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Dogs are Loyal Friends

If this people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, then the hearts of this people would turn from the Lord, even to Rehoboam king of Judah; and they will kill me and return to Rehoboam King of Judah. So the king consulted, and made two calves , and he said to them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem; behold the God’s of Israel, that brought you up from the land of Egypt.

1 kings 12:27-28

Idols are one of the best manipulator of people. The northern tribes have been deceived of these two calves that Rehoboam have created due to a stupid consultation. Rehoboam has done a dim-witted decision just to win the hearts of the people. Rehaboam is a leader who would do anything to win the hearts of the people even if this would lead them to stray from God. The desire to control everything within my hands is seducing. Working in a church where there time that is very difficult to rally them to do a task and if the church cannot perceived this task it leads to discouragement and we the leaders are tempted to programs that would manipulate the lives of the church. This is a true reality. These programs would become idols that would manipulate their lives and would turn into routines and eventually idols. Idols can disguise seemingly like a redeemer of the people (god, who brought you out of Egypt). It is easy to proclaim the acts of God as Rehoboam did by claiming that these calves have brought them up to Egypt and just like the written document of the word of God that is divinely inspired it is used for personal agenda to manipulate people in the desire we planned which is good if we use it on the right application but seemingly sometimes it is being abused to render our personal agendas. The ignorance of the people are taken advantage, their innocent minds are deceived.

Rehoboam is a leader that does not fear God. He exemplified a leader that wants to take the loyalty of the people away from God. Rehoboam loves control. The control within our hands would tempt us to do things that would fulfill our greediness. Leading people is a Job to rally them on God not within our personal agendas.

Ditty 5:

Is David the first king of Israel why or why not?

                David is the first king of Israel. He is man after God’s own heart. He ruled over both Judah and Israel. In his time he united the kingdom making Jerusalem as the capital due to its neutral ground.  The monarchy form of governance was established, uniting all the tribes of Israel and comparing to the anointed King Saul where tribal system of governance is still in progress. The fact that the lineage of King Saul’s kingship has gone weaker and weaker thru Ishboshet crowned by Abner, which the situation in this time was chaos in every tribe; in this case the transferring of Kingship of king Saul has ceased concluding that the Kingship of Paul was a special favor to the people’s request of having a king but not on God’s timeframe, it is a permissive will.

                The rule of David was supported by all family tribes. He ruled in Hebron for 7 years and transferred to Jerusalem for 33 years. Jerusalem was made the new center for Government. David also began to organize the whole nation. David made alliances with the Phoenician so that he could obtain building supplies for a new palace. During this time of ruling, he has extended his rule to the Nile River and East to the Tigris-Euphrates valley signifying that his kingdom became powerful and strong. The Philistines were subdued. In the south, he has conquered the territory of Edomites, Moabites, Amelikites. To the north bound, he conquered the Ammonites and the Arameas. God has utilized and maximized David in the conquering of the Land. By faith in 1 Samuel 5:12, David realized that the Lord had established him as the King of Israel, and that He had exalted his Kingdom for the sake of His people Israel. we can see that God’s blessing and favor was upon David.

Dev5

And David realized that the Lord had established him as king over Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom for the sake of His people Israel.

2 Samuel 5:12

The sun rose from the east and settles at the west in its due time. Ants gather their food on certain time period that they will soon celebrate their effort of Hard labor of transporting food. Migratory Birds launches their wings to soar the heavens just to find a secured place to settle and finding a place will fulfill their longing for a secured place.

After a long time of waiting for his rightful Heir, David has come to sense that he was the now the king of Israel but we can see in here that the plan that God wants for David is not merely a favor for David but it is a task of How God will use King David over King Saul to be the ruler of the Monarchial Kingdom. It is more of Human favor that a God granting a request wish but God Request for David to rule in the political and Spiritual Kingdom. In the later Part of the Book, David has united the tribes and has drive out external threats to the kingdom. God’s intention is to Him be glorified so that People will recognized him even with our own desires and dreams in life. David was successful in uniting the tribes of Israel and united in worshipping God. People sometimes view God as a God who just grants wishes. But just like David, we are called to be steward on the things that are entrusted upon us and the first thing to do is sense it that God has positioned us, whatever circumstance we must acknowledge the promptings of God that we may also be utilize and in return we Glorify Him.

Ditty 4

4. Is the book of Samuel pro-monarchy or anti-monarchy? Why/ Why not?

                The book of Samuel is a pro-monarchy book. God has an agenda to the Israelites that He will produce a king from the Israelite that he will establish a kingdom that will be utilize as a political and religious center. But not as the king of the other nations has. The people demanded a king which is not on the timeframe of God. it was a because of their envy they ask for a king, just because the other nations are having a king which is a denial to the covenant of God, but on the later part of the book it, a king was set-up, he was David although imperfect but true representation of the ideal of the covenant king.

                Kingship was God’s will for His people. In 1 Samuel 12 is the resolution for this tension when Samuel inaugurates Saul as Israel’s first king in the context of covenant renewal ceremony by which Israel renews its allegiance to the Lord. We can see that Kingship was not wrong for Israel; God desired for Israel to have a king. But kingship of the type Israel desired (”like the other nations”) and for the reasons she wanted a king (to give a sense of national security and lead her to victory in battle) involved a denial of the Lord as her ultimate sovereign. Samuel defined the role of the king in Israel and presented Saul to the people in a ceremony in which they renewed their allegiance to the Lord. The monarchy in Israel was first established in a form that was compatible with the covenant. The king in Israel, as every other citizen of the nation, was to be subject to the law of the Lord and to the word of the prophet. From this perspective, the author depicts the reign of Saul as failing to correspond to the covenantal requirements, while the reign of David, although imperfect, reflected the covenantal ideal.

Source: Bible

                Illumina Encyclopedia

But David said to Abishai, “Do not destroy him, for who can stretch out his hand against the Lord’s anointed and be without guilt”.

                1 Samuel 26:9

                We are surrounded by different voices that sound good at our ear and if our hearts verifies them there is a good chance that we will confirm to this voice. Music has taken its frequency anywhere. It has its own rhythm and style from R&B to Bosa Nova, Reggae to Rock, HipHop to Classics to Gospel and to the sound of folk music. Music will define the Generation. It gives them identity. This music has its own agenda covering from every generation from the message of the radical punk to the traditional life of country and folk music to the good beat of R&B to drug addiction, political, emotional lovesong, songs that reminds of the past which is sentimental to some, the convicting message of the rising contemporary Christian songs where Jesus is alive in the preference of the youth of the nation, yet some are just made of sounds of meditation that no lyrics can fill the message of the classical music, and some that are yet to be named.

                David hears the audible message of God. His devoted and responsive heart has made him to hear what God wanted to say. He could just take the advice of Abisha to eliminate King Saul but David is a man who recognizes God’s anointing despite of the plan of King Saul to kill him.  Life is filled with advantages that we can have everything within our hand but God’s authority is still speaks that He should always be on the lead. God has anointed King Saul and this is a favor to the request of the Israelites asking for a king because of their envy to the other nations having a king. David recognizes God’s anointing to Saul is a favor unto them despite of God’s change of plan of abandoning King Saul through his Spirit.

                May I listen sensitively to his promptings that I will set aside my own personal selfish agenda.

                God bless us all!