eat / wear. (Matthew 6:25) It is really neat to see that there were men during this time that were still reverent towards God and offered their first fruits.

4. In chapter 5 we see the first instance of a missionary by circumstances. The little slave girl cared for her master (I guess they must've treated her well - but who knows) and mentioned the prophet of God in Israel. As a result, I bet that his entire family believed in the God of Israel in the end.

5. Two things can be learned from Gehazi:
A. Do not be greedy. God will provide in due time. And remember, there was a famine in Gilgal, so Gehazi was likely thinking that one could not pass up an opportunity to get some "insurance" for potential future food.
B. Do not judge but rather let God do that. Gehazi may have thought that since Naaman was from Aram, he should get something from them, as they were enemies (see chapter 6 for reference). He used his earthly viewpoint in dealing with this situation.
Gehazi learned both lessons by getting leprosy. I hope that none of my readers will learn these lessons the hard way, like Gehazi did.

6. I wonder who the king was and why Elisha kept helping him. Did he begin to fear God because of Elisha's showing God's power through helping him to avoid capture?

7. Famine and war are terrible things. We forget this in the US, as most citizens have never faced them in their lifetimes. Due to these circumstances, two women in chapter 6 made a pact - one with evil motives and intentions, the other with hunger driving her reason from her mind. It is unfortunate that they did not trust in God to provide them with the food they needed.

Let's Look Anyways

II Kings 1-3

1. It is sad that although Ahaziah knew about Elijah and the God of Israel, he chose to seek other "gods" instead. When he tried to bring trouble upon Elijah for questioning him, Elijah turned it back around and made it so that the kings trusted soldiers were punished instead. Our country knows about God too, and has experienced His greatness, and yet we still choose to ignore Him and look other places for help.

2. Let's look anyways - It is silly that the prophets, who knew that Elijah was going to be taken from Elisha convinced Elisha that they should send men out to look for him. After all,they already knew about it.

3. I hope that people are fearful around me. After all, I am almost bald. I wonder if I get extra credit in God's eyes, as God doesn't want man to cover his head when worshiping! :-)

4. It is interesting to see that Joram got rid of the sacred stone of Baal. I wonder what the motivation was, as the bible still says that he did evil in God's eyes. It just says not as evil as his father Ahab. I guess you could say that this passage proves that God is a jealous God and wants all your heart, soul, mind and strength.

5. The end of chapter three gives some very interesting pictures. First it talks about one town that men armed with slings surrounded and attacked. (Somehow this just does not seem as terrifying as swords and fire, but maybe I don't understand it all...)
The second picture that I find interesting is that finally the king of Moab sacrifices his son on the wall of the city and the fury against Israel is very great. On one hand it sounds as if they are winning the war, yet on the other hand it seems as if they cannot win. I guess it must've been like the US trying to invade Japan. Japan would've sacrificed all of their people in Kamikazi attacks before they would surrender.

Not looking back

I Kings 19-22:

1. It is nice to know that even arguably the greatest prophet discussed in the bible was weak at times. We see in I Kings after having held the victorious showdown with the prophets of Baal that Elijah runs away after threats from Jezebel. He wanted to die and did not feel worthy to live any longer after his failing. Yet God forgave him and still continued to use him in great ways.

2. I wonder why it was necessary for Elijah to have to travel to Mount Horeb. Couldn't God have delivered the message there in the desert? Perhaps there was some benefit in him having to travel because it would teach him something, or perhaps there were things that were going to be on the way back that he would need to do that would have been out of his way otherwise.

3. It is interesting how Elisha knew exactly what Elijah wanted and was ready to go after bidding his parents farewell and slaughtering his oxen.

4. In Luke 9:61-62 Jesus states that no one who looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God after one who is asked to be his disciple says they want to first go back and say good-bye to their family. This is the exact same thing that Elisha asked of Elijah. But in the case of Elisha, we can see that Elisha was merely tying up loose ends - not hesitating about what he should do. Elisha understood the price that he would pay and willingly destroyed his former career tools when he killed his oxen and burned the tools to cook the meat of the oxen.

5. Standing up for what is right can potentially cost your life. When Naboth refused to give up the land that God had commanded them to keep (even though it may have even been in his best interest to sell it) because of God's command, he was framed and murdered. The sad part about this story is that in many cases it is the same type of scenario. No one within the town bothered to stand up for this one righteous man. Why not? Was it fear? Or was it just that all were truly as wicked as king Ahab and queen Jezebel?

6. It is interesting that God spared even Ahab and his family during the lifetime of Ahab because of his humble attitude when confronted with the sin he had committed. It tells me that God is very forgiving, if we will just humble ourselves unto repentance.

Such a small thing

The first part of this week was really tough, as God allowed me to have an opportunity to trust Him more. I left the keys to the building in my uniform pocket, and each time I felt the pockets, I could not feel the keys.
I searched everywhere, and was thinking that tomorrow I would have to offer my resignation due to having lost the master keys to the building. (The cost to re-key a building is probably about $40K or so - if you lose a key, you might as well just say you quit.)
But I was my typical worrying self and God was His typical faithful self. (I still think that God worked a miracle - I am almost certain that they were not there earlier.) It is also interesting who you trust in these situations versus who you do not trust - I think it says something about who you are.
Hannah was in tears this evening when we prayed because of her concern for her Chinese grandma and grandpa who are not Christian. She was worried about them going to hell. I wonder if these things are signs from God that he wants me to pursue a different course.

From I Kings 15-18:

1. It is interesting that Asa is depicted here as a good king and one who did what the Lord was pleased with. In II Chronicles the bible tells us that until later in life, Asa was a very devout king. However, later in life he turned against some of the prophets who prophesied that he had not trusted God (which was true) by making a treaty with another nation. I guess this illustrates that God wants our entire lives to be devoted to him. The accumulation of faithfulness is a very good thing; though being faithful daily is also very important.

