Archive for the ‘1 Samuel 11’ Category
Above: A Yoke
Image in the Public Domain
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According to the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship (ILCW) Lectionary (1973), as contained in the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978) and Lutheran Worship (1982)
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Zechariah 9:9-12
Psalm 45:1-2 (3-13), 14-22 (LBW) or Psalm 119:137-144 (LW)
Romans 7:15-25a
Matthew 11:25-30
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God of glory, Father of love, peace comes from you alone.
Send us as peacemakers and witnesses to your kingdom,
and fill our hearts with joy in your promises of salvation;
through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 25
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Grant, Lord, that the course of this world
may be so governed by your direction
that your Church may rejoice
in serving you in godly peace and quietness;
through Jesus Christ, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
—Lutheran Worship (1982), 68
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Zechariah 9:9-12 depicts a future scene, in which the Messiah, an ideal king, approaches Jerusalem at the culmination of history–the Day of the LORD. This is the scene Jesus reenacted during his Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, without being a regnant type of Messiah.
The image of YHWH as king exists in the assigned readings from Psalms.
In Romans 7:15-25a we read St. Paul the Apostle’s confession of his struggles with sins. We may all relate to those struggles.
My tour of the readings brings me to Matthew 11:25-30 and the topic of yokes.
Literally, a yoke was a wooden frame, loops of ropes, or a rod with loops of rope, depending on the purpose. (See Numbers 19:2; Deuteronomy 21:3; and Jeremiah 28:10.) A yoke fit over the neck of a draft animal or the necks of draft animals. Alternatively, a captive or a slave wore a yoke. (See Jeremiah 28:10; 1 Kings 12:9; 2 Chronicles 10:4; and 1 Timothy 6:1). Also, a yoked pair of oxen was a yoke. (See 1 Samuel 11:7; 1 Kings 19:21; Luke 14:19).
Metaphorically, a yoke had a variety of meanings, depending on the circumstances. It often symbolized servitude and subjection. Forced labor was an unjust yoke (1 Kings 11:28; 12:11, 14). Slavery was a yoke (Sirach 33:27). Hardship was a yoke (Lamentations 3:27; Sirach 40:1). The oppression and humiliation of one nation by another was the yoke of bondage (Jeremiah 27:8; 28:4; Hosea 11:7; Deuteronomy 28:48; and Isaiah 47:6). To break out of subjugation or slavery was to break the yoke (Jeremiah 28:2; Isaiah 9:4; 14:25). God promised to break the yoke of Egypt in Ezekiel 30:18. To break away from God was to break God’s yoke (Jeremiah 2:20; 5:5; Sirach 51:39). Sin was also a yoke (Lamentations 1:14).
The yokes of God and Christ carry positive connotations. The yoke of obedience to God is easy. It is also the opposite of the yoke of subordination and subjugation. This positive yoke is the yoke in Matthew 11:28-30. It is the yoke St. Paul the Apostle wore (Philippians 4:3). It is the yoke in Psalm 119:137-144.
Draw near to me, you who are untaught,
and lodge in my school.
Why do you say you are lacking in these things,
and why are your souls very thirsty?
I opened my mouth and said,
Get these things for yourselves without money.
Put your neck under the yoke,
and let your souls receive instruction;
it is to be found close by.
See with your eyes that I have labored little
and found for myself much rest.
Get instruction with a large sum of silver
and you will gain by it much gold.
May your soul rejoice in his mercy,
and may you not be put to shame when you praise him.
Do your work before the appointed time,
and in God’s time he will give you your reward.
