1 Samuel

The Donkey and the Colt

I’ve started creating short video meditations on Biblical themes, and I now have a YouTube channel. My first video focused on the theme of sparrows, and now here is one on donkeys. Having studied donkeys closely, I have a new appreciation for them. And how interesting that donkeys carry a cross on their back. WhenContinue reading “The Donkey and the Colt”

Adam and His Adversary: Israel’s crossing of the Jordan

After Adam’s headlining appearance in Genesis, his name is hardly mentioned for the rest of the Hebrew Bible. We find him mostly in genealogies and very occasionally in the books of the prophets (see Hosea 6:7). Still, Adam returns in other ways, many times after Genesis, in stories recounting his (and our) fall from glory.Continue reading “Adam and His Adversary: Israel’s crossing of the Jordan”

So Esther arose, and stood before the king.

With Haman’s plot against the Jews looming, Esther put on her royal robes at the command of Mordecai and stood in the inner court of King Ahasuerus’s palace in front of the king’s rooms. And the king was sitting on his royal throne. Esther’s entrance was a seriously huge deal, since she had not beenContinue reading “So Esther arose, and stood before the king.”

Ishmael, a Wild Donkey of a Man

In Genesis 12, Abram betrays his wife Sarai and sows the seeds for the tragic story of Ishmael. Lacking faith in God’s protection, he tells Sarai to pretend she is his sister and sends her into Pharoah’s house as a concubine (v. 15). In exchange for trafficking his wife, Abram accepts Pharoah’s reward of “maleContinue reading “Ishmael, a Wild Donkey of a Man”

Saul and the Lost Donkeys

Saul was never the king Israel needed, and the clues begin, quite powerfully, at the very moment he pops onto the scene. And the first piece of bad news is Saul’s father, Kish (1 Sam 9:1-2). Though some think that the name Kish means ‘bow’ or ‘power’, more convincing is evidence that the name comesContinue reading “Saul and the Lost Donkeys”

Peaceable, Faithful, even a Mother

In the two books of Samuel, we encounter alot of MEN. There are some men that give us hope, for sure. But so much of what we encounter in Samuel 1 and 2 can be summed up as MEN’S MESS. Men doing this, men arguing about that. Men betraying men. Men fighting over and oppressingContinue reading “Peaceable, Faithful, even a Mother”