tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-349025112008-05-07T17:57:22.272-04:00Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02605546292851678763noreply@blogger.comBlogger294125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34902511.post-4467016388913945402008-04-30T08:41:00.000-04:002008-04-30T08:42:01.032-04:00

First, a big thank you to all my readers. I appreciate the time you're devoting to reading along with me. However, my life has gotten quite hectic lately. I started a new job this week, and I'm trying to get myself used to the new schedule. Because of this, Daily Breadcrumbs is going on hiatus for a few weeks (or maybe longer) while I adjust. I hope to be back soon so we can delve into 2

Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02605546292851678763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34902511.post-10389967577450319272008-04-29T07:24:00.000-04:002008-04-29T07:26:10.648-04:00

When David and his men go back to Ziklag, the town granted to them by King Achish, they find that Amalekites have burned the buildings and run off with their wives. This cannot be tolerated. David takes 400 of his men in pursuit (200 were so weary they couldn't go with the main force). Thanks to a chance encounter with an Egyptian ex-slave of the Amalekites, David gets led straight to the

Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02605546292851678763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34902511.post-47319016320733950032008-04-28T08:14:00.000-04:002008-04-28T08:15:43.600-04:00

In 1 Sam. 29, the Philistines are gearing up for a massive offensive against the Israelites. In their ranks are David and his men, loyal followers (theoretically) of King Achish. However, the Philistine princes are getting a bit anxious. Isn't David an Israelite? Isn't he the very one from the songs that say, "David slew his 10,000s?" Is it really wise to keep him here? they ask. What if he

Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02605546292851678763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34902511.post-61521420233261287652008-04-27T08:50:00.000-04:002008-04-27T08:53:28.511-04:00

(Today's passage covers Saul consultation with a witch, David's destruction of some Amalekites, and Saul's death.) In these final chapters of 1 Sam., Saul finally loses it, both metaphorically and literally. First, he loses contact with God. We've known for some time that God has abandoned Saul in favour of David, but Saul finally acknowledges this in 1 Sam. 28. He acknowledges it, but he

Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02605546292851678763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34902511.post-70970802204032480702008-04-26T08:13:00.001-04:002008-04-26T08:13:24.912-04:00

At the end of 1 Sam. 25, we find out that David has taken two new wives: Abigail (wife of the now-deceased Nabal), and Ahinoam of Jezreel. But what about David's first wife, Michal? We might recall that David married Michal, Saul's younger daughter, in 1 Sam. 18. But now it seems that Saul has voided the marriage and given Michal to Phalti, the son of Laish. We have no news about why the

Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02605546292851678763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34902511.post-64775399669524038432008-04-25T08:47:00.001-04:002008-04-25T08:47:38.933-04:00

In 1 Sam. 25:1, we find out that Samuel died. And that's it, really. The people lamented him, buried him and Ramah, and moved on with their lives, all in the course of a single verse. Surely, the protagonist of the first half of the book, in fact it's namesake, deserves better than a single verse of mourning. And yet, that's all Samuel gets. At least it seems he died in his sleep, and not

Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02605546292851678763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34902511.post-11545802738469784932008-04-24T09:27:00.000-04:002008-04-24T09:29:34.095-04:00

(Today's passage covers David's racketeering in Carmel, another near-murder of Saul, and his defection to the Philistines.) In today's reading we get to see three sides of David, all of them ambiguous. Story #1 (1 Sam. 25): David is in Carmel with his men, who are starting to get hungry again. (Who would have thought you need to feed an army of 600?) David decides that Nabal, a rich local,

Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02605546292851678763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34902511.post-39156197060823511082008-04-23T09:29:00.001-04:002008-04-23T09:29:44.065-04:00

As he runs away from Saul, one of David's companions is Abiathar, the son of priest Ahimelech (you might recall that Doeg killed his entire city on Saul's orders). When David wants to consult with God, he has Abiathar get his ephod, a priestly robe. When Abiathar's wearing the ephod, David can suddenly receive God's word -- in this case, that Saul is coming and the citizens of Keilah will give

Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02605546292851678763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34902511.post-54297335662356564672008-04-22T10:34:00.001-04:002008-04-22T10:34:11.946-04:00

Early on in our narrative, David runs away into the land of Gath. It turns out, though, that King Achish has heard of David's battle-prowess. David gets worried at this point, perhaps because he thinks Achish will see him as a potential rival. So when the servants drag him before the king, he pretends to be a madman, writing on doorposts and drooling into his beard. The king falls for it hook

Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02605546292851678763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34902511.post-61994219540191291792008-04-21T10:13:00.000-04:002008-04-21T10:17:07.332-04:00

(Today's passage covers David and his crew running away from Saul, and Saul pursuing them.) You've got to hand it to David; he's one sneaky guy. Over the course of these four chapters, he successfully scams a bunch of people and smooth-talks his way into getting an apology (yes, again) from Saul. To start at the beginning. When last we left our intrepid hero, he'd just kissed goodbye to his

Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02605546292851678763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34902511.post-66822819876599095912008-04-20T12:54:00.001-04:002008-04-20T12:54:43.791-04:00

I'd like to thank all of my devoted readers, and even my less-devoted readers, for coming back day after day and reading my take on the Bible. You guys encourage me to keep writing, even when sometimes life gets a bit hectic. And, to show my gratitude, I've got a question for you: do you read any other blogs or websites on similar topics to Daily Breadcrumbs? If so, please let me know! I'm

Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02605546292851678763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34902511.post-85789828488182910552008-04-20T09:45:00.000-04:002008-04-20T09:46:50.022-04:00

Back in 1 Sam. 10, we found out the source of an apparently proverbial saying, "is Saul also among the prophets?" Back then, it was because of one of Samuel's signs that Saul would be king: Saul prophesied with a group of singing prophets on his way back to his father's house. In 1 Sam. 19, we're given an alternate explanation: when Saul finally gets fed up with sending incompetent assassins

Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02605546292851678763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34902511.post-20306657809705314762008-04-19T11:17:00.001-04:002008-04-19T11:17:37.560-04:00

You've got to wonder about Jonathan and David. In chapter 18, Jonathan loves David "as his own soul." They make a covenant, and Jonathan gives David all of his clothes. (1 Sam. 18:1-4) Throughout the rest of the book, it seems that the two are (at the very least) best friends. Jonathan hides David when Saul is trying to kill him, reasons with his dad to bring David back into the fold, and

Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02605546292851678763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34902511.post-39648245019112048782008-04-18T08:56:00.000-04:002008-04-18T08:59:45.570-04:00

(Today's passage covers Jonathan and David's deepening friendship, and Saul's deepening jealousy towards David.) Things were going so well. David, the poster-child for Israelite can-do power, was in King Saul's good books, carrying his armour and playing the harp. And then -- boom! -- Saul decides to kill the kid. And we're not talking a half-hearted attempt, either: over the course of these

Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02605546292851678763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34902511.post-57851248132910240122008-04-17T09:52:00.000-04:002008-04-17T09:53:10.129-04:00

Some of you might remember from my breadcrumb a few days ago that Samuel prophesied Saul's kingdom wouldn't continue because of his disobedience at Gilgal. In 1 Sam. 15, the message is hammered home again. Saul was supposed to go completely wipe out Amalek for their oppression of Israel during the Exodus. Saul does this... mostly. But he saves King Agag and the best animals to sacrifice to

Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02605546292851678763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34902511.post-66073356081897526422008-04-16T08:59:00.000-04:002008-04-16T09:01:06.858-04:00

1 Sam. 16 and 17 present us with a bit of a conundrum. You see, it appears that Saul meets David in chapter 16, presented to him as Jesse's son and a good harp player. Saul gets along great with David and makes him his armour-bearer. However, in the very next chapter (featuring Goliath), Saul claims never to have met David before, and needs to send Abner, captain of the host, to find out who

Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02605546292851678763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34902511.post-88291549029545316612008-04-15T07:17:00.000-04:002008-04-15T07:19:48.397-04:00

