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Tag Archives: 1 Samuel

Conflict Springs From Justice

25 Wednesday May 2016

Posted by memoirandremains in 1 Samuel, Church Conflict, Uncategorized

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1 Samuel, Biblical Counseling, Church Conflict, Peacemaking, Saul

This is the (draft) introduction to first chapter of a short book on Church Conflict. The goal of this book will be to train a congregation to avoid conflict. And, while nothing can perfectly protect against sin, there is a great deal which can be done to encourage a congregation in patterns of behavior and thought which can make conflict more difficult to maintain and easier to resolve.

We will go very wrong in thinking about conflict in the church, if we think that conflict is necessarily and always evil: even though the conflict we experience is almost always evil.

Conflict springs from a desire for what is good: It begins with the love of some-thing, and then the desire for the protection and promotion of that-object.  Since we are fighting for what we love, we are fighting for justice.  When we rightly love what is true and beautiful, our defense of that thing, that person, that right is just. Conflict springs from the apparent love of justice.

But sin has perverted our loves and has perverted our sense of justice.  Sin has taken something good (the desire to protect the good, true and beautiful) and turns it into evil.  Conflict is powerful and destructive because it is the misuse of something good and necessary.

Conflict also covers itself with the language of virtue: If you are fighting for what is right, you are fighting for virtue. When conflict comes within the Church, it uses spiritual language: conflict takes on sin, love, God, et cetera. Therefore, our opponent in church conflict can easily be portrayed as the enemy of God!

The church at Corinth fell into terrible fights among factions, with each party claiming to be most godly:

11 For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. 12 What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? 1 Corinthians 1:11–13 (ESV)

When love of justice and the language of God’s side come together it not surprising that conflict can take deep root in a congregation.

 An Example of Righteous Conflict

King Saul’s story in Scripture is marked with conflict. His first official act as King was an instance of righteous conflict, instigated by the Spirit of God. First, there was a problem, a foreign King, Nahash the Ammonite threatened the city of Jabesh-gilead with slavery and the lose of each citizens’ right eye:

5 Now, behold, Saul was coming from the field behind the oxen. And Saul said, “What is wrong with the people, that they are weeping?” So they told him the news of the men of Jabesh. 6 And the Spirit of God rushed upon Saul when he heard these words, and his anger was greatly kindled. 7 He took a yoke of oxen and cut them in pieces and sent them throughout all the territory of Israel by the hand of the messengers, saying, “Whoever does not come out after Saul and Samuel, so shall it be done to his oxen!” Then the dread of the Lord fell upon the people, and they came out as one man. 1 Samuel 11:5–7 (ESV)

Here there conflict – there is open war. But the conflict is wholly just on the side of Saul. Our text tells us that Saul’s anger, aroused by his sense of justice, was stirred by “the Spirit of God”.

This instance teaches that conflict is not necessary evil – at least that it is not necessarily the case that both parties involved in a conflict are wrong. Here, Saul was wholly just in his anger and the conflict against the Ammonites was a righteous act.

 

How Sin Hijacks our Sense of Justice

But not all conflict is righteous. The conflict which troubles us is unjust conflict, particularly the conflict where both parties are in sin. As explained above, conflict springs from a sense of offended justice. Where sin hijacks our sense of justice and leads us to seek to protect that which is evil, our participation in conflict is itself sin.

This is the first step in sinful conflict: our sense of justice, of right and wrong is altered. Do do this, sin hijacks our desire and our language. We see both perversions in the life of Saul.

In 1 Samuel 15, God commands Saul to destroy the perpetual enemy of Israel, the Amalekites. Saul brings the battle, but he does not utterly them. He spares “best” from destruction:

9 But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep and of the oxen and of the fattened calves and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them. All that was despised and worthless they devoted to destruction. 1 Samuel 15:9 (ESV)

Those things which Saul (and the people) desired as “best” – the objects of his lust – these were kept alive in direct disobedience to God.  Saul desired something more than the glory of God. Perversion of desire is the first step in sinful conflict.