–Sirach 51:23-30, Revised Standard Version–Second Catholic Edition (2002)
You, O reader, will serve somebody or something. That is not in question. Whom or what you will serve is a germane question. Why not serve God, the greatest king? In so doing, you will find your best possible state of being. The path may be difficult–ask St. Paul the Apostle, for example–but it will be the best path for you.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 14, 2022 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF FRANCIS MAKEMIE, FATHER OF AMERICAN PRESBYTERIANISM AND ADVOCATE FOR RELIGIOUS TOLERATION
THE FEAST OF SAINT CARTHAGE THE YOUNGER, IRISH ABBOT-BISHOP
THE FEAST OF SAINT MARIA DOMINICA MAZZARELLO, CO-FOUNDER OF THE DAUGHTERS OF MARY HELP OF CHRISTIANS
THE FEAST OF SAINT THEODORE I, BISHOP OF ROME
THE FEAST OF SAINTS VICTOR THE MARTYR AND CORONA OF DAMASCUS, MARTYRS IN SYRIA, 165
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Adapted from this post
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Above: Icon of Ezekiel
Image in the Public Domain
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READING EZEKIEL, PART XI
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Ezekiel 21:28-32 (Anglican and Protestant)
Ezekiel 21:33-37 (Jewish, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox)
Ezekiel 25:1-7
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Oracles of divine judgment against nations are staples of Hebrew prophetic literature. For example, they populate Isaiah 13-23; Jeremiah 46-51; Amos 1:3-2:3; and Ezekiel 25-32.
Since I began this long-term project of reading the Hebrew prophetic books, roughly in chronological order, I have read the material regarding Ammon in Amos 1:13-15; Jeremiah 49:1-16; and Ezekiel 21:28-32/21:33-37 (depending on versification).
Ammon was east of the River Jordan, and bordered the territory of the tribe of Gad (Joshua 13:8-10). Ammon’s capital was Rabbath-Amman (modern-day Amman, Jordan). Sometimes the Hebrews and the Ammonites were foes (Judges 3:13; Amos 1:13-15; Zephaniah 2:8; Judges 10:6-12:7; 1 Samuel 11; 2 Samuel 10; 2 Samuel 12:26-31). Sometimes they were allies (Jeremiah 27:3). After the Fall of Jerusalem, the Ammonites supported Ishmael, the Davidic claimant who rebelled against Gedaliah (Jeremiah 40:7-41:18). Before that, however, Ammon had occupied the territory of the tribe of Gad after the Fall of Samaria (722 B.C.E.).
Ammon, as a province of the Assyrian Empire, had a native ruler most of the time in the seventh century B.C.E. During the Assyrian civil war that started in 652 B.C.E., some of the remote peoples rebelled. They endangered the security of Ammon and other Assyrian vassals. With the fall of Nineveh (612 B.C.E.), Ammon briefly regained independence. Ammon allied with the Chaldean/Neo-Babylonian Empire against common foes, those pesky Arab tribes and the Kingdom of Judah. The alliance quickly turned into Chaldean/Neo-Babylonian domination of Ammon.
The Ammonite rebellion against their Chaldean/Neo-Babylonian overlords informed the material in Ezekiel 21. The Chaldeans/Neo-Babylonians struck Judah first then came back around for Ammon. After the failed Ammonite rebellion, the Chaldean/Neo-Babylonian Empire instituted mass deportations of Ammonites and, for a time, ended sedentary settlement in Ammon. Ammon became the abode of nomads until the Persian period.
Ezekiel 25:1-7 is consistent with this history. The text of the oracle condemns Ammon for opposing Judah and siding with the Chaldean/Neo-Babylonian Empire. The fitting punishment, we read, is to fall to that empire, too.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 29, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINTS PETER AND PAUL, APOSTLES AND MARTYRS
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Above: Icon of Jeremiah
Image in the Public Domain
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READING JEREMIAH, PART XXIX
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Jeremiah 49:1-6
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Ammon was east of the River Jordan, and bordered the territory of the tribe of Gad (Joshua 13:8-10). Ammon’s capital was Rabbath-Amman (modern-day Amman, Jordan). Sometimes the Hebrews and the Ammonites were foes (Judges 3:13; Amos 1:13-15; Zephaniah 2:8; Judges 10:6-12:7; 1 Samuel 11; 2 Samuel 10; 2 Samuel 12:26-31). Sometimes they were allies (Jeremiah 27:3). After the Fall of Jerusalem, the Ammonites supported Ishmael, the Davidic claimant who rebelled against Gedaliah (Jeremiah 40:7-41:18). Before that, however, Ammon had occupied the territory of the tribe of Gad after the Fall of Samaria (722 B.C.E.).