(Today's passage covers God's rejection of Saul and his appointment of David. Also, it relates the story of David and Goliath.) It's probably one of the best-known stories outside of the Pentateuch: David and Goliath. The story has inspired countless paintings, larger-than-life statues, and even a few Simpsons gags. So instead of relating the events to you, as I've been doing for a lot of the

Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02605546292851678763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34902511.post-48270066634277145042008-04-14T09:43:00.001-04:002008-04-14T09:43:58.030-04:00

Even though there's a war going on, it looks like there are no smiths in Israel to make swords or spears for the soldiers. Instead, the men are left to fend for themselves, sharpening their ploughshares, sickles, axes, and mattocks into weapons. Of course, like I said, there were no smiths in Israel. So where's a soldier to go to get a farm implement sharpened? The Philistines, of course!

Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02605546292851678763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34902511.post-54013830380680093162008-04-13T08:26:00.001-04:002008-04-13T08:26:53.177-04:00

When Samuel appointed Saul king, he told him to go down to Gilgal and wait for him before making the ritual sacrifices. So Saul goes, along with his army, and waits. He waits seven days, but Samuel never shows up. Finally, the men grumble and start leaving, and Saul decides to take things into his own hands. He offers the sacrifice and... you guessed it, Samuel shows up just as he's finishing

Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02605546292851678763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34902511.post-21444993900626053502008-04-12T09:27:00.000-04:002008-04-12T09:29:35.419-04:00

(Today's passage covers some battles against the Philistines, featuring the exploits of Saul's son, Jonathan.) Now that Saul has had some initial military success, he decides to tackle the remaining problem, the Philistines camped at Michmash. (Don't you love those Bible names?) After a preliminary victory in 1 Sam. 13, in which it appears Saul's son, Jonathan, did most of the fighting, Saul

Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02605546292851678763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34902511.post-13148546597081418432008-04-11T09:53:00.000-04:002008-04-11T09:54:09.378-04:00

1 Sam. 12 is Samuel's farewell speech. (Even though he reappears throughout the book, he gives his official retirement speech early.) One of the things he makes sure to point out is that asking for a king is, in no uncertain terms, still a bad idea. He even sends thunder and rain at harvest-time, just to show the people what a bad idea it is. He softens the blow only slightly by telling the

Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02605546292851678763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34902511.post-64599933451732178132008-04-10T10:00:00.001-04:002008-04-10T10:00:50.383-04:00

One of Samuel's three signs to mark Saul's appointment as king is that Saul will meet a group of singing, music-making prophets, and that he will prophesy with them. In fact, this actually happens, to the amazement of Saul's acquaintances, to the point where "is Saul also among the prophets?" becomes a proverbial saying. But at this juncture we have to ask ourselves, how many prophets were

Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02605546292851678763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34902511.post-86791507109782999382008-04-09T10:20:00.000-04:002008-04-09T10:21:01.929-04:00

(Today's passage covers Saul's selection as king, his rescue of the city of Jabesh Gilead, and Samuel's farewell speech.) We've known for some time that the Israelites have wanted a king, so that the terrors of the era of Judges could be put to an end. Also, so that the Israelites could be a nation like any other, and thus maybe avoid being conquered every twenty years or so. Samuel, the

Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02605546292851678763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34902511.post-27123572302002526092008-04-08T08:16:00.001-04:002008-04-08T08:16:28.371-04:00

After the unfortunate incident with the ark, the Israelites decide what would really solve the problem would be for them to have a king and be like everyone else. Samuel tries to talk them out of it by telling them how a king would behave. Specifically, he says a king would conscript their sons into his army; conscript their daughters to be his cooks; and take their land, produce, cattle, and

Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02605546292851678763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34902511.post-67565337557253579592008-04-07T09:05:00.001-04:002008-04-07T09:05:58.894-04:00

After the first battle against the Philistines, Eli (the high priest) finds out that the Philistines have killed his two sons and captured the ark. He is so distraught that he falls over. Unfortunately, he's 98 years old, and the fall breaks his neck. On the other hand, when his very pregnant daughter-in-law hears the news, she immediately goes into labour. After a hard delivery, she decides

Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02605546292851678763noreply@blogger.com