Category: More Than Bread

Click Here For Today’s Reading

1 SAMUEL 15:1-16:23 | JOHN 8:1-20 | PSALM 110:1-7 | PROVERBS 15:8-10

Click on the link below to listen to an audio recording of this post:

There is a pattern that we can observe concerning Saul.  A pattern of disobedience, or of doing things his own way.  The very first time we see this quality in him is when he is instructed by Samuel to go down to Gilgal after he is anointed king.  Samuel tells Saul to wait for him for seven days in order that Samuel himself might come and attend to the sacrificial burnt offerings and such that were to be made.

But Saul does not wait out the seven days.  On the seventh day, he believes that it is best that he take care of business himself since Samuel doesn’t seem to be coming.  He is wrong.  Samuel does come, and is disappointed in Saul’s lack of obedience. 

Well, that was then, and this is now.  Several decades later, Saul is yet again instructed to go and do battle with a certain people, the Amalekites, and to “wipe them out.”  Saul does just that, except he willfully forgets that last part, and decides to wipe out only some, not all of the spoils of war.  This is yet again another example of Saul’s disobedience.  And God is not pleased. 

Apparently, forty years have passed since Saul was first anointed king, but even after all this time, Saul has not understood the significance of following orders, especially when they come from the Lord, and in this case, via Samuel, the leader/judge/priest of Israel.  And so, there are consequences.  The consequences of disobedience, if you will.

The Lord has spoken to Samuel, and Samuel in turn comes to see Saul about it.  Samuel has this to say:  “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. ²³ For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has rejected you as king.”

Saul attempts to make amends, but things never do get back on track for Saul.  This is Samuel’s last meeting with Saul.  The writing is on the wall:  Saul’s days are numbered.  What is fascinating in this passage is the human quality of regret that we see ascribed to the Almighty.  Verse 34 says this:  And the LORD regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel.

Soon, we see that Samuel is sent on a new mission:  a mission to seek and anoint a new king of Israel.  Samuel goes down to Bethlehem to the house of Jesse and looks upon Jesse’s oldest son, a tall young man and thinks that this might be the chosen one, but God says to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” 

With Saul, it had seemed as if the appearance was a defining factor in selecting him as the anointed one.  Remember, Saul had stood out a head taller than everyone in the tribe of Benjamin.  But look what became of that selection!  Well, from the way the text reads, it appears that even God is now wary of using the criteria of appearance, and if anything, rejects it as a factor completely!

And so Samuel is now at the house of Jesse.  All of Jesse’s seven sons have been introduced to Samuel, but none of them is the chosen one.  Finally, Samuel pointedly asks Jesse if he might have any other sons, to which Samuel replies ‘yes, there is one, but he is only a youngster, and besides he is away tending to the sheep.’ 

You know what is coming, don’t you?  Yes, it is this ordinary, youngest son of Jesse who is chosen as the next king of Israel.  A young boy, most likely only a young teen, tending to his father’s flocks—it is this young boy who is summoned by his father, and Samuel anoints this young boy called David the next king of Israel.

If you are now wondering about the mysterious ways of the Almighty, you are correct in that they are indeed mysterious.  David, Jesse’s son, the young shepherd boy is anointed king, but this is not a publicized fact.  Saul, after all, is still king of Israel.  But the spirit of the Lord has departed from him, and we see an image of a restless king pacing the floors. 

And as God would have it, it is the most unlikely of things that often precipitate the most important and significant of things.  In Saul’s great distress, it is suggested to him that a young shepherd boy called David who is known to play the lyre be summoned to the king because perhaps such sweet music might soothe the king’s soul. 

Yes, says, Saul, bring this boy to me!  Which is how David finds his way into the palace of the king and ministers to him by playing his lyre.

Incidentally, on a completely different note, it is this very story of Saul and the young David that is the inspiration to the famous Leonard Cohen song, Hallelujah.

Turning now to our reading in the gospel according to John, we come upon the well-known story of Jesus confronting the woman caught in the act of adultery.  Jesus looks to the crowd who has brought the woman to him so as have him possibly condemn her to a proper stoning by death as per Moses’ law.  Jesus was after all some kind of prophet, was he not?  Of course, he would tell them what they wanted to hear! 