Saul then takes the next step, perversion in language: rationalizes his sin (which makes Samuel out to be the one who is contrary to God):

13 And Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, “Blessed be you to the Lord. I have performed the commandment of the Lord.” 14 And Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears and the lowing of the oxen that I hear?” 15 Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites, for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen to sacrifice to the Lord your God, and the rest we have devoted to destruction.”

1 Samuel 15:13–15 (ESV)

Saul uses spiritual language, the language of justice and virtue to dress up his sin. And, if Saul’s opponent had not been a prophet of God, Saul (who made a decent argument and who argued from a position of power) would have won. At the very least, Saul would have been able to prosecute the conflict for quite a while (as Saul did in the case of David).

Below, we will examine the details of how conflict perverts love and justice to sinful ends.

But David Strengthened Himself

25 Sunday Nov 2012

Posted by memoirandremains in 1 Samuel, Biblical Counseling, Obedience, Prayer, Psalms

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1 Samuel, Biblical Counseling, David, despair, Emotion, Lord, Obedience, Prayer, Psalm 43, Psalms, Ziklag

On the most difficult aspects of biblical counseling comes when emotion controls the counselee. Someone in the midst of a difficult circumstance such one facing disease, loss of a home, loss of a job, divorce or marriage trouble, a child who has turned badly will often face and experience powerful emotions. The emotions alone are merely emotions, a subjective valuation of an event.

The troubles comes not with the emotions per se but more the control the emotion exercises over the person. Who overcome with emotion may think (ironically) themselves incapable of obedience. When conforming to one’s emotions without reason, one often resorts to various sins in an attempt to manage the world as seen through the emotion.

Thus, a husband in a bitter marriage may express bitterness toward his wife, even though God has commanded love. The wife of an unbelieving drunkard may complain and seek to manipulate her husband, even though The Lord has prescribed a gentle, pure heart for such a situation. A parent who has lost a child may grieve, but as those who have no hope.

The story of David and the sack of Ziklag illustrates what one may — and must do — when faced with overwhelming tribulation:

1 Now when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, the Amalekites had made a raid against the Negeb and against Ziklag. They had overcome Ziklag and burned it with fire
2 and taken captive the women and all who were in it, both small and great. They killed no one, but carried them off and went their way.
3 And when David and his men came to the city, they found it burned with fire, and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive.
4 Then David and the people who were with him raised their voices and wept until they had no more strength to weep.
5 David’s two wives also had been taken captive, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel.
6 And David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because all the people were bitter in soul, each for his sons and daughters. But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God.


1 Samuel 30:1-6. David suffers like the rest, but he does not despair overmuch. Rather, in the midst of his pain he seeks the help of God.

The counselee may ask, How can I take hold of God when in such pain? What would it be to take hold of God from here? How could I pray? The 42 & 43 Psalms give a picture of this. Psalm 43 in particular shows the back and forth as one reasons with oneself and calls out to God: I am in distress, but God ….:

1 Vindicate me, O God, and defend my cause against an ungodly people, from the deceitful and unjust man deliver me!
2 For you are the God in whom I take refuge; why have you rejected me? Why do I go about mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?
3 Send out your light and your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling!
4 Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy, and I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God.
5 Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.

1 Clement 4:10-13, Translation and Notes

31 Tuesday Jul 2012

Posted by memoirandremains in 1 Clement, 1 Samuel, Ante-Nicene, Biblical Counseling, Church History, Discipleship, Exodus, Greek, Numbers

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1 Clement, 1 Samuel, Ante-Nicene, Biblical Counseling, Church History, David, Discipleship, envy, Exodus, Greek, Greek Text, jealousy, Moses, Numbers, Rebellion, Saul