2. Hiel is an interesting person of mention in the passage. He was one who rebuilt Jericho. At the time that Jericho was destroyed, Joshua pronounced a curse upon the site, saying that it would cost someone their firstborn to lay the foundations of the city again and it would cost their youngest to set up the gates (Joshua 6:26). Sure enough, someone was dumb enough to test the curse, and it was true. This man's name was Hiel. (I imagine that at the time, what they said to him was "Hiel, No!" But would he listen? "Hiel no!")

3. It is interesting that there is no introduction to Elijah. He is just brought into the story. But no word is mentioned of his background, other than the fact that he is a Tishbite. I wonder...

4. I am wondering how the ravens brought him food. Was it cooked meat? Where (other than the obvious miracle) could the ravens have been getting this stuff from? I mean, picture in your mind a guy just on the other side of the hill who loves to grill out, but every day has trouble with pesky ravens taking half of what he puts out. Or another possibility is that just on the other side of the hill is a shrine to worship winged creatures, where people of a neighboring town offer foods up. The ravens have always come to this little ravine to enjoy their meals, and now someone is there who scares them away when they get over there to enjoy a snack. (It is fun to think of the possibilities...)

5. It is interesting that only after Elijah had brought the widow's son back to life did she believe that Elijah was a man of God who spoke the word of God. I guess the providing a virtually everlasting supply of food was not enough.

6. The story of the showdown between Elijah and the prophets of Baal is one of my favorite stories in the bible. I see there that it appears that just after this incident, Elijah had to entreat God to allow rain upon the land. I am guessing that he was impatient too, since he sent his servant to check seven times. The bible records that he went up to the top of mount Carmel and put his face between his knees before he sent his servant to check. I am guessing that he was asking / begging God to work this miracle. But after having spent all this time in prayer (assumption), he had enough energy that he was able to (through God's spirit) outrun the horses of Ahab as they went back to Jezreel.

Life is hard

From I Kings 11-14:

1. I wonder why when Solomon found that Jeroboam had fled to Egypt that he did not call his friend the Pharaoh and ask a favor. After all, one of his wives was Egyptian and he even built her a palace. The Pharaoh had even given her land as a gift for her wedding. It would not have been such a big thing to ask that they send Jeroboam back (by force, if necessary) so that Solomon could dispatch him.

2. I am wondering again, as I mentioned earlier, why the Israelites felt that Solomon had put such a heavy burden on them. I mean, it states a couple of chapters earlier that he did not conscript labor from any of the Israelites, but rather from those who were non-Jews in the land. I wonder if this is similar to how the country is today in many areas. Americans enjoy wealth and riches beyond measure, and yet we complain all day long about how hard life is. Life is really quite simple and easy for us, and yet we have spoiled our children and ourselves to where we forget (or perhaps don't even know) what a hard life is.

3. Rehoboam was a typical spoiled, brash young man. He wanted to show that he was somebody, when in reality he found that he was nothing without God. I sure hope that my children don't grow up to be this foolish. Yet I see many kids today that are not properly disciplined that would make these exact mistakes.

4. Jeroboam was not smart either, because he tried to resolve the issue of the people reverting back to the house of David by going against God's will. Making graven images was not something God was going to bless. This should have been obvious.

5. How is it that the man of God spoken of in chapter 13 was fooled? And why was it that God spoke then later through the old man who had lied to get the man of God to go back? I think the old man should have suffered the fate of the prophet, because he lied. Though if the prophet was not sure, he should have inquired of God before going back.

6. I wonder how old Abijah was when God declared he would die. The prophet Ahijah said that he was the only one in the family of Jeroboam in whom the Lord found anything good. I wonder what good he found.

All you had to do was remain faithful

From I Kings 8-11:

1. When the Israelites gathered together to "commission" the temple, the bible says that so many sheep and cattle were sacrificed that they could not be counted. Wow!

2. The bible records that there was nothing inside the ark except the two stone tablets Moses had brought down from Mount Horeb. I wonder what happened to the jar of manna and the budding staff of Aaron that had been in there before.

3. The fact that the cloud filled the temple, displaying God's presence to such a degree that the priests could not perform their duty is really cool.

4. Perhaps it is my psychoanalytical nature to do this, but I wonder about the comment that Solomon made when he saw the cloud. He said, "I have indeed built a magnificent temple for you,..." If it were me, I think that I would not dare to say this, because obviously heaven has to be much more magnificent. (Though I guess that later in his prayer he kind of redeems himself by saying that nothing can contain God)

5. It sounds a little like the king of Hiram, who had helped build the Lord's temple by providing Solomon with the cedar, pine and gold that was needed, was not happy with the towns he was given as reward for his gift. I wonder why Solomon did not try to mend this relationship (or at least why it is not mentioned here if he did).

6. During the reign of Solomon, all of the other people groups who were in the land promised to the Israelites were forced to be the labor force for the building of the temple and the palace. It says that Solomon did not make any of the Israelites to be slaves; rather, they were his fighting men, officials, officers, and commanders. If this is true, I wonder why the people complained later to Rehoboam about the heavy weight that Solomon had imposed upon them.

7. I wonder how the queen of Sheba knew of the Lord. I mean, she came to Solomon because she "heard about the fame of Solomon AND HIS RELATION TO THE NAME OF THE LORD". I also wonder about the hard questions she was going to ask. According to the account given, he was easily able to answer all that she asked.

8. If only Solomon had been wise in his dealings with women! It is interesting to note that God raised up enemies to contend with the house of David because of Solomon's sin of forsaking God and following after the gods of his many wives. It is also interesting to note that Ahijah stated very clearly to Jeroboam why ten tribes would become followers of him instead of the house of David. Ahijah also gave him a promise from God that he would build him a dynasty as enduring as the one that David had if he would only walk in God's ways. This illustrates that all of mankind struggles with faithfulness to God.