Since I started this project of reading the Hebrew prophetic books, roughly in chronological order, I have read the oracle against the Ammonites in Amos 1:13-15.
The oracle regarding Ammon in Ezekiel 25:1-6 awaits me, in due time.
Some details in the oracle require explanation:
- We read place names.
- We read “Milcom,” the name of the Ammonite chief deity (1 Kings 11:5). That name, rendered in Hebrew (which lacks vowels), can read, in English, “their king.”
- We read that the Hebrews would repossess the territory of the tribe of Gad.
- This oracle also concludes on a note of consolation.
- The Ammonites were relatives of the Hebrews (Genesis 19:38).
Ammon fell to the Chaldean/Neo-Babylonian Empire. Mass deportations ensued. After the Chaldean/Neo-Babylonian Empire fell to the Persians and the Medes in 539 B.C.E., Ammon became a part of the Persian Empire. This empire restored Ammon, reduced to a domain of Arab nomads, to political order.
The Ammonites, like many others, had relied on wealth, strength, and false gods. The Ammonites had also seized land not legitimately theirs. This type of activity was a major concern in Biblical times.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 14, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT METHODIUS I OF CONSTANTINOPLE, DEFENDER OF ICONS AND ECUMENICAL PATRIARCH OF CONSTANTINOPLE; AND SAINT JOSEPH THE HYMNOGRAPHER, DEFENDER OF ICONS AND THE “SWEET-VOICED NIGHTINGALE OF THE CHURCH”
THE FEAST OF DAVID LOW DODGE, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN BUSINESSMAN AND PACIFIST
THE FEAST OF FRANCIS J. UPLEGGER, GERMAN-AMERICAN LUTHERAN MINISTER AND MISSIONARY; “OLD MAN MISSIONARY”
THE FEAST OF FRANK LAUBACH, U.S. CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER AND MISSIONARY
THE FEAST OF MARK HOPKINS, U.S. CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER, THEOLOGIAN, EDUCATOR, AND PHYSICIAN
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Above: Icon of Jeremiah
Image in the Public Domain
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READING JEREMIAH, PART XXVII
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Jeremiah 47:1-7
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The Philistines were descendants of the Sea Peoples.
Interpretations of the Sea Peoples have changed in recent decades. The older version of them was that, starting in the fourteenth century B.C.E., the Sea Peoples moved from Greece to Asia Minor then to the eastern Mediterranean region. They destroyed the Hittite Empire (in Asia Minor). The Sea Peoples attacked Egypt during the twelfth century B.C.E., but the Egyptian forces defeated them. Afterward, the Sea Peoples settled on the coast of Canaan, assimilated with the local population, and became the Philistines.
The Sea Peoples’ defeat at Egyptian hands is a matter of the historical record.
However, the former historical consensus regarding the Sea Peoples may have been wrong. The Bronze Age Collapse (circa 1177 B.C.E.) affected the Mediterranean region. The powers were interdependent. Then a combination of climate change and natural disasters, followed by social and economic collapse, may have driven a diverse group of refugees from one land to another, then to another. Some of the ancient empires may have collapsed from within, not due to the Sea Peoples. Nevertheless, the Sea Peoples may still have proven disruptive. Certainly, they were not welcome.
The Philistines were one of the oldest enemies of the Hebrews. The Philistines oppressed the tribes of Israel for an undefined period of time (Judges 3:31) and again for about 40 years (Judges 13-16). Hostilities between the Philistines and the Israelites continued into the twilight of the age of the judges and into the time of the Israelite monarchy (1 Samuel 4-31; 2 Samuel 1-5, 8). In fact, the Philistine military threat was the main justification for creating the Israelite monarchy.
I have already read prophetic oracles against Philistia during this project of reading the Hebrew prophetic books, roughly in historical order. I have read the oracles in Amos 1:6-8 and Isaiah 14:28-32.
The oracle in Ezekiel 25:15-17 awaits my attention, in due time.
Jeremiah 47:1 establishes a temporal setting for the oracle against Philistia:
before Pharaoh attacked Gaza.