10 ζῆλος φυγεῖν ἠνάγκασεν Μωϋσῆν ἀπὸ προσώπου Φαραὼ βασιλέως Αἰγύπτου ἐν τῷ ἀκοῦσαι αὐτὸν ἀπὸ τοῦ ὁμοφύλου,. Τίς σε κατέστησεν κριτὴν ἢ δικαστὴν ἐφʼ ἡμῶν; μὴ ἀνελεῖν με σὺ θέλεις, ὅν τρόπον ἀνεῖλες ἐχθὲς τὀν Αἰγύπτιον; 11 διὰ ζῆλος Ἀαρὼν καὶ Μαριὰμ ἔξω τῆς παρεμβολῆς ηὐλίσθησαν. 12 ζῆλος Δαθὰν καὶ Ἀβειρὼν ζῶντας κατήγαγεν εἰς ᾅδου, διὰ τὸ στασιάσαι αὐτοὺς πρὸς τὸν θεράποντα τοῦ Θεοῦ Μωϋσῆν. 13 διὰ ζῆλος Δαυεὶδ φθόνον ἔσχεν οὐ μόνον ὑπὸ τῶν ἀλλοφύλων, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὑπὸ Σαοὺλ [βασιλέως Ἰσραὴλ] ἐδιώχθη

 Notes:

Each of the instance of jealousy noted by Clement involve rebellion against godly authority. Moses was persecuted because a fellow Israelite did not want Moses to be leader: Who appointed you? Answer, God. Moses later faced rebellion from his own immediate family and from the other Israelites. David was envied by the Philistines and persecuted because of the jealousy of Saul.

Again, from a biblical counseling perspective we see that Clement first engages in sustained exposition of the Scripture to show the basis upon which he will later seek their repentance.

He demonstrates great faith in the Scripture’s effectiveness. He starts with no pleas to philosophy or psychology, but rather with the Scripture which he welds like a hammer against their pride. In addition, note that he spends time in Numbers: a book I have rarely seen treated in contemporary biblical counseling literature.

ζῆλος φυγεῖν ἠνάγκασεν Μωϋσῆν:  Jealousy compelled Moses to flee. Winer comments on the use of the infinite with the finite that completes the meaning of the finite verb: “If, in such a case, the Inf. has its own subject differnet form that of the principle verb, such subject with all its attributives is put in the accusative (Acc. with Infin.)….” (Winer, 6th ed, Andover, 1874, 321). See Wallace, Accusative Subject of the Infinitive.  Compelled is aorist; infinitive, present.

The jealousy in the story as developed does not seem to be Pharaoh’s but the jealousy of the fellow Israelite.

ἀπὸ προσώπου Φαραὼ βασιλέως Αἰγύπτου:   From the presence (lit., face) of Pharaoh King of Egypt. The first genitive, face, is dictated by the preposition. Pharaoh is indeclinable. King is genitive of possession: the king’s face (see illustrations, Wallace, 82, Matt. 26:51).  The final genitive, of Egypt is the genitive of apposition – genitive of definition. King is a category which is limited by “of Egypt”.

ἐν τῷ ἀκοῦσαι: Wallace: ἐν τῷ+ infinitive:  It is translating by + gerund:  By hearing. However, the two instances of Wallace involve present tense verbs. Here, Clement uses an aorist infinitive. There is plainly a temporal ordering of events: Moses acts, Pharaoh hears, Pharaoh acts, Moses flees. Therefore, the translation must reflect that ordering: When he heard.

αὐτὸν: about him. The accusative of respect, Wallace, 203-204.

ἀπὸ τοῦ ὁμοφύλου: from the fellow tribesman.

Τίς σε κατέστησεν κριτὴν ἢ δικαστὴν ἐφʼ ἡμῶν;: Who appointed you a ruler or judge over us (ESV translation of Acts 7:27).  The two words ruler and judge are near synonyms. The second word refers specifically to a judge in a trial who makes a decision. Epi + genitive: spatial, over: metaphorical here.

μὴ ἀνελεῖν με σὺ θέλεις:  do you wish do away with me?  The infinitive is complementary to the finite verb, and the object of the infinitive is in the accusative. The μὴ functions as an emphatic particle (otherwise it would read, “do you wish to not kill me”): Do you also, really want to kill me? Do you want to kill me, too? Interesting that the direct verb for kill is not present here. Louw and Nida note the nuance:

to get rid of someone by execution, often with legal or quasi-legal procedures—‘to kill, to execute, killing.’

Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, vol. 1, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains, electronic ed. of the 2nd edition. (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), 235.