But Jesus simply says this:  “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” 

Got that?  Yes, go ahead, pick up your stones, and begin to hurl them, won’t you?  But let’s get the stoning order right, if you don’t mind.  Let him who is without sin cast that first stone, if that’s alright with you. 

What?  Why aren’t you getting started?  Go for it!  What’s that you say?  None of you is without sin?  Are you sure?  Well, then, I suppose that settles that now, doesn’t it? 

Here’s how John describes the scene: ⁹ At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. ¹⁰ Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” ¹¹ “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

Jesus continues with his preaching, and today, we learn that he calls himself the light of the world.  He has already upset the teachers of the law and the elders in the Temple by telling one and all that he is the “bread of life” and that he has the “rivers of living water” within him, and now he is saying that he is the “light of the world”. 

These words were nothing short of blasphemy in Jesus’ day, and the reaction Jesus receives corresponds to that sentiment.  It will be sometime before the people come to realize that all this crazy-talk wasn’t so crazy after all.

Turning now to our psalm of the day, we find that Psalm 110 although short in length, is actually quite long on meaning.  It is a messianic psalm, the meaning and interpretations to which are many, but the short version is that David is writing of his Lord and successor, the Messiah himself who will eventually come—not once, but twice.  Part of the prophecy has already been fulfilled in the birth, death, resurrection and ascension of the Messiah, and we are to now await the second part of it. 

In reading some of the commentaries on this psalm, I was struck by one passage in which the writer says this: The reason for the delay in Messiah’s return is not apathy or disinterest, but mercy. God is giving men time to repent and turn in faith to Messiah as their Savior, rather than to face Him as soldier-king who must destroy the enemies of God (cf. 2 Pet. 3:3-12). The complete link to this commentary may be found here:  http://bible.org/seriespage/psalm-110-david%E2%80%99s-lord

Finally, from the book of Proverbs, we find two verses that are worthy of our attention:

⁸ The LORD detests the sacrifice of the wicked, but the prayer of the upright pleases him.

⁹ The LORD detests the way of the wicked, but he loves those who pursue righteousness.

May God bless the reading and reflection of His Word.

Click Here For Today’s Reading

1 SAMUEL 14:1-52 | JOHN 7:31-53 | PSALM 109:1-31 | PROVERBS 15:5-7

Click on the link below to listen to an audio recording of this post:

We see a glimpse of the reign of the very first king of Israel, Saul.  Saul’s reign is marked by much tumult due to frequent battles with the neighboring natives.  The Philistines, in particular, seem to give Saul and his armies a lot of action. 

There is a curious story of Jonathon, Saul’s son, who unknowingly gives himself a death sentence by virtue of not adhering to an oath of fasting for the day imposed by his father.  Saul intends to be true to his word to put anyone to death including his own son Jonathan, but his men intervene to stop him from doing so.

We also learn a little about Saul’s family.  Jonathan was evidently one of five children.  There’s mention of a wife, an uncle, and a cousin who is chief of his armies.  But Saul’s long tenure is a bloody one and the text tells us this:  52 All the days of Saul there was bitter war with the Philistines, and whenever Saul saw a mighty or brave man, he took him into his service.

Turning to our reading in the book of John, we continue with the account of Jesus preaching in the public places.  Yesterday, the people were confused and wondering about what Jesus’ words meant when he said that he was the bread of life, and today, Jesus says this:  “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” 

But the people remain even more confused.  Could it be that this is the Messiah?

And all this talk is causing the Pharisees and the elders of the Temple to take great offense.  How could it be that this young man claims the Messiahship?  This is blasphemy, this is sacrilege!  They must take action, and they must take it immediately!  They must have him arrested! 

But even the guards that the Pharisees send for this task return without arresting Jesus, so captivated are they by the words of Jesus.  They plaintively reply, “No one ever spoke the way this man does.”

Nicodemus, however, one of the elders of the Temple asks a pertinent question:  51 “Does our law condemn a man without first hearing him to find out what he has been doing?”

Turning now to our psalm for the day, we find that Psalm 109 is one in which David, the psalmist and king of Israel is in his darkest hour, and he certainly knows how to curse his enemies!  He spares nothing in evoking every possible curse upon those who have wronged him—for the first nineteen verses of this psalm he puts forth a long list of ways in which his enemies may be cursed, and in the 20th verse he says this:  ²⁰ May this be the LORD’s payment to my accusers, to those who speak evil of me. 