—The New American Bible–Revised Edition (2011)
Pharaoh Neco II (r. 610-595 B.C.E.) attacked Gaza in 609 B.C.E.
The Septuagint copy of the Book of Jeremiah lacks 47:1. The rest of the germane text of Chapter 47 refers to the Chaldean/Neo-Babylonian conquest of Philistia circa 604 B.C.E., followed by mass deportations. The juxtaposition of these facts indicates editing subsequent to the time of Jeremiah the prophet.
Jeremiah 47 depicts God as destroying Philistia. The prophet pleads:
Ah! Sword of the LORD!
When will you find rest?
Return to your scabbard;
stop, be still!
–Verse 6, The New American Bible–Revised Edition (2011)
The answer in verse 7 is that the sword of the LORD cannot rest until God commands it to do so.
Walter Brueggemann writes:
Yahweh is not dominated by any of our conventionalities, but acts in sheer freedom, owing no one anything. Listeners to this poem are invited to face this undomesticated God who may violate our sensitivities, this God who maybe the only hope for the Philistines as for Israel.
—A Commentary on Jeremiah: Exile and Homecoming (1998), 441-442
God refuses to fit into human categories and metaphorical theological boxes. God does not issue trigger warnings. God remains undomesticated, despite human discomfort. So be it. If we object, we have the problem; God does not.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 14, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT METHODIUS I OF CONSTANTINOPLE, DEFENDER OF ICONS AND ECUMENICAL PATRIARCH OF CONSTANTINOPLE; AND SAINT JOSEPH THE HYMNOGRAPHER, DEFENDER OF ICONS AND THE “SWEET-VOICED NIGHTINGALE OF THE CHURCH”
THE FEAST OF DAVID LOW DODGE, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN BUSINESSMAN AND PACIFIST
THE FEAST OF FRANCIS J. UPLEGGER, GERMAN-AMERICAN LUTHERAN MINISTER AND MISSIONARY; “OLD MAN MISSIONARY”
THE FEAST OF FRANK LAUBACH, U.S. CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER AND MISSIONARY
THE FEAST OF MARK HOPKINS, U.S. CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER, THEOLOGIAN, EDUCATOR, AND PHYSICIAN
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Above: King John Hyrcanus I
Image in the Public Domain
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READING JUDITH
PART III
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Judith 4:1-6:2
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Holofernes represented an oppressive violent power and an ego-driven monarch. The general had succeeded in his previous campaigns, even against people who had greeted his army with garlands, dancing, and the sound of timbrels (2:1-3:10). The Israelites were in dire straits as he turned his attention toward them.
Yet the Israelites worshiped God. They prayed to God. And, as even Achior, the Ammonite leader acknowledged, the Israelites’ power and strength resided in God. Yet Holofernes asked scornfully,
Who is God beside Nebuchadnezzar?
–Judith 6:2b, The New American Bible–Revised Edition (2011)
Achior found refuge with the Israelites, at least.
A refresher on the Kingdom of Ammon and on the Ammonites is in order.
- “Ammon” comes from Benammi, both the son and grandson of Lot (Genesis 19:30-38). Lot’s daughters had gotten their father drunk then seduced him. They gave birth to the founders of the Moabite and Ammonite peoples.
- The attitude toward the Ammonites in the Bible is mostly negative.
- The Kingdom of Ammon was east of the River Jordan and north of Moab.
- The Kingdom of Ammon, a vassal state of Israel under Kings David and Solomon. After Ammon reasserted itself, it became a vassal state of the Neo-Assyrian Empire then the Chaldean/Neo-Babylonian Empire. A failed rebellion led to mass deportations of Ammonites and the colonization of their territory by Chaldeans.