Just like Carl Linnaeus

I spent a bit of time recently reading about the Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot and Security Prison 21. It is really terrible what human beings will do to one another when they are given the chance. I wonder how long it will take before our country votes someone of extremist views into the presidency and we start heading towards this type of situation. As the country is upset with the current president and he has taken all the stops away from the accountability designed into his position, it makes me really worry sometimes for my children and the country that they might live in.

From I Kings 4-7:

1. I noticed that Azariah son of Zadok became the priest. I also noticed that Ahimaaz, who had helped king David (at least I assume it is the same one) was not a priest, but rather was one of the district governors.

2. It is amazing the amount of wealth not only in the country, but also with Solomon himself. Just looking at the list of things that they used for the palace and Solomon's daily provisions, it makes one wonder how they could possibly ever keep up that amount of provision.

3. Solomon's wisdom was very great. I Kings 4 tells that Solomon described plant and animal life. I don't know that many people were clued into this until Carl Linnaeus started classifying plants and animals with names that science now uses to recognize them. It also talks of all of Solomon's proverbs. I wonder how many proverbs or sayings other great philosophers wrote.

4. It is interesting that there was to be no noise of chisels or hammers at the temple building site. It kind of reminds me of build-outs within our building. No one is to make a noise during the day, but they have to keep moving forward on the project.

5. If I were Solomon, I think I would worry about my dedication to the Lord very much after having spent thirteen years on my own palace and only seven years on God's temple. (Not that it was wrong for Solomon to do this, but it should have been a warning to make sure to keep God first.) And one of the clues should have been the fact that a whole lot of the building time probably was spent on the palace that he built for his wife who was Pharaoh's daughter.

Too many wives = Too many children = Not enough time to care for them properly

From I Kings 1-3:

1. It is interesting to see some of the other fruit of David having this many wives. He has a second son who decides he wants to be king, so he also goes to set himself up as king. It becomes very apparent that David did not really know his sons very well. How could he? After all, I imagine all of his time was taken up caring for his many wives. And I wonder how it came about that he promised Bathsheba that her son would reign as king. Was it because he saw the superior wisdom of Solomon, or because he was really attracted to Bathsheba? It is also very evident from the passage here that Bathsheba was much younger than David. After all, David is in his bed, and she comes and bows low before him, asking if he will make good his promise. If she was as old as him, she would be in bed too.

2. I wonder why David waited and had his son Solomon put to death Joab and Shimei. I mean, David knew about these dissenters and evildoers much earlier. What was his purpose in waiting?

3. I don't know if the entire story of Solomon is in chronological order, but I tend to think it is not. Moreover, if it were in chronological order, it seems to me that Solomon was already gifted with some extraordinary wisdom even before he asked this of God. The way in which he handled Shimei, his brother Adonijah and Joab shows that he knew what he was doing.

4. It is interesting to see that Zadok becomes the priest instead of Abiathar. Not only did it fulfill what had been told about Eli's house, it also was probably in some part due to the extreme attitude of wanting to serve by Zadok and his sons. If you will recall, his son was the one that ran (outran the Cushite) to tell David of his victory in the battle when Absalom was trying to usurp the kingdom. He was also one of the two that risked his life to deliver the message to David of what Absalom was planning to do.

5. I am not sure that I understand I Kings 3:2. It states that Solomon did everything according to the Lord's commands EXCEPT that he offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places. However, when he was at the most important high place (in Gibeon), God asked him for whatever he might want. I am interpreting this to mean that Solomon should have been only offering sacrifices to God where the tent and the ark was. This does not mean that he was worshiping idols or anything. And it almost seems that he gained in wisdom just during that night. The next picture we have of him offering to God, it is at the ark in Jerusalem.

My son can beat up your son

From II Samuel 21-24:

1. It is interesting that God refers to Saul and his legacy as a blood-stained house. After all, didn't David kill tens of thousands and Saul only thousands?

2. The anecdotes that are given in chapter 21 are not in order, but rather some tidbits of information, from what I am guessing. After all, David was staying in his palace and not fighting with his men when he saw Bathsheba. I am assuming that the incident occurred after the Israelites persuaded him not to go out with them when they fought.

3. There sure were some very unusually formed figures that came from the house of Rapha. I wonder what sort of man Rapha was. The picture I have in my mind is a picture of the man who was called "Jaws" in the James Bond movies.


4. It is interesting that there is a song that is credited to David in chapter 22. I wonder why this was not just put in Psalms instead of being listed here.

5. Are the last words of David truly his last words of life? See chapter 23.

6. David sure surrounded himself with some very capable fighters. It is interesting just to read about some of the exploits that are listed in chapter 23. I also wonder about the sons of Zeruiah: Joab, Abishai, and Asahel (killed by Abner). These guys were fierce! How did Zeruiah raise them, I wonder. It must've been like boot camp from the time they were little babies.

Lets try someone else

From II Samuel 18-20:

1. It is interesting that Absalom made a monument to himself. He was not that old that he could not still have a son, so I am wondering why he decided to do this. (The bible says he made it because he reasoned to himself that he did not have a son.) I am guessing he was very self-conceited.

2. How was it that David was so naive about his son? Did he really think that after his son tried to usurp the throne that he would not be killed in battle? And all this after Absalom tricked him and tried to have him killed to take over the throne!

3. It is nice to see that even though Joab was not the kindest or most caring of men, he talked some sense into David and convinced him to appear before the men and thank them for risking their lives.

4. Barzillai was a good friend and a wise man. He not only provided for the king when he was in flight, but he also refused to go up to Jerusalem.

5. Sometimes adversity is a great thing, because it shows who your true friends are. As we can see, Shimei was not really a true friend. He betrayed the thoughts of his heart when he cursed the king on his way out of the country. (He did repent before the king, but David knew that he had evil intentions in his heart. Later we shall see that David orders Solomon to kill him upon taking over as king.)