I would not wish to have ever been on David’s bad side!  But who among us has not felt this way at some time or another?  It is almost as if David is speaking the words that have originally formed in your own mouth when he says:

²¹ But you, Sovereign LORD,
help me for your name’s sake;
out of the goodness of your love, deliver me.
²² For I am poor and needy,
and my heart is wounded within me.
²³ I fade away like an evening shadow;
I am shaken off like a locust.
²⁴ My knees give way from fasting;
my body is thin and gaunt.
²⁵ I am an object of scorn to my accusers;
when they see me, they shake their heads.

²⁶ Help me, LORD my God;
save me according to your unfailing love.
²⁷ Let them know that it is your hand,
that you, LORD, have done it.

Finally, three verses from the book of Proverbs that are worthy of record and rumination:

⁵ A fool spurns a parent’s discipline,
but whoever heeds correction shows prudence.

⁶ The house of the righteous contains great treasure,
but the income of the wicked brings ruin.

⁷ The lips of the wise spread knowledge,
   but the hearts of fools are not upright.

May God bless the reading and reflection of His Word.

Click Here For Today’s Reading

1 SAMUEL 12:1-13:23 | JOHN 7:1-30 | PSALM 108:1-13 | PROVERBS 15:4

Click on the link below to listen to an audio recording of this post:

Samuel is getting old and gray, and he has served as Israel’s judge/leader/priest for many years.  Upon the people’s pleading, he even appoints one as king over them. 

But now, Samuel exhorts the people in this way:  ²⁰ “Do not be afraid,” Samuel replied. “You have done all this evil; yet do not turn away from the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart. ²¹ Do not turn away after useless idols. They can do you no good, nor can they rescue you, because they are useless. ²² For the sake of his great name the LORD will not reject his people, because the LORD was pleased to make you his own. ²³ As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right. ²⁴ But be sure to fear the LORD and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you. ²⁵ Yet if you persist in doing evil, both you and your king will perish.”

Saul reigns as king for forty-two years, but he starts out in a bad way:  by not heeding the explicit instruction of Samuel to wait for him for seven days at Gilgal after he is anointed as king before he goes out to battle, Saul jeopardizes his future.  The sin of disobedience is indeed a grave one, and we find that Samuel rebukes Saul for his haste in doing what it is that Samuel was to come out and do on behalf of the entire people of Israel– offer up gifts of thanksgiving and praise to the Lord. 

But the story continues, and we fast-forward a bit to when we learn of Jonathan, Saul’s son who is now a strapping young man and who now fights alongside his father.  There comes a time when Israel is without any weapons and they are forced to go down to their enemies camps to sharpen their own weapons.  These were indeed interesting times in the history of Israel.

Turning now to our reading in the book of John, we find Jesus engaged in his mission of preaching and teaching.  There are times when Jesus speaks in the most straight-forward manner, and then there are other times when his words are most perplexing.  I almost pity the people who were trying to fully understand and decipher the true meanings of Jesus’ words. 

For instance, here was one such time when Jesus seemed to sound very vague in establishing an identity.  With our hindsight, it is most easy for us to know exactly what Jesus means, but for those around him in that day, they wondered if it would be quite as easy to identify the Messiah.  They did believe in the coming of the Messiah (as they do even to this day), but how could they be sure…? 

Jesus says this, “Yes, you know me, and you know where I am from. I am not here on my own authority, but he who sent me is true. You do not know him, ²⁹ but I know him because I am from him and he sent me.”

In our psalm for the day, we find David the Psalmist, continue to reaffirm the Lord’s might in delivering him from his enemies, and cannot cease to praise the Lord for his love and faithfulness.  David says:

⁴ For great is your love, higher than the heavens;
your faithfulness reaches to the skies.

Finally, in the book of Proverbs, we find yet another verse exhorting us on the good use of our tongue.  Solomon, the wise king of Israel, says this:

⁴ The soothing tongue is a tree of life,
   but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit.

May God bless the reading and reflection of His Word.