Anyone who wants to read more about the Ammonites in the Bible may want to follow the following reading plan:
- Genesis 19;
- Numbers 21;
- Deuteronomy 2, 3, 23;
- Joshua 12, 13;
- Judges 3, 10, 11, 12;
- 1 Samuel 10, 11, 12, 14;
- 2 Samuel 8, 10, 11, 12, 17, 23;
- 1 Kings 11, 14;
- 2 Kings 23, 24;
- 1 Chronicles 11, 18, 19, 20;
- 2 Chronicles 12, 20, 24, 26, 27;
- Ezra 9;
- Nehemiah 2, 4, 13;
- Psalm 83;
- Isaiah 11;
- Jeremiah 9, 25, 27, 40, 41, 49;
- Ezekiel 21, 25;
- Daniel 11;
- Amos 1;
- Zephaniah 2;
- Judith 1, 5, 6, 7, 14;
- 1 Maccabees 5; and
- 2 Maccabees 4, 5.
Back to Achior…
A close reader of Achior’s report (5:6-21) may detect some details he got wrong. Not all characters speak accurately in every matter. One may expect an outsider to misunderstand some aspects of the Israelite story.
At the end of the Chapter 6, we see the conflict between the arrogance of enemies of God and the humility of Israelites. We know that, in the story, the Israelites could turn only to God for deliverance. Anyone familiar with the Hebrew prophets ought to know that this theme occurs in some of the prophetic books, too.
In the context contemporary to the composition of the Book of Judith, Jews had endured Hellenistic oppression under the Seleucid Empire. Jews had won the independence of Judea. John Hyrcanus I (reigned 135-104 B.C.E.; named in 1 Maccabees 13:53 and 16:1-23) had ordered the destruction of the Samaritan temple on Mount Gerazim and forced many people to convert to Judaism. The persecuted had become persecutors. This was certainly on the mind of the anonymous author of the Book of Judith.
May we, collectively and individually, do to others as we want them to do to us, not necessarily as they or others have done to us.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
DECEMBER 8, 2020 COMMON ERA
THE TENTH DAY OF ADVENT
THE FEAST OF WALTER CISZEK, ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSIONARY PRIERST AND POLITICAL PRISONER
THE FEAST OF SAINTS AMATUS OF LUXEUIL AND ROMARIC OF LUXEUIL, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONKS AND ABBOTS
THE FEAST OF ERIK CHRISTIAN HOFF, NORWEGIAN LUTHERAN COMPOSER AND ORGANIST
THE FEAST OF JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER, U.S. QUAKER ABOLITIONIST, POET, AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT MARIN SHKURTI, ALBANIAN ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1969
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Above: The Death of Saul
Image in the Public Domain
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READING 1-2 SAMUEL, 1 KINGS, 2 KINGS 1-21, 1 CHRONICLES, AND 2 CHRONICLES 1-33
PART XXVIII
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1 Samuel 31:1-13
1 Chronicles 10:1-14
2 Samuel 1:1-27
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For my enemies are talking against me,
and those who lie in wait for my life take counsel together.
They say, “God has forsaken him;
go after him and seize him;
because there is none who will save.”
–Psalm 71:10-11, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
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Consistent chronology is not the organizing principle of 1 Samuel. Chronologically, the correct order at the end of the book is:
- 27:1-28:2
- 29:1-11
- 30:1-11
- 28:3-25
- 31:1-13
Saul had become the King of Israel with a charge to free the Israelites from the Philistine threat. He had failed. After his death, most of Israel came under Philistine domination. Saul, early in his reign, had rescued the people of Jabesh-Gilead (1 Samuel 11). Ironically, Saul was beyond rescue in Chapter 31. Residents of Jabesh-Gilead rescued his corpse, however. Saul had chosen honorable suicide over captivity. His story had a sad ending.
Saul’s dynasty continued, though. One son, Ishbosheth, survived. He became the King of Israel in 2 Samuel 2.
Notice, O reader, the consistency between 1 Samuel 31:1-13 and 1 Chronicles 10:1-14. Both of them state that Saul committed suicide. Then, O reader, contrast that version with with the tale the Amalekite told David in 2 Samuel 1. One lesson a person can learn from reading certain portions of the Hebrew Bible is never to trust an Amalekite. Also remember that not everybody in the Bible speaks honestly.
The unnamed Amalekite, I suppose, sought a reward from David for having allegedly killed Saul, even allegedly at Saul’s request. The Amalekite lied to the wrong man. Saul, as David acknowledged, was God’s anointed.