ὅν τρόπον ἀνεῖλες ἐχθὲς τὀν Αἰγύπτιον;In the same manner that you did away with the Egyptian, yesterday? The relative pronoun clarifies the question about murder: Moses is not being accused of potential killing without reason: He had killed the Egyptian.

διὰ ζῆλος Ἀαρὼν καὶ Μαριὰμ ἔξω τῆς παρεμβολῆς ηὐλίσθησαν: Because of jealousy, Aaron and Mariam were housed outside the camp. (Numbers 12:15 records only that Mariam was lodged outside the camp for seven days. The jealousy was of Aaron and Miriam toward Moses. It was based upon racism: Numbers 12:1. See John Piper’s comment in his sermon on marriage and racism, http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/sermons/racial-harmony-and-interracial-marriage )

ζῆλος Δαθὰν καὶ Ἀβειρὼν ζῶντας κατήγαγεν εἰς ᾅδου:  Jealousy sent Dathan and Abiram alive into Hades. Alive is a present active participle modifying Dathan and Abiram; the participle makes the state of being alive more vivid.  See, Numbers 16.

διὰ τὸ στασιάσαι αὐτοὺς πρὸς τὸν θεράποντα τοῦ Θεοῦ Μωϋσῆν: because of the rebellion against Moses, the servant of God.  “All infinitives governed by a preposition are articular.” Dia + article + infinitive: cause.  Wallace, 610. Pros with the accusative: opposition, against.  The structure of the object of the prepositional phrase emphasizes the status of Moses: It was not against just Moses. It was against the servant of God, Moses. Servant here carries the nuance of being a

διὰ ζῆλος Δαυεὶδ φθόνον ἔσχεν οὐ μόνον ὑπὸ τῶν ἀλλοφύλων: Because of jealousy, David was envied, not only by the other tribe/foreigners, i.e., Philistines.

ἀλλὰ καὶ ὑπὸ Σαοὺλ [βασιλέως Ἰσραὴλ] ἐδιώχθη: He was even pursued by Saul, the King of Israel. Hupo + genitive: by, ultimate agency: Saul was the one who set the pursuit into action. See 1 Samuel 18:7-9.

 

The Doctrine and Practice of Mortification.22

12 Tuesday Jun 2012

Posted by memoirandremains in 1 Samuel, Biblical Counseling, Puritan, Romans, Thomas Wolfall

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1 Samuel, Biblical Counseling, David, Mortification, Puritan, Romans, Romans 8:3, Sin, The Doctrine and Practice of Mortification, Thomas Wolfall

Do Not Let Sin Reign

 

The like exhortation the Apostle gives, Let not sin reign in your mortal bodies, that you should obey it in the lusts thereof.  It is true that sin will remain in us, but it must not reign over us, for if grace reign in your hearts, then sin must not reign – grace will have no competitor.

 

We read of Alexander the Great, that he was never content till he had conquered all the world; so it is with grace, it is never at rest till it have conquered this little world, this body of sin, and put down every high thought that does exalt itself against God.

 

This exhortation is urged more plainly.  Mortify your members that are on the earth, fornication, uncleanness, inordinate desires, affections & et cetera.  As before, sin is compared to a body, so here, particular sins are compared to so many members of that body, that as all the member do work together for the preservation of the whole, so does every least conduct and concur to the preservation and continuation of this body of sin.

Mortification as External

 

For the more distinct handling of the point, consider that mortification may be distinguished as something that is external and is without us [outside of us], or else as something that is internal and is down within us: As it is external it is said to be legal mortification, when as a man is dead in law, as a malefactor is said to be a dead man when he is condemned.

 

So sin is then said to be dead when it is forgiven and God is said to send his Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin condemned sin in the flesh, that is, that sin should be certainly put to death (Rom. 8.3).  As it was certain that Christ had taken our nature on him, a great comfort it is to a distressed soul that does cast itself upon the Lord Jesus Christ: though at first it doe not apprehend the power of sin mortified, yet apprehending our plenteous redemption purchased by Christ, he concludes, that sin shall certainly die, because Christ has already condemned it.