Click Here For Today’s Reading

1 SAMUEL 10:1-11:15 | JOHN 6:43-71 | PSALM 107:1-43 | PROVERBS 15:1-3

Click on the link below to listen to an audio recording of this post:

“This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘I brought Israel up out of Egypt, and I delivered you from the power of Egypt and all the kingdoms that oppressed you.’ ¹⁹ But you have now rejected your God, who saves you out of all your disasters and calamities. And you have said, ‘No, appoint a king over us.’ So now present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes and clans.”  

These are Samuel’s words to the people just before he prepares to formally anoint Saul as king.  The very first king of Israel, Saul is a young man from the tribe of Benjamin who to begin with is a good young man heeding the advice of his elders—first his fathers, then Samuel’s.  But not everyone is happy for there were some naysayers as well. 

Saul, however, proves himself as a worthy king when he commands a large army of people, and goes out to battle with the Ammonites, and emerges a victor.  This seals the deal, and following this victory, Saul’s kingship is confirmed by the people.

Turning now to our reading in the gospel of John, we find Jesus speaking to the people.  He says, ⁴⁷ Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life. ⁴⁸ I am the bread of life. ⁴⁹ Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. ⁵⁰ But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. ⁵¹ I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”

These appear to be strange and tough words to swallow, incomprehensible at best, and so many of the faithful begin to desert Jesus.  Jesus asks his inner core of twelve disciples—the twelve—if they also wish to leave him.  And Peter answers with these famous words “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. ⁶⁹ We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.”

Turning our attention now to the book of psalms, we find in our psalm for the day a very detailed reckoning of the great history of the children of Israel, and throughout this lengthy telling, David interjects the exhortation to give praise to the Lord for his “unfailing love” and“loving deeds of the Lord.”

Some of the verses from the psalm, I wish to reproduce here for our benefit:

⁸ Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for mankind,
⁹ for he satisfies the thirsty
and fills the hungry with good things.

¹⁴ He brought them out of darkness, the utter darkness,
and broke away their chains.
¹⁵ Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for mankind,
¹⁶ for he breaks down gates of bronze
and cuts through bars of iron.

¹⁹ Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and he saved them from their distress.
²⁰ He sent out his word and healed them;
he rescued them from the grave.
²¹ Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for mankind.
²² Let them sacrifice thank offerings
and tell of his works with songs of joy.

⁴³ Let the one who is wise heed these things
and ponder the loving deeds of the LORD.

Finally, a few verses from the book of Proverbs.  Verses that we would serve us well to recount everyday of our lives:

¹ A gentle answer turns away wrath,
but a harsh word stirs up anger.

² The tongue of the wise adorns knowledge,
but the mouth of the fool gushes folly. 

³ The eyes of the LORD are everywhere,
   keeping watch on the wicked and the good.

May God bless the reading and reflection of His Word.

Click Here For Today’s Reading

1 SAMUEL 8:1-9:27 | JOHN 6:22-42 | PSALM 106:32-48 | PROVERBS 14:34-35

Click on the link below to listen to an audio recording of this post:

There now appears to be some stability in the affairs of the people of Israel, and Samuel continues to lead them even as he is fast becoming old.  Samuel does have two sons, but they are not worthy of inheriting their father’s mantle, and the people also seem to know this. 

And so, the people clamor for a king.  They pray for one.  They tell Samuel they want one.  And they will not be satisfied without one.

The Lord accedes to this request, and things begin to roll into motion.  Out of the tribe of Benjamin—the smallest tribe, and the one that was recently chastised for their disobedience—comes a young man by the name of Saul.  Saul is a strapping young man, and while he is doing his father’s bidding, he comes with his servant to the town that Samuel resides in.  Saul believes he is approaching Samuel in order to gain guidance on his efforts at finding his father’s missing donkeys.  Little does he know that before he leaves he will be anointed king of Israel!

Isn’t that just like the mysterious ways of God?  He selects the least among us and exalts us.  Even before we ask, we receive.  And he has a plan when we might not.  Ponder now these words of Jesus:

“I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. ³⁶ But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. ³⁷ All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. ³⁸ For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. ³⁹ And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. ⁴⁰ For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.” 

Jesus is revealing a great truth to the people, and while many do believe, there are still others who don’t.  Instead, they snicker and say, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I came down from heaven’?” 

Woe is unto them because they will know soon enough who this Jesus really is.  Not only did he come down from heaven, he will defy death by rising up from the grave, and then physically rise up into the heavens.