David also mourned for Jonathan, his friend and brother-in-law. Jonathan had good character. He was also loyal to his father to the end. Jonathan had been honest about Saul’s failings as a man, a ruler, and a military commander. Jonathan had spoken up on David’s behalf and incurred Saul’s verbal wrath. Jonathan had helped David while the latter was on the run from Saul. Yet Jonathan had never been disloyal to the kingdom and the monarchy.
The germane texts depict Jonathan as a decisive military commander and a man of good character. I wonder about a counterfactual scenario in which Jonathan succeeded his father. I wonder what the Biblical evaluation of King Jonathan would have been. That, of course, is not the story we have. The death of Jonathan in 1 Samuel 31 and 1 Chronicles 10 may be sadder than that of King Saul.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
AUGUST 23, 2020 COMMON ERA
PROPER 16: THE TWELFTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST, YEAR A
THE FEAST OF SAINTS MARTIN DE PORRES AND JUAN MACIAS, HUMANITARIANS AND DOMINICAN LAY BROTHERS; SAINT ROSE OF LIMA, HUMANITARIAN AND DOMINICAN SISTER; AND SAINT TURIBIUS OF MOGROVEJO, ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF LIMA
THE FEAST OF THEODORE O. WEDEL, EPISCOPAL PRIEST AND BIBLICAL SCHOLAR; AND CYNTHIA CLARK WEDEL, U.S. PSYCHOLOGIST AND EPISCOPAL ECUMENIST
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Above: Icon of Samuel
Image in the Public Domain
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READING 1-2 SAMUEL, 1 KINGS, 2 KINGS 1-21, 1 CHRONICLES, AND 2 CHRONICLES 1-33
PART XI
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1 Samuel 12:1-25
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I will exalt you, O God my King,
and bless your Name for ever and ever.
–Psalm 145:1, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
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The cutting and pasting of sources to create a composite narrative made some chronological inconsistencies. Consider 1 Samuel 12:12, for example, O reader.
But when you saw that Nahash, king of the Ammonites, was advancing against you, you said to me, “No, we must have a king reigning over us”–though the LORD your God is your King.
—TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
People demanded a king in Chapter 8. Nahash the Ammonite advanced against Jabesh-Gilead in Chapter 11.
If I were a Biblical literalist, this chronological inconsistency would bother me. I would feel compelled to reconcile the chronologies. I am not a Biblical literalist, though.
The theological meat in 1 Samuel 12 is that (1) the call for a monarchy constitutes a rejection of God, and (2) if the people and their king obey God, the future will go well. Keep in mind, O reader, that this series of blog posts covers texts informed by hindsight. We humans think, speak, and write of the past through the lens of our present day. We may preserve the accuracy of the account, but we are not disoriented, objective historians. No, the lens is the present day, with its issues and our agendas. Therefore, 1 Samuel 12:14-15 and 12:23-25, in retrospect, constitute heartbreaking prophecy.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
AUGUST 15, 2020 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT MARY OF NAZARETH, MOTHER OF GOD
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Above: The Coronation of King Saul
Image in the Public Domain
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READING 1-2 SAMUEL, 1 KINGS, 2 KINGS 1-21, 1 CHRONICLES, AND 2 CHRONICLES 1-33
PART X
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1 Samuel 11:1-15
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He shall defend the needy among the people,
he shall rescue the poor and crush the oppressor.
–Psalm 72:4, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
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Saul, chosen to become the King of Israel, was not yet the monarch. He was still working in the field at the beginning of Chapter 11. Saul rose to the occasion and led forces into victory against those of the cruel Nahash the Ammonite.
The mention of Jabesh-Gilead, east of the River Jordan, constitutes a call-back to Judges 21:8-12. In that passage, set after a civil war against the tribe of Benjamin, victorious tribes sacked Jabesh-Gilead to find wives for Benjaminite men. Judges 21:25 reads,
In those days, there was no king in Israel; all the people did what was right in their eyes.
—The New Revised Standard Version (1989)
In narrative context, then, the deliverance of the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead affirmed the necessity of the monarchy.