6. I wonder if Joab knew that David promised the commander of the army position to Amasa? I also wonder what his response was when he first found out about it. The bible records very clearly that he wanted his position back bad enough to kill for it.

7 It is interesting to see that David has his own priest, by the name of Ira the Jairite. I wonder why he was not satisfied with Abiathar and Zadok? After all, it was Zadok's son Ahimaaz and Abiathar's son Jonathan who risked their lives by taking a message of Absalom's movements to David, and it was Ahimaaz who outran the Cushite to deliver the message that the army had succeeded in routing the armies of Israel.

Please God

From II Samuel 14-17:

1. It is interesting that Joab was so concerned about bringing Absalom back. Yet later Joab did not want to go and talk / see Absalom, to the point that Absalom had to have his servants set Joab's barley field on fire to get him to pay attention. I am guessing that Joab wanted Absalom back to please King David. The bible talks about seeking to please God rather than men in both Galatians 1:10 and also in I Thess. 2:4.

2. An interesting note is how Ahithophel gets involved. He sides with Absalom against David. We shall find out later that it is because he is actually the grandfather of Bathsheba and perhaps harbors displeasure over the whole Uriah / Bathsheba / David affair. (See II Samuel 11:3 and II Samuel 23:34 for proof.)

3. I wonder if David was aware that Absalom was out by the road leading to the city gate telling all of the people what he was telling them. If I were King David, I probably would have given him the authority to judge (similar to the position that Joseph had in Pharaoh's court in Egypt) so that he could see how challenging it actually is. I guarantee that he would not have everyone's undivided support if he had been tasked with this. (My experience is that no matter what you do, someone is bound to be dissatisfied with your decision.) This also would have given David a break from dealing with some of these matters. Delegation is a wonderful training tool!

4. David was wise to know that he needed to flee. It seems to me that he must have had some inkling that Absalom was going to try this and that it was a danger; otherwise, why would he have any idea that he needed to flee?

5. Ziba, the servant of Mephibosheth, stated that Mephibosheth was hoping to gain the kingdom back. However, later we will find that he claimed otherwise and said his servant betrayed him. What a mess, being the king and all, and having to deal with people jockeying for position within your realm.

6. Everyone highly regarded Ahithophel's advice. It says his advice was like one who inquires of God. Does this mean that he was just very wise in the ways of the world, or does it also mean that everyone took his advice very seriously?

7. God rescued David from the plight he was in by causing everyone to listen to the advice of Hushai instead of Ahithophel. So ultimately, God is the one who saved David, not Hushai. Hushai was only the vehicle through which God accomplished his will.

8. It is interesting that, among others, Shobi son of Nahash of the Ammonites came to provide relief to David and those fleeing with him. One would think that the Ammonites would rather use this opportunity to destroy their enemy.

It was all in my heart first

From II Samuel 11-13:

1. The story of Bathsheba is a story that is very well known. However, one must ask why would David send for Bathsheba after having seen her bathing. Obviously, to him she was very attractive. She was also young. However, both had already committed sin in their hearts before the act. David had seen and lusted after, so he acted upon that desire. I am also going to take a wild guess here, but I am betting that she was hoping that he would see her bathing and she was out in full sight for him. Otherwise, what girl in their right mind would bathe where people could see them. So it was a heart issue first, and then went from thoughts to actions. (Men cannot see the heart, but God can. Man, however, can see the action based upon the heart condition.)

2. It is interesting to see how noble Uriah was. He would not sleep at his house when "The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in tents...". It is interesting that he mentioned the ark first. One could easily argue that he was concerned for the things of God more than David was at this particular juncture in time.

3. I wonder if Joab knew the issue between the king and Uriah the Hittite. He sent back a message saying that it was done, but we do not see any objection by him about what was done. Perhaps he knew nothing of the situation, though I am guessing he was able to add things up later when Bathsheba had a baby after quickly marrying the king.

4. Nathan was really brave to go before the king and point out the king's wrongdoing. Keep in mind that the king had the power to strike him down at any moment. And this message was sure to offend. If the king was one who would cover up sins, he would be sure to retaliate.

5. It is interesting that the bible says about Solomon that the Lord loved him, and even had Nathan give him another name. It is amazing how God can use the results of a bad situation to cause good to come of it. I guess this could be an argument for keeping a child that is a result of rape. God can take the child and use that child for much good, even though the conception of the child was a result of evil intentions and sin.

6. It is sad to see that Amnon was so lost in his lust after his half-sister Tamar. She even said that all he had to do was go to his father and ask for her hand in marriage and he would likely grant it. I don't understand why he was so brash. I guess a heart full of evil intentions and sin is the only explanation. And then because he had abused / used her, he then hated her.

7. It is recorded that David was furious. However, nothing is said about what David did about this issue. I wonder how he should have responded. What should one do if two of their children have an incident like this? That is a very perplexing question.

8. Jonadab, who gave Amnon the idea of how to get Tamar alone, was aware of Absalom's intent to kill Amnon. I wonder why he did not warn Amnon. I also wonder if king David knew of this intent. I bet if he had examined his deepest feelings and thoughts, he could have figured it out. I also don't understand why David longed for / mourned for his son (Absalom) every day. At least the passage seems to indicate that he is mourning for Absalom, not Amnon.

Not poor at all

From II Samuel 7-10:

1. Although I keep mentioning the fact that David was sinning against God's commands because he was taking many wives, it is still evident that God was very important in his life. He put God first in his thoughts, so that in spite of his weakness with women, he was concerned about God not having a "palace" so to speak for the ark.