Our psalm for the day is one in which David continues to recount the great exodus of his ancestors from Egypt, and the long history of his people in turning away from their God.  David says this:

⁴³ Many times he delivered them,
but they were bent on rebellion
and they wasted away in their sin.
⁴⁴ Yet he took note of their distress
when he heard their cry;
⁴⁵ for their sake he remembered his covenant
and out of his great love he relented.
⁴⁶ He caused all who held them captive
to show them mercy.

Finally, a couple of verses from the book of Proverbs worthy of our consideration:

³⁴ Righteousness exalts a nation,
but sin condemns any people.

³⁵ A king delights in a wise servant,
    but a shameful servant arouses his fury.

May God bless the reading and reflection of His Word.  Amen.

Click Here For Today’s Reading

1 SAMUEL 5:1-7:17 | JOHN 6:1-21 | PSALM 106:13-31 | PROVERBS 14:32-33

Click on the link below to listen to an audio recording of this post:

Continuing with our story in the first book of Samuel, we learn what happens to the Philistines when they carry away the Ark of the Covenant after defeating Israel.  But doing so does not bode well for these people.  For starters, they notice that the image of their own god Dagon, seems to fall down in its own temple.  The people soon figure out that there might actually be a correlation between this curious happening and the presence of the Ark in that place, and it isn’t long before they move the Ark out. 

But it seems that no matter where the Ark goes, it seems to bring misfortune to the people.  They soon draw a parallel between this and the stories they have heard of the Egyptians who were also afflicted with plagues when Pharaoh did not let the people of Israel go.  And so, they determine that this Ark must be returned to Israel.  Not only that, they send it back with a “guilt offering”—gold images of tumors and rats to signify the affliction of each of their towns and villages.

When the Ark is returned, Samuel says this to the people:  “If you are returning to the LORD with all your hearts, then rid yourselves of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths and commit yourselves to the LORD and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.” ⁴ So the Israelites put away their Baals and Ashtoreths, and served the LORD only.” 

And this appears to be the turning point for Israel.  Under Samuel’s leadership, the Israelites are able to defeat the Philistines, and in honor of this, Samuel commemorates this victory by installing a stone and naming it Ebenezer meaning: Thus far the LORD has helped us.

Turning to our reading in the book of John, we learn about Jesus feeding the five thousand with five loaves of bread and two fishes.  Out of almost nothing, Jesus not only fulfills the need of the hour, but there are twelve baskets of leftovers. Such is the blessing that God affords the believer!

And when you have faith, anything is possible.  You look out into the water and see a man walking on it, and after you have recovered from the initial fright of perhaps having seen a ghost, you look more closely and see that it is Jesus, of course.  All things are possible with this man, including walking on water. 

From the other gospels we know, of course, that Peter demonstrated great faith, if only for a few short moments when he also walked out onto the water to meet Jesus.  Great examples of faith that defy all reason!

Turning now to our psalm of the day, we find in Psalm 106 a continuation of a chronological history of the people of Israel.  Toward the end of the psalm, Phinehas, Eli’s son is referenced.

Finally, one great verse from the book of Proverbs that is worthy of rumination:

³² When calamity comes, the wicked are brought down,
   but even in death the righteous seek refuge in God.

May God bless the reading and reflection of His Word.  Amen.

Click Here For Today’s Reading

1 SAMUEL 2:22-4:22 | JOHN 5:24-47 | PSALM 106:1-12 | PROVERBS 14:30-31

Click on the link below to listen to an audio recording of this post:

The story of Samuel continues.  Samuel grows up in the Temple, a ward of Eli, the priest, and while Eli’s own sons are a shame to him and the entire people of Israel, it is Samuel who finds favor in the Lord’s eyes.  The story of the Lord calling Samuel by name is a fascinating one:  Samuel thinks it is Eli calling out to him in the middle of the night, and each time he goes to Eli to ask what it is that Eli wants, but Eli has not called out to the boy. 

Eli soon realizes that it is the Lord’s voice that Samuel is hearing and he instructs Samuel to engage the Lord in conversation the next time he hears his name being called. How beautiful and wondrous a concept this is:  to hear the Lord calling your name and to talk with him as if he were in front of you. Would that we might also have ears that would enable us to hear and recognize the Lord’s voice when he calls our name; and would that we might be worthy of the Lord calling our name.

