Samuel, Chronicles

“Envy rots the bones” (Proverbs 14:30) and is listed as one of the “seven deadly sins.” Saul was consumed by envy and jealousy for David which eventually led him to attempt to kill David, his own son, the priests, entire villages of his own people, and finally to consult a …

“We want a king, so that we will be like other nations, with our own king to rule us and to lead us out to war and to fight our battles.” (1 Samuel 8:20) This is such an important story because it is a summary of all human history and our …

God is often viewed as inflexibile and unchanging. Verses such as “I change not” (Malachi 3:6) could be used in support of this position. Yet, in story after story, the Bible reveals a God who is constantly adapting and giving in to things that are less than the ideal to …

In the two books of Samuel, God does everything – both good and “bad.” Three times he sends evil spirits to torment Saul; He then tempts David to give a bad census; He “decided to kill” Hophni and Phineus; He closed up Hannah’s womb until her prayer; after Nabal had a …

I’ve been a Roger Ebert “fan” for many years, and so I was struck by his recent comments about God in a great article that can be found here. Ebert said: “To hope we can learn how the universe came about is admirable; one might as well call that hope …

These 2 books describe the events that occured during the kingship of David. What made David a man after God’s own heart? Also, in preparation for the book of Psalms, the subject of inspiration was discussed at length. Nathan at first told David that his idea to build a temple …

More challenging stories! 70 Israelites die for peeking into the covenant box. Then Uzzah was killed. Was it because he sinned so badly? Why is so much power associated with the covenant box? Then we discussed the sad life of Saul. What went wrong? And finally, did the witch of …