2. The part of God's prayer where it talks about how God is going to bless David is really tough to digest. It talks about how God will raise up an offspring of David's that will build a house for God's name. He then says that this offspring will have his kingdom established forever. Then it goes on to say that when he does wrong, God will punish him with the rod of men, with floggings inflicted by men. I have heard that the "kingdom established forever" bit is referring to Jesus. This may be the case, but I don't understand why it says later "when he does wrong...", as Jesus was a perfect man. Did it switch back again? How can we be sure when it is talking about which one? Or is it referring to David's throne being established forever IN HEAVEN?

3. David was quite successful in his military ventures. The bible states that "The Lord gave David victory wherever he went." Wow! What does it take to have that kind of success? Likely it is the idea of seeking the good of God first and your own good secondarily.

4. Ziba (who was Saul's servant previously) had fifteen sons and twenty servants. I think he did well for being a servant. I mean, probably most ordinary people did not even have that type of wealth. He was definitely not the poor, lowly servant that one thinks of when thinking of servants.

5. I wonder why chapter 10 talks about defeating the Ammonites separately from where it talks about all David's other military successes in chapter 8. I suppose it could be due to the timing of these occurrences, but it does not seem that these events are chronologically ordered, as earlier it already mentioned about Solomon being born to David even though we have not yet covered the story of Bathsheba.

Lost courage / Going to the stronghold

It was a very busy weekend, with us going first to a wedding reception and then a church evangelistic outreach put on by the Lexington Chinese Christian Church. Then yesterday we had the usual church stuff and then a get-together with some other mixed race couples in the evening.

From II Samuel 4-6:

1. How did Ish-Bosheth show that he had lost courage in such a way as to cause Israel to become alarmed?

2. I like how David treated those who murdered Ish-Bosheth. They committed murder to try and gain David's favor, but David was a righteous man and would not stand for that type of action.

3. Again we see in Chapter 5:13-14 that David continues to do things that were displeasing to God by taking more concubines and wives. Although the story has not yet been told at this point, Solomon is mentioned in the sons born to him. So these two verses are referring to events that occurred over time.

4. It is interesting that in Chapter 5:21 it states that the Philistines abandoned their idols and "David and his men carried them off." I wonder why it does not say that David and his men destroyed them.

5. It says that David went down to the stronghold. Where was this "stronghold", and what was it for? Was this a safe place to retreat to, or a secret hiding place, or what? It reminds me of when I was a kid and me and my friends would go out to the hideout.

6. Chapter 6:2 has a very interesting sentence structure. It says "...the ark of God, which is called by the Name, the name of the Lord Almighty..." I wonder why they did not just translate this as "called by the Name of the Lord Almighty"? I am sure there is a reason, I just don't know exactly what it is.

7. I have read in other places that the reason that Uzzah was killed was because the method that was used to transport the ark was not the way God had prescribed, and thus Uzzah was placed into harm's way when the oxen stumbled. I had also heard that for the second portion of the ark's trip (from Obed-Edom's house to Jerusalem) that it was transported properly as God ascribed. (It does say in verse 13 of chapter 6 that there were those who were carrying it, not oxen.)

8. I wonder what happened to the tabernacle. It appears that the tabernacle is already gone, as it says that the ark was placed in the tent that David pitched for it. It must have been destroyed during the times of the judges - at least that is my guess.

7. It is interesting to see how Michal despised David because he danced before the Lord. The bible says he was wearing a linen ephod, yet Michal says he disrobed "in the sight of the slave girls". I am guessing that she was unhappy because he was acting in what she felt to be an undignified manner. She seems to have been all about appearances. I wonder if she was child-less because she continued to despise David, or because he didn't give her the time of day after this point in time.

Too many wives / War is strange

From II Samuel 1-3:

1. Lying is generally not a good policy. It seems that the character that was in the first chapter who thought he was bringing good news to David and his men gambled about lying and lost - his life! Moral of the story - No time is a good time to lie.

2. How many people do you know that make up eulogies commemorating the all the wonderful things that their enemies accomplished during their lifetimes? David was a very unique person in that respect.

3. War is strange and terrible. It seems strange to me that Abner would call out to Asahel and tell him to fight with someone else. It also seems strange that when Joab and his men had surrounded Abner and his men on the hill of Ammah, Abner convinced them to give up. I always thought that when you were in a battle, you would not stop until the battle was over. But it reminds me of the most unusual thing that perhaps has ever happened on a battle front. Google WWI Christmas 1914, or check out this link.

WWI - Christmas 1914

4. It is interesting that the bible states that Abner had been strengthening his own position in the house of Saul, presumably so that if something happened to Ish-Bosheth he could take over as king. When Ish-Bosheth accuses him of sleeping with one of his father's concubines, he does not deny the fact. I wonder if, in fact, the accusation was true. If you know the story of Absalom, you will recall how Ahithophel told Absalom to sleep with his father's concubines to strengthen his position (see II Samuel 16:21).

5. It is interesting that David demands Michal of Abner. Did he miss her that much? Was it his first "true love"? I mean, after all, he had already a number of wives. (If you look in II Samuel 3:2-5, six women are mentioned having given birth to sons for him and at least three are wives from the indications here as well as in previous passages. One could also argue that Maacah had to be a wife, as she was a daughter of the king of Geshur.)

6. It is interesting that he takes Michal from her current husband to give back to David. He was really in love with her too. She must have been very attractive or desirable in some way. We see him weeping behind her all the way to Bahurim. I wonder who she really loved?

7. This brings me to another point: David's big sin with Bathsheba was previewed by this amassing of wives and women. One can look and tell that perhaps one of David's weaknesses is that he cannot really say no to an attractive woman. In reality, he has already gone against God's commands, as in Deuteronomy 17:17, God told the Israelites that a king must not "take many wives, or his heart will be led astray". One could also look at Solomon and say that "an apple does not fall far from the tree", meaning that Solomon had the same weakness.