But returning to our story of Samuel, we learn that these are bad times for Israel.  Eli’s sons Hophni and Phinehas have precipitated the downfall and defeat of Israel with the Philistines, and the Ark of the Covenant has been captured.  Upon hearing this news, Eli falls to the ground and breathes his last.

Turning now to our reading in the book of John, we find in no other book such unequivocal utterances by Jesus regarding his identity and mission.  Jesus says, ²⁴ “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.

Our Psalm for the day is one similar to many others like it that sing the praises of the Lord’s great provision and protection to the children of Israel.  It is never too much or too often that one may sing such praises.  May it always be that like David, we are also quick to recount the many times that the Lord has been our guide and savior.  These verses are some that I too wish to echo:

⁴ Remember me, LORD, when you show favor to your people,
come to my aid when you save them,
⁵ that I may enjoy the prosperity of your chosen ones,
that I may share in the joy of your nation
and join your inheritance in giving praise.

Finally, two verses from the book of Proverbs that may serve as food for thought:

³⁰ A heart at peace gives life to the body,
but envy rots the bones. 

³¹ Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker,
but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.

May God bless the reading and reflection of His Word.  Amen.

Click Here For Today’s Reading

1 SAMUEL 1:1-2:21 | JOHN 5:1-23 | PSALM 105:37-45 | PROVERBS 14:28-29

Click on the link below to listen to an audio recording of this post:

We enter today into the book of I Samuel. The book opens with a touching story of a man named Elkanah who loves his wife Hannah much despite her being unable to bear children.  This is remarkable in and of itself in the context of an old-world schema where a woman’s worth was measured in the number of children she bore her husband. 

But what is even more remarkable is this young woman’s great faith in asking the Lord for a child and vowing to the Lord that she would dedicate the child to the Lord’s service in the temple.  Her prayer is answered, and when the boy-child is born, she names him Samuel which means, “because I asked the Lord for him.”

Elkanah, the husband, allows Hannah to do with her little boy Samuel just what she intends, and in time, Hannah takes Samuel to the temple to dedicate him to the Lord and to leave him in the care of Eli, the priest.  Upon her return, Hannah sings a song of praise.  What a beautiful song it truly is.  These words of her song are indeed timeless and may be offered up in prayer and praise by any one at any time:

6“The LORD brings death and makes alive;
he brings down to the grave and raises up.
⁷ The LORD sends poverty and wealth;
he humbles and he exalts.
⁸ He raises the poor from the dust
and lifts the needy from the ash heap;
he seats them with princes
and has them inherit a throne of honor.

   “For the foundations of the earth are the LORD’s;
on them he has set the world.
⁹ He will guard the feet of his faithful servants,
but the wicked will be silenced in the place of darkness.

   “It is not by strength that one prevails;
¹⁰ those who oppose the LORD will be broken.
The Most High will thunder from heaven;
the LORD will judge the ends of the earth.

Hannah’s faith and faithfulness to the Lord is duly rewarded.  Although she has dedicated her firstborn Samuel to the Lord and left him in the Temple, the Lord blesses her with five more children in due time.

Turning to our reading in the book of John, we find the healing of the paralytic man at the pool of Bethsda.  Jesus says simply to the man, “Get up!  Pick up your mat and walk” and the man is made whole again. 

What simple yet powerful words Jesus utters, and what faith for that man to do as he is told!  Of course, the miracle itself would have been enough for all who witnessed it to have wanted to believe in this man called Jesus, but alas, they are more caught up in the fact that the miracle was performed on the Sabbath, the day of rest!  Woe was unto all the scribes and elders of the day who saw the great truth and yet did not see. 

And when they question Jesus to ask by what authority he performs these miracles, Jesus gives them a straightforward answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. ²⁰ For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed. ²¹ For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. ²² Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, ²³ that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.

Turning now to our Psalm of the day, we see in Psalm 105 a continuation of the reflection of the great history of the Jewish people.  David is recounting how God has brought out from Egypt his ancestors, and all because of a promise made to man called Abraham.  It is interesting to note that the Hebrew word Hallelu Yah literally translates to:  Praise the Lord.

Finally, our one verse from the Proverbs that I wish to offer up here–more for myself than for my reader—is this:

9 Whoever is patient has great understanding,
but one who is quick-tempered displays folly.

May God bless the reading and reflection of His Word.