 

And as David said when Jonathon persuaded him to the contrary, As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, there is but a step between me and death (1 Sam. 20:3).  So whatsoever conceit [thought] the foolish heart of man may have, that his lusts are so strong, as there is not possibility of subduing them, yet for as much as the matter is now in the hand of Christ, who has past sentence on them, it is certain that there is but a step between them and death.

How Long Will You Grieve?

05 Monday Mar 2012

Posted by memoirandremains in 1 Samuel, Acts, Meditation, Ministry, Prayer, Romans, Spiritual Disciplines

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1 Samuel, Acts, Acts 8:1-4, Affliction, Faith, Hope, Meditation, Ministry, Obedience, Praise, Prayer, Romans, Romans 12:15, Samuel, Saul, Spiritual Disciplines, trust

Walking by faith not by sight entails trusting the perspective of God over our own evaluation. When see children distressed that they may not gorge on candy, we smile because we know their appetite if not brooked will spill over into misery. The parent knows what the child cannot.

We are always as privileged as Samuel to know what God intends, but we must always trust beyond what we have been told, just as a child must trust the parent whether an explanation comes or not:

The LORD said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.”

1 Sam 16:1.

God give me such a heart to trust you – even when I tempted to grieve over your decisions. Too often my heart runs to complaints when it should flow in faith and trust and hope. May I love you enough to trust you, and fear you enough to follow

And an example from Acts 8:

1 And Saul approved of his execution. And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.
2 Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him.
3 But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.
4 Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word.

Both passages also teach us to value the good in terms of glory to God. Being scattered due to persecution – in view of the personal ease and pleasure of the human beings – is all misery. But God brought honey from the lion of persecution. The honey is the glory and enjoyment of God.

In discussing the good which flows from trials we must never read the good which the trial produces as the trial being good. The trial is an evil even of it produces good. The murder of Jesus was evil even though God turned it to good. To ignore this truth will cause use to be unsympathetic with pain of others. Weep with those who weep is a command (Rom. 12:15).

Because I Feared the People

05 Monday Mar 2012

Posted by memoirandremains in 1 Samuel, Ministry

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1 Samuel, Fear of man, fear of the Lord, Ministry, Proverbs, Samuel, Saul, snare holiness

As the fear of the Lord leads to holiness, so the fear of man leads to sin:

22 And Samuel said, “Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has also rejected you from being king.”
24 Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.

1 Sam. 15:22-24:

The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is safe.

Proverbs 29:25.

Ecclesiastes Comparison and Contrast.4

27 Monday Feb 2012

Posted by memoirandremains in 1 Samuel, Ecclesiastes, Psalms

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1 Samuel, corruption, Ecclesiastes, Judge, Justice, law, Psalms, Samuel, Solomon

Some argue that Solomon could not be the author of Ecclesiastes since Qoheleth (the named author of Ecclesiastes) complains of corruption of government officials:

If you see in a province the oppression of the poor and the violation of justice and righteousness, do not be amazed at the matter, for the high official is watched by a higher, and there are yet higher ones over them.

Eccl. 5:8.

And:

5 There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, as it were an error proceeding from the ruler:
6 folly is set in many high places, and the rich sit in a low place.

Eccl. 10:5-6.

Yet even during lifetime of Samuel – a more godly man than Solomon – the primary judges (Samuel’s own sons!) were corrupt:

1 When Samuel became old, he made his sons judges over Israel.
2 The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beersheba.
3 Yet his sons did not walk in his ways but turned aside after gain. They took bribes and perverted justice.

1 Sam. 8. And famously, God told Samuel of the coming judgment against Eli’s house due to the corruption of his sons.

While the parallels prove nothing positive about Solomon as the author of Ecclesiastes, they do show that the contention that Solomon could not have tolerated corruption is weak. This does not speak well of Solomon’s character – but the Bible does not speak well of his character either.

A final parallel to the passage about Samuel’s sons (this an illustration of the passage):

Surely oppression drives the wise into madness, and a bribe corrupts the heart.

Eccl.7:7

Psalm 58 raises the same evil

1 Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods? Do you judge the children of man uprightly?
2 No, in your hearts you devise wrongs; your hands deal out violence on earth.

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