8. It is interesting that the Israelites seemingly had already wanted David to be their king for a while. This is evidenced by what Abner says to them in II Samuel 3:17-18.

Return the favor

Today I had an opportunity to "pencil-whip" some paperwork. But I did not. After all of my reflections upon the impeccable character that David was, with all of his integrity, I could not see any good reason to "pencil-whip" this work. I refused. And God was looking out for me in this situation.

From I Samuel 28-31:

1. I wonder how David had the courage to go into battle against his kinsmen - the Israelites. He had no way of knowing that they would ask him to go back home, and I am sure more than a few of his men were not really thrilled with fighting against Israel.

2. It is quite funny that the medium who brought up Samuel at Saul's request was shocked when it actually happened. I wonder why she was so shocked. I am guessing it was because typically she did a little bit of "voodoo" magic and nothing really happened. In this case, the spirit actually came up and freaked her out. Also, I am wondering why she immediately knew it must be no other than Saul who had requested.

3. David's men illustrate how they were not totally interested in going to fight alongside the Philistines by their response when they get back and find out that their families have been abducted by the Amalekites. They talked of stoning David! The most interesting statement is in verse 6 of chapter 30 when it says "But David found strength in the Lord his God."

4. I like how David made the rule that all share in the plunder. Ultimately, David was very wise in realizing that in order for one group to be successful, there needs to be another group who stays behind and facilitates. This is not just true in war, but really in any and every venture. In order to get ahead, someone must stay behind and do the basics that are required just to maintain the current position. In our family, though I am able to go out and (hopefully) do great things and accomplish much in my workplace, I cannot do it without my wife back on the home front helping by cooking dinner and cleaning the house and doing the laundry. It is much more of a thankless job without any glory or real sense of accomplishment, but it is still a necessary job. I thank God for her. She is wonderful! (And I am reminded even more of this as today is our anniversary.)

5. David was wise in culling favor of those friends that he had in Israel by sending them some plunder. This would go a long ways perhaps in the coming months and years when he is "campaigning" to be the king of the land.

6. I understand that Jonathan was killed by the Philistines. However, I am guessing that he put up a really spectacular fight. Just knowing how he approached a battle just the same way as David did - without fear - makes me think that it must have taken a whole lot to bring him down.

7. The men of Jabesh Gilead were finally able to return the favor to Saul that he paid them when he first became king. When they heard that his body was hanging in a temple of one of the gods in Beth Shan, the bible says that their valiant men journeyed all night to the place where his body was and removed it from the wall. They then smuggled it back to Jabesh Gilead and burned the body and buried the bones. They risked their lives just as Saul had risked his life in protecting them against Nahash the Ammonite, as recorded back in chapter 11.

Don't mess with the threads!

From I Samuel 24-27:

1. David had a very sensitive conscience. Perhaps this is why he was a man after God's own heart. This can be evidenced by his being conscience-stricken after having cut off a piece of Saul's robe. I mean, Saul was trying to kill him, and yet he had a guilty conscience for cutting off a piece of the guy's robe!

2. David was also either very brave or fool-hearty. He followed Saul out of the cave and told him how he had spared his life. If Saul had wanted to, he had the power in his hands to strike him down right there. I guess that this shows David's extreme trust in God.

3. David, being the type of person he was, was very trustworthy. He promised Saul that he would not cut off his family. If I were Saul, I think that I would be very satisfied with a promise like that from a guy like that. Yet he decides later to chase him again.

4. Abigail was a very wise woman, and would have made a very good wife. However, I still wonder why David decided to marry other women also. The only explanation that I can really come up with is that it was an accepted norm back in those days. Either that or he thought if one was good, more than one must be great. (Of course this is not true, otherwise God would have created five or ten matches/wives for Adam in the garden of Eden and then said it was very good.)

5. Again in Chapter 26 David shows his bravery / foolhardy nature by sneaking right into the middle of Saul's camp at night. He really trusted God, I guess.

6. I guess I never noticed this detail before, but when David went to live among the Philistines, he went to plead on his behalf to the son of the king of Gath. All this time I thought that he was dealing directly with the king of Gath. I wonder, later in life when David was king of all Israel, how this played out when they warred against each other?

That is just crazy!

From I Samuel 21-23:

1. I wonder why Ahimelech trembled when he saw David. Did he already know what was going to happen? Otherwise, what would he have to fear? Did he know already of the rift between David and Saul? If he knew, how many others knew in the nation? It seems that quite a few became aware of this fact over time, especially since a number of different areas of people offered to turn David in to Saul.

2. It appears that as long as men had kept themselves from women, they were allowed to eat the bread that had been consecrated. I wonder what was involved in making "consecrated bread", or if it was just designated this way because it had been on the altar or in the holy area.

3. It is interesting that David acted the madman before Achish king of Gath. I wonder what made him decide to act crazy. I would be more afraid that he would kill me because I was just a crazy person. I mean, acting crazy is just insane!

4. I bet David's toughest time was during the time that he was in Gath and then when he first escaped to the cave of Adullam. At first, he was all by himself and had no one he could trust and no one to lean upon. That would have been tough. It would be kind of like the movie "Fugitive".

5. I wonder why the prophet Gad told him to leave the stronghold and go into the land of Judah. Was God wanting David to secure more favor with the people, or was there some other reason?

6. It is interesting that Saul persuades all of his men to help him by telling them that David will not give them special favors. He is just like our politicians today. Instead of doing what is right and letting his actions speak for themselves; instead, since he is not doing right, he has to motivate his men with promises of bribery.

7. I like how David rescues the city of Keliah, but it is sad that when he inquires of God he finds that the people of the city will surely hand him over to Saul. Doesn't anyone have any gratitude anymore?

I'm not a very good aim

From I Samuel 17-20:

1. I wonder why forty days had passed and Goliath was still taunting the Israelites, yet war had not been joined. It would seem that they were waiting around for someone to challenge Goliath, and since no one would, they would just sit there opposing each other indefinitely.