Saul’s behavior in 1 Samuel 9-11 indicated that he did not want to become the King of Israel. The family farm seemed to be his preference. After the anointing, Saul returned home and told nobody about the anointing. He hid in the baggage at the assembly. After the assembly, he was still a farmer.
Reading the stories of the beginning of Saul’s reign may create a sense of sadness. Knowing the rest of the story places the beginning of the tale in context. One can imagine what Saul may have become if he had made different choices or had never had to pursue runaway donkeys on a certain day. There is also a cautionary tale about the allure of power and the fragility of some psyches.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
AUGUST 14, 2020 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM CROFT, ANGLICAN ORGANIST AND COMPOSER
THE FEAST OF JOHN BAJUS, U.S. LUTHERAN MINISTER AND HYMN TRANSLATOR
THE FEAST OF JOHN HENRY HOPKINS, JR., EPISCOPAL PRIEST AND HYMNODIST; AND HIS NEPHEW, JOHN HENRY HOPKINS, III, EPISCOPAL PRIEST AND MUSICIAN
THE FEAST OF SAINT MAXIMILIAN KOLBE, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1941; AND JONATHAN MYRICK DANIELS, EPISCOPAL SEMINARIAN AND MARTYR, 1965
THE FEAST OF SARAH FLOWER ADAMS, ENGLISH UNITARIAN HYMN WRITER; AND HER SISTER, ELIZA FLOWER, ENGLISH UNITARIAN COMPOSER
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Above: Fresco of Samuel
Image in the Public Domain
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Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning:
Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them,
that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of life,
which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
—The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 236
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1 Samuel 8:4-20; 11:14-15 or Jeremiah 19:1-6, 10-12a
Psalm 106:1-16, 19-23, 47-48
Romans 8:1-11
Luke 12:35-48
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These assigned readings pertain to collective matters–sins, punishment for sins, and life in the Holy Spirit. The context is that of a group–a faith community, a kingdom, et cetera. All of that is consistent with the Biblical theme of mutuality. We are responsible to and for each other.
Collective guilt and responsibility may seem unfair, assuming a certain perspective. For example, sometimes a court releases a wrongly-convicted person who has spent years in prison yet whom evidence has exonerated. Perhaps an expert witness lied under oath. Maybe DNA has proven the prisoner’s innocence. Perhaps the prisoner pleaded guilty to a lesser charge to avoid a certain conviction on a more severe charge. Maybe the testimony of eyewitnesses proved to be unreliable, as it frequently does. Perhaps the prosecutor engaged in professional misconduct by withholding exculpatory evidence. Either way, taxpayers have borne the financial costs of what went wrong, leading to the incarceration of an innocent person. And taxpayers may bear the financial costs of paying reparations to the wrongly convicted. We not begrudge giving a liberated, wrongly-convicted person a fresh start and the financial means to begin a new life, do we? We know, after all, that the wrongly-convicted person has paid for the actions of others with time in prison.
Whatever one person does affects others, whether one behaves as a private citizen or in an official capacity. Likewise, society is people. What society does wrong and sinfully does affect even those members of it who vocally oppose those sinful actions. Those activists for justice also suffer when their society incurs punishment for its sins.
On the other hand, given that society is people, individuals can change their society. Individuals can improve their society or make it worse.
May all of us leave our societies better than we found them.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 23, 2020 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF TOYOHIKO KAGAWA, RENEWER OF SOCIETY AND PROPHETIC WITNESS IN JAPAN
THE FEAST OF JAKOB BÖHME, GERMAN LUTHERAN MYSTIC
THE FEAST OF MARTIN RINCKART, GERMAN LUTHERAN MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT TERESA MARIA OF THE CROSS, FOUNDRESS OF THE CARMELITE SISTERS OF SAINT TERESA OF FLORENCE
THE FEAST OF WALTER RUSSELL BOWIE, EPISCOPAL PRIEST, SEMINARY PROFESSOR, AND HYMN WRITER
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Adapted from this post:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2020/04/23/devotion-for-proper-19-year-c-humes/
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BLOGA THEOLOGICA 
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