Biblical Passages Covered in this Post: 1 Samuel 16:1-13; Acts 13:22; Matthew 1:1; 2 Samuel 7:12-16; Hebrews11:32
I heard something in church one day
On Easter Sunday I was listening to the Old Testament reading, 1 Samuel 16:1-13. As it was read during the church service I heard words I knew from familiar passages.
Samuel must have felt like a failure
Samuel had failed as a father. The people saw that his children were morally corrupt and had asked for a king.
Previously, God had used Samuel to predict the fall of Eli, the High Priest, because of his corrupt sons.
He had failed as a mentor. He anointed the first king, Saul. Saul was a failure who disobeyed God and blamed others when God confronted him.
For more on this subject see the following blog post:
God asked Samuel to do something dangerous but God would be with him and do the dangerous task with him
God asked Samuel to go the Bethlehem and select one of Jesse’s son to anoint as king to replace Saul. Samuel answered that Saul would kill him if he found out what Samuel was planning to do. (1 Samuel 16:1)
I will show you
God responded that he would show Samuel which son would be the next king. That meant that God was going with Samuel to select David. (1 Samuel 16:2-3)
I will go with you
in Genesis 12:1 God told Abraham to leave his country, his people, and his father’s household and go to the land I will show you. God would show Abraham the land. God was going with him on the trip.
For more on this subject see the following blog post:
Bible Study: Go…I will show you. Go … I will tell you.
I will show you …. again
In Genesis 22: 1-2 God told Abraham take his son Isaac and go to the region of Moriah to sacrifice him as a burnt offering. He told Abraham that he would show him where to offer the sacrifice. God was going with him.
Applications
In order for us to recognize these types of links between biblical passages, I propose the following applications.
1. We should read Scripture out loud during our church services.
Some friends have told me that their churches do not publicly read the Scripture during their services and the preacher does not read the text in full – only words or phrases as he comments on them.
2. We should read the Bible out loud.
Since ancient times, scholars often read the texts they were studying out loud They did this to hear as well as see the text, and to slow them down and help focus their minds on the text. You don’t skip words when you read out loud.
3. We should have a regular Bible reading program.
Reading through the entire Bible regularly keeps us familiar with the text.
4. We should study biblical passages in depth.
Studying the Bible with others in a class, or discussing our readings in a group, or studying in depth alone helps us focus on a text and learn from it.
5. We should memorize Scripture.
We take memorized Scripture wherever we go. We can pray and reflect as we live our lives each day.
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