2. I also wonder how everyone was so afraid of Goliath when it is very obvious that although he was strong, he was loaded down with not only his size, but also the weight of all the stuff he was carrying. If an archer was accurate enough, he could fell him also, because Goliath surely could not move very quickly with all of that weight. (I am not trying to take anything away from what David did - because there can be no doubt that it was nothing short of amazing - especially since David did not wear any traditional war armor or anything.)

3. It is interesting that in the same passage that it talks about Saul becoming jealous of David upon coming back from the battle in which David slays Goliath, it also talks about how Saul had given him a high rank in the army and how successful he was in all he was sent to do. I wonder if this means that he already had some military experience, or if this was after his victory over Goliath. If so, it must have been some time before king Saul got upset about the attribution of many victories to David.

4. I wonder what sort of commander David was. I mean, it would seem he was a army man's commander - meaning that he fought right alongside the men that were with him. It must have been very different from the picture that I have developed of Saul and his method of leading by forceful direction.

5. I get the impression that either Saul was not a very good shot with the javelin, or he was too slow in his movements. Not only did he miss in trying to pin David, in his anger at Jonathan being David's friend he also threw his spear and missed Jonathan.

Be sure to trust God

From I Samuel 13-16:

1. From the descriptions given in I Samuel, I can see why Jonathan and David were good friends. They seemed to have the same boldness and fearless nature.

2. Saul's first recorded sin - that of offering the sacrifice instead of waiting for Samuel - was a sin committed out of lack of trust. It was not trusting that God would see him through. I wonder how many times we fail to trust God and hence, sin against Him.

3. It seems strange that the Israelites would go to the Philistines to sharpen their farming implements, did not have a blacksmith, and yet they would go to war against another nation. This might be the definition of crazy!

4. I wonder why Saul made the oath that no one should eat before evening. I mean, it was obvious that the troops were hungry, and everyone knows that an individual is not as productive if they are hungry. A guy I used to work with used to say, "You've got to put fuel in the tank if you want the machine to run". The same is true here. I wonder if the battle might have turned out even better if they had not taken this oath. Additionally, the ultimate outcome was even more disturbing. All of the men were so famished that they began to eat the meat with the lifeblood still in it - in direct disobedience to God. It makes me think that Saul was somewhat of an overbearing type of ruler. It sure is a good thing that the army men stood up for Jonathan, or Saul surely would have killed him.

5. I imagine that Saul was not seeing that he sinned against God the second time he sinned, when he did not kill all the best of the sheep and cattle. I believe he fully intended to sacrifice all of these cattle. However, that is not what God had asked him to do. We need to be very careful to do EXACTLY what God says in the bible. It reminds me of a commercial where they ask if the equipment can do such and such. Each time the brand that is in competition with the one that the commercial is for has a representative who says "Not exactly" when asked if it can do that. When Samuel asked Saul if he had killed all the sheep and cattle, he should have said "Not exactly". The only really obvious direct disobedience was that of leaving the king alive.

6. Samuel mourned for Saul. Since Samuel died before Saul did, that means that Samuel considered Saul to no longer be the one in control of Israel, and almost seems to indicated that Samuel treated him as dead.

7. I wonder how the fact that Samuel anointed David was kept quiet. I mean, all of the people in the town, or at least a number of them, were there when this incident happened. I also bet that David and his family were pretty nervous when Saul called for David to go play the harp for him. I would imagine everyone would be pretty concerned that somehow Saul found out and was planning to kill him.

You want my right eye? Right!

From I Samuel 10-12:

1. Samuel tells Saul about the things that he is going to do when he leaves his presence. It is interesting to see that he says that Saul will prophesy with a procession of prophets. He states that afterwards he will be "changed into a different person". I wonder what happens there, and I wonder what he was changed from. Why did God select Saul? What was it that God saw in him?

2. It is also interesting that it says that God changed Saul's heart as he turned to leave Samuel. I wonder what was changed. How was it changed? I am wondering because I know that later Saul was rejected by God.

3. It is interesting to read that Saul was accompanied by some valiant men whose hearts God had touched. It appears that God was working to assist this new kingship, even though he was not totally pleased with them asking for a king.

4. Why is it that Nahash the Ammonite wanted to gouge out the right eye of each person in Jabesh Gilead? Was he trying to win friends in Jabesh Gilead? (I am thinking that this would not work.) It reminds me of the man who got his entire left side amputated. - He is alright now. (Therefore, if your right eye is gouged out, you cannot see alright.)

5. I wonder what was so special about God sending thunder and rain. I mean, God does that all the time. What was so special about this particular time? I am wondering what caused the people to be so "in awe" after this incident. I mean, after all the other miracles and amazing things that God had done for the Israelites, what was so spectacular about a thunder and rain storm.

I learned it from Eli

From I Samuel 7-9:

1. Samuel was a judge in Israel for all of his life, according to what is recorded in Chapter 7. However, apparently he learned how to raise his children from Eli. In the beginning of Chapter 8 it talks about how Samuel's sons did not do what was right, but instead the perverted justice.

2. Samuel was upset with the people for rejecting him, but it sounds like they were not rejecting him, according to the passage. It sounds like they are rejecting his sons. I wonder why the bible says that they are rejecting God as their leader. It seems to me that if the sons of Samuel were perverting justice and the Israelites are looking for another leader instead of them, this would be a good thing. But only God sees the heart, so I am sure God knew what was really going on.

3. I wonder why prophets used to be called seers and what changed that terminology.

4. Saul was so humble in the beginning, not wanting any glory or attention for himself. How did he go so bad later? Why didn't he just continue to seek God's favor?

Ichabod / Dagon idol

I have been reflecting upon what I had written this past week, and I discovered something I had not thought of before. Before Boaz met Ruth, he was ruthless!

From I Samuel 4-6:

1. The wife of Phinehas was pregnant and about the time that she learned of her husband and father-in-laws deaths, she gave birth to a son. She named him Ichabod and died shortly afterwards. Is it me, or isn't it strange that she even bothered to name him at all. I mean, if I am dying, I probably would not be too concerned with naming anyone. If I were in that situation, my child would probably be named "Aaaaauugh".

2. In Chapter 5 we may discover possibly where a formerly popular saying might have come from. The idol Dagon was an idol of the Philistines. They put the ark of God into the temple of Dagon, and then the next morning they found Dagon laying face down in front of it. After the second night, they found the idol toppled again, this time with his head and hands broken off and lying on the threshold. I am guessing that he was not a light figure to re-position. I can just hear the priests calling all to help: "The Dagon idol has fallen over again!" I wonder if he was ever implicated in cotton-picking later, or if his dad got burned. (That dad-burned, cotton-picking Dagon idol!)

3. It is amazing to see how the ark of God really made believers of the Philistines. They did not even worship God, yet they were terrified of having it in their presence because it might harm them OR THEIR GOD! Their actions indicated God existed even though they did not worship Him or choose to trust in Him. Now we have people who claim to believe in Him and go to church, and yet their actions do not indicate that God even exists. I am also amazed at the great wisdom that the Philistine priests and diviners had. They instructed the Philistines to offer a guilt offering and not to harden their hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh did.

4. I wonder what the seventy at Beth Shemesh died of. I mean, was it tumors again, or some other oddity. Not that it really matters, because in reality they died by incurring the Lord's wrath.

I can't help it / My words fell to the ground

From I Samuel 1-3:

1. I may have mentioned this fact before, but I have noticed that whenever a man had more than one wife, he had family problems. It seems that the family Hannah was a wife in was no exception, as the other wife had a serious problem with her, and must have seen her as a rival. This is illustrated in Ch. 1:6 when it talks about how the other wife provoked her.

2. I wonder why Eli thought that Hannah was drunk. Was that common in the temple area? I would have assumed that they were praying if I saw their lips moving but they were not saying anything out loud. Perhaps that came from seeing his sons drunk one too many times, or something.

3. I wonder at what age the boy Samuel was considered weaned. I mean, if Eli did such a poor job of training up his own sons, how did he succeed with Samuel? Or was Samuel a little older than my perception used to be as a child. I always assumed that he was 3 years old or so when he went to live at the temple. But in reality he could have been as old as six or seven. Then this would explain his clinging to God while Eli's sons went the way of wickedness. On the other hand, the bible states in Ch. 1:24, "After he was weaned, she took the boy with her, young as he was..."

4. The bible records that Eli rebuked his sons, but they ignored him. It also says that it was the Lord's will to put them to death. The way it states this, it seems that the Lord made the sons of Eli to ignore him, but in reality, they chose to ignore, so God chose to put them to death. I hate it when people say that God has full control and man has no control even over his own actions. The reason I hate this is because there are many who use it as a cop-out. "I can't help it. God made me do it." NOT TRUE! God gave man free will, and man chooses what man does. And man having free will in no way takes away from the authority of God, or the fact that God is in overall control.

5. In chapter 2:35 it states that God will raise up a faithful priest who will serve and "minister before my anointed one always." I wonder who this "anointed one" is. Is it Jesus? Is he saying that Samuel would serve before Jesus in heaven? Or is he talking about Jesus in a present tense type of way, foreshadowing that Jesus is the anointed and all who serve serve before Him?

6. Samuel is told that Eli and his entire family will be punished because Eli failed to restrain his sons. It seems to me that people in our society today do not realize that their children are their responsibility to control. This verse illustrates that God expects us to train up our children properly and discipline them when they do wrong. Otherwise it is very possible that we will be punished by God along with them.

7. Wow! Chapter 3:19 states "The Lord was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of his words fall to the ground." Can you imagine God being with you like that! That is what I long for, not just because whatever he said went, but also because one can only imagine how close he was to God. Cool!

Not stingy at all / Here, take my sandal

From the book of Ruth:

1. I wonder what sort of man Boaz was. From what the scripture says, it does not appear that he is married, yet he is not a very young man. (See Ch 3:10) He apparently has some wealth or at least land, anyways, since he has servants that are harvesting his crops. I wonder why he is not married or otherwise engaged and yet seems to be older. It does not appear that he was avoiding marriage, as he was very interested in Ruth when she showed interest in pursuing a relationship. What was his story? A career-minded middle ager? A widower? I suspect he is a very motivated career person who is now looking to start a family. (See Ch. 3:18) He "will not rest until the matter is settled today."

2. There is a perception in many circles that Jewish people can be very stingy and "money-grubbers" so to speak. However, from the account we are given of Boaz's first responses to seeing Ruth gleaning in his fields, it actually illustrates the opposite. He is very generous to her, a foreigner in need. (Keep in mind that he does not know that in the future she will be his wife, nor does he expect it.)

3. Ruth is really amazing. Think of how tough life must have been for her, leaving not only her family but also her country of birth and going to a foreign land where people speak in a different language and have different customs. Yet she is understanding of what she has chosen and even illustrates her lowly position in society. (See Ch. 2:13)

4. The book of Ruth is really a very nice love story. It is not all mushy or anything like that, but it shows how God can provide the right person at the right time in one's life, if that is what one wants / needs.

5. I think I know why we no longer do deals with sandals. Can you imagine trying to buy some land from a guy with athlete's foot. Man!

6. Ruth later gave birth to a boy they named Obed. This was the grandfather of King David. Coming from my perspective, I always wanted a number of sons (which God has blessed me with) so that I could be sure that the legacy of the Bossley clan could be remembered. However, this story illustrates that it is not number that is important, but rather quality. I bet many other families had many sons, but there was only one King David.